SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
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 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.
Note: This car is called Voleex C20R in certain markets
Saying that Great Wall Motors’ little C20R crossover is just a dickied-up version of the Florid Cross we drove two years ago, is rather like calling a Leica just another camera; there’s much more to it than that.
Granted, the engine’s output numbers remain the same although GWM says it has been remapped for lower emissions and improved economy. And it still offers a pair of airbags, ABS brakes with EBD and BA, fog lamps at each end, roof rails, music buttons on the height-adjustable steering wheel and the expected complement of electrically powered windows and mirrors. Suspension is still by means of the proven combination of McPherson struts in front and a twist beam rear axle.
What has changed is that the interior has been thoroughly modernised with two large combination dials housed in a conventional curved binnacle directly in front of the pilot, smarter air conditioner controls, a neater radio and CD player, leather seats with height adjustment for the driver, rear chairs that adjust forward and backward through a range of eight centimetres and recline ability for the 60:40 split backrests. It’s also the first GWM available here with a standard service plan. Its final party trick is that the boot can be made deeper.
It loads at mid-thigh height and the loading deck is flat unless you take out the underfloor boxes holding the warning triangle and tool kit, in order to drop the floorboard a few centimetres lower. A light is provided and there are two little side areas for small items. The spare is a steel spacesaver. Back seat accommodations are sufficient for average sized passengers who will find three seat belts but only two head restraints.
Dashboard fittings are of hard plastic, but everything is well put together. You sit high in the C20R, just as in its predecessor and there are plenty of little storage spots throughout the cabin. Smokers will appreciate the slide-out ashtray and lighter. USB and auxiliary plugs have been moved to the centre console, so it no longer takes a contortionist to plug in your portable music.
The C20R felt solid and stable at all times and it braked and steered confidently. Its five-speed manual gearbox shifts smoothly and ratios are comfortably spaced, although we found that there isn’t much room for big left feet in trainers to squeeze past the clutch pedal to rest on the floor. Unfortunately we were disappointed with its overall performance, finding a Japanese 1500 we had on test at the same time, much livelier. While the numbers indicate more than enough power, we suspect that Bamboo Curtain kilowatts might be less muscular than those from other countries because of different testing parameters.
Unseen is that the fuel tank is five litres smaller, power steering is now electrical, its turning circle has been tightened from 11 metres to 9,9 to make parking easier and solid disc brakes replace drums at the back. Fitting the car’s sporty image, brake calipers at both ends are painted red. For added peace of mind, doors lock automatically as soon as the car starts moving.
If you have a sharp eye for detail, you will notice that the profile of the 195/16 tyres has increased from 55 to 60 percent. Besides partly explaining the 43 mm increase in ground clearance when compared with the old car, it helps soften the ride to compensate slightly for firmer suspension. Even if you never venture off asphalt, that extra lift will be useful for negotiating gutters at the bottoms of steep driveways.
For its price, equipment, build quality and overall niceness the GWM C20R is a gem. It just needs bigger and healthier kilowatts.
Test car from GWM SA press fleet
The numbers
Price: R154 900
Engine: 1497 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder
Power: 77 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 138 Nm at 4200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 13,3 seconds
Maximum speed: 162 km/h
Fuel consumption: About 9,2 l/100 km
Tank: 40 litres
Luggage space: 330/1100 litres
Ground clearance: 172 mm
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km; with 2 years roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/45 000 km; at 15 000 km intervals
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.
My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police.
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.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8