Bucket Seat: 2018 Toyota Hilux Dakar Edition

Before I start this review, I'm going to level with you, I've never understood the fascination with owning a double-cab bakkie. There's no doubt its a popular segment because you see more and more of these things on the road, and more often than not, people who buy them rarely purchase them for the purpose they are made for, which is what boggles my mind even more! Why pay so much for something that you'd probably use 10 times maximum, for actual double cab work during the time you will have it? To start off with, you got a bin, which most people tend to not cover with a canopy for aesthetic purposes, so you get that tarpaulin type stretchy cover for it, some fancier ones come with an aluminium frame so water doesn't collect in it thereby making it a portable pool but to remove this frame and cover is a bitch! So while it has adequate storage, it's not the easiest to access. Then you get to the back seats, which have gotten bigger over the years but still not the most comfortable place to sit, for one, the door is narrow, secondly it's high and the seats are raised, so it isn't very easy to get in there, all of this is oblivious to the front passenger and driver since everything seems pretty normal to them. 

Okay, one thing I can agree is that most manufacturers are making some damn good looking double cabs and while they not only look good, they are brilliant vehicles in their own respect. Take for example the Hilux, which I am talking about today, apart from being one of the most trusted and reliable bakkies on the market, it also proved it's self in the worlds toughest rally's, the Dakar which is what this limited edition version is all about, it's to celebrate the achievements of their Gazoo Racing team in the 2018 Dakar Rally. The limited edition Dakar Hilux is available in two engine variants, which are the very popular 2.8 GD-6 Turbo-Diesel and the 4.0L Petrol V6, we had the Turbo-Diesel 4x4 on test and here's how it went down. 

DESIGN

Styling on the Hilux has been its main downfall when compared to its competition, while it didn't look particularly bad, the other bakkies on the market just looked better. However, Toyota realised this and with this model made some minor tweaks which did the vehicle a world of good. The Dakar comes with redesigned grille which will flow onto the rest of the Hilux range in due course but the Dakar's grille is blacked out. It adds so much more character to the Hilux, gives it more presence and goes more in line to the bigger vans offered by Toyota in the US. Toyota also threw some Dakar badges and stickers around the car which, isn't as in your face like some of those fake "Raptor" decals but definitely add to the aesthetic appeal. The Dakar also has revised head lamps which feature an LED row cluster of daytime running lights which flow into the new grille and they've upgraded the headlamps to LED. The Dakar Edition also has the exterior mirrors and door handles finished in high gloss black as well as some chrome finishing on the metal work. Overall, a very appealing package by Toyota and one that should reel in some sales for those who were opting to go for the other brands. 

PERFORMANCE

I can't speak highly enough about this 2.8L GD-6 engine from Toyota, I enjoyed it in the Fortuner and with the Hilux it feels more at home. The only gripe I might have is that it is quite loud, even when idling, but then again you have to remind yourself you are in a bakkie and not a luxury SUV. The power derived from the engine produces 130kW and 420Nm of torque, which translates to effort free driving on normal roads but where it shows its true strength is on the paths less traveled.  That torque comes really handy when you're off road, and while many people told me its impossible to get stuck with the Hilux, I did. But it entirely was my fault, I had it in the wrong settings while driving in soft sand. Toyota made the 4x4 controls really easy to use, it's basically like an aircon selector knob, to select what mode you want to be in. So I just switched the diff lock on, put it in low 4 and the bakkie practically got unstuck itself. I was amazed at how relatively easy it got unstuck, even with half the tyres buried in sand. 

COMFORT

Like I mentioned earlier, a double cab bakkie isn't really built for comfort, especially the second row of seating but I have to admit, the inside of the Dakar was really nice. The seats were covered in premium black leather with white stitching. The steering wheel also leather covered with high gloss bottom, and full multi-function controls for audio and vehicle status. The Dakar comes with a large touch screen infotainment center, and has satellite navigation standard on all Dakar models. The cab comes with climate control air-conditioning which I'm sure the guys on the rally would love but doubt they get those in the actual rally spec Hilux. Moving into the back, which features a full bench seat, also covered in that nice leather with the fancy stitching and to their credit, is much more spacious than some of the other double cab bakkies I've sat in before. 

VERDICT

While I did enjoy my time with the Hilux Dakar Edition, especially when scaring away slow drivers in the fast lane of the highway, it didn't change my perception of double cab bakkies in general. I do however have a better understanding of why people would buy these cars. The only problem I'd have if I owned one would be people I know calling me on the weekends asking me to help them transport stuff for them since I got a bakkie. While the competition in the segment might still be hotly contested and even with new manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz coming to the party, you cannot write-off the Hilux. It's been through it all and still remains one of the best on the market. Credit to Toyota for not resting on their heritage and laurels but also putting out a great product every time and sales figures just goes to prove that. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	2.8L GD-6 Turbo-Diesel
Gear Box	6 Speed Manual
Power	130kW
Torque	420Nm
Top Speed	180Kph
Economy	7.6 L/100km
Price	R601 100

Photography by Mavric Photo

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: BMW 4 Series - First Impressions

The saying goes "time flys when you're having fun" and if you're an owner of a BMW 4 Series, that's just what you would be doing every time you drive yours. It's hard to believe the range has been in assistance for 4 years now, with the Coupe being launched in mid 2013 and the Convertible and Gran Coupe joining the ranks later in 2014. Since then BMW have sold over 400,000 units worldwide with a vast majority of sales coming from the USA with Europe in second place and 5,500 coming from South Africa. From those stats, BMW were able to establish that buyers of the 4 Series bought the cars because of the aesthetics and elegance the model offered. The 4 Series was brought in by BMW to differentiate the model from the popular 3 Series, while the car did borrow many attributes from the popular sedan, it was designed to give the driver a more dynamic and sporty experience.  Being at the end of it's cycle, I flew up last week to sample the updated 4 Series range which saw all three variants launch at one time. I spent the day driving the 4 Series Coupe and Gran Coupe while exploring the magnificent roads and sights of the Mpumalanga province.

So whats new? That's the question I got throughout the day on my social media accounts. Well not much has been changed in the overall look of the car but there are many subtle changes that make sense and add appeal to this already popular model. The tag line for the launch was "4 Means More" and the end user of the 4 Series is definitely getting more than before. The most striking change is the new hexagonal headlights, BMW has phased out the Xenon technology and opted for Bi-LED lights in the entire range with an option of having the Adaptive LED lights as an added extra. These lights don't just look pretty but work wonders on the road, giving the driver a further depth of sight at night and also is a much softer light for on coming drivers. The rear lights also received the LED treatment with progressive LED tech being used for them. The lights look great and add to the flow of the design and but are functional as well. 

Along with these, the new 4 Series also has a sense of exclusivity to it now with two new colours that are only available for this model range, that being Snapper Rocks Blue and Sunset Orange. Both extremely striking colours and certainly bring out the sporty and aggressive nature of the car. There is also some new rims that are available only for the 4 Series, again adding that element of individuality and ensuring that every 4 Series can be custom made for each prospective buyer. Moving into the car, much has remained the same with a few extra chrome touches around the dash, giving the car a more premium feel. The 4 Series also comes standard with BMW's business Satnav screen with the option to upgrade to the bigger professional Satnav screen which features BMW's new tile menu system which was launched in the new 7 Series. 

As far as cosmetics go, that is a bout it. The 4 Series range does come with the new engine variants which was phased into previous spec when the engines were introduced in 3 Series. That being the 420i, 430i, 440i and 420d and of course the much famed M4. Other performance enhancements of the 4 Series see's the car come in with a redesigned chassis, stiffer suspension, modified dampers, update ABS which gives the car a shorter breaking distance and better stability, all of which were put to the rest on my drive in both the 420d Coupe and the 420i Gran Coupe. It was had to differentiate the drives both cars gave you, as with the Gran Coupe, you not only have the extra doors but also a slight change in shape but the designers have done a brilliant job in give the driver the center of gravity, the seating position is lower, with the body being wider all adding up to more of an athletic performance and agile handling. I did feel over high speeds that the steering still remained rather loose on the Gran Coupe which is unbecoming a bit but the car proved to be stable and still jetted off in the intended direction. 

Pricing on the updated 4 Series is a lot compared to the 3 Series but one has to understand that this range is vastly different and offers the end user a lot more, not just in appearance but in as a total driving package. Also whats interesting to note is that the Coupe and the Gran Coupe are priced the same, so if you're looking a for a family car but still want it to be a fun and invigorating drive, the Gran Coupe would be ideal for you. For me that is my pick out of the bunch, it's practical, stylish and offers the exact same driving dynamics as its two door brother the Coupe so in essence you're getting more from the car than what you're paying. Overall the enhancements made to the updated 4 Series should prove to be a major selling point for the model in SA and I can see this one doing very well across the variants that is offered. 

PRICING

Engine	Coupe	Gran Coupe	Convertible
420i	R624,400 (Auto)	R624,400 (Auto)	R736,200 (Auto)
430i	R711,100 (Auto)	R711,100 (Auto)	R848,400 (Auto)
440i	R861,100 (Auto)	R861,100 (Auto)	R985,100 (Auto)
420d	R660,100 (Auto)	R660,100 (Auto)	*not available*
M4	R1,251,036 (Auto)	*not available*	R1,433,762 (Auto)

Bucket Seat: 2017 BMW 4 Series Facelift

The BMW 3 Series face-lift has been on the roads for little over a year now and it was only time it's two door variant received the subtle cosmetic changes as well. Yesterday BMW SA released images showing these changes to the 4 Series line up which includes the Coupe, Cabriolet and Gran Coupe. Like the 3 Series, the major changes see's a revised LED headlamp configuration as well has new design to the tail light LED's. 

Engines on the 4 Series were changed with the 3 Series face-lift seeing that the models all use the same engines, it wouldn't have made sense for BMW to still continue making the older ones just for the 4 Series, so nothing has changed under the hood.  As I said for the 3 Series, while these changes are subtle, they add a bit more character to the car and style. All these upgrades also transfer over to the M4 Coupe and M4 Cabriolet. I look forward to testing the new variants soon.