August 8, 2019
THE WITNESS
NEW MODELS
Easy Braaider The Indian motorbike marketing team is taking a unique braai bike to the Sturgis rally. Much more than a sidecar with a grill instead of a seat, the braai bike features on one side a custombuilt Springfield Darkhorse and on the other a woodfired Traeger Ironwood 885 barbeque built by See See Motorcycles. The braai fits 10 big chickens or seven racks of ribs, or presumably all the fresh roadkill one can stomach. PHOTO: INDIAN
Suzuki boosts the Vitara range with turbo power SHAY KALIK
Audi’s third generation TT has been given a facelift inside and out, with higher-powered engines and an extended scope of standard equipment now part of the price. The TT Coupé 45 TFSI S tronic is priced at R670 000 and the TTS Coupé quattro S-tronic sells for R782 000. Both models come standard with a five-year or 100 000 km Audi Freeway plan. PHOTO: MOTORPRESS
Drivers who like to throw a car around a track and then drive home in it need look no further than the Lexus RC F Track Edition, which Lexus launched at the Dezzi Raceway on the South Coast last week. The Track Edition costs an eyewatering R2 098 200, which makes the ‘normal’ RC F appear almost a steal at R1 318 300. Both models are powered by a howling V8 that makes 351kW and 530Nm between 4800rpm and 5600rpm. 0-100km/h is done in 4,5 seconds for RC F and 4,3 seconds for RC F Track Edition. Both models come standard with Lexus’ best-in-class seven-year/105 000km Warranty and Full Maintenance Plan. Service intervals are every 15 000km, or yearly. PHOTO: MOTORPRESS
Following the success of the first Tucson Sport, Hyundai has created another Sport derivative, with either a 1,6-litre turbocharged petrol engine, or a 2-litre turbocharged diesel. Hyundai’s rally-loving bosses do not add ‘Sport’ to just any car. Both engines in the Tuscon Sport will spin the wheels up to third gear for heavy-footed drivers. The Tucson 1.6 TGDI Sport (Dual Clutch Transmission) costs R654 900 and the Tucson R2.0 Sport Turbodiesel (automatic) sells for R664 900. The prices include Hyundai’s sevenyear or 200 000 km warranty and a five-year or 90 000 km service plan. Roadside assistance are now seven years or 150 000. All service intervals are 15 000 km, with a mandatory initial 5 000 km service for the Tucson 1.6 TGDI Elite and Sport derivatives. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
Winners! CONGRATULATIONS to Jody Dennis, who won the Bullitt-branded leather notebook and pen; to Mo Hussy, who won a Mustang-branded peak cap; and to Alen Hattingh, who won the Thule organiser in last week’s Wheels reader competition.
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Opel dealerships now have the fiveseat Opel Combo Life — voted Europe’s ‘Best Buy Car Europe 2019’ — at a rather special R369 900, which includes a three-year or 120 000 km warranty, and a threeyear or 60 000 km service plan, with service intervals once a year or every 15 000 km. As pictured, two sliding doors give easy access to the three rear seats, while a frugal 1,6 turbo diesel makes 68 kW at 4 000 rpm and 230 Nm from 1 700 rpm to wring some 20 km from each litre of 50 ppm diesel. PHOTO: QUICKPIC
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SUZUKI has literally boosted its very popular Vitara range with the launch of two turbo-charged Vitara models — with either a six-speed manual or automatic. Both models come in GLX spec, and are powered by 1,4 litre BoosterJet engine, which very impressively delivers its peak torque of 220 Nm from 1 500 rpm all the way to 4 000 rpm. In city driving, this means you can shove the manual gearbox into third and keep it there in slow moving traffic. And as I tell all the cousins I teach how to drive, internal combustion engines burn petrol like a truck when you drive in first and second gears. The Vitara’s ability to drive in city traffic in third enables this Suzuki to pull like a V6 from 20 years ago, while being miserly with the petrol. Suzuki claims 5,8 l/100 km for the manual and 5,9 l/100 km for the auto, but I am sure several Wheels readers can improve on this. The same readers will likely point
The Vitara now boasts a turbo that makes it ideal for Highveld driving. PHOTO: MOTORPRESS out that the Vitara 1,6 litre GLX costs R91 000 less than the turbo-boosted 1,6 GXL. The 1,6 is all the hatch we need near sea level, but in South Africa, almost seven in 10 people drive on the Highveld and a turbo will put back
all the power the thin air up there takes out of a petrol engine. Inside, GLX spec means a multifunction steering wheel, cruise control, parking sensors front and back, climate control and electric windows
and mirrors. Suzuki has also added its very popular seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone connectivity and reverse camera to the turbo, which offers complete mobile phone integration with inbuild Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink systems. The system includes an SD slot, a USB port, Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free dialling, and voice control for many of the infotainment features. Leather and suede seats, automatic LED headlamps, with LED daytime running lights and automatic rainsensing wipers move the Vitara out of Suzuki’s traditional cheap and cheerful niche into luxury vehicle territory. Suzuki’s pricing remains firmly aimed at the sensible buyer, and includes a promotional five-year or 200 000 km warranty and a four-year or 60 000 km service plan. 1,4 Vitara Turbo Pricing GLX 6MT R378 900 GLX 6AT R397 900
Zane Rencken Rally brings national racers to Dalton THE rolling sugarcane hills around Dalton will echo to the sound of powerful and tortured rally cars with the running of the Zane Rencken National Rally on August 24. The event is the fifth round of the SA National Rally Championship and will feature not only the usual national field of rally cars, but a host of regional and club competitors from KZN, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. Organiser Dean Redelinghuys regrets to inform social racers that they will not be able to tag along this time, as the tribute race counts towards national points in the SA rally championship series. KZN’s rally scene is unique in that it allows social drivers to take part in regional races in standard cars, to gain both legal access to farm roads and have the benefit of the paramedics on stand-by. Instead of tagging along, social racers can grab a spectator map,
Driving costing more Fuel costs less but all other fees up THE interest rate cut and drop in petrol price during July is good news for consumer but the cost of motoring continues to rise steadily, warned Ghana Msibi, WesBank executive head of motor division (pictured). He said in a statement the monthly mobility basket, which comprises vehicle installments, fuel, insurance and maintenance fees, has risen to R7 851,39. This is three percent higher than last year, and 28% higher than five years ago when monthly costs amounted to R6 144,22. The mobility basket comprises all the costs of owning a vehicle — the monthly installment, insurance, fuel and maintenance. On the WesBank Mobility Calculator, these expenses are regularly updated to reflect inflation, interest rates and other fluctuating costs. The calculatiins are based on an average entry-level vehicle that does about 2 500 km per month. Vehicle instalments and fuel spend remain the largest portions of the monthly mobility basket, accounting for 80% of monthly mobility spend. Fuel spend accounts for 35% of the total this year, while vehicle instalments are 45%. This contrasts with the mobility basket in 2014, where fuel spend and vehicle instalments cost about the same amount. “In 2014, fuel prices were on the rise and monthly fuel spend was roughly equal to an entry-level vehicle’s instalment,” said Msibi. “This is no longer the case, and despite monthly fuel price hikes from February to June 2019, this month’s fuel prices are actually lower than they were during July last year. This does not mean
the cost of motoring is lower.” Vehicle installments and insurance premiums account for the highest increases over the past five years, mainly as a result of vehicle price inflation. From 2014 to 2019, vehicle instalments increased 43%, while insurance premiums grew 40%. In comparison, fuel spend and maintenance fees only grew 11% and eight percent respectively over the same period. “Interest rate cuts and lower fuel costs are always welcome, but this shouldn’t influence a vehicle purchase. “Motorists should take a holistic view when planning a car purchase and ensure that their budgets include the instalment amount, insurance costs, fuel money and savings for maintenance and services. “Their budgets should also be able to absorb higher costs a few years down the line. The smartest move is to plan for rising costs over the duration of the finance contract. Our mobility calculator is there to help consumers gauge the total costs associated with vehicle ownership,” said Msibi. — WR.
COMPETITION FOR GREENER TRANSPORT
which will be posted on SA Rallying Facebook page as well as be available at the rally HQ during the proloque on Friday, August 23 and the racing on Saturday. The rally centres around the Dalton Unicorn Club, where the Dunlop Service Zone will be located. The special stages of the rally are all within an easy 15-minute drive of
the club and have a variety of exciting spectator points. The rally is a tribute to Zane Rencken, a KwaZulu-Natal’s up-andcoming rally driving enthusiast who died in 2018 in a tragic work accident. The Dalton farming community, his family and the Natal Motorcycle and Car Club have joined forces to
organise the rally as a tribute to him. The Zane Rencken National Rally will start at 8.30 am and ends around 3.30 pm, with a prize-giving from 6.30 pm.
positive impact on traffic congestion can enter. The competition aims to plan cities for the future, using transportation systems that are energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and sustainable. The focus is on developing and supporting entrepreneurial creativity within the African green mobility space, stated Smarter Mobility Africa. The deadline is next week, August 15 and entries must be submitted via www.smartermobilityafrica.com. — WR.
Next National Rallies: • September 27-28, Round 6 at Lake Umuzi in Secunda. • October 25-26, Round 7 in Ermelo.
Car restorer calls a small shed on big wheels home ALWYN VILJOEN THE mini home movement is growing around the world, although for different reasons. In San Francisco, computer programmers are sleeping in parking lots in converted panel vans because the dot.com billionaire city (and place where many a car chase was shot) has become unaffordable for junior code slingers. In Europe, architects are winning prizes for creating masterpieces of minimalist living inspired by the growing awareness that humans need to leave a smaller footprint if we are to survive a changed climate. However, few people have taken the concept of a small home on big wheels as far as England’s Tom Duckworth, who restores vintage cars for a living. Duckworth bought a vintage Bedford truck off eBay and built his home on it, using pallets to make the walls. He calls it his “4x4 shed” and he currently lives on top of the old army vehicle full-time. “I purchased the lorry off eBay in 2016, two weeks after my 22nd birthday. I moved into it about a year later, having done all the work myself,” said Duckworth. “All the work” includes the roof sheets, which he bent himself, and the plumbing, which includes a sys-
SMARTER Mobility Africa has launched a Start-up Pitch Competition to identify new businesses that can offer smart, eco-friendly and sustainable solutions to transport people and products. “We are looking for start-ups who have unique solutions in the market but are looking for exposure for growth and scaling-up opportunities, Smarter Mobility Africa stated. Anyone with ideas to develop mobility concepts and options for a particular city or for public transport users and drivers, with a
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Tom Duckworth in front of his “4x4 shed” — a full-time mini home that offers all the comforts of a modern house, including a shower and toilet, wood burning stove for heat and even draft beer on tap. tem to collect rainwater, and wiring that is powered by the sun. The worktop in the tiny kitchen is made from the original bed of the vehicle and the cupboards are made from old British ammunition boxes. Drawers are also made from old ammo boxes, in this case from the German army as this Bedford served the British Army in Germany. The sitting room section is dominated by a worn Chesterfield couch, which hides the water tank. Duckworth said one of the best
recent addictions is the “beer engine” at the back which dispenses draft beer. On his website (thelorrylife.com), Duckworth says he is now converting an ex-army trailer into a workshop and, using that, he will convert a double decker bus. “I plan to make the sides of the workshop fold out to form work benches to give me a much bigger working space. I also plan to make the workshop removable, through either a mechanical or hydraulic sys-
tem. When the workshop has been removed, I am going to have another platform that sits on the bed of the trailer with a wood-fired hot tub on it.” As for why he needs a bus, he said space is tight for more than two on the bed of his Bedford and the double decker bus will provide him with over four times more space while still allowing him to live off-grid and as self-sufficiently as possible. • alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za
Wheeled events SATURDAY: THE fifth round of the 2019 TRP South African National Motocross Championship heads to Thunder Valley in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday, with several spectacular key
battles to be played out across the board on a traditional tough and demanding track. • The Rotax Max Challenge karting comes to the iDube karting track
near Camperdown for the third round of the national championship series. AUGUST 23-24: Zane Rencken Tribute Rally at Dalton.
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