Wifey Car

The bank had a car plan benefit, so we availed it

Almost a year ago, I joined Security Bank as a principal engineer. Now, that job opportunity came with some trade-offs, one of which is that I need to go to the office every now and then.

This meant that I won’t be able to drive my wife and kids to school whenever I’m at the office. So, I’m really glad that one of the benefits that I was entitled to was getting a car paid by the company (I had to pay a small percentage though, as I’m just an SAVP, but the majority is paid by the company).

The car we opted for was either a Suzuki Jimny or a hatchback car, as my wife found it challenging to drive our Mazda CX-9 due to its size. So a smaller car is a requirement from my wife.

We like the Jimny to be honest, but the three doors Jimny’s interior space was just too small, while the 5 doors was a lot pricier that it was beyond the car benefit limits that I was entitled to.

As for the hatchback cars, we initially wanted another Mazda, specifically the Mazda 3 fastback, but my wife found the hood a tad bit too long for her liking that she found it challenging to drive in. Plus, the visibility wasn’t that great for a new driver.

That left us with the next option, which is the Honda City hatchback. It was way cheaper than the Mazda 3 as it was a tier below it. If we were to look for a Honda of the same tier as the Mazda 3, it would be the Civic, but as of now, only Hybrid Civics were offered, and their price tag was way beyond our budget, as we would need to shell out money that is in excess of the maximum price of my car plan benefit.

So, just like that, we got the car in a few weeks. My wife’s happy since the hood is short and visibility is great. I prefer driving it too over our Mazda for nearby errands due to its maneuverability. It’s way easier to drive a Honda City in the Philippines, as the majority of the roads are just too narrow for a CX-9.

Although I did find the Honda pleasant to drive, I would stick with a Mazda as it has a comfier interior, and it drives really well on long drives.