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. 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.
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 preselected course. 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.
Posted: 12 March 2018
The numbers:
Prices as per text
Engine: 999 cc, three cylinders, 12 valves
Power: 50 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 91 Nm at 4250 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: About 15.0 seconds (a)
Maximum speed: 152 km/h
Average fuel consumption (claimed): 4.7 l/100 km (m) or 4.4 l/100 km (a)
Tank: 28 litres
Luggage: 300 - 1115 litres
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km
Servicing at 15 000 km intervals
Plans available optionallySocial justice warriors (SJW), those who lash out angrily in support of whomever they see as oppressed, hate Renault’s entry-level, AB segment KWID. How dare the company offer a car with only one airbag and no ABS braking system to uninformed buyers, they ask.
They have a valid point, provided one views the world from the typical SJW’s lofty vantage points of economic privilege and blindness to reality. Hard facts dictate that the desirable, no matter how noble, is not always achievable.
To begin with, fancy kit costs money. If you really must have a second bag and ABS, your next choices in 1.0-litre automatics are Suzuki Celerio at R167 000 or Kia Picanto at R176 000. That means you have to find another R20 000 to R29 000 for the privilege.
A survey conducted for Renault SA, polling actual KWID customers, revealed some interesting facts and points of view. Sixty percent are first-time buyers attracted by the triple considerations of price, convenience and safety; that’s right – safety. The average commuter uses three taxis, each way, just getting to work and back. We won’t go into the safety issues there.
The first alternative, if one can afford about R130 000, is a second-hand car. But how old is that car, does it have all the safety features you demand and which hooligan has done dreadful things to it before offering it as trade-in to the dealer selling it to you? For peace of mind, almost anyone would prefer to get something new. There is also a certain “feel-good” value to owning a new vehicle.
Then there is the matter of convenience. Taxis don’t run at all hours of the day and night. They don’t always go all the way to where you want to be. And how much time do you waste waiting for the next taxi after getting off the first one? Finally you know that you are always sober, good tempered and drive safely (we hope).
Few of us will admit to it, but we all like a car that looks good. KWID fits the bill nicely. It looks like a small SUV, stands tall so you can see everything and it has 180 mm of ground clearance to deal with bad roads, speed humps and pot holes. It can carry five average sized people comfortably and its 300-litre boot is the biggest in its class.
Three KWID models are available here. There’s basic Expression at R126 900, more desirable Dynamique at R136 900 and since last week, Dynamique AMT at R146 900. All prices include a year’s-worth of insurance. AMT stands for automated manual transmission. That means you drive it like an automatic, but it’s different. It is amazingly easy to use but not what you would choose if you were used to driving hotshot luxury cars with twin-clutch gearboxes.
There are no shift paddles, no gear lever and no clutch – just two pedals for ‘stop’ and ‘go’ and a rotating dial on the dash. It’s labelled R for reverse, N for neutral and D for drive. It’s a brilliant setup for first-time drivers.
Select N, turn the key to the point where the instrument panel lights come on and wait three seconds. Turn the key to start the engine. Press on the ‘stop’ pedal and release the hand brake. Turn the selector to D and release the foot brake as you push down on the accelerator. It’s like driving a normal automatic except for the three-second wait.
Accelerate gently. The car does not like being driven like a racer. Within a short time you will notice that as the engine sound changes, the car will feel as if it ran into a wall of marshmallow. It is similar to the feeling you get when revving a hotshot car too fast and the engine rev. limiter kicks in. The trick is to lift off the gas slightly as the engine note changes, just as you would do when driving a manual car. It feels odd to an experienced driver but you get used to it within about 40 kilometres.
As we say, it is not a racer. It’s a first-time car for new drivers. Acceleration is fine for use in town and it will get up to 120 km/h on the freeway quite easily, but passing other vehicles takes a bit longer than you might be used to. It will kick down (gently) when asked to but you won’t feel the bustling power of a Clio RS for example.
Standard equipment on the Expression model includes the driver’s airbag; front seat belts with pretensioners; immobiliser; high mounted brake light; electric power steering; powered front windows; can and bottle storage places; manual air conditioner; two-speaker radio with Bluetooth for audio streaming and hands-free calls, USB with auxiliary and a 12-volt socket for charging.
Dynamique level, including the AMT, adds different coloured trim items, a second glove box and a 7” multimedia touchscreen with Apple connectivity, voice control and satellite navigation.
It’s a well-priced package offering mobility, value and another kind of safety to first-time buyers and drivers. SJWs need not apply.
Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press launch
Read our review on the 2017 KWID manual 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 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.
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Unless otherwise stated, all photographs are courtesy of www.quickpic.co.za
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8