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. 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.
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 conducted on our turf and on our terms.
For out-of-province vehicle launch features however, travel costs are covered by the manufacturer concerned. This is common in the motor industry, as it's more economical to ship journalists to cars than to ship cars to journalists.
Judgments and opinions expressed on this site are our own. We do not accept paid editorial content or ads of any kind.
Originally posted: May 1, 2008
Outside pics by author, inside by Quickpic
A motoring journalist’s life is not always easy. Cynics are quick to suggest that you simply drive a fancy new car for a couple of days, bash out a few words and some grateful editor hands you money. On most points, this is just not so, even though many road reports do pretty much write themselves.
On such joyous occasions, one or two attributes have reached out, grabbed you in the face and identified the vehicle as cool or quick, gorgeous or plain, hot or not and begged to be described as such for both your breathlessly waiting fans, eager to read whatever you have prepared for them.
This is one of those “other” occasions.
What do you say about the World (and South African) Car of the Year if it does many things well but doesn’t reach out to your soul on any level?
Don’t get me wrong. The Mazda2 1,5 Individual is a fine little car:
• Its 1498 cc naturally aspirated engine performs willingly, sprinting from zero to 100 km/h in a whisker under 11 seconds,
• Variable valve timing helps it pull like a tractor from indecently low rpm and it just keeps on seamlessly gathering momentum until it’s running like an athlete,
• The driver’s seat is adjustable for height, the steering wheel adjusts up and down, both front chairs are well bolstered to keep you in place without feeling restrictive when you’re getting a move on, and there is adequate head and leg room in the rear,
• It handles well; not magnificently but very acceptably,
• It is decently economical and clean– Car magazine gave it a fuel consumption index rating of 7,2 l/100 km and calculated its CO2 count at 168 gm/km,
• Intelligent application of metallurgical principles results in energy-absorbency where it’s needed and torsional rigidity where it really counts - maintaining the integrity of the passenger compartment in frontal collisions – while keeping unladen weight down to only 900 kg,
• Its controls are well laid out, it has a great little 6-CD sound system with MP3 capability and all the usual conveniences like aircon and “power everything” are present and correct,
• It is youthfully and perkily styled with an almost-aggro wedge shape and even a retro Mini-style black-on-white speedometer right up in front of your face,
• And with one notable exception, outward vision is excellent. Such as when you need to take a quick look over your shoulder to make sure the mirrors haven’t missed anything. The centre and rear pillars are really wide and the rear side windows a bit too narrow and oddly shaped to afford a clear view where it counts.
But it’s still the partner your mother would choose for you, rather than being the love of your life and the majority of the world’s motoring scribes apparently accept that “Mummy knows best.”
Test unit from Mazda SA press fleet
Notes: Mazda2 came, at time of writing, in three 1349 cc versions at prices ranging from R131 300 and two 1498 cc variants, including the subject of this review, priced at R167 000. Prices included a 3 year/100 00 km warranty and 4 year/60 000 km service plan. Servicing takes place at 15 000 km intervals.
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.
This site is operated by Scarlet Pumpkin Communications in Pietermaritzburg.
Unless otherwise stated, all photographs are courtesy of www.quickpic.co.za
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8