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.
Posted: 4 October 2017
The numbers
Price: R294 900
Engine: 1461 cc, SOHC, eight-valve turbodiesel
Power: 66 kW at 4400 rpm
Torque: 220 Nm between 1750 and 2500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 13.1 seconds
Maximum speed: 171 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 5.6 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage: 377 – 455 – 1235 litres
Maximum towing mass (braked): 900 kg
Ground clearance: 170 mm
Warranty: 5 years / 150 000 km
Service plan: 3 years / 45 000 km at 15 000 km intervalsUpdate: Renault’s compact Captur crossover has been in South Africa since May 2015 and has sold almost 7000 units locally. The present line-up consists of five models spread over two trim levels, Blaze and Dynamique, two petrol engines, a small diesel and three gearboxes – five or six-speed manual and six-gear dual clutch automatic.
Our test unit was fitted with the Alliance’s Euro5-compliant (Euro6 if you can get 10 ppm fuel), 66 kilowatt, 1.5-litre K9K turbodiesel. The engine has an iron block with aluminium cylinder head and sump; eight valves operated via a single overhead camshaft and induction by common rail direct injection with a waste-gated turbocharger supplied by Bosch. It has a close-coupled diesel particulate filter that should last the engine’s natural lifetime. The timing belt’s life expectancy is 160 000 km.
A sticker in the engine compartment stated that our test car came from Renault’s Revoz plant at Novo Mesto in South-Eastern Slovenia near the border with Croatia. It’s a small town covering 33.3 square kilometres and had a population of 23 341 in 2012.
A recent facelift endowed it with a redesigned upper grille with chromed edging, LED Pure Vision lamps and new C-shaped daytime running lights. New colours and new wheels supplement smarter interiors with new, more supportive, seats; satin chrome trim; a soft-touch dashboard; a new gear lever and a central armrest, with concealed tray, for those in front. The armrest unfortunately gets in the way of working the gear stick and parking brake, so we flipped it out of the way. Full leather upholstery with warmed front chairs is a R12 000 option on Dynamique versions. Adjustments are all mechanical.
Carried over from previous models are four airbags, automatic locking on the move, touch-button unlocking and push-button starting. There’s also the usual braking and handling kit, multimedia equipment, hill start assist, auto-on headlights and wipers, cornering fog lamps, automatic air conditioning with quick defrost, satellite navigation, tyre pressure sensing, parking alarms and reversing camera.
Renault’s signature walk-away central locking is still there. Good to know is that, because there’s no transmitted signal, bad guys with jammers in supermarket parking lots cannot override it. But it only works after the engine has been running. If you go back out to open the car for any reason, you must use the transmitter on the key fob to relock it. That’s when you should watch for the flash and try the handles.
This car was essentially identical, apart from facelift and paint colour, to the Sunset Edition we drove last November (2016) so if we have left anything out please cross over (awful pun intended) for a look. Information we came upon after more recent research is that the engine’s torque band extends from 1750 rpm to 2500. That’s where power has already built up to 58 of the unit’s maximum of 66 kW, and climbing, so it explains why you get such a seamless surge of power and the motor’s unstoppable feel.
The gearshift is smooth and positive, there is plenty of space for big left feet to reach the footrest, steering is light and easy, the dials are clear and the seven-inch touch screen with its half-dozen menus is straightforward. Thankfully, music volume and air controls are separate and consist of simple buttons and knobs. The car feels solidly built and fit and finish is good.
Rear seat accommodations provide three full belts, three head restraints and a fairly low centre tunnel. That means the middle passenger can at least have legs, even if they’re not very long. Storage is courtesy of a couple of seatback pockets, small door bins and an open tray in the central console. There’s no armrest and thus no cup holders, but there is a 12-volt socket and that’s all your typical teenager needs. That’s because it’s awkward to lean on an armrest and still use both thumbs.
The seat squab can be shifted fore and aft through a range of about 10 cm, providing additional luggage volume at the expense of leg space, which is normally very generous. Transporting littler passengers enables up to 78 litres more cargo room before dropping the back rests.
The hatch door opens down to about 72 centimetres, revealing the usual flat deck. Unusual is that the board is reversible, with a non-slip surface on one side and it can be removed completely to reveal an additional 19 cm-deep cavity or wedged at an angle to separate cargoes. A light and one bag hook are provided and the spare is a spacesaver.
We liked this Captur’s balance of properties and reckon it has all an average urban family needs; strong performance, good fuel economy, usable features, average-to-good luggage space, solid construction and competitive pricing.
Test unit from Renault SA press fleet
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.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8