SA Road Tests

Welcome

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.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active list down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and search through the drop-down menu that appears.

Editor's note: SA Roadtests accepts multi-day vehicle loans from manufacturers in order to provide editorial reviews. All vehicle reviews are conducted on our turf and on our terms.

For out-of-province vehicle launch features however, travel costs are covered by the manufacturer concerned. This is common in the motor industry, as it's more economical to ship journalists to cars than to ship cars to journalists.

Judgments and opinions expressed on this site are our own. We do not accept paid editorial content or ads of any kind.


Same but different: 2022 Ford Ecosport 1.0T Titanium automatic

Deletions and additions

Posted: November 7, 2022

The numbers
Price, Titanium auto: R416 900
Engine: 999 cc, three-cylinder, DOHC 12-valve turbopetrol
Power: 92 kW between 5500 and 6100 rpm
Torque: 170 Nm between 1400 and 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12.7 seconds
Maximum speed: 181 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8.0 l/100 km
Tank: 52 litres
Luggage: 333 – 705 litres
Minimum turning circle: 10.6 metres
Ground clearance: 206 mm
Maximum towing capacity, unbraked/braked: 680/900 kg
Standard tyre size: 205/50R17
Spare: 205/60R16
Warranty: 4 years / 120 000 km with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 4 years / 60 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

Things haven’t changed much since we last drove a Ford Ecosport in 2020, except that the factory in India closed - then reopened - planning to shut its doors finally sometime in 2023. Our South African cars are now courtesy of Ford Cologne and assembled in Romania.

Engine and gearbox choices, suspension, brakes and dimensions haven’t changed. The details are what have. Easiest to spot is that Titanium models now sport silver-coloured wheels. Thank heavens. The previous black rims didn’t suit the car at all.

New features include collision mitigation and underbody shielding for Trend and Titanium, cruise control with speed limiter for Trend, front parking sensors to complement those in the rear for Titanium, hill launch assist and tyre pressure monitoring for all turbo models and multimedia upgrades all around. Titanium, for example, now has Sync®3. The short version is that it has a capacitive touchscreen like an iPhone and supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The others don’t.  An unfortunate oversight was not installing a reversing camera; just a graphic with illuminated warning segments.

All models have proper pull-up handbrakes with smooth and positive action, analogue instruments and nicely weighted steering; a touch heavier, like a real sports car, but not arm-breaking.

A deletion we loved on our Titanium automatic test car was that the pretentious shifting paddles have become history. What we hated was that there is now no manual override facility at all; not even that gear knob switch Ford introduced for a while.

True to its sporting handle, “Ecosport”, the autobox shifts unobtrusively, kicks down smoothly and has an S mode for more spirited reactions. Just no manual override. Do you detect an element of frustration here?

The pilot enjoys manual seat adjusters, plentiful head- and elbow room, loads of storage space, a 12-volt socket, two USBs, easy-to-use HVAC and audio controls, an auto-dipping rearview mirror, one-touch windows front and rear, a more sophisticated music screen than offered by most competitors, mirrors on both sun visors, a clear view outward to make parking easy and a restful, grey-over-black, ambience.

Taller back seat riders have sufficient head space but knee room can be cramped. A touch more recline for the seatbacks would be nice, as would the central armrest and cup holders offered by most others. Thankfully a second, central, courtesy light makes it easier to strap little heirs in after dark.

Luggage loading is easy thanks to a low sill that opens on to a floor that’s level most of the time, providing one hasn’t taken out the baseboard to increase depth by about eight centimetres. The space is lit and fitted with four lashing rings. These become visible only when said baseboard is removed. The 60:40- split rear seatbacks fold by means of buttons accessible from behind – with a step and almost flat ordinarily, or completely flat if one lifts and flips the squabs first.

The fully sized spare on steel rim is mounted on the side-hinged back door to maximise luggage space. While most folk load up in open spaces or supermarket parking lots, some occasionally do it while parallel parked out in the street. That’s when parking on the left becomes tricky; the door opens toward the sidewalk. Ford might want to consider Toyota Rav4’s similar rear door that’s hinged the opposite way. Just a thought.

Would we buy one? It’s potentially a great little car, with no more design- or convenience issues than any other, but deleting manual override was a deal breaker.

Test unit from Ford SA press fleet


We drove a 1.0T Trend automatic in 2018

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is thoroughly researched, 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.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.