SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
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. Most, but not all, 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 menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.
Editor's note: SA Roadtests accepts multi-day vehicle loans from manufacturers in order to provide editorial reviews. All vehicle reviews are completed on our turf and on our terms.
However, for out-of-province vehicle launch features, travel costs are covered by the manufacturer concerned. This is common in the motor industry, as it's far more economical to ship journalists to cars than to ship cars to journalists.
Judgments and opinions expressed on this site are our own and we do not accept paid editorial content.
Posted: 25 January 2019
Pics sourced from Internet
The numbers
Price: R379 900
Engine: 998 cc, DOHC 12-valve inline three
Power: 88 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 172 Nm between 1500 and 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12.0 seconds
Maximum speed: 181 km/h
Real life fuel consumption:
About 7.6 l/100 km overall, 9.5 l/100 km off-peak city driving
Tank: 50 litres
Luggage: 361 – 1143 litres
Tyre size: 215/55R17
Spare: Spacesaver
Turning circle: 10.6 metres
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km with roadside assistance
Additional drivetrain warranty: 2 years/ 50 000 km
• Three “best car in category” awards – North America, Scotland and Texas
• Spain’s Car of the Year
• Three design awards – iF, Red Dot and IDEA
• SA COTY 2019 finalist
• Five stars in EuroNCAP
Hyundai’s sub-compact Kona crossover means business. Slightly smaller (105 mm shorter) than sister car Creta, it’s more luxuriously appointed in some areas and feels better overall - more solid, more European. Co-pilot reckoned: “We’ll keep this one.”
Similarities include, but are not restricted to, McPherson strut- and torsion beam suspension; anti-submarining seats covered in imitation leather; fog lamps front and rear; reversing camera; parking distance warning and the expected safety kit – six airbags, ISOFix mountings and four-channel ABS with EBD.
Kona ups the ante with rear disc brakes, cruise control, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert and tyre pressure monitoring. While we’re at it, there’s also a reach adjustable steering wheel, ESP, downhill brake control and hill start assist. Downsides include slightly smaller boot and fuel tank and 20 mm less ground clearance - 170 mm versus 190.
The 998 cc, three-cylinder, motor out of Grand i10 gets extra muscle from high-pressure gasoline direct injection (GDI) and a small, single-scroll turbocharger. It features an electronically controlled wastegate to optimise flow, resulting in stronger low-end torque and throttle response.
Plain English: This translates to maximum pulling power from 1500- to 4000 rpm, with 95 percent of that still available at 5000. That’s when engine power reaches 98 percent of its peak and keeps on delivering until just over 6000 rpm. What this means to you is that it’s flexible and requires fewer gear changes. A butter-smooth six-speed manual transmission makes that yet more pleasurable while a decently sized resting pad keeps your left foot comfortable between shifts.
Infotainment: Six-speakers, the usual connectors and a 7” tablet-styled touch screen that also mirrors the most commonly used apps on your Smartphone. There are two cautionaries however: First, Apple CarPlay is built in to the system’s OS but Android Auto is not. For reasons unknown, A-A is not officially available in South Africa, so Hyundai couldn’t build it in at factory level for local use.
Workaround: Conduct a web search for "android auto APK download" and select the offering that looks best to you. The only proviso is that your phone needs to be running Android 5.0 or later. The second minor inconvenience is that both kinds of phone have to be tethered to the music station by means of a USB cable. Bluetooth won’t cut it just yet.
Getting dirty: The suspension does a good job of soaking up ripples and short, sharp impacts from embedded stones while the car remains stable.
Luggage space: 72 cm above ground level, nicely shaped, one bag hook, four lashing rings, a light, cargo cover and cargo net. Compartmented storage tray under floor. Spacesaver spare. Seats are split 60:40 and fold almost flat.
Back seat: Adequate head- and foot room for 6’1” passengers. Knee space cramped. Armrest with cup holders, two seatback pockets, second courtesy light, three seatbelts and head restraints, two ISOFix mounting sets, tiny door bins.
Front seat: Mechanical seat adjusters include elevation control for driver. Plenty of headroom although really tall drivers might find rearward seat adjustment limited. Single channel aircon has straightforward controls. Easy to use combination of buttons, knobs and touch screen keeps life simple. Handbrake placed for RHD has a firm and smooth action. Sockets include two USB ports, one of which is for charging, auxiliary and 12-volt/180 W.
Ambience: Black over black interior was relieved slightly on our test unit by red seatbelts and red trim around gearshift boot and vents. Our taste runs more to “light and airy” but some folk like “dark”. Who are we to dictate?
Summary: Slightly smaller than Creta but better equipped at similar price. Feels good, too.
Test unit from Hyundai Motor SA press fleet
The launch report is here
Automatic model shown
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 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.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8