Filipinos love road adventures. That’s the reason why we often travel a lot with our family and friends especially on a long weekend holidays. Now for every journey, there’s also a good stories behind it. Columbian Autocar Corporation (CAC), the exclusive distributor of Kia vehicles in the country, help us listed top 3 great outdoor destinations in the Philippines that best to drive using their latest SUV—the Kia Sportage.

1.) Exploring Caliraya Lake. Caliraya Lake in Laguna is a man-made lake three hours that is surrounded by the municipalities of Lumban, Cavinti and Kalayaan. It serves as an ideal location for different outdoor activities like camping and water sports. Resorts around the lake offer kayaking, wind-surfing, jet skiing and sport fishing. All these water activities is matched with the Sportage standard Multi Point Injection (MPI) 2.0-liter gas powered. The Sportage has plenty power of capacity to carry all the stuff that you will want to bring for a trip to the lake, including water sports equipment and camping gear. How about your stuff? Well, this compact SUV has a flexible cargo configuration which enables the rear seats to fold down flat in a 60:40 split to give you almost 1,500 liters of space, making sure that you’re prepared for a night or two of outdoor fun.

2.) Revving it to Rizal. The Sportage GT-Line’s turbocharged Common Rail Direct Injection (CRDI) 2.0-liter diesel engine surely shine on the uphill drive to Masungi Georeserve. The usual route takes a satisfying and scenic trip along the Marikina-Infanta highway, snaking through the Sierra Madre mountain range, gaining over a thousand meters of elevation along wide roads with sweeping corners. The reserve offers several outdoor recreation options for visitors to enjoy. A trail that goes through the park features the region’s signature limestone formations, which have been made more accessible for casual outdoor enthusiasts thanks to their unique, web-like walkways.

The roads leading to the venue serve as the perfect showcase the power and excellent handling capabilities of the Sportage. Engaging Sport Mode and rifling through the gears of the six-speed transmission using the paddle-shifters on the twisting and winding roads to Rizal will certainly put a smile on your face.

3.) A Luxurious Ride to La Mesa. The La Mesa Watershed may be in nearby Quezon City but that also means dealing with the city traffic. No need to worry about that while you enjoy the cool A/C and the comfortable and spacious interior of the Kia Sportage. La Mesa Eco Park and Nature Reserve is a little-known refuge in the heart of Quezon City. A bike path running through the park features light off-road sections that make it also open to trail-runners. With picnic areas for relaxing and archery or zipline facilities for the adrenaline junkie, the park has something a Sportage rider could ever want in a day trip.

On the way there, enjoy tunes with the top-notch infotainment system that is paired to steering wheel mounted controls, or let in more of the outdoors from the comfort of the Sportage thanks to its panoramic sunroof. Passengers could even manage to get in their pre-workout stretches thanks to the generous headroom and legroom so they can arrive at the parked loose and ready to go.

With the abundance of outdoor activities that are popping up in the vicinity of the Metro, it’s easy to find something you’ll enjoy and the Kia Sportage is more than capable to take you there, and has a power to surprised you!