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. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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More: 2019 Renault KWID 1.0 Dynamique ABS

Keeping up

Posted: July 4, 2019

The numbers
Price: R144 900
Engine: 999 cc, three-cylinder, DOHC 12-valve, naturally aspirated
Power: 50 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 91 Nm at 4250 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 13.8 seconds
Maximum speed: 152 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6.2 l/100 km
Tank: 28 litres
Luggage: 300 - 1115 litres
Standard tyre size: 155/80R13
Spare: Full size
Ground clearance: 180 mm
Tow rating: Nil
Warranty: 5 years / 150 000 km
Service plan: 2 years / 30 000 km, at 15 000 km intervals

Isn’t new engine technology amazing? Fifty years ago, Renault offered a 1.0-litre (956 cc) motor that Dacia fitted into rear-engined R8s it built under licence. Developing 31 kW of power and 75 Nm of torque it ambled, by today’s standards, from standstill to 100 km/h in about 20 seconds and topped out at around 135 km/h. 

Note: One-litre Gordinis raced in bygone times by Porter, Mortimer and others did not use this engine. Theirs was a sleeved-down version of the 1100 cc Gordini powerplant; especially modified to run competitively in a lower racing class.

Fast forward to now: Renault’s current, naturally aspirated 1.0-litre (999 cc) engine fitted to Kwid models has three cylinders, indirect fuel injection, dual overhead camshafts, low-friction pistons and bearings and 12 valves controlled by means of constantly variable camshaft- and valve- timing. It produces 50 kW and 91 Nm to rush from 0 to 100 in 13.8 seconds and on to 152 km/h. 

Other modern kit includes electrically powered front windows and steering assistance, air conditioning, onboard trip computer, gear shift indicator, standard fog lamps, a seven-inch multimedia system with touchscreen and an AM-FM tuner with Bluetooth for audio streaming and hands-free telephoning. New since this past April is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto so you can mirror most of your cellphone apps directly to the main screen.

Those might include a navigation system, although why you would want one is a mystery; Kwid sports perfectly good satnav as standard fitment. Its maps are supplied by HERE, previously called NAVTEQ. The system is based on real life observation, constantly updated via user input, rather than dodgy government maps. The company claims that 85 per cent of motor manufacturers use its equipment.

Saving the best news until last, that same April 2019 update added ABS to Kwid’s disc-and-drum braking system. Look for the decals. It takes the panic out of panic braking, especially in wet weather. It should have been added years ago but these are South Africa’s least expensive cars, priced between R135 000 and R155 000 and kit costs money. The good news is that ‘phone mirroring and ABS added only R1 400 to Dynamique models’ prices.

Now: Any chance of a second airbag? Please?

We drove a Kwid Dynamique in February 2017 so we won’t go through it all again but here are some impressions. Kwid is a basic car for getting from A to B comfortably and economically. Although it offers many of life’s must-haves, including the abovementioned satnav, there are some trade-offs: Back-seat passengers have to wind their own windows, exterior mirrors adjust manually, lights and wipers must be turned on independently, doors don’t lock automatically and the driver’s chair needs a height-adjuster.

We tolerated this oversight two years ago but now feel that we’re sitting too high for comfort and really want to crank the seat down a couple of inches. Performance feels livelier than it did back then, with less need for continual cog-swapping, but forget about trailers. Its gross vehicle mass rating (GVM) is equal to its gross combined mass allowance (GCM) at 1105 kg, meaning that there‘s no leeway for towing.

People space is quite good and luggage room is generous for a car this size. It keeps up comfortably with city- and freeway traffic at legal speeds and is decently stable. We rather liked it, in a minimalist kind of way.

Test unit from Renault SA press fleet


Note the ABS decals on front doors and hatch lid

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 or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

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.

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