Table of contents for July 2024 in CAR

Bridging the gap between the upcoming Cooper Hatch and all-new Countryman, the Mini Aceman is an all-electric compact crossover that replaces the niche, and slow-selling, Paceman and Clubman models that were put out to pasture a few years ago. Measuring 4 075 mm in length and with a 2 605 mm wheelbase, it offers seating for five and a luggage capacity of 300–1 500 litres. Styling highlights include Union Jack taillamp clusters and protective lower body cladding, while a choice of five trim levels will be offered, including a sporty John Cooper Works package. It will be offered with a choice of two electric powertrains. The entry-level Aceman E develops 135 kW/290 N.m and is powered by a 42.5 kWh lithium-ion battery that’s good for an operating range of 310…

The CAR and Leisure Wheels teams set course for the Tankwa Karoo for a timely reminder of the competency of the competitors in the local ladder-frame, adventure-focused SUV segment. THE CONTENDERS Isuzu mu-X 3.0TD Onyx 4x4 R970 300 Introduced in 2021, the second-generation mu-X is based on Isuzu’s third-generation D-Max bakkie. A spiritual successor to the tough-as-teak Frontier – like the double cab with which it shares its under-pinnings – the modern mu-X feels instantly familiar, thanks to its maker’s well-earned reputation for rugged reliability. At the heart of this brand’s legacy is the workmanlike performance of its 3.0-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel powertrain. Ford Everest 2.0 BiTurbo 4x4 XLT R974 800 Our reigning Top 12 Best Buys winner in this category, the current Everest continues to impress with its surefooted dynamics,…

Sutherland to Cape Town, via Maatjiesfontein and Worcester/342 km With the bulk of the principal photography and video-graphy checked off the list, it was a welcome leisurely start to the final day for the CAR team. Gear was slung into the backs of cars and following a brief stop for a parting shot of the convoy leaving town, we headed out of Sutherland towards Rogge Cloof farm and its star attraction: Salpeterkop. The opportunity to photograph the tectonically monikered Ranger Tremor with an extinct volcano was simply too good to pass up. Nestled deep within a private reserve, the eruption of this volcano some 66 million years ago was seen by many geologists as a sort of pressure release valve for what was once a volcanically active region that has…

HISTORY IN BRIEF Since bursting onto South Africa’s motorsport scene in 2009, the Simola Hillclimb has grown into what can only be described as one of the country’s premiere motorsport events. Racing up the 1.9 km hill set within Knysna’s picturesque Simola Estate, the annual event has attracted many competitors and participants from across the world. Moreover, the event is regarded as one of motorsport’s best hillclimbs – globally! While the Simola Hillclimb is presently in its best shape yet, it has been anything but a smooth run over the years. Between 2010 and 2012, Renault came onboard as the event’s initial title sponsor. Sadly, the French automaker’s late withdrawal meant the 2013 event was left in poor shape, resulting in its cancellation. Jaguar’s run as title sponsor from 2014…

10 684 km 7.26 L/100 km Some versatility (and even some light off-road fun) from the drivetrain modes Modest ground clearance means you have to be careful on rutted roads Perhaps inspired by our off-road exploits during this issue’s adventure SUV shootout, I found myself tackling some dirt roads in our Puma long-termer before its return to the FMCSA fleet next month. It may not possess AWD but the Puma’s five-mode drivetrain management system does incorporate Slippery and Trail modes that tailor parameters, such as throttle, transmission and traction control systems. I had not had a great deal of success driving the Puma’s fuel consumption down by regularly using the Eco setting and thought I’d give the Trail setting a go on some nearby dirt roads. Contrary to what you’d…

Technically, any system where drive is provided to all wheels is categorised as AWD. However, in SA, we typically refer to three types: part-time 4WD, full-time or permanent 4WD, and AWD. The latter usually applies to a vehicle that operates primarily in 2WD but automatically engages 4WD when the system detects conditions where it’s required. Complementing these different systems are features such as diff locks, viscous couplings and brake traction control; all of which play their own role in the systems’ function and performance. It is important that prospective owners carefully weigh the capabilities of these different drivetrain types against their requirements and expectations prior to making a purchase decision. Before explaining the workings of the different systems, including their benefits and shortcomings, it is important that the functions of…

Toyota Fortuner Considered by many as the quintessential adventure SUV, the Fortuner is about as strong a used buying proposition as you can get in this segment. We take you through the things to look out for and list two rivals for comparison. 7 seats, 96/416–472/1 464 L 6 airbags, ABS, EBD, ESC R17 436 April 2016 (2.8 GD-6 4x4 AT) 0–100 km/h: 12.02 seconds Top speed: 180 km/h Power: 130 kW Torque: 450 N.m Fuel consumption index: 10.20 L/100 km The first generation of the Hilux-based Fortuner SUV made its debut in 2006, after being announced in 2004. It rocked the market with its unique approach to leisure mobility, making the Fortuner an instant hit among buyers. Since then, it established itself as the segment leader and South Africa’s…

A year before the Mk1 Golf replaced the original Beetle as Volkswagen’s new ‘people’s car’ five decades ago, the firm’s chief press officer, Anton Konrad and test engineer, Alfons Löwenberg – both motorsport enthusiasts – devised the idea of a performance-focused version of the affordable and practical hatchback. However, with VW preoccupied with final development stages of the first-generation Golf, the proposed project of a ‘Sport Golf’ was met with little interest. Undeterred, Konrad and Löwenberg remained obsessed with this concept and, in 1974, met in secret with several VW staff members at Konrad’s home. Over some sandwiches and beers, they came up with the concept of a ‘sporty’ Golf. The group soon expanded to include, among others, technologist Hermann Hablitzel, suspension expert Herbert Schuster and Horst-Dieter Schwittlinsky, who was…

Email: car@habarimedia.com Mail: CAR, PO Box 180, Howard Place, 7450 OVER TO YOU… Please include your physical address and telephone number. Diverse ideas and opinions are welcome, but publication of your letter doesn’t necessarily mean we agree. Please stick to a maximum of 300 words. CAR reserves the right to edit and shorten letters owing to space constraints. R30 000 OR R220? YOU DECIDE! I have a 2018 Land Rover Discovery Sport. While I was reversing out of my garage at a very low speed, I clipped the left wing mirror on the garage door frame. The mirror came apart and I managed to reassemble it; however, one tiny part in the base of the mirror had its two embedded wires ripped out. I discovered, after some research, that this…

Cape Town to the Tankwa Tented Camp, via Worcester and Ceres/328 km Rain. It’s the last thing you want to see when there’s an SUV adventure to the Karoo on the cards, but that’s what the weather gods served up as a sodden entrée to our trip. As the drenched blanket of grey draped itself over Cape Town on the morning of our departure, the CAR garage was a hive of activity; readying tyre pressure gauges, hurriedly applying decals to the delayed Toyota Fortuner, and coordinating our first stop on the N1, where we’d collect our off-road caravan, and quietly praying our delayed departure would not see us thrown into the teeth of Cape Town’s notorious morning rush-hour traffic. Thankfully, the expected gridlock and chaos that usually accompanies the slightest…

Even vehicles as tough as the SUVs gathered for our Shootout need some backup, and there was some positive groundswell surrounding the rugged Ranger Tremor that served as our support vehicle. With the Ranger already proving itself a good all-round product, it was fitting that the Tremor, with its cool name and Raptor-inspired underpinnings, be put to the test in one of the harshest environments in South Africa: the Tankwa Karoo. Setting off from Cape Town, the Tremor was tasked with hauling the near-1 200 kg off-road caravan from AXL Outdoor in Brackenfell. Hooking the trailer was surprisingly easy, too. With Pro Trailer Backup Assist activated, we lined up the Tremor to the hook before letting the caravan down and onto the towbar. It seemed bizarrely straightforward, but such simplicity…

BENTLEY BENTAYGA S ETA: NOW *Claimed figures Price: from R5 960 000 Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8, petrol Transmission: 8-speed automatic Power: 404 kW @6 000 r/min Torque: 770 N.m @2 000–4 000 r/min *0–100 km/h: 4.5 seconds *Top speed: 290 km/h *Fuel consumption: 12.8 L/100 km *CO2 emissions: 296 g/100 km Levels of customisation; impressive dual personality Feeling its age compared to modern rivals Under the custodianship of the Volkswagen Group since 1998, the subsequent arrival of the first Continental GT in 2003 provided both the groundwork and the profits for Bentley to build on its legacy of producing proudly British, powerful yet effortlessly luxurious automobiles. On trend, this included the introduction of the Bentayga in 2015, the brand’s first SUV. Like the Porsche Cayenne with which it shares its VWAG MLB…

1 930 km 7.23 L/100 km Low-slung driving position; refinement Ingress into the low-slung driving position While I thoroughly enjoyed my time behind the wheel of the SUVs that accompanied the Shootout feature published in this issue, being reunited with my long-term Audi A3 after 800 km of raised ride height, all-terrain driving highlighted just how refined and comfortable this modern sedan package is – even if it can prove ungainly for some having to ‘fall’ into the car’s low seating position. From its impressive levels of on-road NVH suppression to a considered selection of materials and soft-touch surfaces featured throughout the cabin, the A3 feels instantly upmarket and assured as an ownership proposition. I have to confess I am a fan of this example’s model designation deletion. While I’m…

Tankwa Tented Camp to Sutherland via Ouberg Pass/238 km Tankwa at dawn is one of those rare places where you can seemingly sense the turning of the Earth. In a cocoon of unnerving, tinnitus-inducing silence, one by one, those stars that blazed across the sky at night begin to flicker out as the eastern sky is marked with slashes of crimson and yellow that only a desert awakening knows. On a road trip such as this, it’s a time of unlocking creaking bodies that have endured sporadic sleep in tents and rustic cabins, and the clatter of diesel engines and LED headlamps piercing the receding gloom. It is also a time when photographers urge their somnam-bulant colleagues to shake a leg before the harsh light of day burns away at…

Assembled at the viewpoint atop the demanding Ouberg Pass, and reflecting on the journey from a now-distant landmark on the horizon to this spectacular vantage point, it became clear that this trip couldn’t take on a traditional shootout format. From the Mahindra on a corrugated section of the route mimicking a mongoose frantically wrangling a snake, before calmly resuming normal duties as the road surface smoothed out, to the GWM crushing loose terrain in stealth mode, and the “been there, done that” Isuzu never looking ruffled, each of these products impressed while comfortably fulfilling the mandate of this segment: adventure. Layers of deep-set dust rinsed from our persons and the vehicles; a team recap of our time spent on this journey revealed the Mitsubishi to be the product most…

01 Mercedes-AMG C63 S E Performance 4Matic+ 9G-MCT Price: TBC 0–100 km/h: 3.37 seconds Power: 500 kW Torque: 1 020 N.m Top speed: 280 km/h CAR fuel index: 9.70 L/100 km CO2 : 156 g/km Blistering acceleration provides plentiful thrills, but the C63 no longer feels as charismatic as its ICE rivals Marius Boonzaier It’s all a bit higher grade, but the result is a magnificently quick C-Class that sports a pretty convincing dual personality Ian McLaren Three decades since the W202 C36 AMG broke cover, the history of the AMG-badged C-Class is notable. This first collaboration between the Three-pointed Star and tuning specialists Aufrecht Melcher Großaspach (AMG) paved the way for Mercedes-Benz to enter the conversation in response to products from BMW and Audi at the time (the E36…

1 733 km 8.1 L/100 km Supple ride quality; outward visibility; generous boot Lack of cruise control; engine noise under acceleration With my daily driving comprising around-the-corner trips to the local yoga studio and Bakoven beach, the long-term Elevate hadn’t clocked that many kilometres since its arrival at the CAR offices last month. However, having arrived back in Cape Town after a memorable SUV Shootout, I loaded up the Honda’s 340-litre boot and, at three o’clock the following morning, set off on a long-distance journey to visit a couple of friends in the Northern Cape. The destination: Calvinia. Apple CarPlay activated, Google Maps displayed the 420-plus kilometre route on the Elevate’s crisp, 8.0-inch infotainment screen, while tunes relayed through the six-speaker sound system. Sunrise was a few hours away and…

3 852 km 6.87 L/100 km Enough comfort for six passengers; extra large boot Motorway speeds noticeably dent the fuel economy As space in the CAR garage gets taken up with the influx of regular test cars – notwithstanding the recent influx of six SUVs and a bakkie in preperation of the SUV Shootout featured on pages 32-65 – the Suzuki stands out for its ability to slip in and out of the narrowest nook in the garage. At just 1 735 mm wide, the narrow-hipped XL6 fits into relatively tight bays, although rear passengers need to practice care, as the doors are rather hefty and can be caught by gusts of wind. There are upsides to those large rear doors, though. Their sizeable rear glazing is handy for keeping…