SA Roadtests
South Africa
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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
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Pics by Audi@Motorpress
Posted: March 11, 2021
The numbers
Basic price: R700 500
Engine: 1984 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 140 kW between 4200 and 6000 rpm
Torque: 320 Nm between 1450 and 4200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 7.3 seconds
Maximum speed: 210 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: See text
Tank: 54 litres
Luggage volume: 480 – 962 litres
Standard tyre size: 245/40R18
Spare: Spacesaver
Turning circle: 11.6 metres
Ground clearance: 128 mm Max. towing capacity:, Unbraked / braked: 750 / 1700 kg
Warranty: One year / unlimited distance
Maintenance plan: 5 years / 100 000 km; with roadside assistance
This is essentially the same car as the 2.0 TFSI introduced in Model Year 2016; just lightly facelifted and given new version names and equipment.
The 2021 cars have new, all-LED, headlamps and tail lights; new grille; revised side air intakes and restyled side panels. The blunt end features new outlet pipes, rear panel and dynamic indicators. On the inside a larger, touch-sensitive, operating screen takes over from the dated stab-turn-wiggle control wheel.
Design and Sport versions make way for Advanced and S-Line. A35, with the lower-powered engine, is the only range offering Standard trim. Differences between Standard and Advanced consist of 18” wheels to replace 17”, wider door sills and a few cosmetic changes – black this, chrome that – you get the idea. S-Line gets you sports suspension and more cosmetics.
Standard kit includes leather or leatherette upholstery, tyre pressure monitoring, cruise control with speed limiter, six airbags, automatic stop-and-start, hill hold, rain-sensitive wipers, automatic headlamps, dual zone air conditioning, front and rear parking aids, manually adjustable seats, eight-speaker sound system with Smartphone interface and Audi Connect. The rear seatback can split to extend cargo space.
Five option packages, six in the case of A35, allow buyers to personalise their vehicles in single easy steps. As usual an array of wheels, lighting and seat options, sound equipment upgrades, Audi Virtual Cockpit Plus, tow hitch, sports suspension, assistance packs, three-zone aircon, and additional safety kit are available too.
The test car, a “40” Advanced, was fitted with the 140-kW version of the 2.0-litre petrol engine that boasts 320 Nm of torque between 1450 and 3200 rpm; to coincide neatly with maximum power that comes on stream, right then, to haul ass with enthusiasm all the way up to 6000. I enjoyed that.
Having experienced the mechanically identical car with similar body, a few years ago, I ‘enjoyed’ the power with perhaps more Audi-acity than usual. Bluntly, I wrung it out a little; rather like a typical owner might. As a result of this its average, real-life, fuel consumption dropped from 7.3 litres per 100 kilometers to a less “quotable” 9.0 per hundred this time. The choice is yours; if you want to brag around the barbeque, give the lower number but if your conscience dictates that you be candid, go for nine.
Getting practical, the car is solid and well-built, spacious, comfortable, sporty and absorbs a very decent load of luggage.
There are just two caveats: First is that the back seat is really designed for two; a third had better be small. The second is that Audi has gone too far with invitations, safety warnings, hints, tips and general nannying on this car. It drove me nuts. Audi might want to consider being less “helpful”.
Test unit from Audi SA press fleet
We drove the earler version in 2016
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 or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.
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 ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle 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. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles. And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8