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. 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.


Budget SUV: 2018 Toyota Rush

Lots of modern kit

Pics by Toyota@Motorpress
Posted: 28 July 2018

The numbers
Price: R299 900
Engine: 1496 cc, DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder with dual VVT-i
Power: 77 kW at 6000 rpm
Torque: 136 Nm at 4200 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11.9 seconds
Top speed: 160 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 7.1 l/100 km
Tank: 45 litres
Luggage: 609 litres
Turning circle: 10.4 metres
Warranty: 3 years / 100 000 km
Service plan: 6 years / 90 000 km at 15 000 km intervals

What is Rush, Toyota’s latest addition to the local SUV park, really?

Is it a mid-size SUV with budget pricing? It fits that description by slotting in at R300 000 for one with five-speed manual transmission or at R313 500 with four-speed automatic. Physical dimensions are 4435 mm on a 2685 mm wheelbase, 1695 mm wide and 1705 mm tall. Hyundai’s medium sized Tucson is only 40 mm longer on a slightly shorter wheelbase, marginally wider and 50 mm lower. That’s nearly all in the ground clearance. Tucson clears the deck at 172 mm vs. Rush’s 220.

Is it a budget SUV aimed at younger buyers? It probably is. Rush offers lots of modern kit like push-button locking, opening and starting; automatic locking on the move; auto-on LED headlights; 7” touchscreen infotainment centre with six speakers, satellite navigation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, USB with auxiliary and HDMI; folding mirrors and reversing alarm with camera.
 
It also offers six airbags; ABS brakes; vehicle stability control and hill start assist; automatic, single channel air conditioning with supplementary vents in the rear compartment and the usual powered windows and mirrors. It gained an ASEAN N-CAP safety rating of five stars. Apart from more cup- and bottle holders than usual, there is sufficient storage space for most users’ needs.

But to sell this at R300 000, costs had to be trimmed somewhere. It is not built in Japan with attendant high labour costs and it’s certainly not a Lexus. Interior fit and finish is up to usual Toyota standards but you can see where shortcuts were taken when you open the bonnet or study the bodywork critically.

Truth to tell it is a rebadged, upwardly spec’ed Daihatsu Terios from Indonesia with just a hint of Avanza here and there - like rear-wheel drive, McPherson strut front end and multilink rear suspension. The 1500 cc engine developing 77 kW and 136 Nm sounds familiar and is a new development of an old formula, being a more modern 2NR-VE motor with dual VVT-i rather than the previous 3SZ-VE.

Putting this into a body weighing 1270 kg, however, means that gearing needs to be short in order to stay mobile. Engine revs at 120 km/h in top gear are about 3600, which is quite high by modern standards. On the other hand long uphills with a 100-km/h speed limit, in top gear, are no problem provided you maintain momentum. Put plainly, performance is fair but not exciting. And although gear shifting is smooth and positive, you need to be very gentle with the clutch because it stalls easily.

Overseas Rush models are sold with seven seats in three rows. Toyota SA decided to opt for the five-seat version and has no plans to bring in the seven. The rationale is simple: You know how you describe a big and powerful, turbocharged V8 with loads of muscle, to your neighbour and he gets terribly disappointed because it uses more fuel than his daughter’s little 1200 does?

Similarly, Toyota could easily bring in the seven-seater (they really are twins) but then people would whine about shortage of luggage volume. It's unrealistic to expect everything but this way you get 609 big, voluminous litres of carrying space rather than a stingy 217 litres with the added chairs. And there is more room available if you scoot the back seats forward by 11 cm or simply fold and tumble them. A side benefit is that you can use the tumble feature to get at luggage close to the front without having to open the hatch.

Speaking of which, this opens down to 68 cm and onto a flat floor. Ignore the extra cup holders and stash boxes because they belong with the seven-seat layout. The spare is a fully sized alloy wheel slung under the floor and the jack and spanners are hidden under the front passenger’s seat.

Unusually, short drivers have a seemingly endless range of upward chair adjustment to love. Tall pilots won’t, unfortunately, because it cannot be racked down as far as it should go. Our 6’1” tester had only half a fist-width of space overhead and his sight line was uncomfortably high.

Concerns aside, Toyota Rush provides all you really need and most of what you want, so if you’re after a budget SUV, are short-to-average in stature and can’t live without toys you will probably love it.

Test unit from Toyota SA press fleet

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 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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Comments or questions?
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