My new ride for the weekend and this week.

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JohanM
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My new ride for the weekend and this week.

Post by JohanM »

Well this happened on the weekend since I have booked the Rav4 in for service today. So we took a trip out to Clarens.

I have been loaned this ride to enjoy while the Rav is being serviced and the list being attended to.
IMG_6644.jpg
All I can say is what a drive this is. It devours mileage faster and easier than anything. The crawl control does work really great and even at this size it is really offroadable. You just need to learn the size first. Even 6 Adults can do reasonable trips in this vehicle. Power is good and the speed sensation is highly muted leading one to think it is kinda slow, but its fantastic. The adaptive cruise control and lane departure warnings work well. The aircon cooled front seats with built in fans make for a very relaxed and no sweat ride in any weather and yes they can heat also in the winter.. Rear aircon is great and all the passengers are equipped for a great ride in comfort.

The comfort and handling on this is great when travelling on the open road with winding curves and I managed to even push it a bit and it stays composed. through corners. The Clarens to Fouriesburg winding road has given me the place to push and test it a bit and it stays planted on the road. I even mamaged to have a quick "play" with a Pathfinder VX9 and lets just say, the driver of the Pathfinder did not like my pace in the turns going to Fouriesburg. Yes I pushed it a bit but with very little body roll and surefooted road manners this tank is on rails, despite the road surface being not perfect.

Whisper quiet cabin, loads of legroom allround and it parks easy with the cameras allround you can park it very accurate. the screen displays the vehicle location and the outlines of where the wheels will turn when turning the wheels and its spot on. I can park this within a tight parking with the aid of all cameras.

140km/h equals to about 2000rpm and the cruise control set you just have to keep awake and steer. It even brake when sensing danger or a vehicle ahead that is slower than you, but it learns how you drive and allow for overtaking and gets really good at it.

9km/l average fuel consumption for this vehicle loaded or not loaded, is really impressive. The KDSS system and the rest of the stability and traction control keeps this vehicle firm and responsive. Even when trying to get the rear to break away on a corrugated dirt road it will just step in and do whats needed, in a very muted, subtle way. Driving dirt road I was shocked to see me doing much more than the gravel road speed limit and yet it was not stressed or cumbersome in any way.

Would I buy it at a R1.4 Bar pricetag.....

You can bet that, if I had the money to pay for this car I would own it yesterday. Compared to a Range rover and a Discovery 4 and other vehicles, this fit my picture. This is the ultimate overland / Touring vehicle and its big enough with the seats folded up that I can Lie flat in the back making it a double bed in a way.

I have been spoiled now... But thankfully I will be able to drive this again on the next family weekend.
Johan Marais
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