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. Most, but not all, 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.


Capturing the essence of family wheels: 2015 Renault Captur 1.2 EDC Dynamique

The secret is in the understanding

Posted: 3 July 2015

The cheat sheet
Price: R279 900 basic, R289 900 as tested
Engine: 1198 cc, four-cylinder, chain driven DOHC, 16-valve turbopetrol
Power: 88 kW at 4900 rpm
Torque: 190 Nm between 2000 and 4000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 10.9 seconds
Maximum: 192 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.0 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage: 377 – 455 litres (seat forward), 1235 litres with setbacks folded
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/45 000 km; at annual or 15 000 km intervals

I occasionally get the feeling that some colleagues write their reviews with an eye or ear on peer acceptance - in other words, do not rock boats or disagree with those who supposedly know better. It’s sad, really.

My reason for saying so is the flood of, at worst, blind criticism and kindest, serious doubt as to the suitability of, Renault’s EDC (efficient dual clutch) transmission. That’s the one fitted to the 1200 cc petrol version of its Captur crossover in South Africa and to various models overseas.

Let’s look: It has six speeds, it’s twin-clutch (usually the hottest thing since sliced bread) and it’s made by Getrag, a respected manufacturer of manual and automatic transmissions. This version features manual override but does not have a “Sport” position or shift paddles. That’s because it’s fitted to a little 88-kilowatt family bus rather than some fiercely powerful and expensive sportscar – it’s a question of economics and what its intended buyers actually want. The secret is in the understanding.

Looking for faults, I abused it a couple of times. I almost caught it flat-footed once or twice in normal drive mode and, to be polite, the “eco” setting made response to throttle inputs and gearbox demands really soft. But it can be switched off and doesn’t default back on when restarting.
 
Perhaps that’s what rattled my colleagues; the autobox in an inexpensive little 1200 cc mummy bus doesn’t have quite the hair-trigger responsiveness of more expensive kit on German wunderwagens. But it’s still very good; better than most slush boxes on vehicles costing much more.

The car's reception so far has been enthusiastic. Captur won the What Car? award for “Best small SUV below £6000” in 2014 and “Car of the Year” in France for 2013. Over the first couple of months since its introduction here it comfortably outsold its two most obvious rivals, Opel Mokka and VW Golf SV.

It's an impressive compact mummy bus, traffic jam crawler, family carry-all, game park tourer, pooches-to-parlour carrier or student car but whether it's big enough, or small enough, for your needs is up to you. It's well equipped, has above average safety kit and is competitively priced. All the main features, specifications and details are in my launch report, so there’s no need to go through them again.

Briefly the 1200 cc four-cylinder turbomotor develops quite enough power to get the job done; the gearbox is smooth and responsive although I would have liked slightly longer legs in third gear (manual override and driving quickly); the tail gate opens down to 73 centimetres which is probably low enough for most people; it has pull-downs on both sides so lefties needn’t feel neglected and the floorboard not only lifts to reveal a further 20 centimetres of depth but can be parked at a 45-degree angle to form a useful space to wedge stuff into.

The rear seatbacks fold flat (for the dogs, bigger loads or a place for kids to nap) and it passes the “tall driver seated behind himself” test, while its fairly soft suspension and 170 mm (minimum) ground clearance makes it good for steep driveways - or dirt roads with embedded stones, shallow washaways and ripples, to grampy's farm or in game parks. I can’t comment on the standard zip-off seat covers because our test car had optional leather upholstery with built-in seat warming function. For this time of year, it could be R10 000 well spent.

If I was being nasty I might complain that the removable oddments box, that clips into the rearmost cup holder, gets in the way of adjusting the front seatback recliners when chairs are adjusted well back; the door bins are a bit small and I’m not sure I like the idea of stretch-straps rather than enclosed pockets behind the front chairs. But if that’s all, why bother?

Finally, the bright interior trim in Dynamique versions is not to everyone’s liking. A proud owner of an almost-275 000 km Modus, Captur’s predecessor, felt that “all that chrome and shiny black plastic” was too intrusive. But it’s a matter of personal taste. And it’s still a fine little motor car.

Test unit from Renault SA press fleet

For more technical information, go to the launch report here

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.

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?
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.