Bucket Seat: KIA Sportage GT Line

When KIA South Africa said they were handing me the keys to their new Sportage for the Summer break, I honestly couldn't wait till it arrived in my driveway for a month of adventures. The amount of good press and awards the car has received globally in 2022 is testament to the strides the brand has made over the years in not only giving what the consumer wants but going the extra mile in providing the best for their customers. I've always been a keen admirer of the Korean brand, while it shares a lot of similarities with another Korean brand that is sold locally, I always felt KIA had the edge over them in every aspect of the cars. There is a sense of refinement and class that comes along with KIA's, whether you driving the little Picanto or the range topping Sorento, they all give you the same drive and feeling of assurance when you're behind the wheel. So fast forward to December 15th when the car got delivered, soon as the Infra-Red Metallic beauty rolled into my yard, I just knew it was going to be a special December. 

DESIGN

The styling of the new Sportage is unique and something that the brand is bold enough to express their new design language with. The eye catcher is the front end with the new boomerang styled daytime LED lights that start off at the bottom of the grille and extend to follow the bonnet line. The indicator lights and LED headlamps fit neatly into the V of the boomerang and gives the car a winged look from the side. The model variant I had was the range topping GT-Line S, which is their sports version that doesn't have any performance enhancements but a rather sleek sporty finish. Key design features to note at the honeycomb styled grille, the brushed aluminum mud skid plate up front, the large 19-inch bi-colour rims that look magnificent when in motion. The body is very bold in design but has clean lines and great contours that make the car look great. I'm a big fan of how they styled the rear, especially the rear window and roof line with the built-in rear spoiler that has a chrome accent that meets at the rear passenger window that is parallel to the window chrome sill. It's very pleasant on the eye when viewing the side profile. The rear lights a more sharp in design that the front, with the angular edge aiming inwards and a solid black bar linking the two tail lights completing the neat look of the rear. The KIA badge is large and prominent in the center which has a delicate crease that just gives the car a more sharper look, one that personifies the name "Sportage". The rear diffuser on the Sportage GT-Line S is also very sporty, with the vertical fins and blacked out. The design of the interior can only be described as spaceship like, from the time you open the door, you are mesmerized by clean modern design, even the seats are impeccably molded and has a contemporary but functional look to it. The rest of the cabin is neatly designed and is driver-centric with most of the controls easily accessible to the driver with a few tricks that I'll chat about later in the review. 

PERFORMANCE

There definitely was an advantage to having the car over the duration of a month verses just a week which would have been the norm, just so I could get the full experience of cars performance in terms of fuel economy, power output and general driving assessment. The KIA Sportage is for now, only available in the 1.6-litre Turbo GDI engine, which produces 132kW and 265Nm of torque via means of a gasoline direct injection (GDI). This is mated with a 7-speed DCT gearbox which is standard across the model range with no manual transmission available. I usually tend to have issues with Asian automatic gearboxes and I feel most of them aren't as refined as the German's with it tending to hold revs higher for no reason and the timing in changes being erratic more often than most but with this new 7-speed DCT in the KIA Sportage, it was very responsive, and you could make out the differences in timings depending on which driving mode you were in. While the Sportage had Eco, Normal and Sport, I chose to drive in Smart mode most of the time which sort of picks up your style of driving and adapts the cars performance based on how you drive. Having done just over 4,000km in the 4 weeks s I had the car, I can honestly say it is one of the better cars I've driven in the year in-terms of fuel performance, power delivery and road comfort. Driving to and from Johannesburg had me average 6.2-litres per 100km! While I could never really replicate that average in Urban driving with me hovering either just above or below the 10-litres per 100km mark, I still managed to get over 500km every time I went to fill l up, which was pretty good for the 54 liter tank. The car feels extremely agile on the road, it instills driver confidence especially on the major roads. The drive is soft but capable for most surfaces, having driven through various terrains, I was extremely surprised at how nimble it can be around tight corners and bends at various speeds. In terms of engine performance, this one definitely ticks all the right boxes which is possibly why KIA opted to launch it with just this one variant. 

COMFORT

As mentioned before, the KIA Sportage has a very stylish interior with its being modern but also practical. The GT Line seats came with contrasting white stitching and white piping with the added GT-Line logo embossed just below the head rest. The seats were a combination of suede and artificial leather with a firm but comfortable feel, with great lumbar support hat doesn't make you feel the long drives. The seats came standard with heating and ventilation, the latter of which I used quite a bit in the Durban summer. Funny enough the Sportage also came with steering wheel heating which came handy on my trip to the midlands, yes it gets cold there in December! The entire cabin is made from a host of stylish and durable materials that are not hard to the touch and the ones that are, feel of good quality and robust for their needs. Most of the dash and the inlays are finished in a high gloss black plastic, which is sort of the norm now for most manufacturers, even though it's a nightmare to keep them clean with dust being its best friend. The dash on the GT model features a dual screen, with the instrument cluster being a 12.3-inch widescreen display that has incredibly precise animations of the rev and speedo, the colour graphics are dependent on the driving mode selected with each having a cool animation that comes with them. This is matched with a 12.3-inch widescreen infotainment touch screen display for the general entertainment needs, vehicle info and air-conditioning. The car comes loaded with mobile phone apps, but the downside is that the phone has to be plugged in via USB to work. 

There is also a multimode control display panel that's neatly located below the center screen that displays the climate control functions but can be switched for entertainment functions as well. This helps to declutter all the need for more buttons, making the cabin look neat and clean. The car host of storage with a wireless charging mat, with a center storage compact that doubles as a cup holder which folds away neatly when not needed. The rear seats are similar design to the front with the faux leather and suede combo, and they get seat heating! first time I've seen this for the rear passengers on a car. They also have rear vents but the temperature is controlled by the passenger climate settings up front. What is cool, is that KIA have opted to put the USB charging ports on the side of the back rest of the front chairs, this allows a better cable reach for the passengers at the back. Another feature which I found odd and clever at the same time was having a buttons on the side of the front passenger seat that allowed the driver to move the chair! The car came with a large panoramic sunroof which was amazing and I loved the amount of natural light that was let into the Moving to the trunk, the Sportage GT Line has an automatic tailgate with a space of 591 liters, this can be increased to 1780 liters when the rear seats are dropped. The rear seats also have a 40:20:40 split which I found great when you just needed to drop the center portion to get long loads in. There is also a power outlet in the boot for you to plug in fridges, pumps or whatever else needs power. 

SAFETY

If safety is your concern, fear not as the Sportage is packed with safety features starting with the general ABS, ESC, 6 airbags, Downhill brake assist for those steep hills, Hill start assist with auto hold that prevents the car from rolling on a steep incline and trailer stability assist should you be towing anything. Extra safety features which were standard on the GT Line included the smart cruise control that has lane keep assist, that makes sure the car stays in the lane with help of active steering and warning if you take your hands off the wheel for too long of a period, follow assist with active braking that allows you to set a following distance to the car in front of you, and it will automatically slow down when they do, it will also come to a complete stop if need be. There is also front collision avoidance assist which works with the follow distance to warn you of objects or cars that may come into your path. Another feature I quite like is the adaptive LED headlamps with high beam assist to help you on those very dark roads, with the high beam automatically switching on then either switching off or adjusting when it sensors another vehicle approaching to not affect their view.  

VERDICT

Overall, it has been a pleasant December break for me that as made a lot better by the KIA Sportage, I cannot fault it one bit as it served its purpose with flying colours. From being stylish and comfortable, to providing great fuel economy and versatile to suit any excursion. Everyone that drove with me only had pleasant comments about the car and how surprised they were at the offering from KIA and how much was included in the standard price for the car.  This new Sportage model is sure to take over from its predecessor as being a popular model for the medium SUV market, I foresee this GT Line model to be the one that would garner the most interest, just purely from the offerings and looks. It certainly obvious why the car has gotten so much attention worldwide and also the number of awards it has won so far. Hopefully we see KIA bring the hybrid model sometime this year as that would surely be a winner in my books.  

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1.6L Turbo
Gear Box	7-Speed DCT
Torque	265Nm
Power	132kW
Fuel economy	6.5L/ 100km/h
Price	R749,995

 

BMW X3 xPlore - X Lifestyle Park

Last week I was invited by BMW South Africa to par-take in what would be an incredible 3 day journey across 3 provinces in the all new, locally assembled BMW X3. Called the X3 xPlore tour which involved a selected few media, mainly compromising of motoring journalists to experience what the first few models made locally by BMW at their Plant in Rosslyn were like as models that were used in the launch last year were all fully imported. It would be a good gauge to see if the locally made models compared equally to those which were assembled outside South Africa. With the plant being upgraded to accommodate the build of the X3, that would be one of the main point of interest in this 3 day tour, but as I soon found out that there was a lot more that BMW had up it's sleeve for us, which is why I decided instead of giving you one long post about my 3 day journey, rather I break it down into segments that are worthy of a story in it's entirety. 

Day 1 started off at the brand new home of Auto Bavaria in Midrand, one of the flagship BMW dealerships in the country. It was a great way to see what the modern BMW dealership would look like, with a dedicated //M car show room, lifestyle section for BMW clothing and accessories, a big open show room floor with a range of the models, from sports coupes, sedans and the X range. We were addressed by BMW SA CEO Tim Abbott on the importance of this tour and what it meant to them as a company, as they have already had a great history with their Rosslyn plant, being the first outside Germany to contribute to the BMW coach works build and for the first time changing it's product line from the 3 series to the X3. There was a handing over ceremony, where BMW donated two of it's X3 test units, which were marked for destruction as per policy over to the Rhino Orphanage, a non-profit organisation, dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of rhino calves orphaned by poaching. 

First up on the tour was getting a sneak peak at the upcoming BMW X Lifestyle Park, what is this you ask? Well its BMW's very own off road playground. Now I know what you all are thinking, "BMW doesn't make cars that can go off road", well that's where you're wrong. BMW's reason for building this is noting the shift in sales with more than 30% of BMW's global sales being made up by BMW X models. The XLP which compromises of a 1.3km off-road track .The X range of vehicles with xDrive are very capable as I soon found out.  While it may not be a fully fledged 4x4, with BMW's xDrive system, the vehicle is more than capable to tackle the obstacles present at the X Lifestyle Park, most of which are pretty demanding. 

The facility which will be open to the public in November will offer off-road Driving Experience courses from R2,750. Here customers can put their X models through its paces with various obstacles like hill descent, soft sand driving, water wading and rock crawl to name a few. Apart from the off-road track, the XLP will offer various family-orientated lifestyle experiences such as abseiling, zip-lining and park runs. Also on the site will be a BMW Lifestyle store with BMW accessories, a coffee shop and food stalls with it playing hosts to fitness activations. 

Stay tuned to the blog as we will bring you more about our BMW X3 xPlore Experience. 

Bucket Seat: Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 3.0L Diesel VX.L

Toyota for long have been one of the go-to brands when it came to SUV's, they've dominated the market since the early days which the big hitters in the industry and proved to not only compete with them but also surpass them in sales with their products not only being cheaper but in some instances, better than that of the much pricier European counterparts. The legendary reliability of Toyota has also been a big part in the success, with consumers knowing that they're getting a good quality product and not something that will cost you an arm and a leg to maintain.  Of recent the market has shifting focus with many brands bringing out a wide variety of SUV's and SAV's, which has saw the trend shift to this segment of car as the preferred choice of many, while they may have their purpose, most aren't true off road going vehicles, with at most, some offering only four wheel drive. Toyota, with the Land Cruiser models have still been one of the best on the market, for a true all round offering, and I was fortunate enough to be get behind the wheel of their new Land Cruiser Prado VX.L for a week. 

DESIGN

Being part of the Fourth Generation of Prado's the design over the last three models haven't been very different with the overall styling remaining the same and subtle changes to the lights and interior. This latest version of the Prado is very stylish though, with a nice big front grille in chrome finish, the elongated front head lamps with LED strip below adding shape to the very bulky and edgy design. It has some hints of Lexus DNA here and there which add to the appeal of the car. The normal ride height is quite high, but this is adjustable with the automatic air suspension, the Prado being a fully fledged 4x4 comes with large tyres with high profiles and 18" rims, so you know you can really go bundu bashing with it. Moving around to the back, the styling remains the same to the pre-facelift model with some white accents on the lights. Being the top of the range L model, Toyota have added extras to make you know this is the real McCoy with added chrome finishes adding to that luxury feel. On the inside, one really can't fault anything on the design front., I love the way everything is laid out on the centre console, with a dedicated section for off-roading. 

PERFORMANCE

The car is powered by a 3.0 litre, inline 4 cylinder diesel motor, which produces 120kW and 400Nm of torque. Not the most exciting figures by far from such a big engine but this car is a brute and all it's power comes to fruit when taking the roads less traveled. On the dirt, coupled with the four wheel drive, the Prado makes mince meat of the terrain, move onto more rocky pastures, the torque comes into play with the engine hauling the massive frame over some of the more tricky routes. All while it barely sips the diesel in its massive 120 litre tank. On tarred surface, it does feel like a slouch especially with a full load, and the 5 speed auto gearbox does it no favours but once it gets going, it just shift nicely along. The thing that surprised me the most was the comfort, but that we'll chat about a little later. The dedicated off-road panel I was chatting about earlier in the center console has everything you need to set the car up to drive across almost any terrain, but the car does also automatically judge the response of the surface while driving and adjusts to suit. 

COMFORT

The Prado is huge, you see it on the road but don't really take notice of really how big it is until you get into one, or for the smaller folk, try to get into one. That side step they have on there isn't just for fun as some of my passengers found out. The seats could be compared to sofa's as they're big and plush, the front passengers get the luxury of heated and cooled options for themselves while the rear three get to choose how much space they need as the rows can be moved forward and backwards if need be and there is good reason for that as neatly tucked away into the floor of the trunk are two additional seats which when raised makes the Prado a full 7 seater, which can seat 7 adults, yes, 7 adults comfortably. I put this to the test as we made a days trip exploring the KZN midlands with some friends on the last day I had it. This of course minimizes the space in the trunk but you still can squeeze in a bag and a half. Another neat feature in the Prado is the refrigerated center compartment which sits under the arm rest of the two front passengers. It's quite deep and can fit four 500ml bottles easily, and with most cooled compartments in cars whereby they just let the aircon blow in the cool air, this one is an actual fridge! Within 30 minutes of have warm beverages put inside, it was ice cold and ready to drink. Coming back to the ride quality, while the air-suspension might not be as fancy as some of the others, it does its job, no matter what surface we were travelling on, the ride remained the same and had no one spilling their cool beverage along the way. 

TECHNOLOGY

The Prado comes packed with all the tech you expect in a modern day 4x4, keyless entry with push start, a large multi- infotainment screen for all you media purposes, unlike the Hilux, the Prado has dials for volume and tuning control which I prefer. It has bluetooth and media streaming. It comes standard with a 14 speaker sound system which includes a subwoofer in the boot. The multi function steering wheel is powered by a hydraulic/ variable flow control, making it easier to steer in difficult terrain, the car has 4 cameras, one at the front, one in the rear and two on the side, giving the driver the option to switch between them, to navigate in tight spots, or can opt to see a birds eye view of the car. The rear seats are electronically controlled by switches in the boot which fold up or out in a matter of seconds.  There are three power sockets in the car, a 12V in the front and rear and a 220V in the boot. The Prado has LED high be headlights which have adaptive technology which auto adjusts when it senses oncoming cars. 

VERDICT

While the Prado might not be the best Toyota offers in its Land Cruiser stable, it certainly is one of the favourable models from them. The price tag is more than justified when compared to what else is on the market. Its packed with technology, great finishes and looks fantastic. It's more than capable of going off-road, and will eat up almost any surface with ease. With the amount of equipment you getting in this car as standard, all for under a million, is almost a steal. Toyota really have kept the Prado legacy high on this one and certainly remains one of my favourite SUVs on the market today. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	3.0litre, 4 cylinder, 16 Valve DOHC
Gear Box	5 Speed Automatic
Power	120kW
Torque	400Nm
Top Speed	175km/h
Economy	8.5 L/100km
Price	R979,600

Pictures and video by @YuviK Photograpy

Bucket Seat: KIA Sportage

The KIA Sportage will also be a special car for me, I helped in it achieving the worlds longest test drive which begun in Durban, went around the country and eventually ended at Cape Point in the Western Cape. At launch there were only a few models that were available in SA and since then KIA have broadened the choice in terms of engines and offerings in the Sportage range. A couple of weeks ago I had one of them and decided to take a drive up to Joburg, hence this post will be a bit different as its more about the journey with the car rather than a test. I called a few mates, to see if they would join, I mean whats the point of having an SUV and going on a road trip alone? So once we were all packed up, it was time to hit the road on, 600 kilometers of open road (okay I lie, truck laden) lied ahead of us, and it was time to see what this this KIA was like on a long distance trip. 

From our first post with the Sportage GT Line, we've established that its a great looking car. It may be a bit different from the rest of the KIA line up but as an SUV, it's got great lines, bulk in all the right places and a rear that will have you go for a second glance. Moving onto the inside, everything is well laid out and easy to reach. Spending +/- 6 hours in a cabin of a car can be frustrating for some, with many stops needed to "break the journey" but with the Sportage, I hardly felt the need to pull over, other than the odd bathroom break and stop for food. It could quite possibly go straight to my destination with it. It has all the creature comforts that we've become used to in the ever evolving motor industry. 

Things like bluetooth connectivity was a luxury option but I'm glad to see that in most cars that it is now a standard, and brands like KIA have to be commended for pushing this change, where they offered it as standard from the get go but with most of the bigger European luxury manufacturers still had it as optional extras. The next phase shift is definitely mobile phone integration. Not only for in car mobile applications like Android Auto or Apple Car Play but for general safety of the driver. It's becoming a common site seeing people driving and holding their phones, this not only puts them at risk of an accident but the people around them too. On the subject of mobile phones, when it comes to long trips, passengers no longer grab a book or magazine to read on the journey, they're on their phones, which decreases battery life, and hence the need to charge the phone. In the Sportage, there was ample sockets, both in the front and the back to plug in your mobile chargers , that meant no fighting for turns and kept everyone happy. 

The car itself, on the road felt pretty solid, the 2.0L engine under the hood did a great job both on the up and the down leg of the journey by giving me great fuel economy of just around 10L per 100km going up and just 8,7L per 100km coming down. Being a big SUV, it was quite a cruiser but I did feel the car lacked a bit of punch when you tried to accelerate to over-take. Cruise control isn't something I would use often but on the Sportage and especially the long tedious Villiers stretch of the N3, it was needed. Simple and easy to set, the car did all the work, the gear changes were on point and when needed, not like many other cars cruise control where the car just changes gear for any damn reason. This also contributed to the good fuel economy. 

Moving back to the creature comforts, while we did get quite a bit of cabin noise, this was soon eliminated once we turned up the sound system. The Sportage comes with a sub in the back, so while you're getting clear audio up front, that nice bass boost coming from the back never hurts. The dual climate control was a live saver, as with most people, everyone's preferred temperature varies, as I soon found out shortly after departing as one of my passengers like weather indicative of the ice age... so while it was practically snowing on his side, my side was just right. 

Overall, the Sportage ticket all the right boxes for a long journey, it had ample amount of space, great fuel economy, well powered naturally aspirated engine and of course, all the tech to make any nerd happy. The nice big touch screen came in handy for their GPS, where I got lost a few times in Joburg. In short, the KIA Sportage was simply brilliant for what I needed it for, it's the perfect family car for any small family, loads of space, plenty of power for city roaming and open road driving, the tech that the car comes with great for everything you require of it