Bucket Seat: Audi Q5 40 TDI Quattro S Line

When it comes to the SUV market, the influx of late has been a lot to take in, apart from the various new segments being introduced especially in the compact market, the new brands coming in are making a once relatively sparse segment flooded with options for the consumer. One of the long standing models being the medium sized SUV still remains to be a big favourite for larger families as it offers a spacious cabin, powerful engines and great versatility for whatever the task at hand. One of the long runners in the market for this has been the Audi Q5, with stiff competition coming from either one of its German rivals, the Q5 has always managed to hold its own in the market and provided a handy alternative for many at a slightly cheaper price than its rivals. With Audi's TDI engines stealing the limelight in the past decade, this was always a major draw card with the Q5 and there after advancements in the TFSI petrol engines also sparked interest with the consumer and as we usher in a new era with electric powered vehicles in Audi's e-tron stable, the Q5 still remains an integral part of the Audi family until they go full electric. I spent some time with the revised Audi Q5 40 TDI recently and here are my thoughts on the car. 

DESIGN

With the introduction of the Q5 Sportback, one would think the appeal for the regular one would lessen but credit to Audi, while most of the changes on this revised model does mirror on to the Sportback model, this one still looks great. The new headlights featuring Audi's new LED matrix lights give it quite that modern futuristic look. The grille has seen some cosmetic changes as well with having a more edgy outline and thicker border finished in brushed aluminum, the hatches in the inside are bigger and add to the bolder presence. This particular model was in the S Line guise which featured a front mud guard finished in brushed aluminum and C shaped clusters to house the side fog lamps. Side profile of the car is much the same of the previous mode but with the S Line trim you get a side step and side sill finished in aluminum too. The new 20-inch, 5-spoke Flax style rims in the Black Matte finish are from the options list and gave the car that extra sporty look. Moving to the back, the lights also received the new matrix LED treatment and had the welcome sequence like the front when unlocking and locking the car. The interior is pretty much the same in terms of design to the old with the only major difference being the larger infotainment screen. 

PERFORMANCE

As mentioned, the TDI engine from Audi was quite a popular engine on the market, apart from its solid performance and fuel efficient figures, the reliability on them was second to none. It's no different with the latest versions as well, the Audi A5 is offered in the 40TDI variant only with only a choice of trims for the car that differentiate it. Power output on this 2.0L Turbo-Diesel engine is 140kW with total Torque of 400Nm with the claimed fuel consumption of 5.5L per 100km. So still a pretty strong showing for fuel economy and while my time with the car saw my driving be a bit rash for most periods, I still managed to average around 8.1L which pretty impressive for a car this size and the distance I covered. The road handling on the car is impressive, given that is has four-wheel drive with Quattro, it managed to navigate its way around quite well and seeing that I happened to have this car over the flooding period in KZN, it made going to site quite entertaining, while it isn't a fully-fledged off-roader, the Q5 managed its own in some tricky situations. 

COMFORT

Whoever spec'd this car deserves a high-five, Brilliant Black on the outside with a crispy white interior that is contrasted well by high-gloss black finishes with silver trimmings adorned the cabin. The Q5 comes with a three-zone climate control system that has dual zones for front passenger and driver with the rear occupants getting their own controls for them. The larger infotainment screen features Audi's latest MMI interface and Audi Connect services to provide live traffic updates, weather reports on your location and various other Audi services. The car like other models has built-in mobile apps and can be operated wirelessly. There is an optional wireless mobile phone charging tray and the Q5 does come with USB B charging ports for front and rear passengers. The seats are very comfortable and support you well while driving, there are optional electric adjustable and have two memory settings. The virtual cockpit instrument cluster negates the need for a heads-up display but it still is listed in the options list should you prefer it. What I like about the navigation view, is that it offers satellite imagery from Google Earth as an overlay which is pretty cool. There are various views you can switch to while driving displaying relevant information. The ride quality and comfort is great and with little road noise in the cabin, that can be easily drowned out by the 755 watts, 19-speaker Bang & Olufsen Premium Sound System which is a R15,500 extra that I would tick when ordering one. 

VERDICT

While the Audi Q5 Sportback might be more appealing in the visual sense, when looking at practicality and functionality, the normal Q5 still comes out trumps. The extra space and comfort experienced in this great and with the offerings in the cabin, it just makes better sense for a large family to get into one of these. While the options list can go on, the right ones are well worth the extra money, even me a person who isn't too fond of sunroofs loved have the large panoramic glass sunroof, it allows so much natural light into the cabin with the curtain open that it makes you want to keep on driving. The safety features and driver assists on the Q5 are quite helpful, it would have been nice to have the option of having a surround camera system like many of their competitors as the Q5 only comes with a reverse cam with front and rear PDC's. Overall, a well put together car that is bound to keep the loyalist happy. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	2.0L TDI
Gear Box	S Tronic Automatic
Torque	400Nm
Power	140kW
0-100km/h	8.1 seconds
Price	R958,100*

*Base Price

 

Bucket Seat: Lexus ES300h

So here's the scenario, a few weeks back I was in Cape Town for four days, the Mother City for me has always been like a side chick city whereby I visit it occasionally for a few days of fun and glamour. I try to chose a nice upmarket spot at a reasonable price, end of the day I don't want to get broke and in my line of blogging, I'm fortunate enough to request cars that we don't get coming to Durban, more often than not, high end luxury cars to keep up with the "baller" facade during my stay. I more often than not get a pretty BMW to go roaming around the Western Cape but this time around none were available! Now what could I do?! The luxury mansion in Camps Bay was booked, couldn't be rocking up there in a Polo?! Step in the kind folk at Lexus who offered me the use of their all-new ES300h.  It all worked out brilliantly as I didn't get the chance to test the ES while it was in Durban and this was the bigger and range topping version of the car so as happy as I was to get it, I had to make it seem like it would do. 

The Lexus ES holds a close place in my heart, reason being my family were Camry drivers and when Toyota chose to discontinue sales of it locally back in 2004 it hurt us, a lot. But four years later, in 2008 Lexus introduced the ES250 at JIMS, it was the perfect replacement for the Camry, coming in at a reasonable price tag, practically built on the same platform as the Camry but with all the creature comforts that Lexus is known for having. And true to Lexus nature, majority of the items that would normally be classified as extras on other manufacturers came standard on the Lexus. It was in essence, the perfect big family car, offering the driver a refined driving experience, while the passengers sat in the lap of luxury and comfort. Fast forward to this latest model and much of it remains the same, there's a whole lot more tech and it's gotten a lot better to look at too. 

DESIGN

As mentioned, the ES is sort of what the Toyota Camry would be in the market and much of the older models followed the same design lines as a Camry, this new model however takes on Lexus new design language that's been passed down from the LC Coupe and it is beautiful. This Hybrid model had a few extra design elements that just make it stand out more. The colour I had it in was Opulent Blue and it's every bit as opulent in the metal. It's striking, even more so in the sun and contrasts so well with the smoked out multispoke mag wheels. The spindle grille which has become a focal point on all new models is in silver holding in place a Lexus badge with blue background, signifying that the model is a hybrid. The side profile of the ES is that of a luxury limo, it's low stance and elongated body just oozes class, the silver trimmings exude this feeling along with the sharp edges of the front and tail lights. The front headlamps alone will have you admiring the intricate detail of the compact triple-beam LED system which is not only great to look at but is actually an adaptive high beam lamp. Moving to the rear and the sharp edges and curves follow through with a solid chrome bar along the boot lid just highlighting the lights, and the L shaped LED light system emphasizing the Lexus brand. Moving on the inside, much of design is carried through, with perfect contours mixed with craftsmanship and materials that which make the ES300h look like something that belongs in a class much higher than it is. 

COMFORT

The word "comfort" and Lexus go hand in hand, well actually its luxury but with luxury comes comfort and to say the ES300h is "comfortable" will be doing it a disservice. It's more than comfortable, its a super luxurious sedan and just glides over any type of road surface. The seats of the ES seduce you with their softness, and has individual comfort options for the front passenger and driver like adjustable lumbar support, seat heaters and electrically adjustable with memory seats. The The leather stitching is gorgeous and the has four colour options to choose from, black, topaz brown, chateau and rich cream. The hybrid engine powers the car at low speeds, so the cabin is ultra quiet, with not even wind noise to disturb the peace. If you need something to break the silence, the 17 speaker, 835 watt Mark Levinson Premium Sound system will do just that. The audio system was developed especially for this car and is ultra clearly, ultra crisp and adapts to any musical genre to give you the best listening experience. The ES has a three zone climate control system ensuring the cabins temperature is to everyone's satisfaction and if there's a need for a bit of fresh air, the sunroof is always a nice extra to have. 

POWER 

Both, the ES250 and ES300 come fitted with 2.5L in-line 4 cylinder engine with the hybrid version being down tuned a bit to allow for the added power by the hybrid electric engine. The petrol engine produces 131kW and 221Nm of torque which compensates well with the electric power. Lexus is one of the leaders in petrol-hybrid cars having the likes of the GS450h and the RX450h, the defiance of their innovations in hybrid technology is evident in the ES300h with it being of their most advanced and efficient hybrid systems to date. It produces nearly 70% fewer smog-forming emissions than comparable petrol engines and the new generation hybrid system provides outstanding efficiency and an exhilarating drive. Lexus say that the new hybrid transaxle provides the lowest fuel consumption and highest driving performance in its class. I can vouch for that, as when I returned the car, the petrol needle hardly moved with them prompting to ask if I even drove the car over the four days I had it. It's that good, the electric motor works at low speeds, moving quietly without a fuss, the transition from electric to petrol power is unnoticeable at all, that is how smooth this system works. 

TECHNOLOGY

As mentioned, the car is packed with features, one of the main drives by Lexus is safety and what they call "the comfort of safety". The ES comes with Collision Prevention, which with its intelligent Pre-Crash System that synchronizes the brakes as well as lane departure alert and lane keep assist. So keeping you in your lane if there's cars on either side but breaking sufficiently to not cause you or the car harm.  This also plays a part in the Safe cruising mode, with dynamic radar cruise control, which allows you to set a speed and following distance to the car in front, if it slows down, so will you. I spoke briefly about the LED Adaptive high-beam headlamps which I feel is a must in cars these days. As lighting conditions change ever so often on our roads, the high beam will come on when areas are not well lit and dim if it picks up a car as to not affect the drivers vision of that car. There are more safety features in the Lexus that I could bore you with by stating the acronyms like  EBD, VSC, TRC, HAC, BSM and PDC but I rather not, also the Lexus has a shit ton of airbags, it even has knee airbags! I mean have you ever? Apart from the giant navigation screen, the ES300h also has a digital instrument cluster that you can view various info on  and if that wasn't enough, it has heads up display for the driver. The Lexus multimedia system is one to get used to, still not a massive fan of that track pad but it works and you just have to get used to it. There is a wireless charging mat for your mobile phone and bluetooth audio and telephone connectivity. 

VERDICT

You really have to sit and nit pick if you're going to fault this car, yes there is some aspects of the interior that feel a bit cheap, like the high glass wood which is made from rather light plastic but you have to understand that this car is made to conserve the environment so using lighter materials helps with the performance of the car to keep the emissions low. I think long gone of the days where the ES was considered a Camry replacement, it's playing a bigger field now where it's attacking the likes of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E Class which is where Lexus wants to be playing. The ES is packed with the luxury comforts that allows it to take on the likes of those and the best part about it is, is its priced better than them. I wish I could have been driven while sitting at the back as from what I heard, it's heavenly I believe them because even from sitting in the back while the car is still is quite something. This new ES is definitely worth the hype and this particular hybrid model is severely underrated and I feel that we, the motoring media need to do it justice to get it the recognition it deserves. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	2.5L in-line 4 cylinder hybrid-petrol
Gear Box	8 Speed Automatic
Power	131kW
Torque	221Nm
0-100	8.9 seconds
Economy	4.6L/100km
Price	R 843,800.00

Bucket Seat: 2017 Ford Kuga - First Impressions

The past two days I found myself in the picturesque Eastern Cape driving the all new Ford Kuga. Now for those that are on the popular social media platform Twitter, you would have noticed that there was some heat coming from many about the launch, I myself was a recipient and to say my mentions were "lit" is an understatement. Now the thing about social media, it's fluctuates on trends so obviously when launching a new product, the more your product trends, the better, unfortunately due to the bad rep of one of the first gen models of the Eco, in particular one engine type, many just used this as an excuse to jump on the band wagon and make some jokes about it. Which some were pretty funny but the rest were really cringe worthy with zero substance to them. Many actually lacked any knowledge of what really happened first time round but saw the opportunity to part of the conversation but for all the wrong reasons. In any case, the launch went down a treat, their hashtag trended which was their aim and as they say, there's no publicity like bad publicity as many took notice that there was a new Kuga in town. 

While the Ford brand did take a knock from the negativity around the recall, the actual customers with the defected vehicles were well received from Ford. Phase 1 recall achieved a 92% completion and Phase 2 is currently at 62%. To continue to show their clients how much they mean to them, during Phase 2, the customers were given the new Kuga to drive while their cars were in, they were given the first opportunity to sample the brand new model before any motor journalist in South Africa. This was a first from a manufacturer and definitely one to instill confidence in their clientele. 

Getting back to the actual reason I was in the Eastern Cape, the car! The new Kuga has had a full revamp from outside to in, top to bottom and it looks ace! The main new design feature is at the front, as Ford call it, this new trapezoid grille is "the Face of Ford". It already has been prominent on some of the other models, namely the Ecosport and Everest and now it adornes the Kuga. The whole car has a new sleek look to it with cleaner lines, sharp new front head lights, and moving to the back the rear lights are more stockier than before but has the angular look take from the Focus. The car is available in three packages, Ambiente, Trend and Titanium, each adding more to what the other has to offer as you move up. Moving onto the interior, everything is well laid out as per the previous model, the two main things previous owners of the Kuga will notice is the large touch screen display and the hand brake which is now replaced with an electronic brake, thus making way for new storage spaces in the cabin for stuff like keys, mobile phones and it even has a dual USB port with fast charge capabilities. The instrument cluster was a bit of a let down for me as it's almost carbon copy of the older models, I was expecting something similar to the Everest or Ranger. The leather seats have a new grade of leather, giving it a premium feel and the cabin is really spacious with enough room for four adults to sit in comfort. 

While the looks are good, the Kuga also has a bunch of technological advancements added to the car. The one thing that strikes you is the large 8" touch screen display, it's also cleverly placed in the center console of the car so that no light reflection would alter your vision of it. The Kuga comes with Ford's new SYNC 3 which has navigation! Finally! It works really well and is voice activated, so you can speak to SYNC 3, tell it where you want to go, or what you want to listen to and bam! it's done. Ford really needed SYNC to rival the other brands out there, it will do wonders across their model line up and while the maps might not be as detailed as others, its a start. But the other good thing about SYNC 3 is that is Apply Car Play and Android Auto capable, so if the SYNC maps isn't your thing, plug in your phone and let it do the navigating. Other cool tech in the car is part of the driver alert package which includes things line lane assist which notifies you when you drift out of your lane. Collision detection, which also ties into the active cruise control and will break automatically should it detect a car suddenly slowing down in front of you and also has a function to detect when you're sleepy and gives you a warning to pull over for a rest and something to drink. 

Moving to the engines, while there are just three engines to chose from, petrol being the all new 1.5 and 2.0 litre EcoBoost engines and the 2.0 litre TDCi turbo diesel engines, the Kuga has 7 derivatives which are listed below. I had the opportunity to drive the 1.5 EcoBoost Petrol and the 2.0 litre TDCi with AWD during the launch. The 1.5 motor sure did pack a punch, while not the quickest of the line, on the open road it picked up power with ease. With the automatic gearbox, you get paddle shifts as a standard on the Kuga so should the need arise, drop down a gear to source that extra power. The diesel engine on the other hand, the torque is crazy, ample power, awesome handling and great fuel economy. Definitely my favorite from the line up. Overall the new Kuga is great all round car and for the pricing, its a damn good deal and it is even cheaper than the out going model. I know this isn't the best pun to say about it but it is quite poetic, as the new Kuga really is the Phoenix that is rising from the ashes of the previous model.  It ticks all the right boxes, I can't wait to get one to drive around for a week so I can tell you more. 

Recommended Retail Prices:

Ford Kuga 1.5 EcoBoost Ambiente 6MT FWD                     R368 800

Ford Kuga 1.5 EcoBoost Ambiente 6AT FWD                       R381 900

Ford Kuga 1.5 EcoBoost Trend 6MT FWD                           R406 400

Ford Kuga 1.5 EcoBoost Trend 6AT FWD                             R427 900

Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi Trend 6AT AWD                                    R483 900

Ford Kuga 2.0 EcoBoost Titanium 6AT AWD                        R497 900

Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi Titanium 6AT AWD                               R506 900

All models come standard with Ford Protect, including a four-year/120 000km comprehensive warranty, three-year/unlimited distance roadside assistance and five-year/unlimited km corrosion warranty. A five-year/90 000km service plan is included on the TDCi models, with 15 000km service intervals. The petrol Kuga models have 20 000km service intervals, and are sold with a four-year/80 000km service plan.