Gran Max honestly good value

On first acquaintance, the Daihatsu Gran Max bakkie would seem to have a great deal to be humble about. Put it this way, it made the Tata I drove the week before seem quite luxurious, and that’s saying something.
The Gran Max is basic, b-a-s-i-c. There’s not even air-conditioning and of course the windows are the manual self-winding type. Surprise, surprise, you do get anti-lock brakes. But an audio system is an optional extra.
When it gets to getting the job done, though, the Gran Max has a great deal to be proud of. For R120 000 you are getting a one-ton Japanese bakkie with a 1.5-litre petrol engine putting out 77kW and 140Nm of torque, through a five-speed box (the gearlever is mounted on the dashboard to allow for more legroom, and falls easily to hand). There is even a cupholder.

Perhaps the cleverest trick is that all three walls of the load bay fold down, quickly and simply (see picture above). This makes it feel as if the Gran Max is saying, come on, try me, see what you can load on me, come on, come on …
It really looks as if it can take a great deal.
It’s also a tall vehicle and you’ll battle to get it into a standard garage.
You shouldn’t be in too much of a hurry. The Gran Max, to my perhaps oversensitive ear, felt at its most comfortable around the 100km/h mark. My eye automatically flicks to the instrument panel to check the revs at this speed but, of course, there is no rev counter on vehicle like this one. There is also no rear window between the cabin and the load bay. The fuel tank holds 43 litres.
One-tonner rivals include the Hyundai Bakkie, which is a 2.6-litre diesel, 58kW and 170Nm, and costs R153 000; the Gonow 2.2i for R99 990, which produces 78kW and 190Nm; and the GWM 2.2i Standard for R104 990 (78kW, 190Nm).

Tata Ini a bit pricey

One thing you can’t criticise Tata for is the length of their model names. Take, for instance, the Tata Indica Vista Ini. Doesn’t make for snappy conversation at the pub when someone says “I drive an Escort – what about you?” Do you say “A Tata” or “an Ini” or do you have to come out with the whole mouthful?
Yes, I know, it’s easy to poke fun at Tatas. But the Indian company has been in South Africa for several years now and we are seeing more and more of them on the roads. (Today I saw the sort of young blonde beauty one would expect to be driving an Alfa get out of a common or garden Tata, with no self-consciousness at all.)
But to get back to the Ini, if I can call it that for short. It’s the entry-level Vista, which in turn is the name for Tata’s Indica hatchback. All clear? Good.
This being an Indian car and all, I could remark on the phenomenal headroom by saying “You can keep your turban on” but that would just be another silly joke – so I won’t.
The Ini costs R119 900 (the more luxurious Aura and Ignis go for R127 900 and R139 900 respectively) and frankly, I thought that was a bit much for a car that prides itself on being, well, cheap.
It’s quite a good-looking car, with big headlights, reasonable shut lines on the bonnet and doors, and the by-now-familiar deep rear lights flanking the high-opening door to the luggage space.
You do get a four-door, five-seater hatchback with good interior space, and the ability to take you from here to there at a reasonable speed and in acceptable comfort, without using too much fuel on the way (we reckoned consumption to be about 8litres/100km, and the tank holds 44 litres.

The instrument panel is located centrally, under a hooded cowl, and the Ini boasts front spotlights.
“It’s not a bad little car for what it is” was a comment I heard once or twice, and it’s quite correct. In a way we’ve been rather spoilt by the excellent quality of German, Japanese and, now, Korean cars.
I didn’t like the manual window winders, and not just because I am due to have an operation on my right shoulder. The winders are located low down on the door panel and are unpleasantly difficult to operate.
There is a service plan of three years or 75 000km.
Like other bargain-basement cars the Ini is no firecracker when it comes to performance, revving anxiously at 4 000rpm when doing 120km/h. The 1.4-litre motor puts out a modest 55kW and 114Nm. Car magazine reckons it will do 0-100km/h in 13.9 seconds and credits it with a top speed of 154km/h, which I guess it might achieve at the coast.
Power steering and air-conditioning are among the few standard features in the Ini.
Someone wanting a cheap Tata might look at the Indica saloon – the B-line LE goes for R86 000. At that price you are likely to overlook one or two quality issues.
If you just want a cheap car and are not hooked on Tatas I like the Hyundai Atos 1.1 GLS for R92 000 (45kW and 87Nm, central locking, power steering, aircon, audio and front power windows). Many other people, judging from sales, like the Chevy Spark 0.8LS for R78 000, while the Chery QQ 0.8TE was, last time I looked, the only car in SA being sold for less than R70 000. Call me cautious but I’d rather pay R22 000 more for the Atos.

Dirty fun with Mazda

IT says something that, when I was invited to a Mazda Day at Gerotek to showcase their range, I enjoyed the off-road section in a BT-50 diesel bakkie (pictures above) as much as the high-speed exercises in far more glamorous models. (See pictures below of the Mazda MX-5, MPS 2.3 turbo and CX-7).
Maybe it’s just me, maybe I’m getting old. Certainly Mazda had some sexy vehicles on show, include the updated MX-5, which has entered motoring folklore as the world’s best-selling sportscar. And it’s not just good-looking. On the high-speed track I was a passenger as a Mazda specialist pushed the 2-litre 2-seater to an indicated 220km/h on the speedo. Earlier I had gone even faster, to an indicated 240km/h, in the Mazda3 MPS Turbo, which is technically the marque’s mightiest model but lacks the pizzazz of the MX-5. The roadster is pricey at almost R340 000 while the turbo, with two extra doors and three extra seats as well as a bigger boot, will set you back less than R320 000.
There has been fairly widespread criticism of the turbo because, although it supposedly puts out a monstrous 190kW, does not quite have the “go” one would expect.
The MX-5 produces a healthy 118kW and has received rave reviews from owners and road-testers alike. This is just one of those cars that has carved out a huge niche for itself.
On the skidpan we were treated to lots of spinning about on the wet surface, and a bit of competiveness with a slalom-style race, in a sporty little Mazda2. On previous outings with this car at Gerotek, on a challenging handling circuit, I was hugely impressed by the way it could be flung around. There are two 1.4-litre models and two 1.5-litres, with fairly modest power outputs of 62kW and 76Kw respectively, but it feels fast.
Prices at the time of writing range from just under R160 000 to just over R205 000.
The subtly facelifted CX-7 crossover vehicle was the toy of choice for the handling circuit, and while it impressed with its power there was a lot of body roll on corners. There is now a 2.5-litre normally aspirated motor, delivering 120kW, while the older 2.3-litre turbo version spits out a meaty 175kW. The turbo also boasts four-wheel-drive and a six-speed gearbox but costs almost R435 000. Not surprising, then, that Mazda brought in the 2.5-litre, which makes do with two-wheel-drive and a five-speed gearbox but costs about R100 000 less.
One of the best Mazdas around was not made available for any of the track fun but was used to ferry people from place to place. This is the Mazda5 people-mover, which comes with seven seats and has two sliding doors for easy access to the rear seats. It is priced from R245 000 to R291 000 and is something of a bargain especially, of course, when one looks at the cheapest option. All Mazda5s have 107kW 2-litre motors but the price depends on how many goodies you want in your vehicle..
Then we got to play in the dirt … although most if not all the motoring journalists present had driven 4×4 vehicles on offroad tracks before, the no-nonsense Mazda BT-50 diesel was a treat. It simply churned its way through and over every obstacle, every rock and every deep shloopy patch of mud, and would have conquered a lot more than the course had to offer. It boasts four-wheel-drive and diff locks but one of the instructors said succinctly; “You can go almost anywhere in a 4×2 with diff lock – and anywhere you couldn’t go you wouldn’t WANT to go,” a reference to the type of damage your vehicle would probably suffer in such extreme conditions (damage to paintwork being just one aspect).
This makes one wonder about the macho (or fashionista) yearning for 4×4 ability. We are not allowed to drive on most of our beaches anyway so unless you are planning a trip to Cairo or something similar, a rugged 4×2 with good ground clearance and a diff lock should be enough for most situations. You can always buy a 4×4 badge and stick it on …
You can get a BT-50 4×2 2.5-litre diesel single-cab for R245 000, while a double cab pushes the price up to R308 000. The cheapest BT-50 double cab is the petrol-engined 2600 at R276 000, while a 4×4 double cab with the same motor will set you back R276 000.

Subtly sexy little Peugeot

The Peugeot 207 1.4 Active is, at first glance, an ordinary little hatchback. Priced at R170 000, it seems initially to be fighting an uphill battle against cheaper opposition. The Hyundai i20 1.6, for example, costs R160 000 and has a bigger engine, with more power.
But the 207’s appeal is something that grows on you. It is a matter of class. The motor is pleasantly quiet and while you might think the little Peugeot is no road rocket, it is surprisingly nimble on the road when you press it hard.
Small things mean a lot in this market. The fact that the driver’s window has an automatic up/down function; that you get cruise control AND a speed limiter; climate control; doors that lock as you drive off; an onboard computer with a wide range of information including distance to next service, as well as standard items such as fuel consumption, distance to emptry, average speed, date, outside temperature, average and instantaneous fuel consumption…

Of course there are French idiosyncrasies. The fuel consumption is shown in km/litre, instead of litres per 100km (it averaged out to about 14km/litre, or around 7.2l/100km in the more usual form. Oh, and the fuel tank holds 55 litres.) And the speedometer is marked out in odd numbers instead of even.
The instrumentation dials are attractive red numbers on while background, there are fuel and temperature gauges, and the whole car has a solid feel.
From the outside, the Peugeot “Prancing Lion” is used to excellent effect on the grille – big and bold, making sure you know this is a Peugeot, proud of its French history. (It must be said that an Italian lady of my acquaintance confused the Peugeot Lion with a Prancing Horse and thought I was driving a Ferrari! That says a lot for the styling of the little 207, and perhaps even more about her imagination.)
There is excellent headroom in the cabin and generally a feel of solid build quality harking back to Peugeots of old. The shiny top of the gearknob, however, looks a little cheap and could easily be replaced with a leather cover. Steel wheels are standard (with a full-size spare) and, another surprise in a car of this price, the rear windows are operated manually. (For anyone who has little kids in the back this could be a plus point as they can’t play with the electric windows …)
The motor in the 1.4 Active puts out an impressive 70kW and 136Nm. As usual for a French car safety is high on the agenda; there are front and side airbags and the 207 boasts five stars in the Euro NCAP crash test. There is a service plan for four years or 60 000km and a three-year, 100 000km warranty.
Peugeot are showing with this features-laden car that they are getting back on track to their proud traditions of the past. You may be paying a little more for the 207 but, in the 1.4 Active, they are making a robust attempt to get right back into the battle.

Fuel-sipping

The best thing about the VW Caravelle is its fuel consumption. I saw a fuel consumption reading of under 7litres/100km during a recent trip that included slow stop-start game viewing, highway driving and zooming up and down the mountain passes of Mpumalanga. That’s quite amazing for a big vehicle packed with such luxuries as heated front seats and capable of carrying seven people in comfort, as well as a large load of luggage (and towing a trailer if necessary).
There are many other good points about the Caravelle but to me, the fuel economy is the highlight. And remember, this is a diesel, and diesel costs a lot less than petrol these days. You can shop around for the best price too, as diesel is not regulated.
What’s the worst thing? Well, the Caravelle doesn’t like gravel roads at all. It’s not too keen even on badly maintained tar roads.
So during our few days in the Kruger Park we did our best to stick to the tar. Fair enough, many modern vehicles seem to be designed more for city driving and highway cruising than for dirt roads. The Caravelle makes no pretence of being an off-roader or a 4×4.
What it offers is space and comfort. There are sliding doors for the rear passengers, one on each side of the vehicle. There are two front seats, two centre seats that can swivel so they can turn towards the rearmost three-occupant bench seat if they wish.
Like so many vehicles of this type the rearmost passengers do not have their own windows. The middle passengers have sliding windows in each of the sliding doors (these rattle on corrugations) and only the front occupants have the normal electric windows.
The seats slide backwards and forwards on rails to make for more or less legroom, and this also has the advantage of being able to make the luggage area larger while still leaving all seven seats in the vehicle. Of course if you remove the bench seat the luggage capacity becomes absolutely truck-like. Unlike many other so-called seven-seaters the Caravelle will accommodate seven adults, and the rearmost seats have legroom even for tall people.
There are plenty of concealed storage areas with drawers and compartments under the seats, and the gearlever is on the dashboard to allow for more space between the front seats. This space is left open for walk-through ease although while the vehicle is moving no-one should be out of their seats.

Naturally there are many of the luxuries one would expect in a vehicle costing more than half a million rand – three-zone climate control, power steering, swivelling reading lights, illuminated steps with fancy Caravelle nameplates, anti-lock brakes, an excellent sound system, six-speed gearbox, 128kW and 340Nm from the 2.5-litre TDI engine, halogen headlights, heated electric mirrors, tinted glass, front and rear foglights … the list of features really does go on and there’s a lengthy options list too. (Surprisingly, side airbags in the passenger compartment are among the extra-cost items).
Back to that fuel consumption – the 80-litre tank should get you almost 1 000km between fill-ups, because the average consumption is in the low8litres/100km range.
The Caravelle is a good-looking beast too, with classy alloy wheels adding to the appeal and classy appearance.
As long as you’re sticking to good roads, or are prepared to drive really slowly on the gravel, it’s an excellent buy, coming as it does with VW’s good name and reputation, as well as a three-year, 120 000km warranty and the five-year, 60 000km maintenance plan.
The six-speed manual costs R505 000, the six-speed auto (tiptronic) R523 000 and the four-wheel-drive 4Motion R527 500.