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.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
The mini test that follows, is an experiment. I have already reviewed the DS3 Style, which is essentially the same car with the lower output engine, so this is just an update. It is also part of an arrangement I have with my paper to get more articles published when space is at a premium.
Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday November 17, 2010
The body:
This is a two-door, short windscreen version of the C3, with work done to make it more solid on the road, with crisper handling and better feedback. You feel the dynamics through the seat of your pants; you get the feeling that you know exactly where each wheel is and the direction the front ones are pointed.
Hundreds of styling permutations include roof, body, rearview mirror housings and wheels. Inside, there's a choice of dashboard strips, gearstick knobs and a host of other equipment in a multitude of colours, fabrics and materials. The colour of the roof is repeated in the wheel cap centres and in a disc on the key fob.
Lesser DS3s can be ordered in choices of plain vanilla or with either "Techno" or "Design" trim packages. The Sport version automatically has both, saving you a potential R22 500 in upgrade costs. These together give you rain sensor wipers, self-dipping rear view mirror, automatic headlights, rear parking sensors, automatic air conditioning, electric folding mirrors, a set of four 17" Bellone alloy wheels, rear spoiler with integrated brake light, aluminium drilled pedals, Sport seats in leather and Bluetooth with USB connector for music players. There is an auxiliary minijack too.
The engine:
Designed in cooperation with BMW, this 1 598 cc engine finds itself in the MINI as well. In the case of the DS3 Sport, turbocharging ups the game to 115 kW, or about halfway between Cooper and Cooper S. Not quite as radical as the hotter versions of MINI, it nevertheless revs and accelerates like a demon and is huge fun to drive.
Inside:
It's designed with a certain Gallic flair, so you will either love it or be totally unmoved. All I can say is get in and look around. Back seat legroom is a bit cramped for taller passengers, but within the definition of "small car" it isn't bad at all. The boot is big for its class and there are lots of oddment spaces.
Overall impression:
It's a bit too firm and radical for some, who might find 100 percent involvement with their surroundings to be more than they can handle. For others, it's like a return to roots - back to driving basics - or "a little bit country and a whole lot rock 'n roll."
The numbers
Price: R257 993
Engine: 1 598 cc inline four-cylinder
Power: 115 kW at 6 000 rpm
Torque: 240 Nm at 1 400 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 8,1 seconds
Maximum speed: 214 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: 6,4 l/100 km
Tank: 48 litres
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km
Service plan: 4 years/60 000 km
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!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8