Hi 27C° Low 15C° | 
Good Times
2 hours, 30 minutes ago
The 5th Official
2 hours, 49 minutes ago
The Long Drop
3 hours, 15 minutes ago
Off The Charts
4 hours, 22 minutes agoView all Times LIVE Blogs
The new Toyota Prius has been voted Japan’s Car of the Year by motoring journalists and industry experts at the Tokyo motor show.
The new-generation Prius, which delivers more power, better fuel efficiency and lower emissions, has been Japan’s top selling new car for the past five months in a row, says Toyota proudly – every month since the car first arrived in showrooms.
With more than 31 000 sales in September alone, the new Prius last month accounted for almost 11% of the entire new car market in Japan.
It has not yet had the same success in South Africa. Car buyers here still seem to be more concerned with power and top speeds, or off-road ability, than saving the planet.
You can pick on things that you don’t like about the new Prius. For example, the huge rear window could be a work of art. But it, and the view via the rear-view mirror, is spoilt somewhat by a rear wing. (The same problem afflicts the Honda Civic hatch.)
In the same way, the aerodynamic lines of the Prius are eye-catching, but a little slab-sided from the side.
What one cannot argue about, even four years after the Prius first arrived in South Africa, is that this is a car of the future, even perhaps a car that is ahead of its time in this country.
The eerily silent engine, clever hybrid technology combining electric and petrol power, the generous proportions of the interior, and the large boot … all deserve praise.
When Toyota first brought the Prius to SA they would not allow them to be sold, only leased; and they could be driven only on tar roads.
Now, of course, South Africans can buy the hybrid Prius, and trend-setters are doing that. I even got a nod of approval from a partner in my doctor’s medical practice when he saw me driving the car.
The Hilux and Corolla need not feel nervous about being overtaken by the Prius in the local sales stakes. The car does well, as we have seen, in Japan, in California where every movie star and celeb has to have at least one, and in places in Europe where people are encouraged to buy them because of tax concessions and cheap or free access to city centres. But the new Prius is a big advance on the ones we first saw in South Africa four years ago, quite apart from the fact that you no longer need to stick strictly to tarred roads.
You will pay R326 200 for the Advanced model and R370 000 for the Exclusive.
Apart from its green credentials, the Prius comes with electric windows, power steering, air con, a good audio system, ABS, a heads-up display on the windscreen, automatic rain-sensing windscreen wipers, seven airbags, heated front passenger seats, a park-assist system with a camera and screen showing what is behind you when you reverse, pop-up headlight cleaners and satellite navigation.
The car is extremely comfortable on long journeys, with a sense of luxury in the cabin.
Toyota have also increased the size of the petrol engine, from a 1.5-litre to a 1.8-litre that puts out 100kW (24% more than before). The electric motor has increased power by 20% to 60kW and when the electric and petrol motors work together under acceleration the Prius gets up and goes in no uncertain terms. Top speed is a claimed 180km/h and the 0-100km/h is between 10 and 11 seconds.
In stop-start traffic, for limited distances, the electric engine can work alone. An electric-only mode (press a button on the dashboard) will take you 2km, at a maximum speed of 50km/h. Then the petrol motor will come in.
You can also choose a power mode and an eco mode, said to improve fuel economy by 15%.
Toyota claims fuel economy of 4.1litres/100km and in real-life driving on the Reef I saw figures below 5litres/100km, something I have, until now, achieved only in a small diesel car.
If the battery is fully charged, there is no sound of the engine starting up. It takes some getting used to. Press the Start button, and a “ready” sign comes up in the instrument binnacle. Slip the car into Drive or Reverse using the green gear knob and drive away in utter and absolute silence. It can give passers-by and car guards quite a start.
Hyundai’s new i20 hatchback is not a replacement for the popular Getz – it is more like a big brother. But perhaps because I have driven a Getz for nearly three years now, I could not help drawing comparisons.
The i20 comes with either a 1.4 motor or a 1.6, and we drove the latter for a few days. The sharp lines and striking appearance of the bright red test car drew a surprising amount of attention in parking lots and at fuel stations.
There’s definitely more space in the cabin and in the boot than is the case in the Getz, and while the little brother has a lively 1.4 motor putting out 70kW, it naturally cannot compete with the hefty 91kW of the 1.6 i20. The 1.4-litre motor of the i20 boasts 74kW. Getzes, by the way, are priced from R128 000 for the entry-level up to R162 000 for the powerful 1.5-litre diesel.
According to Hyundai the big brother i20 does 190km/h top speed compared to the 180 of the 1.4 i20; pulls off the 0-100km/h sprint in 9.5 seconds as against 11.6; and feels like the sportiest small Hyundai I have driven.
At just under R160 000 it also feels like a bargain.
Okay, so you don’t get alloy wheels. But there is a detailed onboard computer, giving such info as distance to empty, time travelled, instantaneous fuel consumption as well as average consumption (we saw as low as 7.2 litres’100km and as high as 8.6l/100km), a trip distance and outside temperature.
The spare is a full size wheel, there is anti-lock braking along with disc brakes all round, and you get air-con, electric windows (with a very useful auto up-AND-down function on the driver’s window) and such givens as power steering.
The audio system is impressive, and features radio/CD/MP3 with a six-speaker system and inputs for USB and iPod. There are remote audio controls on the sporty-looking steering wheel and the car scolds front occupants with an insistent beep if they fail to fasten their seat belts.
Even the remote-locking device has a solid feel to it, with a foldaway key.
In a few words, the i20 is packed with features for a car in this price range. And the 1.4-litre version seems to have as many goodies as the 1.6 so if you are content with 74kW against 91kW, you could save R10 000.
The i20 comes with a five-year/150 000km full manufacturer’s warranty. There is a three-year/60 000km service plan and service intervals are every 15 000km.
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.
