SA Road Tests

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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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More Vigour: 2020 JMC Vigus 5, LX dual cab m/t

Storm trooper

Pics supplied
Posted: August 11, 2020

This vehicle is known as Vigus 7, Vigor and Wuhu in various markets

The first thing you notice about Vigus 5 (or 7 as it’s known in Australia and East Asia) is a new face reminiscent of Star Wars storm troopers. It might not suit everyone’s taste but I like it; it’s strong and characterful, unlike the rather bland appearance of those that went before.

Apart from the forward-thrusting grille, headlamps and fog lights are new while its sides and rear remain unchanged. The new body is 57 mm longer, 79 wider and 90 mm taller, with track widths increased by 30 mm. Wheelbase remains as was. Although the interior looks much the same at first glance, there’s now automatic locking, a new touch screen, upgraded music centre and the steering wheel gained remote buttons; to work the new cruise control, among other things.
 
Suspension stays the same although the previous rear drum brakes have been replaced by discs. Best of all, the Ford-designed 2.4-litre Puma diesel gained muscle; 15 kilowatts more power and 20 Newton-metres more lugging strength.

My time with the quickly prepared demonstrator was too short for an in-depth test, but the vehicle certainly felt stronger and more flexible than I remembered. The still-tight motor revved easily to 4500 rpm for example.
 
It cruised comfortably at around 2400 revs for 120 km/h in top gear; one I found to be very usable, pulling well from 2000 rpm (about 100 km/h) up to comfortably above the legal limit. Being a good, law-abiding citizen, I did not try to discover its maximum speed. Some overseas websites put this at 220 km/h, which I doubt. I imagine that 160 is closer to the mark but for some reason Chinese manufacturers, in particular, keep this and other technical information secret. See the numbers box at the end of this article.

Practicalities: The bin is still 1475 mm square and 500 deep, with a pair of lashing eyelets inside and two pairs of broad plastic hooks outside. Its loading height is at 900 mm and rubberising is included.

Getting into the back seat is no job for sissies, at a level of 58 cm, but if you need side steps you may add some as an option. Or simply choose the 4x4 version that has them standard. Once inside, I found plenty of head- and knee room although I would have preferred the backrest to be slightly less upright. The area is better suited to two passengers than three because there are just two head restraints and a pair of full belts, with a lap strap for the occasional third.

Although this pickup is a mid-market model offering just one engine, one trim level (LX) and five-speed manual only, it does provide two airbags and ABS brakes with EBD. Manual air conditioning, leather seats, powered windows and mirrors and reversing alarm are standard.

Fit and finish is good and the vehicle is comfortable. I look forward to getting re-acquainted some time. And hope to know more technical details by then.

Test unit from JMC Pietermaritzburg

We drove a 4x4 of the previous model in 2016

The numbers
Prices: 4x2 at R317 990 and 4x4 at R374 990
Engine: 2402 cc, four-cylinder, 16 valve, commonrail, direct injection, turbodiesel
Power: 103kW @ rpm not stated
Torque: 310 Nm @ rpm not stated
Zero to 100 km/h: not stated
Maximum speed: not stated
Car magazine fuel index (previous model): 9.8 l/ 100 km
Tank: 68 litres
Tare / GVW / GCM (kg): not stated
Ground clearance: not stated
Warranty: 5 years / 100 000 km
Service plan: 5 years / 60 000 km   

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 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.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.