THE HAIMA M3 successfully conquered the 2014 tough BMW Owners Society of Saferiders (BOSS) IronMan Challenge IX last January 10 to 11, enduring with utmost class the 24-hour, 1,200 kilometer route that snaked through Northern Luzon.

The first China brand car among a pool of 20 autos to participate and successfully finish the Ironman Challenge, the Haima M3 officially kicked off the endurance test of man and machine, being the lead vehicle to be flagged off at exactly 10:00 pm, Philippine Standard Time of January 10, 2014.

Wrote C! Magazine Wheel2Wheel editor Maynard Marcelo on the Haima M3: “Fast and fuel efficient, only 2 fuel stops during entire 1,200 kilometers run (excluding first full tank) were made. Cold air-conditioning during entire run, automatic climate control worked flawlessly even during mid-day heat and nothing broke despite negotiating extremely rough roads and very aggressive driving.”

Marcelo, who was on the wheel of the Haima M3 with navigator Binggoy Berenguer during the challenge, furthered that they finished the 1,200 kilometers North Luzon loop route in 19 hours and 25 minutes, arriving in Hotel Stotsenberg in Clark at exactly 5:25pm on January 11. “It would’ve been shorter if not for the traffic in La Union and Pangasinan. We surmise 17 hours or even less is possible.”

“Finishing the BOSS Ironman Challenge IX successfully is enough testament to the Haima M3’s durability and reliability. The abuse we subjected it to during the BOSS Ironman is probably equivalent to four to five years of normal car driving,” he said.

Marcelo noted of the Haima M3’s other outstanding features during the run, like comfortable seats even after more than 19 hours of continuous driving, smooth transmission performance and nicely spaced gear ratios, light clutch action, very effective headlights and fog lights, and good suspension, damping and cornering control, with very little body roll.

“The M3 has a communicative steering response, superb high speed stability, superb engine temperature control that the temperature gauge didn’t budge the whole time even after high speed runs reaching 170 km/h with minimum effort,” said Marcelo.

He also pointed to the Haima M3’s effective anti-lock braking system which kept him out of trouble several times, experiencing no brake fading even with repeated stops from high-speed. “The OEM tires provide descent grip on dry or wet roads and produce low road noise, plus the M3 has smooth engine performance with nice sounding induction roar near red-line.”

“My navigator Binggoy Berenguer and I are very impressed with the Haima M3’s overall performance,” concluded Marcelo.