SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8
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 stories.
Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday July 14, 2010
In Volkswagen-speak, Kombi is short for Kombinationskraftwagen or “combination motor vehicle” with side widows and removable rear seats, or both a passenger- and cargo vehicle combined. As the first example rolled off its production line at Wolfsburg in May 1950, it was possibly the world’s first MPV, but I’ll leave that for you to decide.
Whatever the case, the original Type 2 pickups, panelvans and kombis (Type 1 was the Beetle) have evolved over the years to become the T5 we know today. And unlike the early days when there was but one of each, VWSA now offers a mind-numbing choice of 16 Transporters (in single cab, double cab, panel van and crew bus configurations), five Kombis and three luxury Caravelles.
That hopefully helps explain the jaw-breaking model description given above. All variants use the same basic 2,0 litre common rail diesel, but it is offered in three power outputs of 75, 103 and 132 kW, while Transporters and Kombis are further divided into short- and long wheelbase versions.
Volkswagen tells us that the Kombi is the people mover of choice when there is work to be done. It is a hotel bus, airport shuttle, semi-luxury family car and long distance traveller. Left with all eight seats in place, it will swallow a really big load of groceries or a stack of suitcases. With the third row tumbled forward, you can carry two woven plastic carriers of garden refuse with ease and with second and third rows removed completely, you are looking at being able to move your daughter’s worldly goods into her first flat.
Don’t be put off by the term ‘semi-luxury’. All T5s arrive with air conditioning, power windows in front, power mirrors, height-adjustable front seats with lumbar adjustment, a radio/CD combination, two airbags, alarm and immobiliser, remote central locking with autolock, hydraulic power steering, on-board computer and a really extensive set of safety kit.
The basic Kombi we drove, was a full eight-seater with an aisle between the front seats enabling Mum to give some teeth to: “don’t make me come back there…” To get one more seat, so losing the aisle, you need to shell out for a long wheelbase version. There are sliding doors on both sides giving ready access to the second row of seats, but to get to the third row, one has to enter from the left. Only the extreme left seat in the second row tilts and tumbles to allow entry to the rear.
Leg- and headroom in all rows of seats is plentiful, making this a competent courtesy bus or school run pool vehicle. Luggage space is generous as mentioned but the rear load door opens upward and is really big – step back – and it’s heavy. It won’t close properly under its own weight either; a little encouragement over the last few centimetres helps. Some compensation is that the loading sill is the lowest I’ve seen in ages.
Collapsing and tumbling the rearmost seat is also not a job for the lazy – you need to climb right into the cargo bay and pull first one, then two straps to do so. It’s easy if you do it properly, but almost impossible to accomplish leaning in over the back bumper.
Speaking of storage, there is a medium-sized glove box of usable shape and a good selection of nooks and crannies in the dash, alongside the front seats and in the doors. The Kombi stands fairly high, so entry and exit can be a little awkward, but grab handles at each door pillar makes life a lot easier.
Although the basic version’s engine only develops 75 kW, the car is quite at home in city traffic and holds its own on freeways, maintaining cruising speed in top (5th) gear in most conditions. Parking and reversing is easier than on most big people carriers thanks to big, square windows that provide a better view of your surroundings than you might be used to. If you still want front- and rear park assist, it’s available optionally.
On the road, the Kombi is comfortable over most surfaces and apart from a small amount of body lean that one would expect of such a tall vehicle, it hangs on to the road remarkably well. I was pleasantly surprised. My only misgivings were that, for the price, some of the plastic fittings looked cheap and flimsy, the radio/CD unit is very basic and the wheels are plain steel with plastic covers.
As a kombinationskraftwagen, the VW Kombi does its Jekyll and Hyde number very well and for a family car, I wouldn’t bother looking higher up the range unless I could really afford to.
The numbers
Price: R408 400
Engine: 1 968 cc turbocharged four-cylinder CRD
Power: 75 kW at 3 500 rpm
Torque: 250 Nm at 1 500 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 17,9 seconds
Maximum speed: 157 km/h
Real life fuel consumption over 300 km of mixed driving: about 7,9 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Warranty: 3 years/120 000 km
Maintenance plan: 5 years/60 000 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!
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. Contact me here
Back to Home page
This site is operated by Scarlet Pumpkin Communications in Pietermaritzburg.
Unless otherwise stated, all photographs are courtesy of www.quickpic.co.za
Copyright this business. All rights reserved.
SA Roadtests
South Africa
ctjag8