Top 3 new SUVs for long commutes
Top 3 new SUVs for long commutes
By Ané Theron
It's that time of the year again when everything but the bathroom cabinet goes into the boot for the December holidays. Are you staring a 3000 km road-trip with your family in the face? Let's take a look at 3 new SUVs that are ideal for this kind of journey.
What we deem desirable...
What do we really want from our cars on lengthy trips? Well, different people want different things, but apart from the obvious mod-cons like air-con and Bluetooth, most of us want good fuel economy, enough space for our legs, a generous amount of safety features, a decently-sized boot, and comfortable seats. Also, the car in question shouldn't be ridiculously expensive to buy or to run, but this is also relative, of course. New cars are hardly affordable anymore, so looking out for a demo model or a pre-loved car with low mileage is advised; there's a huge selection available on our site.
In 2018, a multitude of new SUVs made their way to South African showrooms, and it's difficult choosing just three that will make long commutes more relaxing, fun or entertaining. From all the SUVs I personally drove this year, I selected 3 that offer the things that I would value most as a consumer who travels all over the country. These cars all come with a good selection of standard comfort features and are easy to live with on a day-to-day basis, but also showed their worth on road-trips. I didn't list them in any particular order because they are all equally good in their own right...
Now here's a car that looks compact from the outside, but once you get in, you find surprising amounts of space even for passengers on the rear seat. Then there are all the semi-autonomous safety systems (that are standard fare in the top-end 1.5DCI Tekna model, R460 900) such as Nissan's Intelligent Around View Monitor & Moving Object Detection, Intelligent Blind Spot Warning, and Cross Traffic alert. The Tekna also has satnav thrown in, and a Bose Premium audio system with a seven-inch touchscreen display. Other features include leather seats, an electric parking brake, hill-start assist, traction and stability control, six airbags, satellite controls on the steering wheel, and daytime running lamps.
It's the (diesel) Qashqai's fuel economy, however, that really impresses (and you don't have to buy the top-tier Tekna variant to get it): 4.8 litres of diesel per 100 km which is brilliant, and it means that you'll get over 1200 km on a single tank if you don't drive like a maniac. An absolute winner!
The 7-seater mu-X isn't just big, it's huge. Nothing puts a car to the test like a family camping trip, and the mu-X aced it. With room to spare, we squeezed our 5-man tent as well as a camping table, two chairs, 5 bags of groceries, picnic baskets, bedding, and umbrella, towels and braai equipment into the massive boot (3rd row of seats folded away, of course). The mu-X offers supremely comfortable leather seats, good ground clearance, 6 airbags as well as traction and stability control. Air vents keep even the rearmost passengers cool, and there are enough USB ports on board to keep everyone's devices going. The 3.0-litre diesel engine isn't super powerful but it gets the job done without blowing your diesel budget out the window. It also doesn't feel clumsy to drive! You can read our road test here.
Other star buys: Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Shogun, Toyota Fortuner
Renault Duster
The Duster is one of the AutoTrader South African Car of the Year finalists, and with very good reason: It's way ahead of its forebears where build quality is concerned, it's much better looking in general, it's extremely light on diesel, and it's just the right size for the adventurous young family. In the top-spec Prestige model you also have
a dual-clutch automatic gearbox which makes driving through the traffic-heavy city an absolute breeze. But the most impressive feature in the 1.5-litre diesel Prestige is the amount of cameras on the car's exterior that allows you to see exactly where you need to have 'eyes'. Am I too close to the sidewalk on the car's left side? Just press the 'button' on screen and voila! The Prestige model also offers 4 airbags and traction/stability control. While there's no major space on the back row, young kids won't mind it until they hit high school. Satnav is standard, and fuel economy is great. Stick to 120km/h on the highway and your usage won't easily rise over the 6 litres per 100 km mark (if you opt for a diesel model). Read our launch report here.
Other star buys: Toyota C-HR, Volkswagen Tiguan Allspace, Hyundai Kona, Nissan X-Trail, new Subaru Forester.
Also read Top 3 City Cars for Comfort Lovers here: