The Alfa Romeo 4C could be the performance car of 2014 when it eventually arrives on South African shores.
With a breathtaking exterior, potent 1.75-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, the Alfa Romeo has set hearts racing since it was announced. There’s also an Alfa Romeo 4C convertible in the works.
At the heart of the Alfa Romeo 4C is a 1.75-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 177 kW and 350 Nm, which gives it a 0-100km/h time of 4.5 seconds. This particular engine does duty in the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, but the 4C’s great performance is primarily due to the mass of the vehicle. At under 900 kg, the Alfa Romeo 4C weighs very little.
Hotter Alfa Romeo 4C
This engine is therefore ripe for tuning and receiving a performance boost. According to American publication Car & Driver, Alfa Romeo CEO Harald Wester is considering a high-performance 4C. Wester talked about how there’s space for extra power and the car’s carbon fiber chassis could handle the extra grunt. High-performance brakes to match the uprated engine were also mentioned. Let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope a hotter Alfa Romeo 4C makes production.
Want to know more about the Alfa Romeo 4C? Check out the video by YouTube car journalist Chris Harris.
Citroen Reveals DS3 DSign Noire by Benefit
Citroen has introduced a girls only special edition, the DS3 DSign Noire designed in partnership with Benefit Cosmetics UK.
DS3 DSign Noire details
The special edition DS3 DSign Noire features a Perla Nera Black exterior with Benefit Orange accents and 17-inch black Bellone alloy wheels. Designed to stand out from the crowd, the model also has coordinating Perla Nera Black metallic bodywork, special badging and a grey fishnet graphic roof.
Stylish design cues are carried over into the interior specification, with a grey logo on the gloss black dash board, cloth / Alcantara sports seats, and velour floor mats.
LED Signature 3D tail lamps and LED daytime running lights are offered as standard, along with chrome front lights and grille, air conditioning, Bluetooth connectivity for your smartphone, an USB slot and a premium Hi-Fi audio system that includes a boot mounted subwoofer, as well as a make-up bag designed to fit into the glove box.
Power is provided by a 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine that develops 60 kW and 118 Nm of torque. It is connected to a five-speed manual transmission which enables the hatchback to run from 0-100 km/h in 14.2 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 173 km/h.
The DS3 DSign Noire by Benefit is currently on sale in the UK. South African availability is yet to be confirmed.
Citroen and Benefit Cosmetics present the DS3 Dsign Noire
Peugeot RCZ Approved for Second Generation
The Peugeot RCZ has been approved for a second generation amid fears the niche model would be canned.
RCZ not going to be cut from PSA lineup
According to Peugeot chief Maxime Picat, the very attractive coupe will not be cancelled. The alarm bells started ringing back in April 2014 when PSA (Peugeot and Citroen) announced that it would be cutting its complete lineup and range from 45 to 26 models by 2020. It would be a serious shame if the car were to be cancelled, as I believe it’s one of the finest Peugeots to be created.
Thankfully, Peugeot believes its RCZ is an important model in its arsenal and it won’t be cancelled. Better yet, the all-new Peugeot RCZ will be using the EMP2 platform (from the Peugeot 308) which is considerably lighter. Any sportscar company knows how crucial weightloss is for a car’s performance and the idea of a lightweight and more agile Peugeot RCZ really tickles my fancy. This all-new Peugeot RCZ could arrive as early as 2015, but to be fair, 2016 is a more realistic date.
I drove the Peugeot RCZ THP 200 and was mightily impressed with its power, performance and style. It’s quite easily one of the finest cars I’ve driven. Check out the review of the Peugeot RCZ here.
Honda Civic Tourer (2014) Review
After showing off the Honda Civic Tourer to the masses at the 2011 Johannesburg Motor Show and receiving a warm reception, Honda South Africa has brought the vehicle to market. Cars.co.za was one of the first outlets in South Africa to evaluate this interesting estate.
I’ve always been a fan of Hondas. The Japanese have always made solid and reliable products, and despite pressures from Kia and Hyundai, have kept up with the times and created interesting and desirable cars. The Honda Civic Tourer arrived in South Africa very quietly and Honda has admitted that this is a very niche model and it’s not expected to sell in huge numbers.
Disappointing powertrain choice
I’ll start with the car’s only negative – its powertrain. I find it disappointing that South African-spec Civic Tourers are only fitted with a 1.8-litre naturally-aspirated four cylinder with a choice of either a manual or an automatic transmission. After being blown away by the mechanical marvel and efficiency of the 1.6-litre diesel in the Honda Civic hatchback in 2013, I was expecting to see it in Tourer application too. What a shame.
Power and torque figures are rated at 104 kW and 174 Nm, which is acceptable. My Honda Civic Tourer came with a five-speed automatic gearbox, which isn’t the most performance orientated. On the plus side, this means the vehicle offers quite a relaxed drive. I’d stick with Honda’s wonderfully slick-shifting six-speed manual. The added weight of Tourer specification and the five-speed automatic gearbox means fuel economy is not going to be a strong point. I was quite happy to see a figure of 9.1l/100km, as I was expecting a lot worse.
Futuristic looks
Right, those are the only negative points to an otherwise superb car. Few cars are this comfortable and I find the looks are quite special. It’s a sleek and purposeful machine, and I think it would look aggressive in red. Estate vehicles aren’t exactly the beauty queens of the automotive world, but I really do like the styling. Best in class looks? Yes, I’d stick my head on the block for that.
Generous specification levels
Specification wise, the Honda Civic Tourer offers plenty of standard kit. Heated leather seats, a reverse camera, multi function steering wheel, six-speaker sound system with CD/MP3/USB/aux, Bluetooth, full colour display, cruise control, electric windows, electric side-mirrors, remote central locking, automatic headlights and rain-sensing windscreen wipers all come as standard. Fantastic! It also has adjustable rear suspension, but I couldn’t feel any differences as I drove around.
Versatility and practicality
The best part of the Honda Civic Tourer has to be the practicality aspect. The rear seats are able to be folded completely flat, which essentially converts the vehicle into a van. Some fun with a surfer friend resulted in us trying to see how many surfboards we could get into the Honda Civic Tourer. Four boards went in, with provision for another three more. There was even space for someone to sit too. For a passenger estate, that’s extremely impressive and I’m disappointed that estates aren’t popular in South Africa.
Summary and conclusion
The Honda Civic Tourer is a competent product which is rather niche. Admittedly estates aren’t popular in South Africa, but the practicality offered by such a vehicle makes it worth investigating should you be after a family vehicle with generous load-carrying capacity. Stick with the manual gearbox and you’ll be rewarded with yet another quality product from Honda. It’s just such a shame there’s no diesel offering.
Honda Civic Tourer 1.8 Executive Price in South Africa
R360 000 puts you behind the wheel of the six-speed manual Honda Civic Tourer. R374 000 gets you the automatic version. Both models come standard with a three year/100 000 km warranty and a five year/90 000 km service plan. Servicing intervals are every 15 000 km.
Another writer’s thoughts on the Honda Civic Tourer
Spending a few days with the Honda Civic Tourer proved to be an entirely pleasant experience. It looks sleek for an estate, more of a large coupe than a shoebox on wheels, I like it. Inside its Honda business as usual, its not a high tech fest of all the latest gadgets you want, but a clean, unfussy and durable-looking interior.
The engine would definitely be happier if it was being worked by a manual gearbox, the auto it has makes it quite a lazy drive. The Civic is maybe a bit on the expensive side though as Volvos V60 T4 starts at only R10k more than the Civic Tourer. – Ashley Oldfield
Honda Civic Tourer Quick Specs
Engine
1.8-litre four cylinder petrol
Power
104 kW
Torque
174 Nm
Transmission
Five-speed automatic
Wheels
17-inch alloys
0-100km/h
11.3 seconds (claimed)
Fuel economy
6.7 l/100km (claimed)
We like:
. Modern looks
. Premium product
. Huge storage capacity
. Plenty of features
We dislike:
. Needs a diesel engine which would improve performance and economy
. Niche product
Toyota plans to test its innovative i-Road city vehicle on the city of Grenoble in France. Not as a test mule for eventual production, but as a test of a new type of public transport.
The idea would be that you are able to book a Toyota i-Road at one of the electrical charging stations around the city, and then drive it to the charging station closest to your destination and leave it there for the next person to use.
Book a Toyota i-Road with your phone
The entire experience of booking and picking up the i-Road is done via a smartphone app. The app will also give you up to the minute info on traffic and offer options for quickest routes. What theoretically could be done is to drive to a Toyota i-Road station in your car, pick up the 3-wheeled electric i-Road and then negotiate the heavier traffic sections of your journey in the city vehicle as a bike would. This may even be faster than public transport and certainly less crowded.
Two-seater twin electric
The Toyota i-Road is actually a two-seater with two electric motors powering it. It has a max range of 50km if driven at a steady 30 kph and weighs just 300 kg. The real-life test will begin in Grenoble France with 30 charging stations being scattered around the city. Watch the videos below to see what the Toyota i-Road is all about and how it plans to put it into action in Grenoble, France.
Toyota i-Road Trials video
Toyota’s Transport system Video
Volkswagen XL1 Officially Goes on Sale
Volkswagen has announced pricing for its extreme eco XL1 model, according to VW its the worlds most energy efficient production vehicle. The Volkswagen XL1 is now available to UK customers at £98 515 or 1.8million Rand.
A total production run of around 200 XL1s are being built in Germany, a proportion of which will be made available to UK customers. The first delivery was made to a German customer at the end of May, with a number of UK customers already in line to purchase a car.
800cc Diesel for Volkswagen XL1
The design brief for the XL1 was to produce a one litre car a car that uses one litre of fuel per 100km. The resulting XL1 uses 0.9l/100 km on the official combined cycle, and this low fuel economy figure correlates to a very low carbon dioxide emissions value of just 21g/km. The results are achieved using a two-cylinder 35kW 800cc diesel engine with a 20kW electric motor, driving through a modified seven-speed DSG transmission.
Tear Drop Shape
The Volkswagen XL1 was also aerodynamically optimised, adopting the classic tear drop shape and utilising innovations such as removing traditional wing mirrors and replacing them with small cameras called e-Mirrors which transmit exterior images to interior displays. With a drag coefficient of 0.189 the Volkswagen XL1 can maintain 100kph on a level road in still air using just 6 of its 55kW. In order to maintain optimum aerodynamic efficiency, the XL1 sits extremely low to the ground and features scissor-opening wing doors.
Commenting on the Volkswagen XL1, Product Manager Lianne McKnight said: Knowing that production of our cars is now underway and that customers will soon be taking delivery of them is very exciting. Were looking forward to seeing this record-breaking model on UK roads, as well as seeing technologies within it filtering down to many of our mainstream Volkswagen cars.
Ford Figo Concept Production Model Planned for Africa
A production version of the Ford Figo Concept revealed earlier this year at the Delhi Auto Show, is currently being developed by Ford and is planned for South African and Sub-Saharan African (SSA) markets.
Ford Figo Concept for Africa
Ford says the model will bring advanced technology and design to emerging markets, and that the aim is to set new standards for quality and craftsmanship in the B-segment, and exceed the expectations of consumers. The car is also said to provide an indication of the design language to be used in a future version of the popular Figo.
Although details and specifications have yet to be confirmed, the production version of the Figo Concept is expected to feature electrically adjustable power-fold mirrors, unprecedented levels of safety, a spacious cabin filled with innovative stowage spaces, mount and charge devices such as mobile phones, MP3 players and satellite navigation systems, seamlessly integrating them into the in-car entertainment system.
The Figo Concept will be on display at the first Go Further event in Johannesburg in mid-July 2014.
2014 Volkswagen Beetle Gets New Premium Package
Volkswagen has announced that the 2014 Beetle Coupe and Convertible models equipped with a 1.8T or TDI Clean Diesel engine will be offered with a new Premium Package.
2014 Volkswagen Beetle with Premium Package
The new optional kit offers features that are new to 2014 Volkswagen Beetle line-up, as well as equipment previously only available on the Beetle R-Line trim. The features include bi-xenon automatic headlights, automatic climate control, navigation and satellite radio infotainment system, iPhone 5 cradle and rain-sensing windshield wipers.
The Premium Beetle will also get a sports suspension, R-Line bumpers with fog lights, grey door sills and mirror caps, Fender audio system, auto-dimming rearview mirror, contrast stitching and unique seating surfaces with leather inserts.
The 1.8T model rides on white 19-inch Tornado alloy wheels while the TDI model is equipped with 18-inch Disc rims that have a Galvano Grey finish. There are also three new exterior paint colours that come exclusively with the pack (Deep Black, Platinum Grey and Oryx White).
South African availability is yet to be confirmed.
Mercedes-Benz CLS Special Packs Announced
The Mercedes-Benz CLS facelift announced last week will be available with two special exterior kits. There will be a Night package and a Sport package for those wanted to add something a little extra to the four-door coupe.
Mercedes-Benz CLS packages detailed
The Sport package is available on the lower models below CLS 500 and not on AMG models and comes with twin-spoke 18-inch alloys with the option of 19-inch if you want a different design. A Direct Control sports suspension is thrown in but if you want, you can have a comfort setting added at no extra cost. The Sports pack also comes with bigger brakes emblazoned with Mercedes-Benz lettering on the calliper.
The Night package is for the top spec models, so that would be the CLS 500 and the 4Matic (four-wheel drive version) for now and can only be added to the optional AMG kit. Again you get a choice of special 18 or 19-inch wheels but then everything goes dark. High gloss black mirrors, tinted rear windows, black window lining and then the front and rear ends get the glossy black look for the full night look.
2015 Lexus IS Gets Minor Updates
Lexus has revealed a number of mild upgrades for its 2015 IS 250 and IS 350 sedans, including an enhanced cabin and new LED fog lights.
2015 Lexus IS details
The third-generation 2015 Lexus IS models also feature the in-demand Siri Eyes Free mode, and piano black on window switches and instrument panel, while the new Stratus Grey interior replaces Light Grey. Theres a heated steering wheel for some models, while the F SPORT package now includes heated/ventilated front seats. F SPORT All-Wheel drive models also get the heated steering wheel.
In addition, the 2015 Lexus IS models benefit from the advanced Lexus Enform Remote (one-year trial subscription included), which allows the owner to remotely view and control certain vehicle features using a mobile app for iOS and Android devices. Key features include remote door lock/unlock, remote stop/start for the engine and climate control, vehicle finder and guest driver monitor.
The all-V6 engine options carryover and include the choice of a 2.5-litre V6 producing 152 kW and a 3.5-litre V6 that delivers 228 kW, with either rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.
The company says in both, silken power delivery combines with multi-link rear suspension and finely tuned electronic power steering derived from the Lexus GS sedan to deliver a rousing driving experience.
