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 get at home.

Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven.

*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.

*Pre-owned: Our tests go back quite a few years, so if you are looking for something pre-owned, you might well find a report on it in here.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.


We drive Hyundai’s mini-stretch; the 2014 Grand i10 Fluid m/t

Bigger, firmer, quieter

Posted: 25 August 2014

Whoever would have thought that eighteen centimetres could mean so much? Park those wicked minds at the door please: We’re talking about cars here.

Anyway, Hyundai listened and stretched their i10 cutie 180 mm longer and increased the distance between its axles by 45. It’s also 65 millimetres wider and 20 mm less tall than the original. These tweaks increase people space, reduce end-to-end movement for a more comfortable ride and provide 31 litres more luggage volume.

While he was at it Thomas Bürkle, the company’s design guru in Rüsselsheim, gave it the signature hexagonal grille and Hyundai-DNA headlamps, colour-coded door handles and side-mirrors, new alloy wheels and moulded door panes to create a more attractive, European look. Rear combination lights and a spoiler with built-in LED lamp sweeten the Grand i10’s trim behind.

Interior styling was brightened with a choice between grey cloth with orange inserts; grey leather with red inserts; or a more conservative grey cloth with grey inserts. These colour themes are reflected in dashboard trims and a colourful ring around the gear lever housing. There are three models; all using the 1248 cc Kappa engine.

Two levels of kit, Motion and Fluid, are available with the familiar five-speed manual box while the four-cog automatic comes in Fluid specification only. Before you get the wrong idea, the original i10s with choice of 1.1- and 1.2-litre engines will still be on offer.

Features of the Grand i10 include Bluetooth connectivity to the sound system; keyless entry and electrically heated and folding side mirrors (for the two Fluid derivatives); USB and auxiliary ports for the four-speaker RDS radio and CD unit; a filtered air conditioner; economy driving indicator and central locking. All three derivatives have front fog lamps, a full-size spare, attractive 14-inch alloy wheels, height adjustment for the driver’s seat, and sound system remotes on the steering wheel.

There’s a handy storage tray under the front passenger seat and the shoulder mounting point for the driver’s belt is height-adjustable. All passengers have height-adjustable headrests. A handy trip computer displays, inter alia, fuel consumption and range left with the fuel in the tank.

The Grand i10’s McPherson strut front suspension features revised geometry and a new tie-rod design to enhance steering feedback and precision while improving handling characteristics. At the rear, improvements to trailing arm geometry and coil springs contribute to a more secure and comfortable ride. Motor driven power steering provides sharper responses and more accurate handling.

Brakes are 252 mm vented discs up front and 203 mm drums at the back. Four-channel ABS with EBD is standard as are two airbags and child-proof rear door locks.

The new body shell is stiffer than its smaller sibling thanks to increased use (+ 20-percent) of high-tensile steel, tailored blanks, reinforcing loops and additional bracing. Torsional rigidity is 27-percent greater than on the regular i10. This firmer build improves impact-resistance, while yielding significant reductions in noise, vibration and harshness (NVH), with sound levels as low as 38 decibels (dB) at idle and 65 dB at highway speed.

The Grand’s bigger body is slightly heavier than the little one’s, so the zero to 100 km/h sprint takes four-tenths of a second longer and top speed falls off by 2 km/h; to 167 – not that any of you would risk the speeding fine, would you?

Our test car was a Fluid with manual transmission, so extra equipment not already mentioned included delayed switch-off for the inside lights, central locking and keyless entry via the remote, an alarm, one-touch triple flash turn signals, heated and folding electric side mirrors, one-touch down for the driver’s window, and powered glasses at the back.

Overall performance is perky with more than enough urge for the job at hand; pulling well at cruising speeds in top gear (about 3600 rpm at 120 km/h) so there is no irritating power drop at every tiny upward incline.

The hatchway opens at upper thigh height and the lip is 21 centimetres deep, so retrieving heavy luggage could be awkward. The boot is nicely rectangular however and there is some free space around the full-sized alloy spare wheel under the floorboard. The catches for the single-piece rear backrest can be reached from the back. It folds almost flat but leaves a noticeable hump in the loading surface.

Our 1.85-metre tester scored head, knee and footroom at nine, ten and nine out of ten respectively. Three head restraints and two full belts plus centre lap strap are provided. Storage is courtesy of a pair of seatback pockets and small bottle bins in the doors. Those in front have more freedom to litter; with a good selection of open trays, cup holders, fair-sized door bins and a big cubby.

The five-speed gear lever is mounted on a tower rather like that on a small bus, is easy to reach and works smoothly. Pedals are well spaced and there is plenty of room for big left feet to reach the floor. If you’re accustomed to automatic locking on the move, you’re out of luck unfortunately. You will have to relearn how to operate the master locking switch. But that’s probably a small price to pay for all the other kit provided in this spacious and willing little R150-grand car.

Test car from Hyundai SA press fleet

Read our review of the 2018 version here

The numbers
Price: R149 900
Engine: 1248 cc, DOHC, CVVT, 16-valve four-cylinder
Power: 64 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 120 Nm at 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12,7 seconds
Maximum speed: 167 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6,0 l/100 km
Tank: 43 litres
Luggage: 256/1202 litres
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km; with roadside assistance
Servicing: At 15 000 km intervals
Plan: Optional

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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