First Impressions: A Fast Drive Aboard VinFast’s VF6 Proves Extra Than Satisfying

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This Is Not A Check Drive

I had myself listed to take part within the 63-plus kilometer drive from the north of Manila on the VinFast Caloocan dealership to a spot known as Nene’s Sanctuary hidden in a preferred golf course in Laguna simply 30 kilometers from my house. However the night’s heavy writing and summaries of the Bangkok Motor Present prevented me from waking up at 4:30 am to take the bus to Manila.

Now that an excuse has been laid out, let me say that the VF6 is a car that instructions consideration even when your introduction to it’s a condensed loop via the manicured lanes of an unique golf membership.

Catching the tail finish of the media convoy at Lakehall was a localized introduction to a automobile that carries important international weight. Within the automotive world, first impressions are normally solid on the open highway, however my expertise was a distilled model of that actuality.

With a velocity cap of 40 kilometers per hour, I couldn’t inform you how the automobile handles a sweeping curve at triple digits, however I can inform you precisely the way it feels to stay with it within the atmosphere the place most electrical autos will spend their lives, which is the quiet and low velocity crawl of every day life.

I drove with Monch Henares of Monchster Chronicles & Motourismo using shotgun and Ron delos Reyes and Davien Madrid of Auto Evaluation taking the flank. We had a further hour or so with the VF6 transferring in locations so guarded that each flip we take had a safety guard on a motorbike tailing us. It was like an overbearing householders’ president watching to see if we’d let the tires squeal on the sidewalk.

Even at a strolling tempo, the significance of this automobile to VinFast can’t be overstated. Globally the VF6 is the strategic heavy hitter for the model. It not too long ago clinched the Worth for Cash Automobile of the Yr on the 2026 Auto Excellence Awards in India and it has been a main engine for VinFast turning into the highest automotive model by market share in Vietnam. Within the Philippines it arrives because the bridge between the entry stage VF5 and the extra premium VF7. It carries the burden of proving that an electrical car might be each a excessive expertise showcase and a sensible every day driver for the skilled class.

Visually, the VF6 is an train in athletic minimalism. It possesses a sure European aptitude that feels extra refined and grounded than a few of its extra cluttered rivals within the compact crossover phase. Inside that design language continues with a cabin that manages to really feel futuristic with out being alienating to these transitioning from inside combustion.

One of the vital satisfying parts of the inside is the row of management switches. In an period the place each producer is obsessive about burying each single perform inside a submenu of a touchscreen, VinFast has opted for tactile and cassette button type switches for the gear selectors and important features. There’s a weight and a satisfying click on to them that feels splendidly analog in an in any other case digital house.

That bodily tactility is balanced by an enormous 12.9-inch infotainment display screen. Whereas the display screen within the Philippine specification fashions doesn’t rotate as seen in some early international ideas, it stays the command middle of the car. It’s crisp and responsive and it’s oriented towards the driving force. That is supplemented by a head-up show that makes the standard instrument cluster really feel like a relic of the previous. By transferring the important statistics to the windshield VinFast permits the dashboard to stay low and the visibility to stay excessive.

Nevertheless the dedication to a seamless digital expertise results in a main level of competition, which is the overall absence of a begin cease change. Within the VF6 the automobile is basically on the second you board with the important thing fob in your possession. To drive you merely press the brake and shift into gear. To show it off you set it in park and stroll away. Whereas proponents name this seamless, I discover the dearth of a definitive bodily off button a bit unnerving.

There’s a lack of company when the automobile decides its personal state of readiness. As a driver, I choose a transparent and tactile affirmation that the machine has been put to mattress. Within the VF6 you might be left trusting the software program to close down when you lock the doorways. It’s a minor ergonomic hurdle however one which requires a shift within the psychological mannequin of what it means to park a automobile.

Different experiences from the total media run from Caloocan to Laguna counsel that the VF6 is kind of the freeway performer. Colleagues talked about that regardless of carrying 4 passengers and operating the air con at full tilt, the battery consumption was remarkably lean. The automobile arrived in Laguna having used solely about 12% of its cost for the 80-kilometer journey.

In addition they famous a agency and steady experience on the Skyway, which is a attribute I might solely sense in small doses as I navigated the sleek asphalt of Santa Elena. The motor supplies 201 horsepower within the Plus variant, which is greater than sufficient to make the crossover really feel mild on its ft regardless of the load of the battery pack.

The VF6 is a automobile designed for a world that’s nonetheless being constructed. Within the Philippines the place the electrical car infrastructure is rising however not but ubiquitous, the VF6 makes a powerful case for itself via effectivity and a excessive expertise security suite. The Plus variant comes loaded with Stage 2 superior driver help techniques that are important for the chaos of the South Luzon Expressway.

Costs for the VF6 begin at P1,249,000 (~$21,000) with the battery subscription, which considerably lowers the barrier to entry for first time adopters.

Is it successful? Globally the numbers say sure.

Within the Philippines, the decision will rely upon what number of drivers are prepared to commerce the standard engine rumble and the acquainted click on of a key for a silent and at all times prepared pc on wheels. For now, my brief loop across the golf course leaves me with a way of a automobile that’s immensely polished and aesthetically assured even when I’m nonetheless in search of a button to inform it when it’s time to sleep.

Be aware to VinFast Philippines: I’m ready for an precise take a look at drive.