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u/torquetechstuff

r/CarTalkZA
Image 1 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 2 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 3 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 4 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 5 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 6 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 7 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 8 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 9 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
Image 10 — Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)
▲ 54 r/CarTalkZA

Jetour X70 Plus Review (facelift)

I just spent a week in the facelifted Jetour X70 Plus, and honestly, this is one of my favourite Chinese cars I've driven, if we're not counting the hybrids.

Jetour came into the SA market with the X70 Plus and the Dashing, which are fine cars, I guess, but me, I've always been one to prefer cars that are enjoyable to drive. Those had all the value and tech while lacking decent throttle response, making that driving experience a bit irritating, especially when trying to overtake.

This facelift has a new front grille and new wheel design, and it's now positioned as the luxury SUV from Jetour, which I found weird that it wasn't already. They used to market the X70 as the sportier one of the two, with sporty-looking rims, red accents and quad exhausts. The old quad exhausts were actually just cosmetic, but this new one still has four exhaust outlets, with two of them now being functional.

I actually really like this car. I think it looks elegant and expensive, especially in black with the chrome accents. The tail lights kinda remind me of the Audi Q8. The interior is lovely too. It reminds me of Mercedes' design, but hey, it works.

Jetour actually gave the power a bit of an upgrade, from 115 kW (154 hp) and 230 Nm to 125 kW (168 hp) and 270 Nm, and it's noticeable. It also now has a 7-speed DCT instead of the old 6-speed. Whenever I get these Chinese cars, I immediately put them in Sport because that calibration is better in that mode, plus I found it to even be easier on fuel in Sport mode. The car is pretty responsive and, dare I say, fun.

You get all you need. Surprisingly, you even get heated and cooled seats. I drove the Prime version, which costs R494,900, but there's a Prestige version which is R444,900. What impresses me the most is that the facelift is just R10,000 more than the old version. R10,000 for heated and ventilated seats, more power and better drive? The car was always easy to recommend to many, but now it's easy to recommend to most.

I really liked this car, one of my favourite Chinese cars. Fuel consumption was around 8.5-9 L/100 km, but I think it's worth noting that this car was brand spanking new, only having done 600 km.

u/torquetechstuff — 2 days ago
▲ 98 r/CarTalkZA

Haval Jolion Review

One of the most popular Chinese vehicles in SA today, the Haval Jolion. I had the Pro Ltd Edition, which is just different in cosmetics. It only differs in terms of the green calipers and a green strip around the lower body.

The look, body and shape of this car is extreme, I would say. If you were to see it, you'd think this is a 300-400 hp car with pops and bangs, but no. It's a 105 kW (140 hp) and 210 Nm 7-speed DCT. So while it's not as fast as it looks, it's still a good car to drive.

With these Chinese cars, you get the best out of them in Sport mode, not only in terms of responsiveness but even with the fuel consumption, so I kept it in Sport mode for all but one trip. In fact, on the same trip, one in Eco and one in Sport, I got better consumption in Sport, with Sport mode using 9 km less of range on a 24 km trip of mostly city driving. Fuel consumption, they claim 8.1 L/100 km, but I hovered around 9.9 at best. And this is where your Japanese and German cars still excel over the Chinese. The Suzuki Across, which compares with this car, got me 4.4 L/100 km at one time!

Interior-wise, it's actually quite simple. No big TV screen, but a sizeable infotainment screen. I will say, though, that I hate that I can only change the drive modes (Eco, Normal and Sport) through the screen rather than having a simple toggle or button nearby. The faux-leather seats are comfortable, you get a panoramic sunroof and a volume-dial-style gear selector.

Rear space is much more spacious than the Suzuki Across because here you don't get that transmission tunnel. I think it's a good-looking car. I really like the rear taillight, which looks sleek. The only thing I have against the design is the wheel size and how they fit in the arches. It looks straight botched, and that's the first thing I'd change were I to buy this car.

The car comes in at R431,450, and I kinda see why it's popular. Guys, I kid you not, the other day I saw more than 20 delivery trucks all filled with these Havals. There were 100s of them.

I'd go for the Suzuki, though.

u/torquetechstuff — 5 days ago
▲ 66 r/CarTalkZA

Suzuki Across Review

I drove the Suzuki Across GL Auto for a week and here are my thoughts:

Firstly, the looks. I really like the way it looks in the front, especially with the white finish I had it in and the chrome bar on the front. The back looks a bit weird to me. It almost looks like an Alfa Romeo Junior in white, except with Temu body parts. Other than that, it's fine. It gets LED headlights, LED DRLs and even LED fog lights.

Inside is where it really shines. Before I even talk about the interior, the manual Across is R349,900, this automatic mid-spec is R372,900, and the top-of-the-range GLX is R464,900. The GL is the one to go for. You get everything you need, from parking sensors, a reverse camera and a full spare tyre, not a biscuit, and the niceties like cruise control, your wireless charger, wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.

The interior is nice, the seats don't feel cheap, and it's a sizeable crossover SUV. I do think it's a bit too close to the Grand Vitara, so Grand Vitara owners wouldn't see much of an upgrade.

In terms of power, I had the GL Auto, which has 76 kW (101 hp) and 137 Nm with a mild-hybrid battery. The battery helps in stop-start traffic and with the consumption. The powertrain is a bit weak for my liking, but then again, it's a Suzuki. It's an A-to-B car. I found overtaking needed a bit of calculation and timing because the lag is a bit much when you step on the throttle.

But who is buying a Suzuki for the power? You buy it for the consumption numbers. I averaged around 6.2 L/100 km for the week, mostly in the city. You can get numbers as low as 4.4 L/100 km on the highway, and the range adjusts with your driving. At one point, the car added 60 km to the range after driving around in traffic, which is impressive.

I see why Suzuki is a big name in SA and are doing well. For this price, you get a really great car. I know many aren't keen on the techy interiors we get now, so this will be right up your alley. It'll get you from point A to point B efficiently, with a great-quality infotainment screen that isn't reminiscent of a 55-inch flat screen, all the tech you need really, and a quality interior.

This car competes with the Haval Jolion, among others, which I then drove this week (more thoughts on that later), but the Suzuki is the better deal by far. Other cars to look out for in this segment would be the Toyota Urban Cruiser and Suzuki's own Grand Vitara, and from the Chinese, the Lepas L4 and Chery Tiggo Cross.

I say the Across comes out on top.

u/torquetechstuff — 8 days ago
▲ 139 r/CarTalkZA

Alfa Romeo Track Day spottings

Any Alfisti in here? Yesterday I was with Stellantis SA and some Alfa Romeo owners for a track day at Zwartkops Raceway. Got a few pics.

Also, got to go on track with the Alfa Romeo Junior (which I've had the pleasure now to do almost 1500km with), and a Stelvio QV with some downpipes. Stellantis SA actually race this Stelvio and it is sick!

*I see that I can only post 20 at a time, so I'll most more in a following post

u/torquetechstuff — 11 days ago
▲ 248 r/CarTalkZA

FuturExotics Showroom Pictures

I was at Zunaid Moti's showroom the other day. Here's what I saw

u/torquetechstuff — 12 days ago
▲ 5 r/CarTalkZA

Leapmotor C10 Review

I present to you the Leapmotor C10, a REEV, or in full, a range extender electric vehicle.

https://preview.redd.it/1won433pd5hh1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=54b34f480ca3fcbec0261e8cd079d016d65fccc9

Essentially, this means that it is an electric vehicle with a battery and electric motors that drive the car, but it also has an engine that extends the range of the battery. The engine never actually drives the car at all. It's always the electric motors working. The battery gives you a range of 175 km when full, while the additional fuel powering the 1.5-litre petrol engine gives you another 975 km, giving you a total claimed range of 1,150 km.

https://preview.redd.it/rfe30fsqb5hh1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0fabbf63f67850da7feb81bd97a7de9dd6adc7d

The car itself has quite a bit of a learning curve. It's one of those cars that you need to sit in for an hour and go through everything because everything is hidden in the screen. You can count the number of buttons in this car. Less than 10. The hazards are even by the roofline, so even the few buttons you get are in obscure places. You can't exactly change how your lights work with any toggle, you have to do that on the screen. Sure, you can have some of these functions ready for you with a few swipes, but I prefer a quick button, even if the screen can be used easily.

unlocking the car

key on the pad to start

Another thing, this car doesn't even come with a key. You get an NFC card that you have to tap on the driver's mirror to lock and unlock the car. To start the car, you place this card on a pad by the centre console, put your foot on the brake, and everything lights up. Only then can you remove that card, and the pad becomes a wireless charger.

https://preview.redd.it/e4v6r6hmc5hh1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7688764aa0008d4782838fd2e2c9c6df06f830bb

Cayenne-looking back

(new) Mercedes CLA-looking front

It's quite a comfortable ride. The seats are really soft, and there is a lot of rear space. Looks-wise, I think it doesn't have much of a personality. The front looks like the new Mercedes CLA, while the back looks like a Porsche Cayenne. The shape itself is soft. I'd just describe this car as one that looks like a bar of soap. Nothing wrong with it, just nothing special either. But then again, looks are subjective. I don't mind it. I think, though, that in the green I had it in, it looked better than I've seen it in white, especially because I had silver wheels as well.

https://preview.redd.it/4q2lsez6d5hh1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=501edac00c7f963cb792f7de371b7a5a5a598d18

Back to the range. They claim 1,150 km of range, which sounds ridiculous, but I got close to that. I would say I drove around 950 km. The car is great in the city because, essentially, it's an EV, but you get the benefits of being able to travel long distance when you need to. You can get away with using the battery as is and recharging every few days, never touching the fuel unless you go long distance, and that's how I used the car. On highway driving, the range diminishes a bit faster, but you can always toggle the engine to kick in and balance that with the battery. The fuel consumption was around 6.4 L/100 km doing long-distance travelling.

The driving experience is fine. The steering is light and great. It's not a rapid car, though it has a Sport mode. That just allows the engine to kick in and give the battery that extra boost. You get 158 kW and 320 Nm of torque, which is plenty, but by EV standards, it's not fast. I truly despise the ADAS features in this car. On the A-pillar, you have a sensor monitoring your eyes at all times, and it beeps so consistently. Of course, you can turn it off, but you have to remember to do this after every drive. Since I said everything is on the screen, if you forget, then you're forced to go through the menus as you're driving, and of course, it sees this and beeps at you until you finally turn it off. With all this tech in, they skimped out on the tech most people use the most: Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

https://preview.redd.it/bsigv95xd5hh1.jpg?width=3023&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4aadcff477424bbcc648a7fae2237cee7453ded3

I really like the charging experience. The 28.4 kWh battery charges quickly, but that obviously depends on the charger. I only ever used a 60 kW charger, and that would take around 45min to an hour to fully charge. You can have a nap mode where the sunroof visor closes, your seat reclines to its furthest position, and the screen plays some ambient sounds. Or you can watch YouTube or TikTok while you charge without having to connect a hotspot or anything.

At a price of R799,900, I think it's a fair price for what you get. You really have to want it, though, because the lack of a key and the very few buttons may be too much for most. But the fact that you essentially have an electric car that can travel long distances is great.

reddit.com
u/torquetechstuff — 18 days ago
▲ 28 r/CarTalkZA

Audi A5 Review

https://preview.redd.it/fx7saj5ny5gh1.jpg?width=5737&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8e8fbb99f7900887d0f6d32732957cdb8cec963

This car was launched in SA in August of last year, but I bet a bunch of you haven't seen it on the road. I've only seen it once, if I'm not counting the time I was driving it. That's because it's expensive and really makes no sense to buy one. This car has a base price of R1,123,000, and we all know how German base cars are way too ugly to leave as they are, so you're forced to spec them. It's also a sedan, and people seem to not care about sedans in favour of SUVs.

https://preview.redd.it/arsid64qx5gh1.jpg?width=6048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b1e95df3fb77c24e6eb9060f3e94030b8a31dc6a

I had the quattro S line, and with all the specs, it came up to R1,511,400. Things such as the panoramic glass roof with switchable transparency for R38,000, the Infotainment Package Pro for R44,000 (this is an additional infotainment screen for the passenger), the Tech Pro Package for a whopping R100,000 (this is basically your head-up display, 360-degree cameras, ADAS systems, electronic seat adjustment, and dual-zone climate control). Heck, the grey paint itself was a R14,000 option!

https://preview.redd.it/q4t6zvjux5gh1.jpg?width=5059&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9e792fcbc74236687196f10c1de8fec54acbb83a

Cons aside, you can't go wrong with German engineering. For the quattro S line, it has 268 HP (200 kW) and 400 Nm of torque, and it's sufficient. It's not a rapid car as the looks might suggest. I would describe it as an urban cruiser. It's a very comfortable drive, and the overtaking power is there when you need it. Gear changes are so smooth and unnoticeable. I genuinely enjoyed just cruising at 100, even on the highways. It's just a nice car to drive. Fuel consumption is great. I got as low as 6.4 L/100 km on the highway and averaged around 8 L/100 km in the city (Midrand traffic, that is). The interior is comfortable too. Mine was a tan colour, which I liked, and when you add a panoramic sunroof that doesn't open but changes the glass effect from opaque to transparent, you get the sense you're sitting in a huge living room.

https://preview.redd.it/2krkl770x5gh1.jpg?width=6048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=95f92e4447aa17d99090f50aa6d89e22d739bbee

https://preview.redd.it/pnuewk0ux5gh1.jpg?width=4971&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6f6b4a20dc254cdadfc8644df23cae71d8778863

There's a lot of tech. Some hate and some love the passenger display. Interested to hear what you guys think, but I don't mind it. It's helpful if you have a passenger and they can just pop in the navigation or change the music that way. The seats were heated and cooled (another option you pay for). Space at the back is decent. The boot opens hatchback style, so you really get a sense of space (445 L). People love the look of this car, and I have to say I do too. It's the most beautiful car I've had the pleasure of driving, and I think that's where the good stops. I cannot recommend it, even at the base price, because quite frankly, people will just gravitate towards the Chinese SUVs. For that price, you can get two top-spec SUVs with more or less the same tech, if not more, but you just don't get that German engineering.

https://preview.redd.it/mgxk0djoy5gh1.jpg?width=5177&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e0bbdb8b4ae64ab5a30373a63eb4562dc20509fc

reddit.com
u/torquetechstuff — 23 days ago
▲ 66 r/CarTalkZA

BYD Shark 6 Review

Hey guys, I'm an automotive journalist and I thought I'd start posting here as well.

I'd love to hear your opinions and answer questions about cars I'm driving and let you know about my experience.

To start, I just came from spending a week in the BYD Shark 6. For the heavy off roaders, you could fault it for not having as much of a towing capacity as your Hilux and Ranger, but besides that this is a great car.

The tech inside isn't that of a bakkie but coming from a Nissan Navara Warrior the week before, I felt it was an upgrade.

The most interesting part about this car is that its a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle). Fuel consumption, paired with the battery was great. (I will touch more on this alone in the next post because it deserves its own conversation).

Power is extreme. 430 HP (321 kw) and 650 Nm.

Let me know what else you'd like to know about the car

https://preview.redd.it/j926au59orfh1.jpg?width=5379&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9999b492841055fd6da4a56a1da29863bd6cae86

https://preview.redd.it/ggwj5nhyorfh1.jpg?width=5645&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3023efae1d95703f7f77b44d9e7842b657e29501

https://preview.redd.it/uu93ox1eprfh1.jpg?width=5759&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ba1f95e8983e279369766748f4d0583705f02056

reddit.com
u/torquetechstuff — 25 days ago
▲ 523 r/CarTalkZA

Supercar Guinness World Record Broken in SA (more pics)

As requested, here’s some more imagery from the day.

(most of these are snapshots from videos)

u/torquetechstuff — 1 month ago
▲ 242 r/CarTalkZA

Supercar Guinness World Record broken in SA today

I was at Kyalami for the Super Car Rhino Run where the Guinness World Record for the largest display of supercars was broken. Such a cool experience.

All this was also in support for orphaned rhinos.

From 458 Pistas, Lamborghini Temerarios, AMG GTs and even a Countach!

u/torquetechstuff — 1 month ago