Which compact SUV/hatchback - R350k budget

Praemon said:
I think it could do with a turbo, but then fuel consumption and cost go up. It's not a deal breaker for me though, but will see how I feel after trying out some more powerful cars. I'm also going for a manual which I think will help instead of relying on an automatic to choose the gears.
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Fuel doesn't go up much with a turbo
 
epah said:
Definitely needs a Turbo, Also a turbo doesn't magically increase fuel consumption so I am not sure what you mean by that, Getting a manual wont help anything, that engine is severely gutless and a manual gearbox wont save it.

Are you really going to Spend R300K+ on a 30 year old engine and gearbox?
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Sure, turbo won't always, but I'd imagine it does in many cases. It's also another thing that can break, but I guess that could be said about most things. For the auto vs manual, it's mainly based on most car reviewers complaining that the SUV gearboxes in this segment (mainly CVT, although I think Fronx might be AMT) tend to hold high revs in gears before changing. Just prefer the option to make poor gear choices myself rather than the car doing it for me 😅

As for the age of the engine/gearbox - at least it's tried and tested :p

epah said:
Also out of curiosity, How long was the test drive and what was the highest speed, did you do any town driving and Open road/highway?
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It wasn't very long, but I did request that we go on the highway. Unfortunately it was a short stretch and there was lots of traffic, so didn't get to properly give it a go. But you can feel the lack of power even just going up a steep hill - it's just not a major factor for me, as I'm mainly doing shorter journeys anyways.
 
Praemon said:
Sure, turbo won't always, but I'd imagine it does in many cases. It's also another thing that can break, but I guess that could be said about most things. For the auto vs manual, it's mainly based on most car reviewers complaining that the SUV gearboxes in this segment (mainly CVT, although I think Fronx might be AMT) tend to hold high revs in gears before changing. Just prefer the option to make poor gear choices myself rather than the car doing it for me 😅

As for the age of the engine/gearbox - at least it's tried and tested :p



It wasn't very long, but I did request that we go on the highway. Unfortunately it was a short stretch and there was lots of traffic, so didn't get to properly give it a go. But you can feel the lack of power even just going up a steep hill - it's just not a major factor for me, as I'm mainly doing shorter journeys anyways.
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The Fronx is a 4 speed auto, Yes the same gearbox that was used in a Toyota Cressida 40 years ago.
Manual is not any better, gearing down in a Fronx/ starlet doesn't bring out any power, it is a lethargic engine tuned for efficiency.

What I found is the vehicle is fine for town driving, but when you get on the highway that is when you see how much power is missing from that engine, to a point where it gets frustrating.

Maybe I am too harsh but it would be a great buy for R200K but I think it is severely overpriced at R300K, especially for what you get. What makes it worse is Toyota got their Return on investment from that drive-train 30 years ago yet they are still charging an arm and a leg for it.
 
Praemon said:
I think it could do with a turbo, but then fuel consumption and cost go up. It's not a deal breaker for me though, but will see how I feel after trying out some more powerful cars. I'm also going for a manual which I think will help instead of relying on an automatic to choose the gears.
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More power can actually decrease fuel consumption so the turbo addition isn’t automatically heavier on fuel.
 
Supervan II said:
It really all depends on driving style. Never worked for me, though - MORE POWER = MORE FUEL.
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It’s not a universal truth.

But an underpowered car struggling to move will just burn more fuel.

Fine ration between enough, too much and too little.

Especially highway speeds little engines without turbos actually use more fuel, whereas usually cars do better on highways.
 
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SauRoNZA said:
It’s not a universal truth.

But an underpowered car struggling to move will just burn more fuel.

Fine ration between enough, too much and too little.
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Yeah, you're right. It's just me with a heavy Size 11 that is the problem sometimes.

Many years ago I went on a trip to attend a wedding in Britstown (near De Aar) from PE. I bet my cousin that I'd beat him on fuel consumption on the trip.

He laughed at this as he had a 1300 Kadett S/W, and I had a 1800 Golf GTi.

We both loaded up our long-weekend luggage (clothing/gifts only) for 3 persons to each vehicle and compared fuel bills upon arrival (both cars were filled to the brim at the same service station and both were re-filled at the same service station). I used slightly less litres of fuel than him - although he made up for his loss on his fuel cost: Him = 93, Me = 98, so it almost drew level overall.
 
Supervan II said:
Yeah, you're right. It's just me with a heavy Size 11 that is the problem sometimes.

Many years ago I went on a trip to attend a wedding in Britstown (near De Aar) from PE. I bet my cousin that I'd beat him on fuel consumption on the trip.

He laughed at this as he had a 1300 Kadett S/W, and I had a 1800 Golf GTi.

We both loaded up our long-weekend luggage (clothing/gifts only) for 3 persons to each vehicle and compared fuel bills upon arrival (both cars were filled to the brim at the same service station and both were re-filled at the same service station). I used slightly less litres of fuel than him - although he made up for his loss on his fuel cost: Him = 93, Me = 98, so it almost drew level overall.
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I know the place well, spent a lot of time in my youth in De Aar.
 
SauRoNZA said:
It’s not a universal truth.

But an underpowered car struggling to move will just burn more fuel.

Fine ration between enough, too much and too little.

Especially highway speeds little engines without turbos actually use more fuel, whereas usually cars do better on highways.
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Yup the turbo on my little 900cc gives me the same amount of power as older 1.6 motors but with fuel consumption much lower.
 
PhireSide said:
Clio?
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Yup, took it over from the wife. I didn't need a big old Cruze anymore. So I've been driving it for 6 years now, actually have no itch or want to replace it. Just keeps on trucking.
 
Lupus said:
Yup the turbo on my little 900cc gives me the same amount of power as older 1.6 motors but with fuel consumption much lower.
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This was something I was wondering about, too. Thanks for sharing this.
 
Lupus said:
Yup, took it over from the wife. I didn't need a big old Cruze anymore. So I've been driving it for 6 years now, actually have no itch or want to replace it. Just keeps on trucking.
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Nice, how many kilos have you put on it so far?

Still enjoying my Duster, on the topic of French cars.

@Praemon what is next on your test drive menu?
 
PhireSide said:
Nice, how many kilos have you put on it so far?

Still enjoying my Duster, on the topic of French cars.

@Praemon what is next on your test drive menu?
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Shoo, think it just crossed 43k now. For almost 2 years it barely got driven. When COVID hit it was only on 12k. This last 3 years I've racked up the mileage and by that not even that much.
Little wear and tear on the interior and sadly some rim damage thanks to potholes :( low down car doesn't like going over them.
 
PhireSide said:
@Praemon what is next on your test drive menu?
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Got the Mahindra XUV 3XO MX3 manual lined up for a test drive tomorrow. Apparently they’re also doing a special on the AX5 as well, which makes it a good R40k cheaper than the Suzuki Fronx GLX, while having arguably better specs. But I still worry about reliability, resale, but most important: after-sales, on a brand such as that (even though the cars are both made in India). I see a number of online comments about Mahindra owners waiting weeks or months for parts, which is concerning.
 
Praemon said:
Got the Mahindra XUV 3XO MX3 manual lined up for a test drive tomorrow. Apparently they’re also doing a special on the AX5 as well, which makes it a good R40k cheaper than the Suzuki Fronx GLX, while having arguably better specs. But I still worry about reliability, resale, but most important: after-sales, on a brand such as that (even though the cars are both made in India). I see a number of online comments about Mahindra owners waiting weeks or months for parts, which is concerning.
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Some of the Chinese brands have a lifetime warranty for the first owner, so it's worth looking into as well. That should at least address the reliability concerns...
 
Praemon said:
Got the Mahindra XUV 3XO MX3 manual lined up for a test drive tomorrow. Apparently they’re also doing a special on the AX5 as well, which makes it a good R40k cheaper than the Suzuki Fronx GLX, while having arguably better specs. But I still worry about reliability, resale, but most important: after-sales, on a brand such as that (even though the cars are both made in India). I see a number of online comments about Mahindra owners waiting weeks or months for parts, which is concerning.
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Ironic, since the Suzuki also comes from India. 🤣
 
SauRoNZA said:
Ironic, since the Suzuki also comes from India. 🤣
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Yes, but you will invariably find that the Suzuki dealerships are owned/franchised by reputable big-name dealers, eg Tavcor Motor Group in Port Elizabeth, the official VWSA dealer (how ironic that the small Suzuki is challenging their best-seller, the Polo Vivo AND challenging their sales numbers).

Overall, the control of Suzuki imports is done by Suzuki Auto SA, owned by Thorp Motor Group which handles:

Which bodes well for these brands, going by the support and after-sales service for Suzuki is anything to go by.

(Did some research after SEAT was withdrawn from the market (bought a Leon Cupra from them in Oct 2008) and a Suzuki dealership opened its doors on the same premises within a few months - same staff).
 
Some oddball choices on the pre owned side if you don’t want to go Chinese/Jap/Korean: Peugeot 2008/3008, Citroen air cross C5, Proton XX, Grandland X. If you don’t plan on keeping it 7+ years, and have a dealership closer to you buy it in warranty and extend for a couple more years.

The segment winner in this price range, pre owned, is the Corolla cross. Sure the consumption slightly higher, but it is large enough, is a great town cruiser (that where CVT works best) and a factory warranty extension to 8 years costs less than 10k. It will also depreciate less than virtually all the other cars. If you want a reliable appliance check it out.
 
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