SA Roadtests
South Africa
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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 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.
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Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday April 17, 2013
Don’t laugh; your writer is secretly a committed feminist. Anything that demeans or patronises women annoys him, so he hates unnecessary references to beauty or attractiveness. If she has intellect, skills and talent, works hard and is supportive and dedicated, please appreciate her for who she is, rather than for fortunate accidents of nature or the air-brusher’s art.
Then he met New Clio and all resolutions fell out of the window. She is beautiful in an elfin sort of way; unforgettable, certainly and Laurens van den Acker, Renault Design Director, describes her as “… so gorgeous that it makes you want to eat it.” That sounds dangerously close to inappropriate, but then he is European and she does look delectable. She’s skilled, talented, brainy, works hard and is most supportive of her passengers. And she’s great value for money. That also sounds marginally smutty, but it’s meant in a good way.
Judges and buyers agree. New Clio has scooped a number of accolades since late 2012 including: 2012 Golden Steering Wheel Award in Germany for the Small Cars category, European Car of the Year Finalist 2013, Best Production Car at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, Top 3 Most Beautiful Car of 2012 Awards and a 2013 World Design Car of the Year finalist. European sales trends at end-February 2013 show promising results with New Clio taking second place behind VW Golf, with sales up 17,5-percent on a year ago.
Clio has been extensively restyled, with the previous angular shape giving way to a striking three-door coupé look. But appearances deceive; there are two more handles hidden in the rear door pillar trims. Inside, its ambience is modern, welcoming and ergonomic and with a dashboard sculpted to resemble an aircraft wing, one has the sensation of sitting in a cockpit. Designed to complement the exterior styling and with finely appointed details throughout the cabin, New Clio’s interior combines beauty with functionality.
Features include a central interactive tablet console with a range of multimedia functions, a digital speedometer, plush, high-tech materials, comfortable seating and a combination of high-class inserts (dependant on the model) that make for a modern, ergonomic design. Size-wise it is much as it was previously; just slightly longer, bringing luggage space up to 300 litres with the rear seat backs up, and it’s 45 mm lower, making it look more assertive and sporty.
Talents on even the most basic model include cruise control with speed limiter, Bluetooth connectivity for audio streaming and hands-free telephony, powered front windows, powered outside mirrors with defrost, USB and auxiliary connectivity, an onboard computer, a Bass Reflex sound system, motorway touch indicators, remote central locking and Hill Start Assist. Passenger support systems include four airbags, ABS brakes with EBA and EBD, and ESP. Airconditioning is optional on the entry-level 1.2-litre Authentique, but standard on the others.
While Authentique uses the legacy 1149 cc, four-cylinder engine, upper level Expression and Dynamique versions use a new three-cylinder, turbocharged 898 cc motor pushing out 66 kW. This uses Renault Formula 1 technologies to reduce weight and friction, resulting in performance to match most free-breathing 1400s. To pacify those who don’t like the sound of a tiny triple, the exhaust system has been tuned to sound more like a six-cylinder engine. It doesn’t match the 92-kW output of the new three-pot, 1-litre Fiesta, but quite honestly the difference doesn’t feel that great.
Upper versions introduce nice-to-haves that include the MEDIA NAV multimedia system with 7” touchscreen and integrated navigation, alloy wheels, front fog lights, leather steering wheel and gear lever, more sophisticated keyless access, push button starting, rain and light sensors and rear electric windows.
Renault SA confesses to shooting itself in the foot with Clio 3. In an effort to avoid cannibalising Sandero sales, the company allowed Clio pricing to creep too high and lost faithful fans in the process. The lesson has been learned, they say, so look at the prices in the numbers box and fall in love again.
Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press launch
The numbers
Prices: R149 900 – R179 900
Power: Authentique – 55 kW/107 Nm; Expression and Dynamique – 66 kW/135 Nm
Zero to 100 km/h: 15,4 seconds/12,2 seconds
Maximum speed: 167/182 km/h
Average fuel consumption (claimed): 5,5/4,5 l/100 km
CO2 gm/km: 127/105 gm
Tank: 45 litres
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km
Service plan: 3 years/45 000 km; at 15 000 km intervals
For our review of the Clio4 900 Turbo Dynamique click here
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.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8