SA Roadtests
South Africa
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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.
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.
Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday December 15, 2010
You have to love the team at Renault SA; they aren't afraid to put their managing director in front of a bunch of cynical journalists and let him zing off a few quotable one-liners. That’s what they did with CEO Xavier Gobille at the launch of Renault's new Sandero Stepway at a popular South Coast golf estate recently.
"I am an engineer," Gobille said, "and I can assure you that it is much harder to design a decent car for R150 000 than one destined to sell at a million. And it is especially challenging," he continued, "when you give the public a real car, not just some unsafe outdated junk that nobody else wants."
In a market that officially shrank by about 26 percent during the big collapse, the hidden truth was that the A/B segment, where Joe and Joanne Average do their car shopping, crumbled by more than half. Sales of entry level cars during 2005 numbered almost 80 000. By 2009, the figure was a pitiful 38 000.
Renault SA believes that the segment's potential is about 90 000 units, because ordinary people still want and need transportation. The company therefore decided to move away from its niche market image and invest heavily in local manufacture of affordable cars. Enter the Sandero, and note how other manufacturers flooded back to the segment. This brings us to another heartfelt Gobille quote: "Don't look only at the list price; look at what you are getting for your money."
Ever ready to try something new or even a little daring, Renault's latest is an entry level crossover, named Stepway, to head up the local Sandero range. It's just a few millimetres longer, wider and taller than the sedan, but it gains 20 mm in ride height thanks in part to 16" alloy wheels replacing the 15-inchers on the Sandero Cup version. Apart from that, it boasts a tasty menu of standard equipment to go with real ability to venture off asphalt occasionally.
Think two airbags, ABS with EBD and EBA, air conditioning, power steering, remote central locking that autolocks on the move, radio/CD unit with four speakers, roof rails, front and rear skid plates and engine protector, a leather-bound steering wheel, fog lamps, alloy wheels, tinted windows, an on-board computer display showing fuel range, average speed and average fuel consumption, a driver's seat adjustable for height and a rear window washer/wiper. The boot is big for a car at this level, at 320 litres. Power window winders in front only, and manually adjustable outside mirrors are the only concessions to the bean counters.
The familiar 8-valve 1600 cc engine puts out 64 kW at 5 500 rpm and 138 Nm of torque at 3000 rpm. A five-speed manual gearbox deals out the power. Tare mass is 1048 kg, the same as for the sedans. Asked whether a 4x4 option might be in the pipeline, Gobille stated that although the Alliance's competent and popular little Dacia Duster off-roader is available, neither it nor its technology is being considered for transfer to SA at present.
While the shape and silhouette of Sandero is reflected in the Stepway, the newcomer's adventurous character is immediately apparent. Extra ground clearance, 16-inch wheels, integrated front fog lamps, SUV-style roof rails, front and rear skid plates, more pronounced wheel arches, black grille with satin chrome accents and black-masked headlights reinforce its urban warrior look. The satin chrome finishes extend to exterior mirrors, roof rails, skid plates, door sills and door handles.
Its raised driving position allows a commanding view of one's surroundings, paved or gravel, while contributing to the car’s unique character and driving experience. Eye-catching silver cladding offsets charcoal cloth upholstery while the driver’s seat is height adjustable. The metallic-detailed dashboard is of one-piece construction to eliminate rattles and is also designed to minimise injuries in the event of an impact. Interior materials have been selected for both durability and youthful style.
A familiarisation drive from the new airport via the midlands and on to the south coast included a couple of sections of fairly harsh gravel road. My copilot and I agreed that for a small car, it soaked up the bumps and tracked very well. Seating and luggage space is plentiful and it looks to be excellent value.
The numbers
Price: R149 900
Engine: 1 598 cc inline four cylinder, 8 valves
Power: 64 kW at 5 500 rpm
Torque: 138 Nm at 3 000 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h (claimed): 11,5 seconds
Maximum speed (claimed): 175 km/h
Average fuel consumption (claimed): 7,2 l/100 km
Tank: 50 litres
Ground clearance: 175 mm
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km
Service plan: 3 years/45 000 km
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.
I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to 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!
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SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8