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.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.

 

We take in the sights with a Renault Scenic 1,9 dCi Dynamique

 Stylish, sexy, practical and protective

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday December 9, 2009

 When the new range of Scenics was launched, we writers were asked to please stop referring to them as “mummy busses.” Trouble is, they do the whole mom’s taxi/courtesy car/airport shuttle thing so well that one is at a loss for a newer, more pc name for them.

 To get the technical stuff out of the way first, the short wheel base, five-seat Scenic models come with your choice of either a 1,6 litre petrol motor developing 83 kW at       6 000 rpm or a 1,9 litre turbodiesel developing 96 kW at 3 750 rpm and 300 Nm of torque at 1 750 rpm. This is the model under review.

 The longer, seven-seater Grand Scenic is offered only with the diesel at this time. All are fitted with six-speed manual transmissions. Common to all is automatic headlight activation, rain-sensing wipers, front fog lamps, 16” alloy wheels and electric folding mirrors. Other standard kit includes a 60-watt CD player/tuner, Bluetooth cell phone connection, airconditioning, cruise control with speed limiter, electric windows and electric power steering.

 Diesel models add dual-zone climate control, integrated Tom-tom satnav (a R5000 option on the base model), a more powerful sound system with iPod, auxiliary and flash drive connectivity, and rear parking sensors.

 ABS with EBD and EBA is standard, as is six airbags, two side-impact crash sensors, three-point Isofix child seat anchorages for all three seats in the second row and full three-point seat belts for third row passengers in the Grand Scenic. Optional is ESC with integrated CSV understeer control.

 For the ecology-minded, all Scenics are 95 percent recoverable by weight at the ends of their lives and almost 14 percent of the plastics they contain have been recycled.

 A possible reason for asking us to avoid the “mummy bus’ moniker is that such vehicles are sometimes seen as being a bit harsh and clumsy to drive.  If there are still instances of the man of the house hogging the ultra-luxurious sedan while the mother of his children has to make do with a skedonk, then I suggest you burn his toast every day until he gets you a Scenic.

 Far from being harsh or clumsy, they drive easily, are comfortable and handle well. Being a diesel, the test car performed perfectly acceptably without being a ball of fire. Real life fuel consumption, driving sensibly but not like a little old lady, averaged out at about 8,6 l/100 km.

 Visibility is excellent via big windows and a tall windscreen, moved closer to the driver so you can see street signs and traffic lights more easily. Mentioned in a previous report is the minder mirror for keeping a watchful eye on the children in the back seat.

 Getting in and out is a breeze, thanks to a flat floor without thresholds and doors that open wide. The load area is big and can be made even more so by second-row seats that adjust backwards and forwards. These three individual units fold their backs flat, or tumble forward as desired, to increase cargo space. The loading sill is pleasantly low, with no lip to lift things over.

 If you pay attention to warnings about smash-and-grab artists at intersections, you will know to keep your stuff out of sight. Scenic models have four in-floor storage cubbies and four under-seat drawers, in addition to all the other nooks and crannies in the car.

 I still can’t think of a suitable pet name for the Scenic, but how about this? Unlike jaded ex-cheerleaders of years gone by, today’s “yummy mummy” is stylish, sexy and practical while protective of her treasured brood, so what could be more pc than voiture yummy?

 The numbers

Price: R280 000

Engine: 1 870 cc four cylinder, eight valve, common rail turbodiesel

Power: 96 kW at 3 750 rpm

Torque: 300 Nm at 1 750 rpm

Zero to 100 km/h: about 11,3 seconds

Maximum speed: 194 km/h

Real life average fuel consumption: about 8,6 l/100 km

Tank: 60 litres

Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km

Service plan: 5 years/100 000 km

 

 

 

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

 

 

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously. Contact me here

 

Back to Home page