Quest for the best value SUV

Naks said:
No, the ease with which it was done.
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I'm not sure how you think other cars are stolen, but it's usually done in a few minutes. If you leave a R400K car on the same spot with easy access, chances are someone will try and steal it. The blame here lies with the ignorant/oblivious owner, not with the car.
 
Bottle line is, the Fortuner can be parked ANYWHERE and it will get stolen. The car dealership I went to on the weekend are not even allowed to have their Fortuners on the showroom floor due to theft.

The one Fortuner they had, had been stolen 3 days earlier. The guy said they didn't even notice it was gone. Seriously, to buy a car that is this hot is retarded.
 
Bodega said:
I was in the same boat as you a few months back, until i drove the Chev Trailblazer. Awsome vehicle, little more punch than the tuna but a great drive overall. VERY VERY Similar to the tuna without the high risk factor of it being hijacked. Has all that you can ask for as well. Go Test drive 1. I love my Trailblazer.
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Some good stuff coming out of the Chevy these days, the 7 seats are great as well, not many SUV's mention this.
 
BCO said:
I also was a bit confused in the latest issue where they had the "best value SUV" comparative test. The Forester was the only car there that was AWD, but they made out as if it was the least value for money. It was the only 4x4 in the test at a comparable price to the other 4x2s, but CAR said it was expensive! They actually mentioned how expensive the whole Forester range is on the whole. But if you look at the Forester range's prices vs CR-V, RAV etc, it's in line with them.
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I had a prolonged argument with the Editor of that magazine last year, and bottom line is that they weren't really interested in any Subaru that wasn't an STi, and blatant lies or oversights on the one they were road testing at the time, were put down to "Gremlins".

Makes me sick - either you kiss backside with these guys, or you're dead in the water! :mad:
 
Here is a copy of a letter that I wrote to CAR last year....:)

Having owned three Outback’s and now an XV, I had to write this letter, simply to clear a couple of things up.

I have been reading Car magazine since the mid 60’s and actually considered your magazine to be one worth respecting.

Over the years, I noticed that certain tests were slightly biased in favour of certain cars, and I have also been amused by the fact that a Porsche road test manages to sneak in to possibly 80% of your issues.
I have also noticed that certain makes will get a tepid reaction from you, and accepted it until now.

Your road test of the Subaru XV (July 2012) must be one of the most subjective and biased tests that I have ever read!

I get the fact that you don’t like a Subaru unless it has a turbo bolted on to the motor, and I get the fact that a turbo tends to be a gas guzzler, as fuel consumption is not a strong point of most turbo vehicles. But I digress, as the turbo has absolutely nothing to do with this particular road test. The fact that the car is slated for poor performance because it doesn’t have a turbo, does matter, however, and the fact that it has not been aimed at the turbo market also doesn’t seem to have occurred to you at all. Any Subaru without a sub 7 second 0-100 is a slug....right I get it.

Now for the rest.

When a test goes out to harp on as many of a car’s failings as possible, I have to then start questioning if there is some hidden motive behind the test. Actually, there probably is no hidden motive behind this one, you guys at CAR simply hate the Subaru brand and feel nothing about slating it.

Instead of arguing with you over what you have said, perhaps I should just mention a couple of things that you chose to omit from the test pages.

I’ll start from the front:

Headlamps : Xenon (oops no mention)
Headlamp washers: Standard (oops no mention)
Standard sunroof – mentioned and then forgotten in the spec summary.
3 year /75 000 km MAINTENANCE plan – mentioned in the spec sheet, but ignored in the text.
60/40 split rear seat – mentioned, but ignored when the size of the boot is slated.
Cruise control – standard (oops not mentioned)
Reverse camera – standard, but only mentioned as “Park assist” in the specs.
Comprehensive Multi function display – mentioned, and then forgotten.
220 mm ground clearance equal to serious off road vehicles (Fortuner anyone?) briefly mentioned, then ignored, as is any serious test of the car’s off road ability.

Should I carry on? Probably not, as no doubt the mouse is hovering over the delete button at this point.
What I am saying, however, is that it is oh so simple to slate a car and probably bring its sales to a halt in a country where many people use CAR magazine as their bible when it comes to road tests and choosing a new car.
Do you ever even think of that when you write? It would not appear so.

Just for the record, my XV loosened up considerably after it had done 5000 km, and fuel consumption at the moment (7500 km) is hovering around the 7.5 l/100 mark. Transmission whine? You are kidding ....right? The CV box may sound different to an ordinary 5 speed automatic, but transmission whine does not enter the cabin – I have no idea what you are talking about.
Off road – our car enjoyed Mozambique along with many kilometres of heavy sand roads and sand dunes that had bogged down a few 4x4 veterans along the way – but that won’t interest you, as you don’t even attempt that sort of thing in your test.
Am I enjoying the fact that I have completely free motoring for the next 3 years or 75 000 km with respect to maintenance and servicing? You bet – I actually find that important as well.
My job has taken me to most deep rural areas of South Africa and I have never been let down by any of my 4 Subaru’s after a combined 420 000 km in the 4 cars that I have relied on – no matter what conditions have been thrown at them, from Sani Pass to bridges washed away near Polokwane and the sandy beaches of Mozambique.

I have probably bored you to death now, as we all know what you say is right, and must not be questioned, however, just one more thing.

When are you going to update your information on the Subaru range at the back of the magazine? You STILL say that the cars have a 3 year/ 63000 maintenance plan! As an owner, I KNOW that that plan ceased to exist in January 2010!!
Do you really care?
I doubt it.
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Fazda said:
I had a prolonged argument with the Editor of that magazine last year, and bottom line is that they weren't really interested in any Subaru that wasn't an STi, and blatant lies or oversights on the one they were road testing at the time, were put down to "Gremlins".

Makes me sick - either you kiss backside with these guys, or you're dead in the water! :mad:
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Hannes is now with GWM... Hahahaha!!
 
I have been reading Car magazine since the mid 60’s and actually considered your magazine to be one worth respecting.
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:eek:

You are officially the oldest man/woman/alien thingy on MyBB :p
 
Quantum Theory said:
New editor seems like a nice guy. I hope he can fix things there, because they are definitely biased.
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I hope so too, because H wasn't even fazed when I accused him of being biased, though he said that he used to like Subaru, because he had one (WRX STi) as his wedding car....:rolleyes:
 
I have been reading Car magazine since the mid 60’s and actually considered your magazine to be one worth respecting.
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I purchased CAR for years until I noticed they never gave any car a bad review.
 
Ok so tomorrow will be swinging past Audi to see the Q3 and Kia to see the Sorento. Might try sneak in a look at the Trailblazer as well.
 
the sorento has excellent value for money, lovely to drive and be driven in, beautiful to look at. think its one of the best looking SUVs out there.
never would have considered a kia 8 years ago, but now my dad has the top end sorento, sisters have the rio tec and picanto ex
 
spiderz said:
Land Rover Freelander 2
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Funny you should say that, test drove the 2.2 S Today and other than not having leather or a freaking arm rest it was great. Wife loves it. Its definitely on the top of our list at the moment.

swe.rider said:
the sorento has excellent value for money, lovely to drive and be driven in, beautiful to look at. think its one of the best looking SUVs out there.
never would have considered a kia 8 years ago, but now my dad has the top end sorento, sisters have the rio tec and picanto ex
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Really like the new sorento, haven't driven it though but im sure it is great. Its just slightly more than I want to spend. And I know it is fully loaded but R419 000 I personally feel is a lot to spend on a Kia.
 
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