Top 6 best cars for shopping trips below PHP 1,000,000

During this Christmas season, people will undoubtedly be out shopping. Be it for gifts themselves, for their numerous godchildren, their relatives, or in preparation for the most-awaited Christmas eve dinner otherwise called Noche Buena.

It can be a daunting experience especially if you don’t have a car seeing that the traffic situation in the country isn’t improving any time soon. Of course, looking for a TNVS to carry yourself and all your loot can become quite a drain on your wallet nowadays. As such, here’s a list of great vehicles priced below PHP1,000,000 that's ideal for shopping no matter how much you’re buying. It's time to take a look at the list with Philkotse.com.

1. Toyota Vios 1.3 J MT - ₱688,000

Before anything else, let us first say that right off that bat, the Toyota Vios, including the current 2020 version, is a workhorse. It’s reliable, it’s affordable, and most of all, it's practical

While it’s not the largest vehicle in this list, the Vios 1.3 J has a maximum trunk capacity of 326 liters. Also, you can fit in around five occupants (including the driver) and keep them safe with the 2020 Vios J’s ABS with EB and stability control. The front cabin also gets a knee airbag apart from the standard dual front airbags.

For larger gifts and if you plan on taking several people with your shopping, there are better vehicles out there priced below PHP1,000,000. Let’s move on.

>>> Let's take a look at Toyota Vios Philippines Reviews.

Simple yet reliable. There's a reason as to why we see this car on the road 8 times out of 10

>>> Check out for other Toyota Vios variants prices.

2. Toyota Avanza 1.3 E MT - ₱864,000

While the Vios is a hardworking sub-compact workhorse, the Avanza 1.3 E is a larger vehicle that has more space. It can fit up to seven people and has greater maximum cargo when you fold down the seats. And due to how the interior is laid out, you can even fit in a five-foot-tall Christmas tree or a surfboard.

The Avana 1.3 E’s entertainment features are also useful for keeping your passengers entertained and comfortable. It comes with dual manual air-conditioning, a 6.8-inch touchscreen display with smartphone mirroring, and four speakers.

Under the hood, the Avanza E comes with a 1.3 liter inline-4 called the 1NR-VE. It takes around 96 horsepower and 121 Nm of torque which is decent enough for crawling through traffic. In short, this Toyota Avanza virtually the same engine found on the Toyota Vios 1.3 J.

The Avanza. The Innova's little scrappy but tough little brother. The ideal mall warrior

>>> Read more about the car in our Toyota Avanza reviews.

>>> Click here to have a proper look at other Toyota Avanza variants price.

But what if you’re buying a fridge you ask? Well then…let’s talk about trucks.

3. Toyota Hilux 2.4 J DSL 4x2 MT - ₱939,000

While it’s a bit pricey and a bit pushing it with the PHP 1,000,000 limit, the Toyota Hilux 2.4 J has something that many of the cars on this list doesn’t have; a cargo bed. As such, this most affordable variant of the venerable and most certainly durable Toyota Hilux can fit in things like your new refrigerator or your new oven. And yes, the humble Hilux J base model can take on significant loads like filling the bed with sacks of rice for your planned barangay wide Noche Buena.

What it doesn’t have however is the seating capacity of the Avanza as it can only fit in five people. Regardless though, what occupants it can fit inside are comfortable despite its meager features. It comes with a simple but competent 2DIN audio system, a manual air-conditioning system, dual front air-bags and one for the driver’s knees, and an anti-lock braking system.

It's on the down-low but it can handle cargo. Hey, that rhymes

And yes, even the low set Hilux J can handle rough roads due to its robust rear leaf-spring suspension. It also has the power to do so WHILE fully loaded with cargo due to its reasonably powerful 2GD-FTV diesel engine that can make around 147 horsepower at 3,400 RPM and 343 Nm at a low 1,400 RPM.

>>> Read more for Toyota Hilux reviews.

>>> Refer to our Toyota Hilux Philippines price list with each variant's installment costs.

It’s too expensive? Well then, this next car’s for you. You miser.

>>> Time for shopping: 6 reasons why Christmas is the best time to buy cars.

4. Suzuki APV 1.6 GA MT - ₱588,000

While the Suzuki APV 1.5 GA MT is a bit smaller than the Avanza, it can fit in a whopping eight people. That, of course, is it the largest advantage as its ideal for the cost-cutting father of six who needs to haul them to SM Megamall to buy school supplies for next year when the Christmas sales come kicking in.

If you’re saying that the Suzuki APV is a tad slim on the interior features, then you’d be right because you get what you pay for in this case. The engine under the hood, however, is a really reliable and economical inline-4 that can make 91 horsepower and 127 nm of torque.

It can’t go off-road, it can’t go fast, but it's sure will get you to where you need to go with the least amount of gasoline as possible. Why did we say that? Whether it is worth being bought? You might want to find out in our Suzuki APV 2018 review.

Nothing looks as Christmasy than a loaf of bread on wheels. It's a very practical vehicle though

And yes, in connection with the Christmas shopping theme, the APV has a decent cargo space too but then you’ll have to leave a few of your kids at home to fit in the goods.

>>> Click here to read the Suzuki APV price with more variants.

5. Suzuki Ertiga 1.5L GL A/T - ₱888,000

Walking around to do your shopping through is tiring on the legs and we all know manuals…those can be a pain to drive on EDSA especially with the heavy Christmas traffic. So if you’ve got a few clams holed up away somewhere then we suggest getting the cheapest automatic Suzuki Ertiga. It can make more power than the APV at 103 horsepower and it, of course, has more torque at 138 Nm. While it uses a more powerful inline-4, the Ertiga is still a very economical car to drive at 10 km/l on city drives.

The Ertiga GL AT however can fit one less person than the APV but its interior does have a lot more to offer. It has an eight-inch multimedia screen, ABS with EBD, and a rear-view camera. And we all know malls nowadays; parking can be tight. So that rear-view camera is quite useful for your Christmas shopping run.

>>> What's special about the car? Refer to our Suzuki Ertiga reviews.

The Ertiga is stylish despite its simplicity and reasonably affordable price. We'll give it that

>>> Visit our Suzuki Ertiga Philippines price to update the latest changes in each variant's price.

6. Suzuki Celerio CVT - ₱598,000

And lastly, this is for the small family, or the lone-wolf single man/woman out there; a cheap, very fuel-efficient hatchback called the Suzuki Celerio. It’s a no non-sense vehicle with a simple but durable interior, and an even simpler cheap to run and maintain the engine.

Yes, it small but it does have a 254-liter trunk that can be expanded a bit by folding the rear seats. That’s great for pets as well as lugging around your elongated gifts whatever those are.

As we’ve said, the interior is basic but comfortable enough and it can fit in (small) five people too. Under the hood, it has a 1.0-liter engine that can make 67 horsepower and 90 nm of torque. With the CVT, you and your wallet can relax as it can return up to 29 km/l. More gifts for yourself yeah?

>>> For a better look, let's refer to our Suzuki Celerio reviews.

The Celerio. The perfect car for the young couple, small family, and the forever alone guy

>>> Check out for the detailed Suzuki Celerio variants' prices.

Do you agree with our list of mall warrior vehicles? If you don’t then do feel free to comment on our Facebook page. Also, if you fancy one of these cars, check out our cars for sale section which lists both new and used units.