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 possibly applies to the models you can get at home.

*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.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


We drive the 2014 Citroën C4 Aircross Seduction 1.6 HDi

Seductive little diesel

Citroëns are French, meaning the indicator stalk is on the left, like all other European cars, non? But, as Maman taught you, every rule must have an exception (or two). Citroën’s C4 Aircross, like Peugeot’s 4008, is actually a rebadged and retrimmed Mitsubishi ASX; which is Japanese and has its indicator lever on the right. You learn something new every day.

We drove a 2.0-litre, petrol-engined, version of this car in November 2012 and little has changed except that a diesel was added to the range in September 2013. And it was given its own six-gear manual ‘box. Petrol versions still use five-speeders, unless it’s the awd car with CVT. The Seduction, or mid-range, trim level is like the last one we drove but this year’s test unit had some new options added.

It had the same leather upholstery upgrade (R19 990) as before with heated front seats; both of which are power assisted with height, reach and tilt adjustments. Further extras this time included a three-quarter length Cielo moonroof with luggage rails at R10 990, and 18” Kariji alloys at R11 990. These wheels are standard on Exclusive versions and the tyre size changes from 215/70 R16 to 225/55 R18.

Being a small turbodiesel, power is down on the petrol version but torque is significantly greater, so its performance character is different. While still no street racer, the little engine just keeps on delivering. It cruises easily at 100 – 120 km/h with strong sixth-gear roll-on ability, while maintaining speed up those gentle inclines that so often frustrate drivers who want to get into top and stay there. If you’re into numbers, the diesel Aircross loafs along at about 2350 rpm at 120 km/h in sixth, so it is geared decently long for economy without sacrificing practicality.

What could be seen as a potential compromise in terms of comfort isn’t necessarily so. The optional, wider, 18” tyres with lower profile still provided acceptable comfort over a familiar gravel road that had turned rutted and nasty since last we drove on it. Our gentle dirt strip for city SUVs had morphed into a poor-road challenge, giving us more adventure than expected. In fairness Aircross boasts 200 mm of ground clearance, which is 25 mm more than some competitors have, so a certain level of competence is expected.

Possibly less comfortable for tall people, or those with longer upper bodies, was the optional moonroof. It’s brilliant (literally), letting in lots of added light and providing an awesome view of the world above. It must be grand for game viewing while passengers remain safely shut inside. Not being a sunroof, it doesn’t open so irresponsible behaviour is prevented.

Less good is that rear seat headroom for the SA Standard Tall Passenger shrank from a fairly comfortable 8/10 to a hair-flattening 6/10 because the hardware takes up a few centimetres of space. He also found barely two finger-widths of head room, rather than enough space for a fist, when in the driver’s seat with it adjusted all the way down. Moral: If any of your family is tall, try it out before ordering the sexy roof.

The only change we noticed from the 2012 petrol version was that we had to amend our estimation of loading height from ‘mid-thigh’ to ‘upper-thigh;’ flatter shoes perhaps? The spare wheel is still a fully sized 215/70 R16 on steel rim, the seatbacks recline slightly and split 60:40 with a load-through, storage spaces remain essentially the same, the glove box is decently sized with cooling or warming courtesy of the ventilation temperature chosen, the air conditioner is an automated single channel device and the six-CD radio player has Bluetooth and voice control.

Details not mentioned back then are that the central box under the adjustable armrest accepts ten CDs in cases, the auxiliary input consists of a pair of RCA plugs so you will need an adaptor and it includes an upper tray suitable for an average cellphone.

While we enjoyed the petrol powered Aircross 4x2 a couple of years ago, we reckon this new diesel is one we could live with more comfortably.

Test car from Peugeot and Citroën SA press fleet

The numbers
Basic price: R361 900
Price as tested: R404 870
Engine: 1560 cc, SOHC, eight-valve, turbodiesel
Power: 84 kW at 3600 rpm
Torque: 270 Nm at 1750 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10,5 seconds
Maximum speed: 182 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6,6 l/100 km
Tank: 63 litres
Fuel requirement: 50 ppm diesel
Luggage: 384 litres under parcel shelf with seatbacks upright.
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 5 years/100 000 km

Our review of the 2.0 Petrol version is here

What We Do

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.


Comments?
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