SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
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 possibly applies to the models you get at home.
Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven.
*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.
*Pre-owned: Our tests go back quite a few years, so if you are looking for something pre-owned, you might well find a report on it in here.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.
Posted: 22 September 2014
Rule 13: Complacency kills. Or at minimum, smacks you across the head. I have tackled this hill with its pitch-and-roll washaways, after the left turn near the top, quite a few times before. It’s not sissy stuff, but usually manageable in 4x4 pickups with low range transfer cases, so this Cherokee Trailhawk with low range, rear diff. lock and extra clearance should walk it.
Except that Nature has been busy; heavy rains have caused even more erosion so the washaways look pretty bad. I don’t look forward to reversing back along the narrow and winding trail, but it might be the only way. I have the forester’s number in my phone, but if I get stuck, the wait could be long. And who needs all the joshing after being rescued by Forestry Service T*y*t*s for heavens’ sake?
Right wheels up on the solid and relatively smooth part and engage the tools; low-range, sand/mud mode, locked back differential; then ease forward in automatic. And thank goodness for the standard skid plates. Feel the left side slipping down. Then find solid earth again. Gulp. Jeremy the forester is going to give me beans. Richard the Jeep guy will delete my name from the press fleet list. Oh well, it’s been fun.
First beads of sweat pop out. Breathe deep and keep the power on. Keep thumbs out. Hold wheel gently. A slight slip, a gut-wrenching tilt, then back down again and the Jeep bounds free. Safe. I already had to stop, earlier, on an almost impossible uphill to remove a sapling that was lying halfway across the track and threatening the paintwork, so twice in ten minutes is a bit much. But that’s what proper Jeeps are for, and this one is proper.
Heavy hitters like Grand Cherokee and Range Rover are all very well, but they’re just too big; too luxurious; too expensive. Sometimes something smaller, like a Cherokee, provided it has decent survival kit, is all you want. I drove a 2.4 Longitude and a 3.2 Limited front-wheel driver already, so I don’t want to go through all the basics again. Follow the links.
Where this one differs most from them is in greater ground clearance, P245/65R17 all-terrain tyres, a lower final drive for better lugging power, push-button rear diff lock (unlike other on-demand 4x4s there is no locking centre differential) that you can choose to use when you think it’s necessary, terrain response with five modes, manually selectable low range, much better attack angles, and the skid plates. The nine-speed, ZF-designed automatic is common across the range.
The rest of the way simply needed auto mode and high range because the other interesting bits had been ruined, although the folks who work there might prefer to say "repaired". That meant a gentle wander through the woods until I wrong-slotted at an unfamiliar junction and came upon a fallen tree that would have taken a few hours, a tractor and a chainsaw. But not my territory and not my problem; so it was a case of reverse and turn where the trail widened slightly. Wish this thing had a backup camera because there are rocks and gullies and logs all around.
You can get one with the optional Technology Group that includes advanced brake assist, powered multifunction fold-away mirrors, lane departure warning, smartbeam headlights, forward collision warning with crash mitigation, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, blind spot monitoring with rear cross path detection and ParkSense parallel and perpendicular parking assistance. That’s a whole sackful of highway-related stuff I don’t need – just to get some help reversing off-road. Gee thanks, guys.
As I said, this thing is nice but not perfect, so here’s my ideal Cherokee:
• Trailhawk specification
• 3.0 diesel from the Grand Cherokee
• Eight-speed ZF automatic from the Grand Cherokee
• Back-up camera
I’m easy to please. Really.
Test car from Jeep SA press fleet
The numbers
Basic price: R607 990
Engine: 3239 cc, DOHC, 24-valve, V6
Power: 200 kW at 6500 rpm
Torque: 315 Nm at 4300 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8,4 seconds
Maximum speed: 180 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 12,4 l/100 km
Tank: 60 litres
Luggage space: 412-500 litres below cover; 1267 litres up to roof, behind first row
Ground clearance: 224 mm
Approach/departure/breakover angles: 29.9/32.1/22.9 degrees
Wading depth: 508 mm
Maximum towing mass, braked: 2000 kg
Warranty and maintenance: 6 years/100 000 km
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.
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