Tabla de contenidos para November 2018 en Leisure Wheels

THIS year Leisure Wheels celebrates its 20th birthday. It all started in 1998 with the all-new Mercedes-Benz ML, a vision that the sports utility vehicle (SUV) market was about to bloom, and a passion for travel and adventure. Today, the magazine is still managing to hold its own, growing on all fronts. There has been a marked shift away from normal passenger vehicles to crossovers, SUVs and double cab bakkies, which is a good thing for a niche magazine like ours, of course. It’s certainly a vision realised. This milestone offered an opportunity to reminisce about how media has changed so dramatically over the last two decades. Back in the late ’90s, digital cameras were still a pipedream, and the few that were around cost an arm and a leg.…

To catch a tiger in Africa is something special. I am obviously not referring to panthera tigres, largest of the cat species; they are only to be found in Asia. I refer to the fish, belonging to the family alestidae. To do so may be difficult and expensive, especially if you hunt for the big ones. Recently, Streicher and I made a trip up the Zambezi to look for a couple of decent size tigers. It became a costly affair. When I speak of an expensive journey, I do not imply anything about the lodge and guide fees. Those fees, we knew, were going to be in dollars (US, not Namibian or Zim) and we knew what we were in for before we set off. The problem was that the…

When it comes to building epic cars, Porsche is currently one of the best in the business. It doesn’t make a single sub-standard vehicle. The latest addition to Porsche’s stable is the new Cayenne and let’s not beat around the bush, it’s magnificent. It’s the best interpretation of a sporty SUV on sale in South Africa at the moment, which is another big statement but allow us to justify why we made it. The Cayenne wears one of the most coveted badges in the business so you’d expect it to be priced way above its direct rivals, right? In a rather awkward move (for its rivals), the Cayenne is reasonably priced and, in many cases, actually cheaper than cars from arguably less prestigious brands. An entry-level Cayenne costs around R1.1…

Mercedes-Benz chose the Paris Motor Show to unveil the most important SUV in its line-up, the GLE. Now in its fourth generation, the GLE features a host of technical innovations and a new exterior that exudes power and elegance. The big news is the all-new E-Active Body Control, which is a world-first in this particular segment. It’s basically a fully networked hydropneumatic, active suspension on a 48-volt system that works in combination with the newly developed air suspension. This allows the spring and damping forces to be individually controlled at each wheel, which means greater body control. Mercedes’ 4Matic allwheel- drive system will be available across the range, including six and eight cylinder models, as well as an upcoming plug-in hybrid. On this new 4Matic system, the torque can be…

Land Rover’s Explore outdoor phone is now available in South Africa. esigned by Bullitt Group, one of Britain’s fastestgrowing tech companies, the new phone combines a camera, a phone and GPS unit. It’s a navigation device for the outdoorsman who would otherwise have to lug several devices up mountains and across lakes. One device means fewer items to carry, fewer items to keep safe, fewer items to charge. The phone is a product of extensive research in which explorers and adventurers were asked what they want in a device. There number one concern? Battery life. Typically, a phone’s battery suffers when it is pushed to the extremes, be that altitude or temperature. The Explore brings not only a huge battery, but also an Adventure Pack: a GPS unit that clicks…

SUZUKI made it extremely difficult to not love the previous generation Jimny. It was cute, affordable and it remained the perennial thorn in the side of much larger, more expensive 4×4s right up to the end of its life. It was only the lack of locking differentials that could potentially stop the 4× 4 progress of a Jimny, if wheels lost contact with terra firma. With a Jimnyexperienced driver behind the wheel, though, it was just about unstoppable. But it was far from perfect. After a 10- hour trip to Himeville from Johannesburg in a modified Jimny that would only exceed 110km/h if we revved the 1.3-litre engine to smithereens, we were hardly optimistic about driving it any further. Then we had a great time driving that same Zook up…

OUR road trip from Cape Town, for all intents and purposes, started in Matjiesfontein. Blink, and we could have missed it. Located just off the N1 highway which runs from Cape Town to Johannesburg, Matjiesfontein is hardly off the main drag but somehow time in this little hamlet seems to have come to a screeching halt. The town was started and developed by one ambitious man in 1884, bought by another in 1975, and is now run by a trust that ensures it maintains its original Karoo country charm. The 400 or so residents dedicate their lives to one street, which is home to the iconic Lord Milner Hotel, the old Post Office (that is now a gift shop), two museums, a coffee shop and a pub. Feeling decidedly like…

IT’S fair to say that we’ve spent a lot of time behind the wheel of the X-Class bakkie but never on our own terms. We can tell you what it was like on South American roads and what it was like driving it on a mountain pass near George, but until now, we haven’t used the X-Class the way most people will use it. Any decent bakkie should be able to carry two kids to school, do the weekly grocery run, commute between work and home and spend weekends ferrying the entire family to an agreeable location for a picnic or something similar. Over the last two months, we couldn’t help but feel that we might have been too harsh on the X-Class in our initial assessment. Some unkind things…

As it turns out, there are quite a few. And almost all of them are completely ridiculous, yet extremely fun to read about and/or watch on YouTube. A lot of effort goes into planning these efforts, with the prime example being Jaguar. It seems these days Jag can’t launch a car without breaking some sort of record first, and we applaud this marketing strategy. It’s certainly more entertaining than the average motor show unveiling. Having said that, there are some seriously dodgy records out there. Someone actually holds the record for bouncing a ping pong ball off his windscreen for one minute, while another lady in the USA holds the record for asking the most questions during a drivethrough order. In case you were wondering about the latter, the answer…

If you live in Johannesburg or Pretoria, the solution is simple. The Rust de Winter Bundu 4×4 Trail is situated halfway between Pretoria and Bela Bela, which means it’s easily within reach for a weekend excursion. It’s 80km and takes two full days to complete and, while it’s a bit tricky in places, it’s also incredibly beautiful. Within the first kilometre you’ll feel as though you’ve been dropped in a remote location in the middle of Africa. There are two ways you can go about this route. The first is a more intimate scenario, with just you and your family tagging along, the second with a group of likeminded individuals. The route requires that you know your vehicle extremely well, so if you’re taking a group of friends along, just…

It’s been a while since the current Jeep Cherokee was introduced, featuring those love-’em-or-hate-’em headlights. We were in the love them camp but it seems most of South Africa wasn't. Hopefully the Cherokee does better for itself when it arrives locally featuring an all-new face. The overall shape remains but those slim headlights of old have been fattened up significantly. From the rear it looks more or less the same, with the tail lights receiving a slight LE D overhaul. On the international front, the Cherokee is available with four engines and a choice of three all-wheel-drive systems. Every model features independent suspension front and rear. The interior on the prefacelift model was already a giant leap forward compared to Jeep interiors of old but with the facelift model, the…

We always knew the BMW X2 could handle a bit more power and now BMW has gone and proved it can by launching the X2 M35i. Oddly, the M35i is not powered by BMW’s famous turbocharged six-cylinder but rather the brand’s most powerful 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine ever. It delivers a maximum power output of 225kW, while maximum torque is 450Nm. To ensure that this sheer power is securely transferred to the tarmac, the X2 M35i comes as standard with intelligent four-wheel-drive technology xDrive in conjunction with the 8-speed Steptronic transmission including launch control. This allows for a 0--100km/h sprint time of 4.9 seconds. On the flipside, BMW claims it will only consume between 8.4 to 8.1l/100km. The X2 M35i is scheduled to arrive in South Africa in the first quarter…

Apparently, your smartphone’s touchscreen is absolutely covered in germs. Everything you touch, including the hands of other people, gets in contact with that screen, so it’s like a germ rave party on that surface. Enter Whoosh! Screen shine, a product specifically developed to clean the screen of your smartphone, tablet, laptop, keyboard, monitors, TVs, GPS systems and portable gaming consoles. The Whoosh! spray is available in various sizes, and you also get an antimicrobial microfibre cloth as part of the deal. More information: gammatek.co.za…

Noup. A tiny selfcatering outpost housed in former diamond divers’ huts, in the heart of the rugged, tough Diamond Coast of South Africa. It’s a place that time seemingly forgot, where the Atlantic Ocean beats up the tormented coast in a neverending cycle of mood swings. Some say wind is manufactured on the West Coast, from where it torments the rest of the world. They say that because, on some days, when that factory is testing out a new, highperformance derivative, the wind can turn into an intolerable menace, confining human beings to the safe innards of the Noup divers’ huts. This day was not one of those. There was only a slight breeze blowing from the ‘wind factory’ side. The sun was heading towards the horizon over the icy Atlantic,…

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SI6 We knew straight off the bat this model wouldn’t be frugal. It’s a large, luxury SUV with a supercharged V6 petrol engine, after all. The consumption figure verified our suspicions. Posting a figure of 13.07l/100km, it seems this particular engine has quite an appetite for 95 unleaded. Thing is, does fuel consumption even matter to the kind of customer who would be interested in this car? If you’ve got a million to spend on a luxury SUV, chances are you’re in the lucky position to not care when the fuel price escalates. Land Rover also equipped the Discovery with a decent-sized fuel tank, which means you can go quite a distance between refuels even though the car isn’t particularly frugal. If you are in the market…

Okay, so your phone spends so much time charging these days it’s basically a landline. We understand. We know the pain of watching your battery go from 85% to dead after taking three photos. And we know the mixed feelings of heading off into the wild – the real wild; where there’s no traffic, no distractions, no noise… and no electricity (and hence no way to charge a cellphone). That’s where powerbanks come in. These things used to be quite bulky but now – thanks to, you know, technology – they’re often no bigger than a small chocolate bar. And some of them pack a real punch, too. ADATA PT100 POWER BANK Powerful and easy to use, the Adata PT100 has two USB charging ports and features high-capacity 10 000mAh…

Ford Everest 3.2TDCi XLT 4WD AT A new jacket This month, our Ford Everest got to spend some quality time at the premises of a company called Wrap Vehicles. The process to transform a white Ford Everest 3.2TDCi 4×4 XLT into an eye-catching off-road machine started more than a month before the actual fitment of the high quality wrap. We shared some of our ideas with designer Tim Posthumus, and we supplied the sponsor logos. We had found a picture of a custom VW Beetle, featuring a cool finish so we added this to the think tank, too. Importantly though, this design was supposed to make people stop, look, and then look again. We left Tim to work his magic. He was quiet for a few weeks, busy creating this…

Mercedes Benz recently unveiled its first all-electric car and it’s an SUV. It goes by the name EQC 400 4Matic. The EQC 400 looks very much like an SUV but Mercedes says it’s also a pioneer for the kind of styling its electric vehicle range will eventually have. Think of BMW’s ‘i’ range and how those models are immediately identifiable as all being part of the same sub-genre. It is equipped with a 80kWh battery, which is good for around 300km. The recharge time is around 40 minutes from 10% to 80%. The EQC is equipped with two electric motors: one on the front axle and one on the rear. The total output is 300kW, which allows for a 0–100km/h sprint time of less than five seconds. No release date…

Audi finally took the wraps off its all-new electric SUV, called the e-tron. It seems the final product was worth the wait because it boasts an impressive line-up of figures. Two electric motors (one for each axle) drive the electric SUV with a system output of up to 300kW and 664Nm of torque. Peak torque is available within fractions of a second, enabling the e-tron to complete the standard sprint in 5.7 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to just over 200km/h. In most cases, the e-tron uses mainly its rear electric motor to achieve the highest efficiency. If the driver demands more power than it can supply, the electric all-wheel drive redistributes torque as required to the front axle. The e-tron comes with seven driving profiles which the driver…

Tired of items sliding around in the boot of your SUV when you go through corners on three wheels? Then the locally manufactured Booxe storage box is just the thing for you. The Booxe storage container is made from ABS hermoplastic polymer, with aluminium hinges, with a lightweight yet sturdy construction. It comes with anti-slip rubber pads to ensure it doesn’t slide about in the cargo area. It is designed to fit into the cargo area of any SUV, from compact to large. The recommended retail price is R1 695.…

Young Keeran Delport doesn’t yet have a driver’s licence. And he’s apparently not so keen on speed. But he’s the one who has drawn the short straw for the off-road go-kart challenge, at Saddle Creek Adventures, in Hekpoort. His older sister, Kirsty, who does have a licence and drives on a daily basis, sees an open door… and marches straight in. “Come on Keeran! You can go faster than that!” Like any good brother, Keeran ignores his sister, and gets cracking at his own pace. It takes him about half a lap to get familiar with the kart, then he adds some speed, much to the Delport family’s delight. You see, Keeran had to complete a set number of laps of the off-road track in a limited time… if he…

THE new Sante Fe’s styling is, without a doubt, successful. Each Hyundai range will now receive individualistic styling instead of the ‘family’ look. Most noticeable is a subtle but strong crease line that runs without wavering from the headlamps to the tail lamps. The headlamps have a bold, new design that positions the daytime LED lights above and the dual projector headlamps below in their own recessed pods resembling airdams. The rear treatment is neat with narrow lenses that curve around the rear flanks. Wheel arches have a Gandini style to them. As with so many next-generation model redesigns, the trend is always to go bigger. When the size reaches its inevitable limit, a new, smaller model range is released. And so it is with the new Sante Fe. It…

Fast bakkies are all the rage these days but they aren’t exactly a brand new concept. Back in the days when petrol was still considered cheap, almost every double cab line-up in South Africa came with a petrol option. These days, only the Hilux 4.0-litre V6 is left. Luckily, prices on older petrol models have dropped significantly, so much so that you might argue that they’re worth investing in even though they get through a tank of petrol faster than Eskom goes through its public funding. While these bakkies might not be able to keep up with one of the modern machines mentioned above on a gravel road, they’re certainly fast enough to give them a headache when you dice from robot to robot. While we’re at it, let’s not…

We like aftermarket modifications a lot, as do thousands of other enthusiasts out there. It’s a nice way to elevate your car’s abilities, in addition to adding your own personal touch. Some cars are just better suited to it, though. The Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Isuzu KB, Jeep Wrangler and Land Rover Defender are infinitely customisable, thanks to an entire market segment dedicated to offering new and unique toys that you can add to them. The X-Class just didn’t seem like that kind of car. It’s supposed to be the classy bakkie, after all. While the other bakkies play in the mud, it supposedly sat in the corner sipping on a 20-year-old whisky and puffing away on a Cuban cigar. Modifying the classiest bakkie just seemed… crude. Well, we’re happy…

Change gears and shift out of your comfort zone. One of these guided self-drive safaris could be that once-in-a-lifetime adventure you’ve always dreamt about. PONDOLAND (TRANSKEI WILD COAST) 20 – 28 OCTOBER 2018 Pondoland, on the Wild Coast, is one of the destinations so many people would like to visit, but know so little about, and do not want to try on their own. It is a land of wild cattle and wilder beauty, of waterfalls plunging directly into the Indian Ocean, of colonies of vultures nesting above undisturbed forest gorges, and a beautiful but rugged coastline which boasts some of the most spectacular scenery in Southern Africa. We’ll meet in Kokstad and, over the following eight days, travel via Msikaba, Mbotyi and Port St Johns to Coffee Bay and…

We’ve travelled to Europe numerous times over the last few months and couldn’t help but notice how impressive its electric vehicle infrastructure is. Over there, you can actually own and live with an electric vehicle day-to-day and on longer trips. The various European governments have done their best to enable manufacturers and third-party suppliers to make it as easy as possible by offering incentives, which eventually syphon down to the consumer. The lack of any infrastructure – apart from BMW and Nissan charging stations at selected dealerships – has been a major problem for electric vehicles in South Africa. Sales have been slow and for good reason. These cars do just fine on a commute between Johannesburg and Pretoria, but on longer trips they’re basically unusable. We always knew that…