Leisure Wheels

HERE at Leisure Wheels we have done a number of comparison tests over the years. These tests often comprise going on a trip where we will drive the competitors back to back on similar terrain. The team has years of experience testing vehicles and we

Email your views to editorial@leisurewheels.com or submit them via our Facebook page or the website at www.leisurewheels.co.za. Please supply your postal address, in case you win a prize. WINNING LETTER I refer to the article about your Renault Duste

Thirty years ago, this was the ideal holiday destination for the adventurous traveller. But crime, the lack of infrastructure and degeneration of the region made us forget this piece of paradise. Perhaps it is time to return. Port St Johns, the unoff

The pre-facelift Haval H2 played a major role in the rocket-like ascension of the brand perfectly averaging around 400 units a month. And if first impressions are anything to go by, Haval is going to sell even more of this recently revamped model. Ha

True Price, a website aimed at providing consumers with an accurate assessment of their car’s value, recently conducted the first-ever study of annual winners in the resale value stakes. “We decided to analyse which 2018 model year vehicles achieved

What started as an open invite on our website for families to compete in the Isuzu Great Adventure Series (GAS) ended in 20 117 entries, six semi-final events and one grand finale hosted last month. The GAS Series came full circle. Our first semi-fin

LAST year, we included a Mahindra Pik Up 2.2CRDe 4×4 Karoo in a subjective double cab bakkie shootout and the Indian lorry caused a storm when it beat some more fancied mainstream bakkies in the lower half of the field. So we included it here again,

JUST over 27 metres. That’s nearly the length of a basketball court. It’s also the difference in braking distance from 100km/h to standstill between two bakkies, with a 500kg load on the ‘bak.’ A crucial bit of information, you’d agree, if safety is

THERE’S a sign next to the main road, near the Free State town of Frankfort. Put up by the local dealer in town, it states, inter alia: “This is Isuzu country.” Indeed, in that part of the country there are probably thousands of Isuzu farm bakkies ru

MERCEDES-BENZ’S X-Class bakkie was, as part of costsaving, based on and developed around Nissan’s Navara. Merc’s engineers took a Navara chassis and drivetrain (including the Nissan’s 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel engine and seven-speed gearbox), updat

YES, there are two Ford Rangers in this test. That’s because, even though they’re both Rangers, they’re as different as night and day. The Wildtrak is all about luxury, safety and refinement. It’s also about carrying a load (of 760kg) courtesy of a w

IMAGINE how much money some manufacturers would pay if the Toyota’s Hilux’s sales performance secrets could be bottled, and re-used as a quick-fix solution. Thing is, the Hilux’s legacy has been five decades in the making, a reputation that money can

KARMA has a fascinating way of completing circles. Ten years ago, when Volkswagen launched the Amarok with a two-litre turbodiesel mill, some Ford Ranger fans were quick to point out that only Coke, milk and the Amarok came in two-litre formats. In 2

WE call it ‘the GTI’. That’s because this bakkie can sprint from 0–100km/h faster than most hot hatches. In-gear acceleration is another virtue. Stand on the go-faster pedal, and this Volksie shoots forward like a, well… like a GTI. So we knew it was

No other brand enjoys the same level of reverence in Southern Africa. You can’t really go far wrong with a Toyota badge. The nod went to VW’s 3.0TDI V6 engine. With up to 180kW and 550Nm of torque this engine is not only able to propel the Amarok fo

BY THE TIME I got to the small Free State town of Excelsior I’d already clocked up over 1 200km in the new Isuzu MU-X. Starting in the Cape, I’d taken a roundabout Garden Route trip, overnighting in De Vlugt on Prince Alfred’s Pass and then swung nor

When Tesla’s Elon Musk revealed this truck to the world, the vast majority of people following the launch on the internet firmly believed the eccentric billionaire was playing a joke. And for good reason. Resembling something drawn by a six-year-old

THE Volvo XC40 started racking up awards almost immediately after it was launched. It was named the Car of the Year by numerous prestigious publications, after which it won the European Car of the Year title. Armed with a blank cheque from the Geely

THE journey that got us to our bakkie of the year verdict was fun, daunting, memorable, eye-opening and, at times, exhausting. Watching all of these cars perform the various tests and having the opportunity to drive them back to back for more than a

‘BE PREPARED’ is the motto of the boy scouts but it may as well be for anyone planning a car journey of any significant distance in South Africa. You only really begin to understand how dangerous our roads are when you travel overseas and you see tha

We’ve really been looking forward to spending a wonderful evening in one of Kam’Bati River Resort’s permanent tents where you are promised fivestar treatment. Upon arrival, we were welcomed with open arms and shown to our tent. The hot tub was alread

MAHINDRA South Africa kicked off 2020 on an early high by introducing a brand new flagship to the ever-popular Mahindra Pik Up range. The all new Mahindra Pik Up Automatic will be available on dealership floors as a double cab model in top-of-the-ran

“We were flat-out in sixth gear, and I was watching the Mini in the mirrors, coming closer, and closer… finally, it passed us, and we couldn’t do anything about it.” These words from two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso, driving for the Toyo

JOHAN Marais is the CEO of the African Snakebite Institute (ASI). He is the former curator of both FitzSimons’ Snake Park at Durban and Transvaal Snake Park in Halfway House, has served on the Crocodile Specialist Group of IUCN, was chairman of the H

WE spent the holiday period behind the wheel of the T-Cross and were curious to see if its compact size and small power plant could cope with the rigours of holiday travel. The T-Cross has presence way above its price category. Taking inspiration fro

WHENEVER one of our long-term vehicles goes for a service, we try to be as incognito as possible for obvious reasons. The whole idea behind a long-term vehicle is to experience the car like a regular owner would. An annual service plays a huge role i

IT has been a busy time for our Isuzu D-Max 4×4. In between Christmas shopping and taking garden refuse to the dump site, she did duty on the Trans Agulhas Inflatable Boat Race. This is no ordinary boat race, this is the world’s toughest inflatable b

IF you’re going to be using your vehicle in a way that it is more susceptible to scratches and impacts – you know, the kind of stuff that bakkies and SUVs are designed for – then it might be a good idea to invest in a second layer of paint protection

THE year 2020 will herald a new wave of activity at Mahindra’s assembly plant and its dealer network to support the model growth. This phase kicks off shortly after Mahindra was recognised as South Africa’s fastest growing brand for 2019. According t

IN the late ’70s, the quickest off-road racers were the Class 1 Unlimited Buggies that used suspension from a Volkswagen Beetle. This only afforded them around 250mm of suspension travel while propulsion was via a modified Type 1 Beetle engine, incre