SA Road Tests

Welcome

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.

Mini test: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze 2.0 diesel

Interior pic by Author. Other pics by Quickpic

Most satisfying Cruze yet

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday June 8, 2011

The engine: Tangled webs indeed; it's the RA420, a 1991 cc SOHC common rail diesel built by GM Korea Company under licence from VM Motori of Italy. This company was founded in 1947 as an independent concern, but fickle fortune over the years saw it sold and resold, completely and in half-shares, to a number of owners. It appears to belong equally to GM and Fiat Powertrain Technologies at present. Pedigree aside, it develops 110 kW/320 Nm in this particular application and in Chevrolet's Captiva, although it has appeared in a number of Opel, Hyundai and Kia vehicles too. It’s not the quietest machine, but at least you won’t forget it’s a diesel. Transmission is five-speed manual.

The body: It's a four-door sedan, although the Aussies are working on a hatchback that might also come this way soon. The diesel engine is offered only in top-of-the-range LT trim with 17" alloy wheels, ABS brakes, power windows front and rear, power side mirrors, central locking, six airbags, RDS radio/CD sound system with auxiliary and USB inputs, leather covered steering wheel with satellite audio controls, leather seat covers, dual-zone climate control, rear park assist, rain sensing windscreen wipers, cruise control and auto lights-on function. The 328-dm3 boot is big enough for an average family's needs and interior space is plentiful. The spare is a full-sized steel item.

The experience: The engine pulls quite strongly although it's not a rocket, getting up to the benchmark 100 km/h in a touch under ten seconds. With maximum torque developed at 2000 rpm and the rev limiter making itself felt at 4500, range is limited, necessitating a fair quantity of gearbox stirring. That said, it's the most satisfying Cruze from a driver's viewpoint, available up to now. Handling is up to par for family or fleet car use, meaning that most of us wouldn't have the courage to nudge its limits.

The recent facelift has added PEPS or Passive Entry, Passive Start. That’s GM-speak for keyless entry and locking - you grab a door handle to open it and touch the silver square to relock - plus push-button starting. Other changes include a second makeup mirror, a deactivation switch for the front passenger airbag and a new radio/CD unit. It’s now a single-CD player with auxiliary and USB inputs while the radio has RDS capability. Not mentioned is the upholstery that looks far less plain than it did before.

The numbers:
Price: R266 400
Engine: 1 991 cc SOHC 16-valve inline four, common rail turbodiesel
Power: 110 kW at 4 000 rpm
Torque: 320 Nm at 2 000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9.9 seconds
Maximum speed: 190 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: about 6.5 l/100 km
Tank:  60 litres
Warranty: 5 years/120 000 km with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/60 000 km, at 15 000 km intervals




What We Do

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!

Comments?

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