Bucket Seat: Nissan Qashqai - 1.5dCI Acenta Plus

When it comes to Japanese cars, the one thing that screams out is reliability, but over the years that's the only thing that that it sort of stood for but each brand set to abolish this myth by creating at least one car that would capture even the purist motorist, Nissan undoubtedly created a car in which it's legacy lives on till today in the GTR, the car has legendary status amongst petrol heads world over and has earned respect from even the toughest critic. The latest derivative, the R35 still torments supercars with its brute power and limitless modifications that could be made to it to tame the best that Europe has to offer, it is with that history I welcome the latest brand to offer their vehicles for review to the blog, Nissan South Africa. 

First up, the all new Nissan Qashqai, with the compact SUV market in SA being one of the fastest growing sectors in the industry, the Qashqai has done relatively well in terms of sales from it's first generation in the early 2000's and while Nissan's design cues were quirky, the overall vehicle still was worth every cent of purchase. It gave the consumer what they wanted, comfort, a higher ride height, lots of space and a good range of engines which were light on fuel and easy to maintain. Fast forward to 2018 and much of it remains the same, as they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it but they have done some cool things to make it a bit more enjoyable for the end user as I found out in my week with the all new Nissan Qashqai 1.5 dCI Acenta.

DESIGN

As mentioned, the first Qashqai's design was quite quirky, almost looked like a Pokemon Ball, but then again they did have that horrid Micra back then as well but this current generation Qashqai is very easy on the eye. The level of detail on the exterior had me very impressed, with the lovely contrasts, the smooth lines, bits of chrome, it's large 19" dual tone rims and those arrowed LED day time running lights in front which point inwards towards the shiny Nissan badge, almost as if to tell others, "see, I'm a Nissan". The ride height has been lifted just a bit to give it a more SUV look, the curves on the car make it look sleek and agile and it's overall stance just is very nice to look at. On the inside, everything was well laid out, from the front to the back, good materials used on the interior also helps give it that luxury look and feel. 

PERFORMANCE

For me, I couldn't stop raving about that engine, with the EU C02 emissions being a big thing we're going to be seeing a lot more of these smaller engines coming in our cars. Many said to me a 1.5 surely wont be substantial for a car of this size, then I'd take them for a spin and ask for their opinion after that, they were just as astounded as I was when I first drove it. While the motor pushes out just over 80kW, it still is mighty punchy with that torque helping you off the line and still hangs around for the tough bits like going up hills and around sharp corners. I got the manual transmission which after driving autos for a few weeks did need a small adjustment from myself. The first real drive I took the Qashqai on was through 1 hour and 35 minutes, bumper to bumper traffic for 5km. Now in horror traffic like that, the last gearbox you would want is a manual as your left leg would be working overtime on that clutch. Thankfully the Qashqai comes standard with an electronic hand brake with auto hold which did relieve the discomfort a bit. Steering, really good on the vehicle, with a sharp turning circle, the sporty D shape wheel does make navigating the Qashqai quite fun. The claim fuel consumption is 4.2L per 100km, which I oddly enough got quite close to, this  car sips fuel, I honestly think I could have gotten over 1000km on a tank, it was that light!

COMFORT

Being a smaller brother to the X-Trail, the Qashqai still has some good room for 5 adults, and this was put to the test a few times, heck I even chucked 4 at the back once! The front passengers have the option of heated or cooling seats which was a nice added bonus and the dual climate control aircon is always a winner to avoid fighting with the missus. The seats were not full leather, then again most seats which offer cooling are a mix but I must say there were bloody comfortable! The beauty with cars like this has to be the luggage compartment, while the Qashqau's boot space is quite generous, dropping the rear seats does give you enough room to load just about anything in the back. 

TECHNOLOGY 

Nissan say this new Qashqai is "City Proof", many might be asking what the hell does that mean? I know I asked the same question but I soon found out. The car features NIM, Nissan Intelligent Mobility, which they say is next level technology to warm you of your surroundings. Well it might not be something new to drivers of the more luxury European cars, but for it being in a car like the Qashqai is pretty impressive. Basically its a monitoring  system which warns you of any dangers while you're driving, so if the car in front of you all of a sudden jams his breaks, and in some instances will break for you, blind spot warning, and so on. My car didn't come with the fancy LCD screen which gave you a surround view with cameras but you can get it as an optional extra. It comes with most of the usual bells and whistles, bluetooth audio and telephone, cruise control, multi-function steering wheel and auto off to help you save even more fuel. 

VERDICT

Overall, I simply cannot fault this car, okay if I have to be picky, the gear shifter is oddly higher than normal but seriously it is a great car and while it might still stick to that stigma of Japanese cars, it's one that you know you will have piece of mind with. I'd hate to say who this car is ideal for because it could be perfect for anyone, a family, an adventurer, a normal person with a 9-5 who spends most of his time in traffic. It's a great versatile option and with the ever increasing fuel price, this is a delight to many as you won't have to visit the fueling station that often. I would have loved to have had the full tech pack with the screen just to see what is available on there but if you're looking for something that's plain and simple and that looks good, and most importantly well priced, this is your car. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	1.5 litre dCI
Gear Box	6 Speed Manual
Power	81kW
Torque	260Nm
Top Speed	182km/h (electronically governed)
Economy	4.2 L/100km
Price	R421,900

Bucket Seat: KIA Sorento 2.2CRDi

When I was first told I would be receiving a KIA Sorento to test, I honestly thought it was the previous generation Sorento, the one with the revised rear lights that look a bit odd. I didn't even know KIA had launched a new one! So it was much to my surprise when heading home one day, I came across this rather good looking SUV next to me, it was in a metallic bronze colour. From general design and observation, it was clearly a KIA but not one that I've seen before, so when I glanced at the badge and saw it was the Sorento, I was a bit confused. So when I got a chance to, I visited the KIA website and saw that the new Sorento was available in SA, not sure how they managed to sneak such a large SUV into the country with not many knowing about it, unless it was just me who missed it? Anyway, from then on I was quite excited to get it and see what this range topping SUV from the Korean's had to offer, since I was already blown away from the smaller Sportage.

DESIGN

When the test unit arrived, I was pretty bleak to see it was white and not that fancy metallic bronze, (which the correct name is "Imperial Bronze"),  I saw but never the less it still had those great looks. As mentioned previously, the older gen Sorento had this rather awkward looking rear, especially the tail-lights. It just looked out of proportion and something that was cut and pasted there. The new Sorento however has been crafted well, a bit of it's styling still comes from the older model but with subtle differences. The big changes are its size and in the front and the back. The front features a new grille with like a 3D effect with the KIA badge almost floating in the center. The front headlights have been re-sculpted and aren't fused with the grille as before. They're more edgy and sleek. The rest of the front is molded well with large openings for the front fog lights. The rear end has a very American look to it, with the rear lights looking to that of a Jeep but not overly similar that you'd think it is one. Overall the design is perfect and on the EX, SX and SXL models look even better with the chrome finishing. 

PERFORMANCE

I had the 2.2 LS CRDi, which was one of the entry level Sorento's available, so while it didn't have all the bells and whistles on the inside, it still had that great 2.2 litre diesel engine, which delivers 147kW and 440Nm of Torque. Plenty of power to pull this big boy along on any surface. Actually the diesel engine was very eager to go as I found sometimes with quick acceleration from a stand still caused the tyres to spin! I thought the 6 speed automatic gearbox won't be adequate for the Sorento, seeing that many other manufacturers are opting for 7 speeds or higher but somehow KIA got this one right. It's got great timing on the changes and responds well when needed, all while keeping revs at a minimum and thus conserving your fuel. Speaking of which, in my 7 days with it, I clocked up over 700km and it still had a few 100 left on the range. 

COMFORT

While you can get the Sorento in a 7 seater configuration, the model I had was a 5 seater, so space was a plenty and it made it for a very very big trunk. So big you could fit two adults in there...not that I tried...okay, maybe I did. If sitting in the trunk isn't your thing, then you will be glad to hear that the seats in the Sorento are extremely comfortable. The 2.2 LS CRDi comes with cloth seats and has the extra option of leather if you prefer it, however I had no real complaints about the cloth, normally I find that the cloth makes it a bit warm in the car but didn't really have that problem, unless it was the winter weather? The ride quality on the Sorento is exceptional, it's soft and smooth, suspension copes well from gravel roads to speed humps. 

TECHNOLOGY

While I did have the entry level Sorento, it came with the bare minimum. Bluetooth Telephone and Audio streaming, multi-function buttons on the steering wheel to control everything from audio, telephone and the trip computer in the dash. Being a rather large vehicle, it was nice that it came with PDC's so that made parking it a bit much easier but a reverse camera would be nice, mind you with the radio being a normal LED type info screen it wouldn't be much of use unless they integrated it into the review mirror like their previous models. In saying that, the EX, SX and SXL models do have a colour screen infotainment display but it's rather tiny. It's a bit annoying that the previous KIA I had on test which was the Rio had this lovely, large touch screen display, capable of such wonderful things but then I got this and well, it didn't. But KIA have noticed this as well and just this week released a revised Sorento which I'm pretty such does have all these goodies as well as some minor design tweaks. 

VERDICT

Overall, the KIA Sorento is a wonderful family SUV. The price tag makes it even more attractive when looking at large SUV's in its class and even though I had a base model, it was more than sufficient for my needs. During my time with it I gave as many people I knew rides in it as well, just to get a wider consensus on what others had to think of the vehicle. One of which was a KIA owner who currently drives an Optima, he was blown away by its size, ride comfort and what it had to offer, which makes me wonder what he'd think of the revised one that is yet to hit the shores. I do feel KIA missed the mark on certain aspects which they fixed up in the upcoming Sorento, not sure how big the gap of the release between this and the Rio was but if they picked up most items from the beginning, this would put some serious competition out there to the German and Japanese manufacturers. 

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	2.2 litre, 4 cylinder, CRDi
Gear Box	6 speed automatic
Power	147kW
Torque	440Nm
Top Speed	203km/h
0-100km	9.3  seconds
Price	R 489,995

Bucket Seat: Ford Figo 1.5 Titanium

When I first got told I was scheduled the Ford Figo, I was a bit skeptical of it. I mean the only time you would catch me driving an A-Segment car is if I hired one. That's no disrespect to the segment, it simply doesn't appeal to me but that's just my preference. The A-Segment market has grown in leaps and bounds over the years and over the past year or two so some major advancements in terms of tech and options available for these cars. It's a market for a first time buyer or a student that needs something small to go around with, it was hardly what you would call a family car but after driving Ford's new Figo I may have to rethink my stance.

Style

I initially thought I was getting the hatch, but once it arrived I saw it was the sedan. The styling of the car seemed a bit weird for me. The hatch looks great but the sedan looks like the boot is an after thought which is mostly the case in these hatch come sedan cars. Previously Ford had their Ikon which this car will be replacing in the line up and that was a purpose made sedan so the lines flowed and complimented the car. While the Figo Sedan isn't an eyesore, the fact that it looks much better as a hatch would make the version with a boot seem a bit off. It's not horrendous by any chance but I feel they could have done a better job with the rear lights. The front half of the car looks really good. The new big chrome grill and big head lights really give this car a sense of presence even though it's a small car. 

Performance

Styling on cars like this isn't everything, performance is what matters the most the 1.5l Sigma petrol engine was nothing much than astonishing to me. Even with the 6 speed PowerShift automatic transmission, it was incredibly responsive and damn light on fuel! It incorporates Ford's "Drive Green" initiative which sees its CO2 emissions at 142g/km and tested fuel consumption of 6L/100km which I almost matched. Something that is very rare! Talking figures, the maximum power output is 82kW and maximum torque 136Nm which is quite impressive. While take off did seem a bit sluggish, compared to other cars in its segment, this is by far on of the strongest engines I've come across. 

Comfort

Whilst the car is small, it was extremely spacious, granted at my seating position an adult wouldn't be able to sit in the back seat, perhaps a child would but if at a squeeze you could get four adults in there. The ride is smooth and solid, which is aided by the 14" alloy wheels. The seats aren't leather but comfortable none the less. The cars interior is styled perfectly, taken from the previous generation Fiesta, the car see's the main center cluster follow the same design with the information screen located at the top. It displays everything from time and date, audio options, aircon settings and media. 

Tech

The car comes with Ford's SYNC Bluetooth and voice control system. It's great that they've kept this standard across all their models. It's really easy to set up and the voice control activated menu is a great alternative to manually searching for things or making calls. It helps driver concentration and improves your driving experience. The audio system has 4 speakers with an auxiliary port and the deck has CD/MP3 playing capabilities. It has  

Storage

Small car, small boot right? Nope, somehow Ford managed to get this right with remarkably spacious boot. You can get at least 3 full size luggage bags in there with space for smaller items. The car has a cubby for the front passenger and a center compartment for other items. The cup holders and of a decent size and there is a tray below the climate control aircon for additional items needed for storage. 

Verdict

I was quite surprised by this car, it's small, it's nippy and a pleasure to drive. While finishes might not be of that of a luxury sedan, for it's price it isn't bad at all. The car is comfortable, spacious and offers a lot that many of it's competitors don't. Taking all of this into consideration, it is not only a perfect car for first time buyers or students but also small family's. It has sufficient space, it's safety record is second to none with drive and front passenger airbags with side curtains, it has ABS, ESP and hill launch assist which prevents the car from rolling on an incline from a standing stand. 

Specifications

• 1.5 litre Sigma Petrol 
• 6 speed PowerShift automatic gear box
• 82kW
• 136Nm torque
• Consumption: 6ltr/ 100km
• Price: R209,900