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.


Mini test: 2011 VW Polo 1.6 Comfortline sedan

Some SUVs brag about having that much

The body: It's just a Polo with a boot, right? Actually, no. The sedan is 432 mm longer, 17 mm wider and 12 mm taller than the hatchback. Its wheelbase is also 82 mm longer. And its fuel tank holds 10 litres more. The boot is 'way bigger too - 454 litres vs. 280 litres. Ground clearance is greater as well, going from 115 mm to 170 mm. Some SUVs brag about having that much. What else? Oh yes; only Russians, Indians and South Africans have the sedan version and get to use the 1600 cc petrol engine. Indians call it Volkswagen Vento, but the rest of us call it VW Polo sedan. Otherwise, it's still the Polo Mark 5 that won eight "Car of the Year" awards in 2010.

The engine: This is the 1598 cc, DOHC 16-valve, 77 kW petrol motor that's been around awhile. It may not be the most modern engine in VW's parts bin, but it's Euro4 compliant and runs on our local fuel without hiccups. Gearbox is five-speed manual, with a six-ratio Tiptronic available optionally. Other engines available in local Polo sedans are the 63-kW 1400 and a 77-kW 1600 cc turbodiesel.

The fittings: Basic equipment includes semi-auto air conditioner, four airbags, ABS with EBD, ISOFIX child-seat mountings, height-adjustable driver’s seat, two front reading lights and one rear, 12V power socket in centre console, three rear head restraints, remote central locking, 14-inch steel wheels with175/70 tyres, full size steel spare wheel, front and rear electric windows and height and reach adjustable steering column.

Comfortline versions, like the one on test, have some additions including electrically adjustable and heated side mirrors, 15-inch ‘Riverside’ alloy wheels with185/60 tyres, multi-function steering wheel, radio-CD-MP3 with four loudspeakers and auxiliary input, cruise control, front fog lights, multi-function display, height-adjustable passenger seat, upgraded seat material, colour-coded mirrors and twin headlamps. Another advantage of going for the bigger engine is that ESP becomes available as an optional extra. It's fitted as OE on the diesel, by the way.

The experience: For a little car, the 454-litre boot is huge. It is also quite well shaped with two side niches to wedge small items into. It loads from just above knee height and is only about 150 mm deep, so dragging stuff out shouldn't pose a problem. The fully sized steel spare wheel is the 14-inch Trendline version by the way; so don't plan on doing the five-wheel rotation exercise. Rear seatbacks are split one-third to two-thirds, with the previously mentioned three seat belts and a trio of head restraints. Space for knees and big feet is fine, but headroom is somewhat restricted. Seat back pockets and door bins provide storage space.

In front, two cup holders, four little trays, two slots, door bins with space for two-litre bottles and an oddly shaped but fair sized cubby provide storage space for those who carry their lives with them on the road. Simple rotating dials look after ventilation, but the air conditioner defaults to "auto on" every time you start up. It could drive me nuts, but different strokes, right? Two unlit makeup mirrors are provided.

Performance is willing, it's nicely geared and it's easy to drive. It hates speed bumps though, so take it easy.

The numbers:
Price: R195 000
Engine: 1598 cc DOHC 16-valve inline four
Power: 77 kW at 5250 rpm
Torque: 155 Nm at 3500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 11,1 seconds
Maximum speed: 190 km/h
Average fuel consumption: about 7,2 l/100 km
Tank: 55 litres
Warranty: 3 years/120 000 km
Maintenance and service plans: Optional
Service intervals: 15 000 km

For our review of the 2014 Polo 1.2 TSI Highline hatchback click here



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.