BMW 6 Series 640d

Top of the class

I knew BMW made darn good motorcycles – in fact the last three that I’ve owned were those from the ‘propeller’ marque. I haven’t sampled a BMW four-wheeler for some time for some strange reason, and the offer of an Alpine White 640d 6 Series Coupe for evaluation was gratefully accepted.

I had the perfect route planned for the 640d … I needed to see a pal in Oudtshoorn, so can you think of a better way to evaluate a R889 000 coupe than heading out of Cape Town on the N1, through the Du Toits Kloof tunnel and then enjoy a lengthy, beautiful and most enjoyable trip over the R62 towards Barrydale, on to Calitzdorp before reaching my final destination – Oudtshoorn. (We blessed citizens of the Western Cape remain very privileged to having the best roads in the country.)

Without doubt, this must be the quietest diesel-powered car I’ve ever had the privilege of ‘owning’ – if only for a couple of days. Under that enormously long bonnet is a straight six, 2993cc turbodiesel motor developing a whopping 230kW of power and 630Nm of torque. (C02 emissions are set at 145g/km = R2 137,50). Factor in a 0-100km/h time of less than six seconds, coupled to a potential top speed of 250km/h, and it soon becomes quite obvious the 640d is very much a seasoned sports coupe.

Creature comforts remain superb, such as front comfort seats; lumbar support for driver and front passenger (electrically adjustable); seat heating for driver and front passenger; interior trim finishers in fine, brushed aluminium; ambient interior lighting; park distance control (PDC), front and rear; LED fog lights; high beam assist; navigation system, professional head-up display; internet preparation; voice control; Bluetooth compatible cellphone preparation; area code 2 for DVD and USB interface; automatic start/stop function; brake energy regeneration, locking wheel bolts; sports automatic transmission; alarm system with radio remote control; rear view camera; glass electric sunroof, electric sliding and vent function; velour floor mats; warning triangle and first aid kit; interior and exterior mirrors with automatic anti-dazzle function; smoker’s package(!).

What’s it like to drive though, I hear you say. As a R900k car should is my only answer! Seriously, there is absolutely nothing to dislike in this car. It’s a great place to be because you are cosseted in complete luxury every kilometre of every journey. It steers, brakes and heads for the horizon in a most spectacular way.

 Would I buy one? … Well, put it this way.

If those lotto numbers play ball this weekend I’ll be beating down the front door of the local BMW dealer first thing Monday morning to place my order!

Audi Q3 TDi quattro 2.0

Torquing Audi Q3

There’s a new range of compact SUV’s in the South African marketplace right now and one of the very best is Audi’s Q3, the smaller brother to the Q5 and its flag bearer, the Q7.  We had the pleasure of the company of the Q3 version a few days ago – and my goodness, doesn’t it do its job well.

Naturally it was the diesel – a model that’s proving really popular among SA buyers. This particular derivative (2,0-litre TDi 130kW S Tronic quattro) is powered up by 380Nm of torque from 1800 rpm, and, as the name suggests 130 kW of power. Big numbers in what initially seems to be a fairly big vehicle … and yet the underpinnings are the same as the standard A3 … go figure!

Beautifully built and well specced from a standard point of view, the car may well justify the R431 500 ticket price if you take the trouble to compare apples with apples – as any astute buyer should. For starters, Quattro means all-wheel drive – just in case you’ve forgotten – a reassuring feature over slippery and dirt roads. Add in decent levels of ground clearance and Q3 ownership starts to make a lot of sense.

Move inside the cabin and it remains a great place to be. Creature comforts are well taken care of in the form of power everything including steering, windows, mirrors, central locking and individual air conditioning control. Glance around and you can’t fail to be impressed by the enormous cargo area (460 litres); fold down the rear seats to more than double-up on its load-carrying potentiality.

But the best trick up its sleeve is the ease and superb way it drives. The turbodiesel is quiet in the extreme – never infiltrating into the cabin to annoying levels. Select ‘drive’ from the easy-to-use seven-speed box and changes remain absolutely seamless. While talking about the ’box, should you like to change gear the old-fashioned way – you can – but why bother? The ’box is tractable, no matter the road speed travelled.

Gripes are non-existent with the vehicle, but if there’s something not to my liking it’s the ‘stop-start’ feature – thankfully it can be turned off (and on) with the flick of a switch.  Yes, I do understand about saving fuel – even diesel, but somehow or other I found this device somewhat annoying. Apparently, all cars that are exported by Audi have to have the annoying device.

Audi claim fuel consumption figures of around 6,3 litres per 100 km – and I don’t dispute them in the slightest. In town driving the Q3 hovered around those figures – but on the open road even better. There’s a 64-litre fuel tank fitted – that should allow for a ±800 km range. Can you ask for more?

Needless to say there’s a healthy (if costly) options list to spec your car with should you so wish. R22 500 you’ll need to find should you like the navigation system seen in the picture; Xenon headlights: R10 240, or a set of 18-inch alloy wheels that will set you back R10 850.

There’s a superb warranty that’s standard fare with any Q3 purchase: a warranty of one-year – unlimited; along with a five-year/100 000 km maintenance plan. Basic ticket price is R431 500 for the Audi Q3 2,0 TDi S-Tronic.

Honda Civic

Driving ambition

Newly launched onto the South African market a few short weeks ago was Honda’s new range of five-door Civics. Boasting revised 2.2i-DTEC motors among the range, Yoshiaki Nakamura, managing director of Honda Motor Southern Africa reckons: “The new Civic five-door builds on the core strengths of its predecessor, and takes them to an appreciably higher level.”

Gorgeous to look at and even better to own, poor old Honda has been the hardest hit Japanese car manufacturer to survive the terrible earthquake/Tsunami that hit Japan about a year ago.

This latest model that features dramatically new pyramid-come-jet fighter styling has been a hard act to follow, but the Honda plant in Swindon in the UK is now back in full swing assembling the new Civic range from parts sourced from Japan.

But it’s the brilliant turbodiesel motor that’s the cherry on the top for me, exceptional fuel economy and sterling performance are hallmarks of the two-litre i-DTEC turbodiesel engine, which is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox. It develops 110kW at 4 000rpm and a whoppingl 350Nm at 2 000rpm. Power and economy for everyone!

The range-topping model in the new Civic line-up, the 2.2 i-DTEC Exclusive sets the bar for luxury. It incorporates a panoramic glass sunroof, a premium sound system with amplifier and subwoofer, Bluetooth hands-free cellphone connectivity (with dedicated buttons on the steering wheel), as well as HID headlights with auto-levelling sensor and integrated washers.

The split-level dashboard is now even easier to understand with more conventional switches and dials. The Panasonic high-resolution centre screen that resembles a ‘tablet’ computer is the best out there. Passenger legroom throughout is simply superb – even for six-footers who might be sitting in the back.

Model range and pricing:

1.8 i-VTEC Elegance, manual, R248 000.

1.8 i-VTEC Elegance, automatic, R261 000.

1.8 i-VTEC Executive, manual, R270 000.

1.8 i-VTEC Executive, automatic, R283 000.

2.2 i-DTEC Exclusive, manual, R343 800.

• Prices include a five-year/90 000km service plan, and three-year/100 000km warranty. Service intervals are recommended every 15 000km.

Kudos to the H-1 bus

South African motorists love their bakkies, but a close-run second favourite is bus-type vehicles, people carriers, if you will. Touted as much-loved modes of transport for mom’s taxis, shuttle vehicles, and, of course perfect for the annual holiday trip down to the coast.

The main criticism often levelled at them is their inability to stow decent amounts of cargo or one’s luggage – there’s never really been enough space allocated to shifting of all that gear, until now, that is. (Merc’s Vito bus is possibly the only exception being a very capable vehicle and that 2,1-litre turbodiesel motor is a real jewel in a sea of average ‘powerplants’.)

The answer for the perfect all-rounder is simple and Hyundai may well have got there first with their H-1 Multicab. By shoehorning in a decent (120kW mill and making it work to the tune of 392Nm), while providing space for nine adults and every bit of their luggage – all done without resorting to unnecessary (and oft-dangerous) add-ons such as trailers and roof-racks …

While the Hyundai H-1 press unit was in my care it happened to coincide with a public holiday – what better time to hit the road and be a little adventurous! Somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit is Sutherland in the Great Karoo (karoo is the Hottentot word for ‘land of the thirst’  … before it gets too cold, that is – apparently it’s often the coldest place in the country, and that’s before winter has fully set in. Representing a round trip of about 650 km from the Mother City, quite an achievable day out, methinks.

Alas, the interesting village of Matjiesfontein (somewhere I hadn’t visited for close on 30 years) took up a little too much daylight time – but what a pleasant experience to be re-acquainted with this little oasis in the desert … the reason being there’s now a superb car museum there that wasn’t there before – a must-see if a car fanatic and you are in the area.

Deciding to press on to Sutherland (the fuel tank of the H-1 still touching the three-quarter full mark), in the late afternoon, thankfully meant not having to worry about a ‘top-up’ for the 120km trip through to Sutherland, and my final  destination for the day.

What a superb road from the N1 highway it is: surely a motorcyclist’s mecca if ever there was one. Narrow, but not overly so (picture Isle of Man narrow roads); the road twisting and turning in a challenging sort of way to entertain any solo rider  – and ne’er a pothole to be seen anywhere. And, if I came across five other vehicles along that leg of the journey, it was a lot.

By giving the H-1 a chance to see what it could do in the handling stakes I can vouch that bodyroll was virtually nil, while there always seemed to be power in hand … the fuel gauge had again barely dropped on entering Sutherland. No obtrusive rattles could be heard anywhere, so it’s obviously well screwed together.

Sutherland has an alluring feel to it – we didn’t have the time to check out the planetarium (SALT), but certainly will when next visiting. Olde worlde charm and slap up-to-date people-carrying ability to get there … synergy at its very best!

• The Hyundai H-1 2.5CRDi MultiCab GL is priced at R339 900. A lot of vehicle for reasonable money!

Transport of delight

I’ve never really enjoyed the name Tiguan that Volkswagen finally came up after picking the name from the results from an international competition. Other suggested names were Rockton, Liger, Samun, Nanuk and the one I think that should have won: Namib!

Nevertheless, the VW Tiguan remains a first-rate crossover vehicle that has proved to be rather popular over here with seven different models on offer. (In the UK there are 22 different derivatives available.)

The one that I’ve just had the opportunity to evaluate was the BlueMotion 2,0 TDi version – and very good it was too. Economical to the point of wondering if perhaps the fuel gauge had ceased functioning(!), after seemingly travelling close to 900 km before the warning light started to flicker.

Those who know the Western Cape region of South Africa will know how brilliant the roads are – perfect for evaluating cars (and bikes) due to being able to negotiate just about every terrain over a morning’s drive. The steepest of climbs (St Lowry’s) to the switchback pass of Franshhoek that really ought to feature on every car manufacturer’s route when visiting the Mother City, was swiftly and safely negotiated.

Why oh why do people still bother with non-diesel type transport in this day and age?

 As we’ve come to expect from Volkswagen the Tiguan (81kW/280 Nm) is superbly built, roomy inside and great looking from the outside. I’d even go as far as to say the BlueMotion derivative is one of the quietest diesels tested yet on this website.

Volkswagen’s Tiguan is priced at R294 800 at the time of writing this article.

Just about perfect Jetta

Late last year Volkswagen took a fresh, new look at their Jetta line-up. First showcased to the SA motorist back in 1980, Jetta has proved to be a rather popular model — albeit amongst the older generation — and Volkswagen don't seem to mind this mild criticism one little bit.

Often rebuked for appearing to be just a Golf with a boot that’s clearly not the case with this sixth generation model because I was told on good authority “every visible internal and external panel is new”.

A rather successful model globally for Volkswagen, Jetta can stand tall in own right because more than 10 million have been built — with 260 000 of them finding homes in our local market since their introduction back in 1980. Some 90 mm longer at 4,64 m, along with a wheelbase increase of 73 mm to 2,65 m, means a bigger Jetta for all (funny, isn’t it, every new model, no matter the brand, is always somehow bigger in just about every direction!)

Under the bonnet

There are seven models of new Jetta in five engine configurations but it’s the two diesel units that I’m concentrating on here in the form of a 1,6-litre TDi version (77 kW) and a top-of-the-range 2,0-litre derivative (103 kW).

Factor in three spec levels — Trendline, Comfortline and Highline — and it’s little wonder that VW reckon they have a car for everyone. A little surprisingly, I was told that the ‘volume seller’ was almost certain to be the 90 kW TSi version, but I tend to disagree — especially after driving the 1,6 TDi version, because the astute South African motorist is definitely warming to the idea of a turbodiesel vehicle standing on their driveway …

In the 2,0-litre turbodiesel version with its haul-ass performance it can brag a tank range offering of 900 km at the legal speed limit  — you could drive this particular model all day long and never feel tired. Little wonder then that the Jetta range was ostensibly designed for those whose job might entail plenty of driving — such as company reps, for instance.

A week spent recently with the 1,6-litre turbodiesel (seen above) would be my particular choice of Jetta, the on-board computer gently informing us at 120 km/h that our expected average fuel consumption rarely rose above the 5,4 litres per 100 km/h … the engine turning over at a lazy 1 950 rpm.

Transmission options

Across the board are five- and six-speed manual gearboxes but the 1,6-litre TDi version does, however, have the option of a seven-speed DSG ’box — surely another very good reason to consider this particular derivative …

Warranty and service

Three years/120 000 km, Volkswagen Automotion Plan: five years/90 000 km and servicing needs only at 15 000 km — petrol or diesel. (There’s also a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty.) Be sure to check the latest prices with your nearest Volkswagen dealer.

To sum up, I’d say if you are a six-day a week travelling salesman/rep; have the need of the biggest cargo-carrying boot in it’s class at 510 litres (and who doesn’t come annual holiday time), while enjoying a thoroughly classy mode of transport, the new Jetta is surely well worth a closer look.

Peugeot’s polished performer

The R&D department at PSA headquarters back in France certainly know a thing or two about advanced diesel technology because this week I’ve been evaluating the face-lifted, 110 kW/340 Nm, 2,0-litre, 308 turbodiesel hatchback, that sells for well below the R300K mark. Under the bonnet is to be found arguably one of the best diesel motors around — while it’s most certainly one of the quietest ... 

The four-cylinder motor pulls like an express train, no turbo lag revealed itself at sea level, for the record I’d say a 0-100 km/h time can be achieved in around nine seconds — why bother owning a sports car!

There are two turbodiesels in the recently realigned seven-model 308 line-up so there’s lots of good reasons to consider a Peugeot these days because they offer something a little extra for your money: panache!

Hatchbacks, by their very nature, are so adaptable, little wonder then that they are a popular choice of body style when the SA motorist looks for wheels. Full leather upholstery with comfortable bucket seats make the 308 a good place to be — factor in every luxury available as standard fitment, including a full-length, but non-opening sunroof.

Take a close look at the interior shot of the 308, with half a tank of diesel still left the perky pug still offers a crusing range of 600 km — pictures do not tell a lie! Considering all the safety, technology and modern looks to be found in this particular Peugeot, the ticket price of which is R259 000, and represents fair value for money, I believe.

Peugeot might well have invented the safety car for all I know — the 308 is loaded with life-saving gear including multiple airbags up front and side curtain ones as well. Factor in ABS and EBA … there’s a full-sized spare wheel to be found in the boot — none of that run-flat technology junk with a Peugeot!

All Peugeot owners are assured peace of mind with ownership, and as such offer a 5-year/90 000 km service plan; a 3-year factory warranty in addition to the 1-year manufacturer’s warranty. All vehicles first registered in South Africa and purchased from a Peugeot Dealer benefit from a free additional 2 years of warranty (this additional warranty carries a mileage limit of 100 000 km.)