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 any of our car reviews, simply select from the menu on the left. Touch on a manufacturer's name and choose from the drop-down list. Some lists are longer than others; it simply depends on which manufacturers promote their products harder.
* Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling on the days we wrote the reports.
* Speaking of prices, many of you would like to know about parts prices before making your final choice. To see how your favourite stacks up against others in its price band, click here
These products are known as D-Max crew cab in some countries
Who would have thought that two almost identical pickups from the same stable, with similar-sized engines; petrol and diesel, could be so different? Both were sixth-generation Isuzu double-cabs in LE trim with five-speed manual gearboxes and lockable differentials. Apart from engines the only real difference was that the diesel was a 4x4 while the petrol burner drove back wheels only.
The KB 240 DC LE 4x2 develops 112 kW and 233 Nm and is intended for buyers wanting to save on the initial purchase price or who simply prefer the petrol-fuelled driving experience, while the KB 250 D-TEQ DC LE 4x4 produces 85 kW and 280 Nm and is aimed at traditional diesel-heads. On paper at least, performance should be similar but the experiences are quite different.
We drove the KB 240 first. Zero to 100 km/h takes 13,2 seconds and its top speed is about 175 km/h according to overseas testers. Manufacturers are rather secretive about commercial vehicles’ performance numbers, but as they’re probably irrelevant to the products’ core functions, it’s not particularly surprising. Being naturally-aspirated, maximum torque is developed at 4000 rpm, just 1200 revs short of the red line. With the usual load pulling bottom gears, rev gaps between second and third and again between third and fourth, are very noticeable. That means you choose between a relaxed driving style and rowing the gearbox – a lot. The motor turns over at about 3000 rpm at 120 km/h in fifth. It sounds quite busy at that speed, so you’ll find yourself backing off to about 100 km/h most of the time.
The turbodiesel KB 250 develops just 85 kW but its 280 Nm of maximum torque is available from 1800 rpm; making the gear spread less noticeable. Top speed, according to overseas sources, is 160 km/h with a sprint time somewhere around 16 seconds. Engine speed at 120 is 2500 rpm in top gear, resulting in more relaxed cruising at the limit. While not a ball of fire, this combination is a very useful family, business and recreational vehicle with Isuzu’s usual brand of off-road capability. We tackled an unfamiliar set of forest trails that included a rather nasty, steep and rutted hill. No surprises at all; four-wheel drive, low range, chosen with the new rotary selector on the centre console, simply dealt with it.
Apart from a visible increase in size compared with the previous generation, there have been noteworthy safety and comfort upgrades. Briefly, extra frontal length is devoted to increased crumple zones; pedestrian protection measures included moving the intercooler from the top of the motor to the front, so increasing free space above the engine; the bonnet frame was redesigned to crumple on impact; and a new polypropylene bumper not only softens the blow, but is shaped to deflect pedestrians up and over, rather than under the vehicle.
The engine was moved, backward and lower, to shift the centre of gravity downward and the front suspension was redesigned. It is now a double-wishbone setup with coil springs over twin-tube gas-filled dampers, intended to improve ride comfort and off-road ability. The rear suspension still consists of leaf springs (above-axle on high-riding versions and under the axle on workhorses) with similar gas shocks.
All double-cabs are built to either LE or LX specification, so these two were fitted with a pair of airbags; ABS brakes with EBD and BAS; remote central locking with automatically locking doors that unlock in the event of an accident; front fog lamps; electric windows and mirrors; cloth seats with ISOFix anchorages in the back; filtered, manual air conditioning with ducting to the rear; an RDS radio and CD player with auxiliary, USB and Bluetooth, and tinted windows. Wheels are seven-inch wide alloys with 245/70 R16C all-terrain tyres.
What we appreciated about the less expensive LE trim was that most of the overdone interior bright work found in LX models was absent. A further nice touch is that technology now allows playing of one’s own music, while permitting the traffic guy to chip in with updates.
Although we preferred the driving dynamics of the diesel, we concede that it could also be a case of what one is used to. In our heads though, KBs are, and always will be, oil burners. Anything else is an offence against Isuzudom.
Test vehicles from GMSA press fleet
The numbers
Prices: KB 240 4x2 – R309 100; KB 250 4x4 – R384 100
Engines: 2405 cc, 16-valve, four cylinder petrol and 2499 cc 16-valve, four-cylinder, turbodiesel
Power and performance: See text
Fuel indices: Petrol – 12,5 l/100 km; Diesel 9,5 l/100 km
Tank: 75 litres
Payload: 1060 kg petrol; 971 kg diesel
Maximum towing capacity (braked): 2100 kg
Ground clearance: 220 mm*
Approach/departure/breakover angles: 30/22,7/22,4 degrees* - with 17” wheels
Warranty: 5 years/120 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km; at annual or 15 000 km intervals
This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.
I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.
My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police.
Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8