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 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.


Hyundai treated its three year-old i20 to a midlife refresh for 2012. We went to see the result.

Pics supplied

More value, smoother and quieter 

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday August 29, 2012

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.


You want just the facts, ma’am?  OK: The bottom line is that the 1600cc version was dropped and the new models cost a bit more. On the “income” side of the ledger you get not just a prettier face, but more than your money’s-worth in extra kit. 

On the fashion front, design elements fall into line with the new family look; hexagonal grille, redesigned head lamps, bonnet, fenders, front bumper with redesigned fog lights and new wheels. Around at the back, new bumpers incorporate park-assist sensors and the lights were redone. The new bumpers add 30mm in front and 25mm to the rear measurements, or 55mm altogether. Other dimensions remain as before.

Changes inside include higher quality seat fabrics and the centre fascia has been reworked to incorporate more sophisticated switchgear. Stylish black, high-gloss inserts on the dashboard now sport a quality soft-touch finish. Real benefits? How about a six-speed gearbox to replace the previous five-cog unit, the parking assistance mentioned above, an upgraded radio and CD player with Bluetooth, satellite controls on the steering wheel and replacing the rear centre lap belt with a proper three-pointer.

Then there’s the stuff you don’t see. The manual transmission shifts more precisely and ratios have been optimised to ensure that the engine operates at its most efficient speed for longer. The chassis has been revised to deliver a more agile yet refined ride, while the electrically assisted steering was retuned to deliver quicker and more accurate responses. Now, how about that which you do not hear?

Through computer simulation and practical testing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) levels have been reduced. Road transmitted vibration, wind resonance, intake, exhaust and engine noise have all been reduced to deliver greatly improved comfort. Structural reinforcements in the dashboard panel, steering column mounting and cowl cross member played their parts too.

A three-point inertia engine and transmission support not only strengthened the structure, but minimised parts while reducing weight. Extensive use of advanced noise reduction materials resulted in higher levels of refinement, giving the new i20 a cosseting cabin ambience. Simplifying the exhaust system by removing the centre muffler not only reduced weight but reduced exhaust booming.

Three models, all powered by the familiar 1400cc Gamma engine, are on offer. ‘Fluid’ versions with GL trim are available with either the six-speed manual transmission mentioned earlier or a four-speed, torque converter automatic.

Standard equipment includes 15” steel wheels, disc brakes front and rear with ABS and EBD, height-adjustable driver’s seat, two airbags, fog lights front and rear, ISOFix anchorages, remote central locking with kiddie locks, filtered air conditioning with glove box cooler and under-seat vents, six-speaker radio and CD player with all the plugs, an onboard computer and one-touch triple turn signalling.

Electrically powered outside mirrors incorporate turn signal repeaters and all side windows are powered, with the driver’s glass offering automatic up and down operation with anti-pinch. The ‘Glide’ version, in manual only, is trimmed to GLS level that adds 16” alloy wheels, side and curtain airbags, autolocking and automatic air conditioning. 

We took Glides out on the test route, a typical mix of country roads and freeways, to see and feel the differences. It sounds odd, but there was nothing to “notice.” The new i20 is solid, quiet, well-made, rides well and is equipped with everything a buyer in this segment could want. With its 1400cc naturally aspirated motor you obviously don’t challenge Carreras, but it’s still a brilliant little car.

Hyundai SA’s marketing director, Stanley Anderson, told us that i20 presently accounts for 17,9 percent of sales in its segment, between Polo’s 35,4 and Micra’s 9 percent. “Foolish,” he grinned, “spec. that German up to i20 levels and then decide which offers better value.”

The numbers
Prices: Fluid manual, R164 900 – Fluid automatic, R174 900 – Glide manual, R176 900
Engine: 1396cc, DOHC, 16-valve, CVVT, four-cylinder
Power: 73 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 136 Nm at 4200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11,6 seconds (man), 12,9 seconds (auto)
Maximum speed: 181 km/h (man), 170 km/h (auto)
Fuel economy (Euro test): 4,2/4,8 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Boot: 295 litres
Warranty:  5 years/150 000 km with roadside assistance
Service plan:  3 years/60 000 km, at 15 000 km intervals


What We Do

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!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.