Driving Auntie Julie: A morning ride with Macoy Dubs and the MG HS Trophy

A multi-perosnality drive with the MG HS Trophy

Sometimes it’s nice to just drive along and quietly enjoy the road, the view and the car. In this case, the road was the Skyway 3, the view was the Makati skyline, and the car was the new MG HS Trophy finished in striking shade of Brighton Blue.

Just then, the person in the passenger seat spoke, breaking the silence of the morning.

“Vince you drive very very well. You always stay within the lines oh.”

It was the voice of Lisa Isabela Buenaventura, or Lisa B. Actually, it’s Mark Averilla, though you may know him as Macoy Dubs.

He runs one of the biggest and funniest channels on various social media platforms. His antics, his various personas, and his ability to turn something so normal (like figuring out an email sign-off and its implications) are uncannily funny. There’s real talent to his comedy, something which I do not possess. Unless you like knock-knock jokes.

Macoy is riding shotgun, observing how I drive and how the MG looks and feels. The style really is a winner. The HS Trophy seems to just stand out, coaxing you to come closer and take a look for yourself. The details, the lines, and the proportions truly stand out. And then the interior just captivates with the European feel and quality.

And then you drive it. Without a doubt, this is a stylish crossover inside and out, and its built atop a platform that uses a modern and efficient 1.5-liter turbo. 169 PS is plenty for a vehicle of this size, and the HS Trophy lunges forward with gusto thanks to a quick kick down by the 7-speed dual clutch that MG calls TST.

The silence of the MG’s tires and the smoothness of the fully independent suspension allowed us to share conversations about Japanese culture, the road, and our professional careers. Macoy started out in sales; a career path he doesn’t miss. At one point, he was working abroad; again, another thing he doesn’t miss. And then he started doing video shorts on social media, for which he gained acclaim. But perhaps the most surprising is Macoy teaches acting. Maybe I could take a few lessons from him.

While Macoy does play all kinds of funny personas online like Lisa B and Auntie Julie, he is a true car enthusiast. He is a Formula One fan, but also someone who understands car maintenance, and the headaches that come along with maintaining older, out-of-warranty cars. The great thing about the MG is that the warranty is its 5-year warranty, 2 years longer than many of the cars we’ve become used to in the industry.

I ask him why not try car reviews like what I do, and he says he doesn’t have the credibility for that. I beg to disagree, since he seems to know his stuff.  Maybe someday I’ll ask him to review a car for us, if he wants to.

Or if Auntie Julie wants to. Or if Lisa B wants to. That’ll be fun.