Tabla de contenidos para February 2020 en Leisure Wheels

MOST of the global trend-spotters in the automotive industry are not living in real South Africa, the challenges here are unique and the solutions South Africans need are just as special. Internationally, experts forecast the imminent rise of electric and self-driving vehicles. The Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron and electric Golf are set to arrive this year but I don’t expect them to blow out the lights initially. There is still work to be done on the charging network and we need Government to come to the party by reducing the high tariffs levied on imported EVs. Tesla promised to launch locally in 2019 and still hasn’t arrived; and 2020 seems unlikely unless these high tariffs decrease. The forecasters also tend to herald high-end, high-tech, high-priced vehicles which will gain little…

Kaokoland: a place where you can set up camp in a dry riverbed, knowing that tomorrow morning, when you wake up, all your belongings will still be there. There is no need to lock up everything as you go to bed. Unfortunately, it seems, things have changed. Recently I was travelling with a group of Voetspore Safari guests in Kaokoland. This is an epic 4×4 journey, jampacked with highlights. There is the Kunene River, the Epupa Falls, the iconic Van Zyl’s Pass, the Marienfluss, Rooi Drom, the dry riverbeds of the Huarusib and the Huanib with its desert elephants and other wildlife… this is, for many, the ultimate 4×4 excursion. Kaokoland is not for the fainthearted; definitely not for the novice, unguided. This is the reason we accompany groups of…

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“WHY are you driving a normal car?”, asked my wife as soon as she spotted the X2 M35i parked in the driveway. Being used to large SUVs, bakkies and crossovers, spotting a regularly sized car in the driveway can be somewhat unnerving. To be fair, she had a point. The X2 is the crossover coupé version of the BMW 1 Series. But in order to ensure it’s as dynamic as possible, the X2’s suspension had to be lowered… For all intents and purposes, this is a hot hatch. For the first time in a while, we never even bothered finding out what it was like on a gravel road, fearful that even the tiniest bump might remove that attractive front bumper. With an intro like that, you might be thinking…

The Hummer legend remains and for the last few years, František Janeš has developed the over-sized, yet very capable, ethos to create something rather special. His monstrous Bureko 6×6, built in the Czech Republic, is not merely a stretched Jeep with an extra axle, it is the most ostentatious 4×4 you can ever hope to sit in. But as Robb Pritchard found out, it’s also a seriously capable off-roader. We visited František a few years ago where in his workshop near České Budějovice about 100km south of Prague, his initial realisation of Hummer’s never produced HX1 concept was developed into the earlier Text and photographs: Robb Pritchard Land Rover Discovery-based version. That was a stunning build but, for the new model, everything was taken to the next level. Land Rovers…

OUR Forester has gone back to Subaru, leaving a huge mid-size SUV gap in our lives. What can we say after spending three months in its company? It’s safe, luxurious, spacious and comfortable. It comes ridiculously close to being the answer to every single motoring question, which makes it a difficult car to write about. There’s no obvious fault that spoils the whole car and nothing fell off on the inside, even though it was regularly put through its paces on gravel. There were a few niggles, however. The electric boot is extremely sensitive. If it spies an ant in close proximity to the boot, it will abort its opening mission. Great if you have small kids, but not so great when it’s bucketing down outside and you just want…

THERE’S a brilliant documentary by Werner Herzog, called Encounters at the End of the World. This beautifully filmed expedition essentially explores not only Antarctica, but also the people who live and work there. They’re a fascinating bunch of personalities, as you can imagine. Herzog illustrates this perfectly within five minutes by interviewing the driver of the only bus on Antarctica. This bus transports new arrivals from the airport (an icy runway) to the research station. The bus resembles a bus as we know it but rides on a series of large, floaty tyres. The kind of tyres required to traverse this harsh landscape. The man behind the wheel is more interesting, however. He left an impressive high-ranking job in New York to drive a bus in Antarctica. When asked why,…

Audi has finally taken the wraps off the all-new RS Q8 which is equipped with a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 petrol engine that develops 440kW and 800Nm of torque. Audi claims it will sprint to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and on to an electronically limited top-speed of 250km/h. It’s bound to sound good as well, as it comes standard with an RS sport exhaust system with black tailpipe trims. As is typical for an Audi RS, the dual exhaust system features a large oval tailpipe on each side. The driver can change the engine’s sound via the Audi drive select system. The biturbo V8 in the new RS Q8 draws on a mild hybrid system that uses a 48-volt main electrical system as its basis. The core of the MHEV is…

Racelogic, the manufacturer of the acclaimed VBOX range of satellite-linked (GNSS) dataloggers, has introduced two new products and they couldn’t be more different. On the one hand, its VBOX Touch can now supply real-time ‘live’ tyre temperature to serious racers and vehicle test engineers, enabling them to get an even better understanding of suspension geometry and brake performance. The tyre temperature monitoring app displays the surface temperature of up to four tyres in real-time on the Touch’s responsive colour display with live and maximum temperature values. It is used in conjunction with the VBOX tyre temperature monitoring sensors, which 'see' the surface of each tyre. At the other extreme, Racelogic’s engineers have made it possible for racers and (serious) gamers alike to have an even more realistic experience when using…

GERRIT, the owner of the Cederberg Oasis, a proverbial oasis set next to the Matjies River, sneaked a peek at our steed through the window. The new Hyundai Venue was the only car in the lot. “Is it a front-wheel-drive car?” We confirmed that the crossover is indeed only front-wheel driven. Gerrit paused for a moment, then answered: “Then I wouldn’t advise you take the road to Wupperthal. It’s more suited to higher clearance vehicles, like bakkies and 4×4s.” It was late in the afternoon and we still had some way to go to Wupperthal. If the road did turn out to be the boss of the Hyundai, as Gerrit expected it would, we were certainly not keen on attempting to extract ourselves from a mountain, in the dead of…

HEADING to an isolated Bo-Karoo town on a weekend won’t appeal to everyone, but it certainly gets the motor running. Especially a town like Williston, where on a warm summer night the air is pregnant with the damp green scent of pepper trees and where the Victorian architecture still stands proud. The laidback manner of its population also harks back to a more unhurried era, making it a place that attracts refugees from our stress-laden cities. I recalled this while talking to evergreen artistic couple, Pieter and Elmari Naude, who moved to Williston from Port Elizabeth in 2004 and created the landmark Williston Mall, an eclectic establishment offering fun activities, theatre performances , themed events, art, food, drink, accommodation and barrels of nostalgia. After Elmari was robbed at her place…

THE Evoque is the proverbial baby in the Range Rover line-up and, unfortunately, many did not view it as a real Range Rover. It has now been updated with all the technology needed to bolster its off -road pedigree while the interior has been treated to the latest technology a driver could want and need in an SUV. WHAT HAS CHANGED? The introduction of super-slim Matrix LED headlamps provides a more sophisticated front and rear lamp graphic. Flush door handles add to the smooth, sculpted aesthetic while sweeping directional indicators create a purposeful signature. The biggest changes, however, are to the interior, with Evoque introducing new levels of refinement and luxury to the cabin. The unbroken horizontal architecture emphasises a feeling of width and space that, alongside a more steeply…

DRIVING our custom Renault Duster sure is a lot more interesting since its transformation. Not that there was ever anything wrong with the stock Duster – it’s just that it now stands out in a crowd, drawing a lot of attention. And its driving dynamics have also changed quite a bit. When the heavens opened at the beginning of December in Gauteng and it rained unrelentingly for a week, we found that, in extremely slippery conditions, the Renault’s ‘4WD Auto’ setting provided a more secure level of grip than the default 2WD (front-wheel drive) mode. The chunky BFGoodrich KO2 all-terrain tyres are great on gravel, on rocks and in mud but they are not particularly at home on a slippery tar road. Also, a momentary lapse of good judgement saw…

LAST month we took a closer look at autonomous vehicles and how close they are to being production-ready. While there are different thoughts on when that might be, fallback performance means it is probably still some way off. In case you missed that definition, it basically boils down to who or what is to blame in case of an accident. The result of that is various levels of autonomy, mostly defined by how much driver input is needed. The ultimate goal is Level Five, in which there is no driver and only passengers. And though you may have read about experiments taking place across the globe, none of those cars are running about without a driver behind the wheel. STRONG AND WEAK It seems even the scientists in charge of…

SHARED ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE Wimpie Jordaan: Reality check: because it sells the most, doesn’t mean it’s the best. Jaco du Toit: 1st Amarok V6. 2nd Amarok 2L. And then the rest! John van Niekerk: Toyota is the best you can get. Quintin Robinson: Best 4×4 will be the Land Cruiser. It’s built for that purpose only. It’s between Amarok and Navara for the all-round winner. Paul Stan Ford: The Ranger Raptor is a beast. Jonathan Bydendyk: The worst design I’ve ever seen. Even beats out the Toyota FJ, Nissan Duke and Fiat Multipla. Johan Kriek: Well, its design is fresh, different, unique and simple! Range anxiety applies though… Nelius Car Man: What? Really? I will rather have a Rivian at three times that price than be seen in this….…

Where does the love of motorcycles come from? As a child I never had a serious desire to own or ride a bike. Nobody in my family had one and even though I had a scooter in high school, it was purely for the comfort of getting to all my extracurricular activities without bogging down my mother for a lift. At 27 I moved back to Johannesburg after working in Secunda for four years. I was bored, I didn’t have many friends and I figured I needed a hobby. Biking came to mind, it seemed like a good idea. What motorcycle do you ride? I’ve had some epic bikes in my life. Probably the most famous was a KTM950. His name was Tonto and he was pink. I still have…

Sometimes even the most ruthless and dogmatic approach to travelling light seems pointless: the car earmarked for the trip inevitably ends up being too small for what needs to be packed for the family’s annual jaunt to the seaside, the bushveld or the mountains. The solution, of course, is not to buy a larger car. Rather buy a Thule luggage box. Sales stats show a steady shift to B-segment SUVs and the supermini hatchbacks which almost inevitably donate underpinnings to their lankier siblings. The gene pool is generally a common one, so, despite the added height, luggage volume is similar, especially when comparing the standard dimension; that is, without seats folded. A quick whip around various manufacturer websites suggests luggage volume of around 350 litres for these classes – in…

IT’S no secret that I enjoy a gravel road, so much so that my favourite bicycle is one designed specifically for gravel road riding. If I have the option to choose gravel or tar, no matter my choice of wheels, I’ll choose gravel every time. Gravel roads are usually much quieter and can take you to some special places. They also force you to drive slower and take in your surroundings; nothing beats rolling through the countryside with the window down and the wind on your face. So when Ford invited us to attempt to drive from Johannesburg to Cape Town via gravel roads only, we jumped at the opportunity. ANYTHING BUT THE N1 Generally speaking, the journey between Johannesburg and Cape Town is one of those trips that many…

One of the owners, Marius, welcomed us at this piece of heaven on Earth. He made my family and friends feel at home at once. As reward for another successful school year, we were given the opportunity to enjoy the personal attention Molenrivierplaas offers. The campsite offers nine evergreen spots, each with its own power point and portable braai. Firewood is also available. Since there are only nine camping spots, Molenrivierplaas is perfect for group bookings, like when a family or a large group of friends want to spend some time alone in privacy. When you drive to the front gates, there’s little to suggest you’re about to enter such a serene area. After a quick photo, we headed for our spot. It had a lovely view of the dam…

EARLIER this year, Netflix launched a new show called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. If you missed it, lucky you. For those of you who were unwittingly dragged into Marie’s minimalist approach to living, I feel your pain. Marie’s cleanup process consists of two easy steps: you pick up every single thing you own and decide whether or not it sparks joy. If it does, you put it on the keep pile but if it doesn’t, you have to thank said item for its years of service before you chuck it on the donation heap. My wife fell hard for the Marie Kondo hustle. She always had a minimalist approach to decorating before, but now she’s constantly on the prowl for things that no longer spark joy. I’ve had to…

VOLKSWAGEN SA RECOGNISED AS TOP EMPLOYER IN recognition of its commitment to its employees, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) has again qualified as one of the Top Employers in South Africa. This is the ninth consecutive year that VWSA has received this accolade, which is an internationally recognised certification from the Top Employers Institute. The institute recognises leading employers around the world that provide excellent employee conditions, nurture talent throughout the organisation and strive to continuously improve their employment practices. The Top Employers Institute assessed VWSA’s employee offerings based on criteria including talent strategy, workforce planning, learning and development, performance management, compensation and benefits, and company culture. The assessment process consists of an intensive survey of the company’s people practices and an independent audit, in order to achieve certification. “For…