Best cars for city commuting

By Stuart Johnston

When you consider the question of cars for city commuting, you’d be tempted to restrict your search to small light cars that are easily manoeuvrable into gaps, light on fuel, and nimble to sneak into tight parking spaces.

However, if you can afford a large SUV with a high seating position and a commanding view of the traffic ahead, you’d be amazed at how much this ability to predict traffic snarl-ups ahead makes life easier behind the wheel in that early morning or late afternoon rush towards home.

Automatics are easier

In seriously clogged traffic conditions, there is no doubt that an automatic-transmission car is a boon when you are stuck averaging less than 5 km/h, as so many of us are on the run through towards the William Nicol interchange or equivalents in other areas. Two pedal driving is king in these conditions – smoother, less stressful on the left thigh muscle and the left (gear lever) hand.

The stop-start automatic function that is fitted on many modern, more expensive cars to reduce wasteful fuel consumption at idle speeds can also bring peace of mind, although some reports have it that this function is hard on battery life!

Hybrids are tops for commuting

Short of opting for a full electric car – an expensive option at this stage of our country’s  personal evolution, and pretty much ahead of its time – a well-sorted hybrid car can be great for commuting. A properly- configured hybrid car automatically switches to electric-engine-only mode at crawl speeds, and if you are a keen fuel consumption metre watcher, you will notice this type of car shows markedly reduced fuel consumption figures in heavy traffic.

Small diesels can be peaky in traffic

Diesel cars are significantly more fuel-efficient than petrol-engined cars – as much as 25 to 30 per cent lighter on fuel – but it is worth keeping in mind that small-engined diesels can be a bit difficult to manage in stop-start traffic when fitted with manual gearboxes. The transition from no turbo-boost at idle to crawl speed can sometimes cause a diesel to stall unexpectedly, and with the high compression ratios of these engines, the stall can be quite abrupt! Managing this can be wearying on the clutch leg, and the right (accelerator) leg, as the engine suddenly comes on boost!

To give focus to commuter-friendly cars, we’ve come up with a large number of models that embody some of the commuter attributes we’ve mentioned:

Small Cars

Kia Picanto 1.2 Style (R192 495); Volkswagen Polo Vivo Hatch Comfortline 1.6 (R221 900); Renault Clio 88kW turbo Expression (R267 900); Hyundai i20 1.4 Fluid (R279 500) Audi A1 Sportback 1.0 TFSi S (R311 300)

Cool Small Automatics

Smart Fortwo  Coupé Base (R174 900) Fiat 500 0.9 TwinAir Pop Automatic (R210 400); Mini One Hatch 3-door automatic (R311 300)

Cool diesels

Renault Captur 66 kW dCi Dynamique (R304 900); Volvo V40 D2 Kinetic (R391 200) BMW 120d Five-door (519 900)

Hybrids and Electrics

Toyota Auris Hybrid XR (R424 000);  Toyota Prius (R466 800); Lexus CT 200h S (R529 300); BMW i3 Range Extender (R710 900); Nissan Leaf (new model coming soon); Lexus ES 300 H EX (R670 700) Infiniti Q50S Hybrid (R709 100)

Hybrid super-sedans, sportsters  and SUVS

Lexus RX450h SE (R1 181 500); BMW 540e drive (R1 225 100); Mercedes-Benz GLE 500 e (R1 355 900); BMW 740 e drive (R1 541 200); BMW i8 Roadster (R2 309 000) Porsche Panamera Turbo S e Hybrid (R2 931 000)