SA Roadtests
South Africa
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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.
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.
Editor's note: SA Roadtests accepts multi-day vehicle loans from manufacturers in order to provide editorial reviews. All vehicle reviews are conducted on our turf and on our terms.
For out-of-province vehicle launch features however, travel costs are covered by the manufacturer concerned. This is common in the motor industry, as it's more economical to ship journalists to cars than to ship cars to journalists.
Judgments and opinions expressed on this site are our own. We do not accept paid editorial content or ads of any kind.
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 preselected course. 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 a test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.
Posted: November 7, 2019
The numbers
Price: R159 900
Engine: Hyundai Epsilon G4HG, 1086 cc, SOHC, 12-valve, four-cylinder
Power: 50 kW at 5500 rpm
Torque: 99 Nm at 4500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 14.4 seconds
Maximum speed: 155 km/h
Claimed average fuel consumption: 5.7 l/100 km
Tank: 35 litres
Standard tyre size: 165/70R14
Spare: 155/80R13
Turning circle: 9.62 metres
Ground clearance: 165 mm
Luggage: 235-910 litres
Warranty and service: See text
Gran loved her little Hyundai Atos. So did a multitude of students and first-time car buyers. Compact and well made, it parked like an angel, sipped fuel, had a perfectly adequate boot and enough space for three fully grown friends.
Then, halfway through 2011, Hyundai canned it and introduced a slightly bigger replacement called i10. The South African subsidiary had the foresight to lay in sufficient stock to last two years further, but the final Atos left a dealer’s showroom around May 2013. We bought 45 092 units in the eight years it was here.
Then what happened? You guessed it; just as everyone was getting used to the i10, Hyundai cancelled that and brought out a bigger replacement called Grand i10. Ouch!
But not all is lost. The Atos name is back; in (effectively) a recent i10 body. There may be subtle differences but nothing that you or I would notice. What is of practical interest is that the new car is built in India so decent ground clearance, 165 mm, is a given. But where’s my original Atos, you cry?
It’s gone forever but take heart: the new one is only 45 mm longer than the original on a wheelbase stretched a mere 20 mm, 120 mm wider for extra shoulder room and pretty much the same height. Hyundai put in the larger of the original engines, an 1100 cc unit making a perfectly usable 50 kilowatts without any fancy turbocharging, and modernised the package more than a tiny bit.
It now includes a modern infotainment setup with a seven-inch touchscreen offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (for the youngsters), an onboard computer so you can keep an eye on fuel range and consumption, multifunction steering wheel with remote controls for the music system and cellphone connection, a USB point for recharging and connectivity, stylish fabric-covered seats and pragmatic steel wheels with plastic covers.
Practical stuff includes a manually operated air conditioner, powered front windows, airbags for driver and front passenger, ABS brakes with EBD, and ISOFix mountings on the back seat. That’s for young families. Or days when you’re roped in to babysit. Only one model, with five-speed manual gearbox, is available at present although there is a possibility that Hyundai SA might import the four-speed automatic version if demand exists.
It comes in six colours; eye-catching Acid Yellow, Polar White, Titan Grey, Fiery Red, Typhoon Silver and Alpha Blue.
For peace of mind Hyundai provides a seven-year, 200 000 km warranty; roadside assistance for seven years or 150 000 km and a one-year, 15 000 km service plan.
It is still a solid and well-made little car that performs strongly, is stingy with fuel, has lots of space inside and fully deserves to carry the Atos flag for years to come.
“Will Getz make a comeback too?” someone asked. “Sorry; that name’s gone forever,” said sales director Stanley Anderson. But can he be sure?
Information gathered at a manufacturer-sponsored press launch
We drove one here
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.
Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8