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.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.
This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.
Pics supplied
Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday September 28, 2011
For a mini test of the Accent 1.6 GLS manual, click here
The newest entry-level Hyundai Accent GL costs less than its predecessor, but it’s more powerful, has two airbags rather than one, now has ABS with EBD and it’s lighter on fuel. It’s also slightly larger, quieter and more comfortable, although Hyundai Automobile SA admits that it was built down to a price.
The market for rental and major fleet business is cutthroat but Hyundai reckons it has an offering that is not only equally- or better spec’ed than its natural competitors, but is more powerful and nicer to drive. The strategy is paying off; the company has established itself as the prime supplier to a major SA rental fleet for 2012.
At the heart of the new Accent is the same version of the company’s 1591 cc Gamma engine as fitted to the i20. It develops 91 kW of power and 156 Nm of torque versus the 82 kW and 145 Nm of the old 1599 cc Alpha unit. Three models are available; the price leading GL version with five-speed manual transmission and a pair of GLS models with higher specification levels and a choice between the manual ‘box and a four-speed automatic.
Standard equipment in the GL includes height-adjustable front seats, a manual air conditioning unit with pollen filter, a radio and MP3 player with the usual sockets, trip computer, electrically operated outside mirrors and powered front windows with anti-jamming facility and one-touch operation on the driver’s side.
If you have been paying attention, you will have noticed that we said nothing about a CD player. That’s because there isn’t one. Research has apparently shown that most of us carry our personal tunes in an MP3 box or a flash stick, so the CD unit was deleted. If you really need one, you will choose the GLS model, which is the one you really want anyway, right?
By doing so, you will gain steering wheel controls for audio and Bluetooth, said Bluetooth, a central armrest with storage box, more upmarket upholstery cloth, fog lamps in front, indicator repeaters on the mirrors, additional air conditioner vents and a music centre that plays CDs.
But wait, there’s more, in the form of heated wing mirrors, electrically driven rear window glass, a cargo net in the boot and rear parking assistance. For only R10 000 extra, it’s a bargain and if you prefer automatic transmission add another R11 000. Its EuroNCAP rating is still pending, but in the meantime the Aussies have given it five ANCAP stars.
The boot is big for a sub-compact car at 389 litres and passenger space is pretty good too. The SA standard tall passenger will crease his hairdo against the roof liner, but finds space for knees and feet somewhat better. The feedback and response settings for the electrically assisted steering were set on “Australian” for the launch cars but this is not yet cast in stone. It’s the stiffest choice with others being “European” and “General.” Some of us liked the Aussie setting but others didn’t. A decision will be made depending on local feedback prior to final release, but if you don’t like what you get, your dealer will be able to set it up the way you prefer.
Out on the road, we found the car solid, well built and comfortable with pleasant handling characteristics. Third gear response drew much favourable comment. It’s good for freeway overtaking manoeuvres up to a speed we won’t mention but would be touched on occasionally while passing other traffic quickly and safely.
Naturally, we asked marketing director Stanley Anderson how many he forecast selling. “Four to five hundred a month,” he said. “That’s all we can get.”
The numbers
Prices: GL 5-speed manual – R146 900, GLS 5-speed manual – R156 900, GLS 4-speed automatic – R167 900
Engine: 1591 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, CVVT
Power: 91 kW at 6300 rpm
Torque: 156 Nm at 4200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10,2 – 11,4 seconds (man/auto)
Maximum speed: 190 – 184 km/h (man/auto)
Fuel economy: 6,1 – 6,4 l/100 km (man/auto)
Tank: 43 litres
Warranty and roadside assistance: 5 years/150 000 km
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km
Intervals: 15 000 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.
My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) 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 I do actually exist.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go 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