In our latest video review, Ciro De Siena drives and reviews the boldly-styled Kia Sportage. With the medium SUV/family car segment booming, the new Sportage will have to be exceptional to see off its rivals.
The Kia Sportage is now in its 5th generation and better than ever, and it has to be, because it faces seriously tough opposition, including the facelifted Volkswagen Tiguan, the long-serving (but value-for-money Mazda CX-5), the refreshed Toyota RAV4 and, of course, the all-new Hyundai Tucson.
See, this segment of the market is ultra-competitive with many brands all fighting for market share. Nissan, for example, recently launched its new-generation Qashqai, Subaru’s Forester is still very competitive and fledgling Chinese brands Haval and Chery offer the H6 and Tiggo 8 Pro respectively.
In this video, Ciro De Siena gets behind the wheel of the top-of-the-range GT-Line S derivative of the new Sportage. He assesses the drive quality, performance, interior quality, features and practicality.
We recently attended the BMW M Fest, which was held at Kyalami Racetrack in Gauteng.
BMW M Fest celebrated 50 years of BMW’s performance brand in South Africa and over 25 000 fans of Sheer Driving Pleasure were in attendance over the weekend.
It was a chance to experience the BMW heritage, sample the latest performance products and see what’s coming to our shores with exclusive previews of the brand-new BMW M2, BMW XM and BMW M4 CSL.
New Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 Looking Likely for SA
Isuzu Motors South Africa will display the new D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 at an upcoming event in Gauteng, suggesting a local launch is on the cards…
It’s looking more and more likely the new Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 will launch in South Africa in the relatively near future, with the Japanese firm’s local arm set to display the upgraded bakkie at the 2022 SA Auto Week in Gauteng.
Though the official line from Isuzu Motors South Africa is that the D-Max AT35 is “still under consideration” for the local market, the fact it will be shown at the inaugural Naamsa SA Auto Week – which will take place at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in the final week of October – is a strong indication the re-engineered off-roader will soon join the range.
It’s not yet clear whether Isuzu Motors SA will again assemble the D-Max AT35 at its Struandale facility or instead outsource the task to a third party. At this stage, it seems unlikely the company would opt to import this uprated derivative.
The D-Max AT35 boasts 35-inch tyres supplied by BFGoodrich.
So, what do we know about the latest AT35, which was developed in collaboration with Icelandic specialists Arctic Trucks? Well, the version offered in Europe is described as a “professionally re-engineered vehicle” incorporating “significant enhancements” to components such as the body, frame, suspension, wheels and tyres.
Taking its name from the 35-inch tyres fitted as standard, the D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35’s chassis and bodywork are tweaked to accommodate its 17-inch matte-black alloy wheels and 315/70 R17 all-terrain tyres (the latter from the folks over at BFGoodrich). In addition, the suspension system has been overhauled with an “optimised and elevated” tailored Bilstein performance set-up featuring front springs and dampers, rear dampers and an additional front and rear body lift. The result is a total front and rear elevation of 50 mm over the standard D-Max.
Of course, that brings major improvements to D-Max’s off-roading capability, with the approach angle growing to 35 degree, the departure angle to 29 degrees and the breakover angle to 34 degrees. In addition, Isuzu says the larger tyres, performance springs and dampers allow a “softer, faster ride” over rough surfaces and a “lighter footprint over delicate terrain”. Interestingly, Isuzu says the AT35 package does not compromise payload or towing capacity (something Ford can’t claim with the Ranger Raptor).
We don’t expect the AT35 derivative to boast any extra power over the 3.0TD V-Cross 4×4.
Since the SA-spec version is likely to be based on the flagship V-Cross 4×4 double-cab derivative (which currently starts at R835 100), power would come from Isuzu’s 3.0-litre, 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine, which in this state of tune is worth 140 kW and 450 Nm. Whether the local derivative will gain any powertrain upgrades remains to be seen, though we’d suggest such a move seems improbable.
You’ll have no trouble identifying the D-Max AT35, thanks to its ultra-wide colour-coded wheel-arch extensions, extended-profile side steps and Arctic Trucks mud flaps. We also wouldn’t be surprised to see a sports bar and tonneau cover included for the SA-spec model. Inside, you’ll find leather upholstery with Arctic Trucks branding on the headrests, along with model-specific door entry guards and a new carpet set. Overseas, the model furthermore boasts dedicated locking wheel nuts and an Arctic Trucks torque wrench.
As is tradition with the reveal of a new M car from BMW, the brand also announces the go-faster goodies for it. Here’s what you can expect from the BMW M2 Performance Parts.
The brand-new BMW M2 was recently revealed (and made its first public debut right here in SA) armed with 338 kW and 550 Nm. For the purists, a manual gearbox is an option.
It’s the looks that had many riled up, the leaked photos of a vehicle in an unflattering shade of blue did it no justice, but thankfully the official images in a striking red were better.
Now what you see here is the BMW M2 Performance Parts catalogue, which takes the standard M2 and turns it into something visually extreme. There’s a big carbon fibre wing mounted on the boot lid, as well as a roof-mounted spoiler.
On the rear bumper are some additional aero features, plus the same central-mounted quad exhaust system that has been available for the BMW M3/M4, while the front bumper gains some additional diffusers, in carbon fibre obviously.
There are bigger wheels available, with a stanced setup thanks to 20-inch units on the front axle and 21-inch wheels at the rear. The cabin gets a light makeover with carbon fibre inserts into the steering wheel, central console and dashboard.
When is the 2023 BMW M2 Coming to SA?
The 2023 BMW M2 has been confirmed for South Africa and will be arriving in the second quarter of 2023. The BMW M2 Performance Parts catalogue will be available through your local dealer.
Stage 6: A major threat to SA’s auto industry
The implementation of Stage 6 load shedding scares all of us, but it may also put automotive parts suppliers – the lifeblood of South Africa’s advanced car industry – out of business.
The South African heavy industry has been forced to innovate by necessity. When your power demands are huge, Eskom’s inability to fulfil its mandate triggers anxiety… and action.
With global orders to fulfil, South African automotive assembly facilities have not been indifferent to the off-grid concept. Impressive solar installations and all manner of clever alternative power sources, independent of the stumbling reality of Eskom, have been integrated by the country’s local vehicle manufacturers.
Take a broad view of the South African automotive industry, and the power risk doesn’t look too terrible. Automotive assembly, unlike food retail, doesn’t require a demanding cold chain refrigeration commitment. The paint shop’s chemical stability and curing lights are probably your most sensitive power-off risk.
But beyond industry conferencing optimism and thought leaders drinking glasses half full of Kool-Aid, the developing risk to localised automotive assembly is massive. And on the increase.
An issue outside the factory gates
East London has been deindustrialising for years, with Mercedes-Benz’s factory the only notable exception. But its solar power generation can’t support everyone.
To understand why Eskom’s escalations to and beyond stage 6 could tip the entire automotive assembly industry into crisis, think beyond Rosslyn, Prospecton, Silverton, Kariega, Gqeberha and the Buffalo River. BMW, Nissan, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen (VW), Isuzu, and Mercedes-Benz’s core assembly assets have secure power, the result of engineers and management recognising that Eskom was beyond repair a decade ago.
But the issue is not at the final assembly stage. It’s in the supplier community. Those small engineering shops and enterprises supply the diversity of components that make up nearly a 3rd of locally produced car content.
The reason South Africa has such a sophisticated and scaled automotive industry is part legacy, part incentive policy. When the country was an economic powerhouse in the 1960s, demand for passenger and commercial vehicles was so great that most brands happily established local manufacturing facilities.
As the economy diversified and the Rand depreciated throughout the 1990s, conditions became conducive to servicing export markets, which is what most local vehicle manufacturers pivoted to. And Government’s industrial policy regarding the automotive industry has been one of creeping localisation – a worthy idea, with some very unintended consequences.
Manufacturers must use a fixed percentage of domestic content to keep Government happy and retain the export credit incentives that make local vehicle assembly viable. And that percentage has been increasing, over time, to the current requirement of close to 40%, depending on specific formulations. The goal in future is to raise this to 60%. That means the domestic supplier base needs to grow to achieve that 60% number, but Eskom is making that nearly impossible.
It’s not just alternative power, it’s storage too
These are the true heroes of South Africa’s world-class auto industry, the small-scale suppliers.
It is a credit to the quality of local suppliers that luxury car buyers in many of the world’s wealthiest cities own cars of which about a 3rd is made up of South African engineering content.
But what happens when stage 6 load shedding keeps happening and smaller suppliers, without the shielding of alternative energy sources, start running way behind schedule – or simply go offline for weeks on end? Direct-feed solar is a huge benefit, but to run late shifts after sunset, battery capacity is required. And energy storage remains notably expensive, making it prohibitive for many small businesses.
There is, of course, a tremendous sense of irony in the fact that battery storage is so expensive, due to import tariffs. Broadly the same tariffs are making it so challenging to price electric vehicles competitively and stimulate local demand.
We have a real-world example of what will happen to South African vehicle assembly if a higher frequency of stage 6 – and higher – load shedding persists: there will be a lot of incomplete cars and unfulfilled global delivery commitments.
For the last year and a half, there’s been a global shortage of new vehicles due to one sub-type of componentry being difficult to source – the semiconductor (possibly the smallest and lightest part of a new car). The semiconductor crisis illustrated how vulnerable vehicle manufacturing could be due to an overreliance on external suppliers instead of vertical integration.
The semiconductor crisis proved how complex modern cars have become. There was no option to switch and substitute between suppliers and specifications with a component as sophisticated as a semiconductor.
And that theme applies on a very granular level across the South African domestic automotive supply chain. There just aren’t enough redundancy suppliers because of the just-in-time and just-in-place production systems that all car companies have copied from Toyota in preceding decades; those strategies are all about running ultra-lean/within very narrow margins.
Off-grid and running shifts
South African OEMs, such as FMCSA, have invested in solar. But how many small engineering businesses can do the same?
What is the nightmare scenario for South African automotive manufacturing? It’s the risk that skilled locally component suppliers might liquidate their business after a bout of prolonged power outages. All the best intentions and solar panels at OEM assembly facilities do nothing to protect suppliers from stage 6 and worse.
It’s credible and prudent that BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, VW and Toyota have journeyed to a position of relative independence from the disaster that is Eskom. But they remain deeply vulnerable to the risk of stage 6 and worse. Without specific locally sourced components, there will be no fully assembled vehicles rolling off their production lines and being shipped offshore, to earn those credits.
Supplier vulnerability was never a theme of discussion until the pandemic and the resulting semiconductor crisis proved exactly how exposed large car companies were to external influences. Solutions? During the deepest pandemic panic, there was an understanding that car companies would financially support select global suppliers. It was a matter of mutual survival instead of corporate generosity.
But the pandemic was always going to be temporary. Eskom’s power crisis, by contrast, has been a permanent feature of the South African economy for the past 15 years and, alarmingly, the situation shows no signs of improving.
Small business needs help
SA-built bakkies, travelling by road, for export by port. But will the volumes continue to grow, into the future?
The Department of Trade and Industry, which is mandated to grow the automotive industry, reduce risks to business and enhance entrenched employment diversity, is doing nothing. Small automotive industry suppliers need relatively little power, compared to large industrial users, but they need it consistently. If the government enacted the 100MW private generating laws, various build projects across urban industrial zones could solve the issue. But it hasn’t.
The talk is about South Africa’s automotive industry transforming in line with the motoring world’s transition from ICE to new-energy powertrains. That will require new production systems and local suppliers producing complex battery chemistry slurries, where power outages would be a total disaster.
When your CNC machine stops milling a metal part, that’s not great, but it can restart and complete the job when power is restored. But battery chemistry? All those solvents and sensitive coasting require meticulous processing and don’t take kindly to interruption.
What’s the worst-case scenario for the local motor industry? Instead of local sourcing and true “proudly South African built” vehicles, we could experience a future of many CKD kits, where you only fasten a few elementary parts, completing a vehicle which is effectively imported, in a state of near completion. In this dystopian future, South Africa will still have an automotive production sector, but it will be an artificial one, without the depth of skilled employment and career progression it has offered since the mid-2000s.
Then there is the impending end of the current generation of vehicles built locally. Each manufacturing plant has to bid for whatever product comes next and if our local plants don’t meet the standards of the German/Japanese bosses (due to constant delays caused by power shortages) they will simply shut up shop and go elsewhere.
Even worse would be the loss of a diverse and thriving small business sector of technical suppliers that keep the country in touch with global technology trends – one that offers true labour upskilling.
Toyota in Europe has revealed a new GR Sport version of the strong-selling RAV4. Question is, will the newcomer eventually launch in South Africa, too?
In South Africa, Toyota markets GR Sport versions of the Land Cruiser 300, Corolla Cross and Hilux (in addition to the full-fat GR Yaris and GR Supra, plus the upcoming GR86). Now the Japanese brand’s European division has revealed a new RAV4 GR Sport.
The GR Sport grade for the RAV4 – the world’s best-selling vehicle in 2021 – includes a sharper styling package and some handling tweaks, and is available on the Old Continent in conjunction with either the standard hybrid powertrain or the 225 kW plug-in hybrid set-up (which, incidentally, is currently being tested in SA). Both, of course, feature all-wheel drive as standard.
In line with this grade of Toyota’s GR product hierarchy, the new RAV4 GR Sport’s under-the-skin upgrades are limited to suspension adjustments, meaning there’s no extra power on offer from the engine (though the aforementioned Hilux breaks this rule, offering some added grunt). Still, Toyota promises the stiffer springs and shock-absorber settings lend the RAV4 a “handling boost” and offer a “more engaging driving experience”.
The model-specific grille features obligatory GR badging.
Meanwhile, the styling treatment includes piano-black wheel-arch trim, side mouldings and rear garnish, while the front end gains more prominent foglamp bezels featuring the same black G-mesh pattern as the grille. The front spoiler is finished in dark silver on the hybrid and gunmetal grey on the plug-in hybrid. In addition, obligatory GR badges have been applied to the grille and tailgate.
Toyota furthermore says the RAV4 GR Sport is the first model to feature alloy wheels finished using a new “ultra-precise” line-cutting technique. The 19-inch items have a gloss-black finish with fine bright machined pinstripe detailing on their 5-double-spoke design.
Inside, you’ll find sports front seats (complete with power adjustment) finished in “suede-effect” upholstery with synthetic leather bolsters, materials that Toyota says are “free from animal products”. The headrests are embossed black-on-black with the GR logo, while the seats, steering wheel and shift lever gain silver stitching. In addition, the cabin features gunmetal trim detailing on the doors and tiller, while the GR logo is repeated on the floor mats and ‘wheel.
While the new RAV4 GR Sport is set to launch in Europe towards the end of the year, Toyota South Africa Motors has yet to announce whether it has plans to offer the upgraded model on local shores. We’ll be sure to update this story if any new information comes to light.
Audi’s e-tron is a head-turner, no doubt. In this review, Ciro De Siena asks the question, can a fully electric car feel special, and more importantly, can it make the driver feel special?
Audi’s e-tron took its time to arrive in SA but its safe to say that simply from a design and presence point of view, it certainly caused a stir. It looks like nothing else on the road and in our time with it there was no shortage of admirers.
So it certainly has that box ticked. Of course it’s fast too, but that is to be expected. It has a beautiful interior but that too is to be expected. But can an electric car evoke the same emotions that special ICE cars are so good at doing?
We embarked on a two month road test where we lived with the Audi e-tron and learned many things, not only about the car itself, but about what it’s like to live with an electric car in 2022 in South Africa.
Join our video guy, Ciro De Siena, as he takes you through his experience in this in-depth review.
Since its introduction in 2019, the Hyundai Venue has proved a popular choice in the South African compact family-car segment. However, the South Korean brand has decided to implement a minor facelift on its Indian-made model… and it has come just at the right time, because the segment is positively bursting with new competitors from all corners of the globe.
What’s new on the Hyundai Venue?
The Venue competes in the biggest segment of South Africa’s new-vehicle market (sales-wise) – the compact family car/small crossover has transformed from an alternative to the hatchback into Mzansi’s passenger car of choice. The major players in the segment include the VW T-Cross, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Kia Sonet, Suzuki Vitara Brezza, Nissan Magnite, Renault Kiger, Ford Ecosport and Chery Tiggo 4 Pro. There are more models than those, but let’s leave it there for now.
The Venue ranks as the 3rd-best seller behind the aforementioned Urban Cruiser and the T-Cross, but Hyundai aims to close the gap to its Japanese and German rivals with the latest evolution of its Chennai-produced model. The facelifted version incorporates updated specifications (for all derivatives) and introduces a top-of-the-range 1.0 TGDI N-Line automatic, which looks sportier than its siblings and supersedes the Glide version. Engines and transmissions are unchanged.
The digital instrument cluster has increased in size for the facelifted model.
Spec improvements for the updated Venue focus on digitisation and a few comfort features. All Hyundai Venue derivatives now come with a 4.2-inch digital instrument cluster, which improves upon the 3.5-inch version of the pre-facelift model. It utilises modern-looking and easy-to-read graphics, plus the bigger screen makes it dead easy to sort through the trip-computer options.
Rear ventilation outlets have been added to Motion-grade 1.0-litre turbocharged derivatives, while all Venues now feature side mirrors with integrated indicator lights.
The N-Line flagship comes generously specced, with notable additions being the artificial leather seats, drive-mode selector, aluminium-finished pedals, electrically adjustable driver’s seat, sunroof and, of course, the exterior styling package.
What’s the Venue like to drive?
The Venue is certainly one of the better-to-drive small crossovers in the segment.
It had been a few years since I’d driven a Venue and, given the plethora of models that recently joined the segment, it was good to reacquaint myself with one of the better-to-drive compact family cars. Price-wise, the Venue sits at the upper end of its segment (along with the T-Cross), but once you drive it and truly get a feel for the overall product, it becomes quite apparent that Hyundai’s offering thoroughly deserves its “premium” price tag.
Out on the road, the cabin is reasonably quiet and wind noise isn’t particularly noticeable. We drove the 1.0-litre turbocharged Fluid derivative (equipped with the dual-clutch automatic transmission) at the launch event and, by “small turbo car with an auto ‘box” standards, the Hyundai’s is pretty good. There’s a little hesitation from the ‘box when you floor the throttle to execute overtaking manoeuvres, but it shifts smoothly and doesn’t moan (like some CVTs in this segment).
The ride refinement is good too. Hyundai and Kia have improved drastically in this department over the past 5 years – the sister brands now produce compact cars that ride well over our local road surfaces, even if their suspension setups tend to be on the firm side of pliant. The steering action is devoid of any real feel or feedback, but that’s not going to deter buyers. In fact, they’ll appreciate an easy-to-twirl ‘wheel that makes the Venue a cinch to park.
What’s the interior like?
The N-Line model features red stitching as well as a drive mode selector.
The 1.0T Fluid features cloth seats, which are neatly upholstered, but I would have liked a bigger range of height adjustment for the driver’s seat (admittedly, I tend to adjust virtually every test car’s driver’s seat to its lowest position). It’s easy enough to find a good driving position, even if the steering column doesn’t have reach adjustment – it only tilts up and down.
The infotainment system supports Apple Carplay and Android Auto (via a cable connection), with a USB-C port and (the older) USB-A port provided at the front. The system is fairly basic, but its menu is easy to navigate and it’s simple enough to pair your smartphone to the car via Bluetooth. The audio system isn’t going to wake any neighbours, even if its volume is at maximum as you arrive home at 2 am; that’s where VW possibly has an advantage with its Beats collaboration.
That aside, the interior is neat, well put together and feels devoid of awful sweaty plastics. The Venue doesn’t feel as made-to-cost and disposable as some of its rivals in this segment, but that’s why you have to pay a little more to buy one.
Hyundai Venue prices and after-sales
The updated Hyundai Venue is sold with a 7-year/200 000 km warranty and a 3-year/45 000 km service plan.
Venue 1.2 MPI Motion MT
R294 900
Venue 1.0 TGDI Motion MT
R354 900
Venue 1.0 TGDI Fluid MT
R389 900
Venue 1.0 TGDI Motion DCT
R394 900
Venue 1.0 TGDI Fluid DCT
R429 900
Venue 1.0 TGDI N-Line DCT
R449 900
Summary
Priced at the upper end of the segment, the Venue offers a better driving experience and better build quality than most of its rivals.
The facelifted Hyundai Venue’s spec update may seem minor, but it lifts the cabin’s ambience slightly, even if not quite enough to be considered segment-leading. As is often the case, this Hyundai represents fairly good value for money, but the Venue does demand a bit of a premium over its chief rivals. However, that premium is arguably justified in terms of the excellent warranty, top-of-segment driving manners and good build quality that the compact family car delivers.
This past weekend, BMW hosted what the German firm recognises as the biggest M Festival in the world at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Gauteng. Not only did the event see over 25 000 attendees but BMW also managed to rack up impressive sales over the weekend period.
BMW and South African car culture are intimately intertwined and for BMW’s M division, M-zansi (see what I did there) is a very important market and the annual M Fest is an equally important customer touch point for the brand.
This year, M Fest sold over 25 000 tickets and BMW revealed major M products to the public including the new BMW M2, BMW M4 CSL and the most post-powerful production BMW ever, the BMW XM. But that’s not all, recently-crowned DTM champion, Sheldon van der Linde, was also in attendance to meet local M fans.
Major attractions included the Red Bull skidpan where spinning Gusheshes entertained the crowds as well as the Red Bull drift brothers Johannes and Elias Hountondji who piloted their specially-prepared BMW M4 Competitions in spectacular fashion.
As far as ‘bums in seats’ go, roughly 8 500 fans enjoyed hot laps around Kyalami and interestingly, BMW’s M Fest pop-up dealership recorded more than 100 sales over the weekend, which is staggering considering many brands in South Africa don’t achieve those sales figures in an entire month!
Peter van Binsbergen commented: “BMW and BMW M are special to our customers and fans here in South Africa. One in five BMWs sold in South Africa bears an M badge, and this market is a consistent global top performer for BMW M High Performance and M Performance models.
“Here, we can show that M, as well as being the most powerful letter in the world, also stands for emotion. It is about more than the cars, and a showcase such as the BMW M Fest is the perfect platform to share this joy with our customers” he concludes.
Were you at BMW M Fest? Share your experiences with us!
Rolls-Royce Spectre Starts EV Era for the Ultra-Luxury Brand
The Rolls-Royce Spectre is the brand’s first production electric vehicle, and the first units will be reaching customers by the end of 2023.
It was only a matter of time before we’d see a production EV from the ultra-luxury brand. This is not the brand’s first taste of electrification either. Sir Henry Royce was interested in everything electrified and before getting into cars, his first company F.H. Royce and Company sold dynamos, electric crane motors and held the patent for the bayonet-style light bulb.
In April 1900 Charles Rolls had a go in a very early electric car called the Columbia and “declared its electric drive to be ideal”. When the two merged to form what’s arguably the most luxurious car brand in the world, electric power was put on the backburner.
The Rolls-Royce Spectre will be positioned between the Cullinan SUV and the flagship Phantom, and prices are yet to be announced. Still, being a Rolls-Royce, if you have to ask… Physically, the Spectre is a large vehicle, with a wheelbase of 3 2100 mm and tipping the scales at just under 3 tons.
There are very few technical details, other than a 700 kg battery pack that will give the Spectre a WLTP claimed range of 520 km. A simple guesstimate suggests a battery back of over 100 kWh. There are no details on the powertrain either, with outputs of 430 kW and 900 Nm being touted. Performance-wise, you’re looking at around 4.5 seconds to 100 kph.
In terms of design, it’s unmistakably Rolls-Royce, built for opulence and cruising, with that long bonnet, huge grille and suicide doors. Rolls-Royce says the Spectre features a trick Planar suspension that’s able to decouple the anti-roll bars to prevent discomfort on uneven surfaces. Adapative dampers and four-wheel steer are par for the course.
The cabin is what you’d expect from a Rolls-Royce and retains all the cool elements like the star headliner, which now extends to the doors, and the umbrella neatly located within the door. New for the Spectre is a digital display for the front passenger.
