Page 89 - Car South Africa (February 2020)

test

HONDA CIVIC RENAULT DUSTER 1,5 dCi
1,5T SPORT CVT 02 TECHROAD 4x2 EDC 05
/06
/03
Driver: Wilhelm Lutjeharms WilhelmL_CARmag Driver: Terence Steenkamp Terence_CARmag

1 503 km 6,75 L/100 km 4 401 km 6,01 L/100 km

+ low consumption + utility space; punchy engine…
approving infotainment system after every start …that likes to drink somewhat more than expected

A colleague recently borrowed the switch on the car. It is annoying and What with travelling for launches cise than with the other crossovers
Civic for an evening and, upon his I wish there was a way to termi- and being kept occupied by home I’ve mentioned. Worth keeping in
return, summed up the experience nate this setting. However, these renovations (don’t do it, tempting as mind if you have to regularly load
by saying: “It looks expensive, it is warnings are usually a result of it may be!), I didn’t spend as much and unload a pram, for example.
not flashy but tasteful and sensi- legislation in countries where its time in the Duster this month as I If you’ve noticed the Duster’s
ble.” I fully agree. products are sold rather than the would have liked. However, when average consumption steadily
Looking at its road test in Octo- fault of the manufacturer. I did jump behind the wheel, it climbing month by month, keep
ber 2016, we achieved an accelera- My experience of fixing and was often to the hardware store or in mind its first driver, Ian, has a
tion time of 0-100 km/h in only removing my son’s child seat nursery and that showed another predominantly highway-based
7,93 seconds. That is rather has been somewhat different to side to the Duster’s character. Drop commute where cars generally use
impressive. I rarely need to put Ryan’s to the left. The Honda feels the rear backrest and you free up less fuel, where mine includes a lot
my foot down to experience all spacious and I have a suspicion 1 242 litres of utility space. Not more urban traffic crawling. Still, an
the performance on offer but it’s a midsize crossover might have the Ford EcoSport, VW T-Cross nor average figure starting with a six is
welcoming to know it is available made my life somewhat harder. Haval H2 come close to mirroring higher than I would have expected
should I need it. The 60:40-split rear seats came the practicality on offer here (or my from a diesel-driven small crossover.
On the other hand – and it is in very handy when I recently team mates’ Mazda3 and Honda The Duster has a long trip on the
something small – as I’ve mentioned purchased an umbrella for the Civic, for that matter). horizon, which should include
before with some of the previous veranda. At well over two metres, it Having such a large loading bay enough steady-state cruising to dip
Hondas we’ve had on our fleet, fitted perfectly between the seats. means being able to pack curtain the consumption back into the fives.
you have to touch the screen to ac- Who said you need a bakkie? rods, a freestanding braai, big Ian mentioned it before but
knowledge “the driver is responsible I’m looking forward to several plants and hefty bags of potting one of my favourite things about
for the safe operation of this vehicle. holiday trips with the Honda before soil. That all in a fairly diminutive the Duster is its steering wheel. A
Use this system only when traffic the manufacturer arrives to pry the frame of 4,3 metres, remember. crucial point of contact so often ne-
conditions permit” every time you key from my hand. My only criticism is this lat- glected at the lower end of the mar-
est-generation Duster has a 45 mm ket, the Renault’s tiller is trimmed
We achieved a 0-100 km/h time higher load lip than the previous in tactile leather and its rim is just

of only 7,93 seconds model and lifting heavy items into the right diameter. It really enhanc-
the boot is a more strenuous exer-
es the driving experience.

CARmag.co.za CAR FEBRUARY 2020 87