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 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.


Toyota SA announced additions to the Auris range in Cape Town recently. We flew down to unravel the science

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.


Pics supplied

One range, three choices

We all know we should do more to save our pretty little planet. Fossil fuels are dirty and won’t last forever, but few are persuaded about the current solutions. All of them are expensive and none has been convincingly proven to be as green as it claims, making consumers wary of adopting them. The question is: are we being blinded by science or are these ‘alternatives’ simply further attempts to rip us off?

Toyota faces a conundrum with its Prius. It’s a clean little runner with impressive emissions numbers. It also goes reasonably well, especially if you spend most of your driving life in traffic and are not an adrenaline junkie. Its biggest problem is that many of us question the carbon footprint of its battery. It’s expensive too. Toyota spokespeople explain that the price is not just a result of its hybrid drive train. Prius is built in a dedicated, environmentally friendly factory using a much higher proportion of recycled and recyclable materials than one finds in conventional cars. Despite greater cost inputs, Prius sells extremely well in Japan, but there is one big difference. Their government is prepared to waive certain taxes for the sake of the environment. Ours apparently flatly refuses.

Toyota is keeping its options open, with engineers researching all current possibilities, namely petrol hybrids, diesel hybrids, plug-in battery power, biofuels and hydrogen fuel cells. One thing is clear, however. Most customers would like to adopt greener alternatives but are not prepared to pay excessively for the privilege.

Cue an option you can have right now; a Prius drive train in an Auris body, at only a small premium over the price of a conventional Auris. Toyota believes this to be the way of the future - not just one hybrid in its own little slot, but hybrids, conventional cars and sporty derivatives in every model range. Expect Corolla and Yaris hybrids in the not-too-distant future and a sporty Auris right now. More on this later.

Auris with hybrid synergy drive (HSD) uses a 1798 cc Atkinson cycle VVT-i petrol engine with exhaust gas recirculation, coupled with a 60-kW/207 Nm electric motor. No performance figures are given but the same combination moves the Prius to 100 km/h in just under 12 seconds and on to a maximum of 180 km/h. Overall fuel consumption expectancy is 3,8l/100 km. Transmission is by means of a CVT unit designed to provide optimal gearing at all engine speeds.

Over the course of any journey, HSD operates in different modes to maximise overall efficiency. When the car comes to rest, the engine stops automatically to conserve fuel. In low-efficiency conditions, such as at start-up and low to mid-range engine speeds, the vehicle runs in EV mode using just its electric motor, completely eliminating exhaust emissions. While braking or coasting, the battery recharges. During normal driving, the source and allocation of power is constantly adjusted between engine and electric motor to achieve best performance with maximum fuel efficiency.

Four selectable drive modes together with an Eco drive monitor help drivers choose a driving style appropriate to prevailing conditions while keeping an eye on fuel-efficiency. A simple and clear power consumption gauge in the combination meter shows how much power is being used or regenerated at any time.

Standard equipment is fairly comprehensive with the basic XS model featuring ABS, BAS, EBD, VSC, seven airbags, remote central locking, 15” alloy wheels, electrically operated mirrors and windows, automatic air conditioning, front and rear fog lights, fabric upholstery and a six-speaker radio and CD unit with auxiliary, USB and Bluetooth.  XR specification adds 17” wheels, Alcantara seats, smart entry, electrochromatic interior mirror, cruise control and automatic wipers and lights.

A few paragraphs up, we mentioned a sporty Auris. Reprising the TRD (Toyota Racing Developments) influence last experienced with the 2006 RunX RSi, Toyota engineers have developed a simple power- and handling kit that transforms the 1600 cc Auris into a fun-to-drive little performer aimed at young enthusiasts.

Based on the SportX hatch, the Auris TRD is fitted with a small, neat supercharger and a suspension kit consisting of new front struts, springs and anti-roll bar. The modified car sits 35 mm lower, cuts 1,7 seconds off the standard car’s zero to 100 time and runs out at 210 km/h, some 15 km/h faster than the original. Handling improvements include less roll during high-speed lane changes, greater straight-line stability, improved turn-in and reduced vertical body movement over rough surfaces. The conversion is pretty straightforward, because the supercharger and its ducting bolts in without removing the engine.

Response is good throughout the rev range thanks to linear torque delivery remaining very similar to that of a normally aspirated engine, with no delay in response at low speed. Stronger upper-end power characteristics are typical of a compact racing engine that has been mechanically enhanced. In plain English, there is no brutal turbo-thrust from almost zero revs – it behaves like a quicker normal car. Just use the gears and keep it above 3000 rpm for maximum enjoyment.

The numbers
Prices:
Auris XS HSD – R267 200
Auris XR HSD – R289 800
Auris TRD – to be advised
Engines:
HSD – 1798 cc, 16-valve DOHC four-cylinder with 60 kW/207 Nm electric motor
Engine Power: 73 kW at 5200 rpm
Engine Torque: 142 Nm at 4000 rpm
Performance figures not given
Fuel consumption (claimed): 3,8 l/100 km
TRD – 1598 cc, 16-valve DOHC, four-cylinder
Power: 132 kW at 6400 rpm
Torque: 203 Nm at 5200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9,0 seconds
Maximum speed: 210 km/h
Fuel consumption (claimed): 7,5 l/100 km
Tank: 55 litres
Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km and 8 years/195 000 km on major hybrid power components
Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

To see our review of the 2013 Auris HSD, click here

Auris TRD 1600 supercharged

The kit bolts in place without having to remove the engine        


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) 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 I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously.