Meet Barbara Gordon

The choice was one among: (a) a 2.4L Volvo C30 (which I had heard was hailed the “sexiest car of the year” in 2008); (b) a 1.8L BMW 1-series; (c) a Mercedes Benz B170 (1.7L); and (d) a 2.4 L Honda Accord.

I took each one on a test drive. It was the most fun I’d had in years.

By far none could beat the Volvo in terms of driving pleasure. The car literally purred. It was nimble, handled like a dream, and didn’t break a sweat when pushed. Hell, it was really sexy – inside as well as out. But I was wary about its potential re-sale value.

By far the worst drive has got to be the B170. I kid you not – within 5 minutes of taking the wheel on EDSA, I felt like jiggled jell-o. I couldn’t believe Benz could have produced such a car. It felt and looked too much like a “mommy car”, too, which was probably the bigger turn-off.

The Accord was a solid piece of machinery. It actually drove like a plane on a runway. The downside? It drove like a plane on the runway. It was just far too big a car to zip around traffic in. And it could be potentially expensive – it’s meant to be chauffeur-driven. Another turn-off: that dashboard literally gave me a headache. I couldn’t find any of the buttons I looked for. It was just such a … busy car.

The BMW 118i was by far the most well-rounded. It was powerful, responded well on demand, drove like a much bigger sedan. The interior was also simple and elegant. I also felt it somehow was a girl’s car. Not that it was in any manner “girly” – the short drive around Ortigas proved clearly it had muscle. There’s been some criticism about its looks; but I think it’s quite purrrty. The handling is absolutely to die for. The bottom line is, it’s a BMW. Period. Enough said. The choice was made.