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.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


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.


First impressions: We were at the local launch of Nissan’s new Almera sedan

Spacious family saloon

Published in Witness Wheels on Thursday September 26, 2013

“A Sunny Latio for me and a cup of Tiida for my friend, please.” No, we aren’t visiting an upmarket coffee bar – just punning, as journalists often do, while describing Nissan’s greatly changed successor to Tiida that in turn followed Almera, which is what this one is also called. We have come full circle.

Getting back to Sunny and Latio, these are names given to this newest B-segment offering in other countries; except in India where it’s Renault Scala or the USA where it’s Versa. Assembled in China, India (where ours hail from), Mexico, The Philippines and Thailand, it is marketed in 170 countries as a quite highly specified, economical and spacious, family and business saloon. Sales to date exceed 500 000 units.

Built on the Nissan V platform shared by Micra and Sentra, it is 4425mm long on a 2600mm wheelbase, 1695mm wide and 1495mm high. Suspension consists of McPherson struts with coil-over dampers up front, and an H-shaped torsion beam arrangement at the rear. Brakes are disc and drum and the engine is an upgraded version of Nissan’s HR15DE unit producing 73 kW of power and 134 Nm of torque. It is offered here in Acenta specification only, with a choice of four-speed automatic or five-speed manual transmissions. Claimed average fuel consumption is given as 6,3 l/100 km for the manual version and 7,2 l/100 km for the automatic; with CO2 emissions of 149 and 171 gm/km respectively.

In keeping with current practice, extensive efforts were made to create a stiffer, stronger body while saving weight; three kilograms were shaved from the instrument panel alone and significantly more elsewhere. The automatic gearbox has seen comprehensive design enhancements; making it light and compact. A flatter torque converter, 12-percent fewer gearbox components, relocated gear layout and a more compact direct control linear solenoid result in a total length reduction of 43 mm and a weight saving of 10 kg. Benefits include reduced fuel consumption, improved shift performance and better driveability.

Contributing further to driving enjoyment, handling and NVH reduction, torsional stiffness was improved, particularly towards the rear where various components have seen significant changes. New roof creases reduce low frequency sounds and vibrations, leading to a significant reduction in booming noise while driving. They also contribute to better fuel consumption, thanks to cleaner aerodynamics.

Safety equipment includes ABS brakes with EBD and BAS, two airbags, ISOFix anchors, automatic locking, a third brake light and an immobiliser.
Standard items are 15-inch alloy wheels, electric door mirrors, manual air conditioning with dedicated rear vents and independent fan speed control, a radio/CD/MP3 music system with auxiliary input port, four speakers, steering wheel audio controls, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, tilt adjustment for the steering wheel, remote central locking and a comprehensive trip computer with two trip meters, instant and average fuel economy readouts, tank range and service information. A management decision had to be made regarding USB, Bluetooth and cruise control. Because of Almera’s positioning as a very affordable family car, these had to be left out for now.

What families and business users will appreciate is the huge and deep 490-litre boot with its low loading sill and smooth inside surfacing, and the car’s almost limousine-like rear leg room. They have to be experienced to believe. Also with practicality in mind, the interior features no fewer than three storage cubbies and four cup or bottle holders. Those are for the Sunny Latios of course.

Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored launch event.

The numbers
Prices: R165 000 (m), R175 500 (a)
Engine: 1498cc, inline, four-cylinder, naturally aspirated
Power: 73 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 134 Nm at 4000 rpm
Performance figures: Not available
Average fuel consumption (claimed): 6,3 l/100km (m) and 7,2 l/100 km (a)
Tank: 41 litres
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 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 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 I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once 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.

My reviews and launch reports appear on Thursdays in the Wheels supplement to The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles each month, most months of the year (except over the festive season) 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 they can see I do actually exist.



Comments?
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