SA Roadtests
South Africa
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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. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.
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a.k.a. Santo, Amica and Atoz
The numbers
Price: R159 900
Engine: See text
Zero to 100 km/h: 14.4 seconds
Top speed: 155 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.0 l/100 km
Tank: 35 litres
Standard tyre size: 165/70R14
Ground clearance: 165 mm
Boot volume: 235 – about 1033 litres
Turning circle: 9.62 metres
Towing capacity: Nil
Warranty: 5 years / 150 000 km plus additional 2 years / 50 000 km on drivetrain
Service plan: 1 year / 15 000 km
So you say that all you want is something basic to get from A to B? Hyundai’s new Atos fits that bill for some. But others will want more.
The good:
• Bigger than the original so you and three friends can fit comfortably,
• Average boot space for a small car,
• All the power you could reasonably need,
• Beautifully smooth gearbox,
• Turns on a button,
• Simple; with five-speed manual gearbox, manual air conditioner, fabric seat covers, steel wheels, trip computer, manual wing mirrors, manual rear window winders,
• No more gadgets than necessary although powered front windows and touchscreen infotainment are standard,
• Safety kit includes two airbags, ISOFix baby chair mountings, ABS brakes with EBD, child-proof locks, doors that unlock on impact, central locking and transponder immobiliser.
The description: There is, for now, just one model and that’s in entry-level Motion trim. Hyundai’s model ranges mostly run, from top to bottom, in this order: Glide (with) Fluid Motion. Easy.
The less-good: We hope that another model will come soon with the most urgently missing kit; a rear window wiper because it needs one on damp and foggy mornings, pilot’s seat height control because tall drivers presently perch too high for comfort, and steering wheel adjustment (both ways) so that all sizes can fit. Then, hopefully, Hyundai might improve the parking brake. It works fine but its action feels loose and tinny and not in harmony with the otherwise “good feels” of the rest of the car.
With those concerns out of the way, let’s look at positives. The body was borrowed from a recent i10 so it’s a little longer and wider than the original Atos was. It can accommodate a couple of six-footers in the back seat and possibly a wee tyke too. There’s sufficient headspace for most, although kneeroom is marginal. Feet fit under front seats easily because they cannot adjust downward. Three head restraints and full belts look after safety, there are no pockets, armrests or cup holders but the door bins appear able to accommodate two-litre bottles.
The prize is its 1086 cc Epsilon engine, last seen here in April 2018 when South Africa’s last plain vanilla i10s eased their ways off showroom floors. It’s a straightforward little four-pot mill with SOHC, three valves per cylinder, dual continuously variable valve timing and indirect injection; rated at 50 kilowatts and 99 Newton-metres. Some one-litre cars offer similar numbers but this one is King.
Peak torque is delivered at 4500 rpm, common enough for a naturally aspirated motor, but 90 percent and more can be enjoyed all the way from 2700 to 5500 revs. Put simply, it cruised comfortably up some fairly steep hills with three heavyweights aboard at 100 km/h in fifth. The motor turns over at about 3800 rpm in top at 120 km/h; quite gently for an engine this small but its wide torque band makes the difference. It’s also very flexible to drive in city traffic.
Within its design brief, it handles well, parks easily and is fun to drive. But it isn’t a sportscar, so let’s not get silly on winding country roads.
Locking, unlocking and starting is a blast from the past; just a plain-looking key without buttons. No keyless hatch lid either. But don’t fret that some ungodly could get a working copy made at the local hardware store; there’s electronic coding hidden within its plastic.
The loading lip is quite high at 75 cm and the well is 22 cm deep. It’s neat, rectangular and completely without frills unless you count the baby chair tethers on the floor. The one-piece seatback releases by means of a pair of straps that have to be pulled upward simultaneously, allowing it to fold with a step. An equivalently sized steel spare with 155/80R13 tyre and the usual tools are in a well under the floorboard.
Despite whining about being up too high, there was sufficient space between hair and headlining for taller front riders to sit fairly comfortably. Controls are unfussy and easy to use; the clutch works smoothly and the gearshift is slick and positive. We almost loved it.
All it needs now is a higher trim level.
Test unit from Hyundai SA press fleet
Here is the launch report
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 or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.
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