SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
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Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday May 11, 2011
A car should be more than just a capsule that moves you from A to B. There are music festivals to attend and camping weekends in the country, sublime waves to find and long roads to follow simply to see where they go, then branch off onto another one. For younger drivers seeking something different, a car that appeals to their sense of adventure and free spiritedness, GWM's Florid Cross could well be the answer.
It's a crossover, more than a sedan but not quite an SUV. GWM took its Yaris-lookalike Florid, enlarged the lower grille, then added roof rails and fitted bigger wheels and tyres. The result is a modern and well-equipped little car boasting more features than you usually find at this price, with pleasant performance and fuel economy on par with most other 1400-to-1600s.
Getting down to details, the driving area finds you sitting fairly upright in a seat that doesn't adjust up and down, yet provides plenty of head space and a clear view outwards. The steering column adjusts for height but not reach and there is no chance of obscuring the instruments because they are placed up on top of the dash and in the centre. This necessitates a slight flick of one's eyes to the left in order to read them, but not as much as is needed to read the speedo in a MINI for instance. By comparison with its CB150 stablemate, the 'Cross looks a lot more modern inside, especially with its brightly-panelled seats.
The single channel air conditioner uses straightforward rotating knobs to "keep it simple, Sam" and the radio with single disc CD player has remote controls on the steering wheel. There's an auxiliary input inside the lower of the open stash boxes in the central tower. It's a bit of a mission to get at, so it might be a plan to leave the cable permanently plugged in and just attach your music player when needed. There is a fair-sized glove box, an additional lidded compartment and boxes in the front door panels. Both sunvisors are fitted with makeup mirrors. Safety kit includes ABS brakes with EBD, and two airbags.
All four doors feature powered windows and the outside mirrors are electrically operated as well. Remote central locking works by means of a button on the key, but to lock the doors once inside, there's a rocker switch on the driver's side armrest. Build quality? If no-one pointed out that this one is Chinese, you could be forgiven for assuming it was just another Japanese or Korean car.
The boot is not very big, although if it's any consolation there are some smaller - like those on the Lotus Elise and the Nissan Zee for example. Rear seatbacks fold almost flat to create a lot more room, although you will need to remove the head restraints first. The spare is a steel spacesaver.
Good news for the lightly-muscled is that the tailgate lifts easily on a pair of gas struts, revealing an easily accessible loading sill. Like the CB 150, dirt road behaviour is predictable and comfortable; good for touring in the country, remember?
With two up front, boards or camping gear on the roof and the necessities of life stowed behind, it's a free-spirited lifestyle machine that at less than R130 000, is hard to beat.
The numbers
Price: R128 838
Engine: 1 497 cc DOHC 16-valve VVT four-cylinder
Power: 77 kW at 6 000 rpm
Torque: 138 Nm at 4 200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12.1 seconds
Maximum speed: 162 km/h
Average fuel consumption: 7.6 l/100 km
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km, with 2 years' roadside assistance
To read about this car's 2014 replacement, click here
This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.
What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8