SA Road Tests

Welcome

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 possibly applies to the models you get at home.

Unlike most car reports, what you read in these pages will not be a faithful reproduction, albeit slightly reworded, of what appeared in the manufacturer's press release. We look for background material, user experience and whatever else we can find that's beyond the obvious. Our guiding rule is that you will be able to tell that the car was actually driven.

*To read one of our archived road tests, just select from the alphabetical menu of manufacturers' names on the left. Hover your cursor over the manufacturer's name, then choose from the drop-down menu that appears.

*Pre-owned: Our tests go back quite a few years, so if you are looking for something pre-owned, you might well find a report on it in here.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted are those ruling at the time the reports were written.


Win some, lose some: The 2014 Suzuki SX4 GLX AllGrip

More space, more toys, less fuel

Posted: 26 November 2104

Suzuki’s newest SX4 is mostly win-win but, being picky, I’m never quite satisfied.
 
The body is 165 millimetres longer than previously on a wheelbase stretched by 100 mm and it’s a centimetre broader. Interior design magic turns that into a cabin 220 mm longer and 35 wider. Its boot grew too; by about 165 litres. Further, Suzuki abandoned the old, rather odd looking, sloping rear end to make it look more conventional – more like a ‘normal’ SUV. Few people buy ‘odd.’ Odd is uncomfortable. Normal is nice, so Suzuki will hopefully attract greater public interest with this one.

Then they changed the engine. We get an updated, low-friction version of Suzuki’s M16A, multi-point injected, petrol motor putting out 86 kilowatts and 156 Newton metres of torque. Some markets call the car S-Cross and score a 1600 cc Fiat diesel as an engine option.

Although the first generation SX4 was a joint venture between the two companies, the new model was designed by Takehito Arai, is completely new and is wholly Suzuki. It's built by Magyar-Suzuki at Esztergom in Hungary. Both models are offered in parallel in certain markets.

The old 2,0-litre, 112 kW and 190 Nm power plant worked well enough, but Suzuki decided to try something more economical – not only because all-wheel drive tends to be thirsty, but because by today’s standards the previous engine was too. Driven without special consideration, the new car used almost two litres less fuel per hundred-kilometres during my test regime. The downside, for speed demons, is that while the previous car dashed from zero to 100 km/h in 10 seconds flat, the new one needs twelve.

My verdict after living with one for a week is that power is ’good enough’ but not exciting. It needs either a diesel for more torque or a teeny touch of turbo. Roll-on from 120 km/h in top (3000 rpm) was a little lethargic and I had to change down a notch for long hills. A further drawback is that all-wheel drive, AllGrip, versions enjoy 5 mm less ground clearance than supposedly city-style front-wheel drivers. It’s probably because of the bulkier awd gearbox.

So what is AllGrip? It’s Suzuki’s version of torque-sensing (Torsen) awd. In auto mode it drives only the front wheels most of the time - that’s for economy - but shifts power rearward if slippage is detected up front. Snow (and Mud) mode keeps it stable in dodgy conditions by monitoring road surfaces continually and shifting power between front and rear as needed. Should things start getting loose or unruly, ESP kicks in to restore order. We don't get snow in my neck of the woods but it’s useful on dirt, loose gravel and slithery stones. Been there, did that - it works.

Sport is for twisty, hilly roads and getting a hustle on. Throttle response is sharper, power bias is more rearward and ESP is dialled back a notch so your inner teenager can have fun. Finally Lock mode, used only with the Snow setting, is for getting out of tight spots. It does what the label says by locking power equally between front and rear and, usefully, braking spinning wheels to transfer torque to those that need it.

The tenderfoot trail offered an interesting wash-away with loose shale each side, but no mud that day. After that I took it onto corrugated dirt between the mini-farms, then the harsh and stony section toward Fort Nottingham. Nil adverse to report, as they say in government-speak. The SX4 behaved impeccably on all three.

Because both AllGrip versions (manual and CVT) are trimmed to GLX specification, there have been some useful upgrades since the previous model. Both front seats adjust vertically, the steering wheel gained reach adjustment, the air conditioner is now dual-channel, filtered and automatic, and the gear position indicator not only suggests a ‘better’ ratio but puts a dot next to the number if it agrees with your choice (aw-sweeet).

Headlamps are HID with automatic levelling, auto-on and washers, there are LED running lights, hill holder, keyless entry and locking, push-button start, automatic dipping for the interior mirror, rain-sensing wipers, front fog lamps to go with the rears, the wing mirrors can fold and have built-in turn signal repeaters, and the driver’s window features single-touch up and down. There’s no automatic locking when getting underway though.

The music centre gains a pair of tweeters to go with the standard four speakers, there’s an armrest with cup holders in the rear seat backrest and park-assist beepers front and rear. It has bigger, 17-inch alloy wheels. All versions sport a fuel computer, ABS with BA and EBD, seven airbags, ESP, two sets of ISOFix anchors and Bluetooth.

Getting practical, the hatch opens to upper thigh level to reveal the usual SUV-style flat loading floor. Not so common is that said floor can be lifted or removed to reveal a further 10 centimetres of depth. There’s a light, a pair of side wells, a 12-Volt socket, two lashing rings and a bag hook. Lifting the carpeting away from the equivalently sized emergency wheel exposes four more lashing rings. The rubberware itself is cutely labelled ‘Spare Tire.’

Moving into the back seat, there is still the decent quantity of head room we experienced in the old car and knee space is now almost limousine-like. Storage is courtesy of one seatback pocket, small bottle holders in the doors and the armrest cup holders mentioned earlier. The 60:40-split seat backs recline slightly. When they’re fully upright, you gain ten litres of luggage volume but your passengers probably won’t thank you. Three head restraints and a trio of belts keep them safe.

Up front, the cloth covered seats are supportive without being clingy and you sit quite high even when the chairs are at their lowest settings. The deep CD box under the central armrest houses the USB plug which is awkward to get at. It might be an idea to fit an extension cord to make life easier. The five-speed manual gear lever works smoothly but reach to the odd-numbered ratios is a slight stretch. Oddly, for a Japanese vehicle, the parking brake is placed for left hand drive.

There are a couple more cup holders, an open tray with 12-Volt socket, a change- or small phone slot by the driver’s right knee, slightly bigger door bins and a pretty decent glove box. Pedals are well spaced and it’s easy to get big left feet past the clutch to the foot rest. View outward is good and it turns in only 10,4 metres so it’s easy to park.

Wrapping up, the new SX4 looks more like a regular SUV, is lighter on fuel and has more toys than previously. It just needs a bit more grunt.

Test unit from Suzuki SA press fleet

The numbers
Price: R319 900
Engine: 1586 cc, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder
Power: 86 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 156 Nm at 4400 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12,0 seconds
Maximum speed: 179 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 6,7 l/100 km
Tank: 47 litres
Luggage: 430-440 to 875 litres
Ground clearance: 175 mm
EuroNCAP: Five stars
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km; with roadside assistance
Service plan: 3 years/90 000 km

Our review of the 2010 SX4 all-wheel drive is 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?
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