Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2016 i Leisure Wheels

A FAMILY MEMBER was recently involved in a traffic accident when a minibus taxi decided to test the integral safety characteristics of her Honda Jazz by ramming the little hatch from behind at around 100km/h. The Honda handled the challenge most admirably, considering the rear door landed up where the rear seats used to preside. The driver had to be cut from the wreck, and using the jaws of life, the emergency personnel effectively cut the roof off, severing the vital A-pillars in the process. Amazingly though, the driver suffered only whiplash and minor bruising. Since all motoring matters in my extended family normally get referred my way, the task of finding a replacement vehicle, by default, landed on my doorstep. Not that I mind too much: I like the…

We just completed Voetspore Expedition #11. It was a reunion. We celebrated the 10 previous trips by redoing the first one with five Land Cruisers and 12 team members. This is a big group – double the size of all the previous excursions. Over the years, the team changed a little. Not all the guys could go on all the trips. When one was not available, he had to be replaced with someone who could fill his shoes. That is why, even though we normally travel as six guys in three vehicles, 16 men have had the opportunity to be a Voetspore team member since 2000. For this reunion trip, I tried to get as many of them together again. When I started planning the trip I was worried that…

MAHINDRA IS MOST IMPROVED Mahindra South Africa performed admirably during the annual dealer satisfaction survey conducted by the National Automobile Dealers’ Association of South Africa (NADA). Its dealers in the dealer survey acknowledged Mahindra as the Most Improved Passenger Brand, while it also received a Bronze Award for overall dealer satisfaction. Compared to the 2015 survey, Mahindra moved up eight places with an overall score of 65.7 percent. It showed the most improvement of all brands as far as Dealer Communication and Customer Focus were concerned. It also achieved a top five spot for Vehicle Distribution, and was among the top 10 brands in the Dealer Satisfaction category. “Our performance in the 2016 NADA Dealer Satisfaction Awards highlights just one of several strategies to ensure the consistent progress of the…

SOME say adventure only starts on a road that has never been mapped before. Pity, then, that most roads, passes and 4×4 trails have nowadays been mapped. But the term ‘adventure’ also has a much broader meaning. It ranges from the most severe 4×4 pass where death and destruction is a real possibility, all the way to a neatly maintained gravel road that leads to a beautiful restaurant with spectacular views of a stunning mountain range. Of course, there’s the wilder side, too. Like jumping out of a perfectly serviceable aeroplane with a piece of fabric strapped to your back. Or shark cage diving. Or abseiling down a waterfall. And so on. We’re big fans of all adventures, although we prefer for the great white sharks to stay in the…

THE critically wounded rand has hit car manufacturers and importers hard in recent times. Vehicle prices have escalated, new model introductions have been delayed and new car sales are dropping at an alarming rate. Essentially, a brand-new 4×4 is a luxury few Joe Soaps can afford these days. As a result, second-hand sales are escalating and buying habits are changing. These days you set a budget and see what you can get at the price, whether it’s a brand-new compact SUV, or a slightly used double-cab bakkie. Segments are a thing of the past and brand loyalty is for fools. With that in mind, we devised a simple test. We used our long-term Suzuki Jimny, which is a popular option for people who want to enter the 4×4 market with…

1. TOYOTA TUNDRA DUCATI TRANSPORTER Displayed at the 2008 SEMA Show, Toyota built this concept bakkie as a motorcycle transporter. Not just any motorcycle, though, it was designed specifically to carry (and to act as a support vehicle for) the Ducati Desmosedici RR – the only street-legal MotoGP bike ever produced. Toyota extended and strengthened the frame of a Tundra CrewMax pickup to support a 6.5-foot bed, designed to carry the Desmosedici. Additional features included a compressor and nitrogen tank, plus pop-up solar panels to deliver energy for the powering of tools. The bed-sides of the bakkie also flip up and reveal an extensive system of integrated tools and spares. To enhance performance, Toyota lowered the suspension and added a supercharger to the 5.7-litre V8 engine. Nice going T. 2.…

Riaan Manser manages to inspire you from the moment he says hello over a shoddy satellite phone connection from his position on a boat on the Pacific Ocean, somewhere between Hawaii and California. As we talk, he’s busy sipping on his morning coffee, which his wife, Vasti, just made for him. They’re on their honeymoon, but unlike other couples on honeymoon, they’re not sailing along the shore, snorkelling and stopping over at quaint coastal towns. No, Riaan and Vasti are rowing from California to Hawaii. They get up every morning at 8am and row until 8pm on a six-metre boat. Sounds strange, but honeymoons are supposed to be about bonding. And what better way to bond with your new life partner than spending a month with nothing but fish (and…

For the first time in history, this magazine has a Jaguar in it and it’s not because we’ve gone soft. Rather Jaguar has gone big… and built an SUV. At this point, you might be wondering why – and rightly so. What business does Jag have building SUVs? We already have a few of those to choose from last time we checked. They’re called Land Rovers, and they’re pretty fantastic across the board. To some, the F Pace will always be pure heresy, but a company can’t survive on the income of sedans and sports cars alone. The former is a dying breed and there are only so many people who can afford an F Type. Jag definitely had to get in on the SUV game if it still wanted…

Scott’s book features more than 1 000 photographs, across a diverse range of subjects: wildlife, landscapes, oceans, flowers, insects – and people who work in the parks. The photography is accompanied by inspirational writing which highlights why each park is so important, and includes both photographic and travel tips for visitors to each park. South Africa’s Wildest Places is a collector’s item, and a must-buy for anyone who cares about the country’s wildlife and wilderness. The book can be bought online at www.LoveWildAfrica.com for R890. SOMETIMES, I feel like I’m the luckiest person in the world. On a typical day, while some people are sitting in city traffic, I could be photographing lion in the Kalahari, tracking rhino with rangers or swimming with turtles. My good fortune is made more…

1.MIELIE. REALLY? Cooking mielies in a cooler box This one is simple and works like a dream. We gave it a try. You’ll need a cooler box big enough to hold the amount of mielies you’d like to prepare, the mielies and some boiling water. Method: 1. Place the mielies in the cooler box. 2. Boil some water, using a kettle or a fire when camping. 3. Cover the mielies with boiling water and close the lid. 4. Leave them to cook for 30 minutes. 2. HOT STONE MASSAGE Cooking chicken with a heated stone You’ll need a whole chicken, some salt, pepper and sage (fresh or dried). You’ll also need some heavy-duty aluminium foil, a Ziploc bag, a hessian sack, some dry grass or leaves and a large, smooth…

Planning a 4×4 off-road adventure to somewhere wet and wild? Or do you simply want to give your 4×4 that fit for purpose look? Few things do it better than a snorkel. Luckily, it’s a fairly easy installation that takes no more than three hours. To see how the professionals do it, we paid a visit to 4×4 Mega World in Edenvale to see how a snorkel is fitted to a Land Cruiser 79.…

“REN-NULT?" asked the border official, peering through the gap in the glass screen. “No, Re-nau,” said I. “Ren-nult?” said the border official. “Re-nau… Re-nau,” said I. “What? Ren-nult?” “Yes, that’s right… Ren-nult,” said I. Clearly, the friendly official was not going to budge, and the Duster would be listed as a ‘Ren-nult’ in the Botswana road permit records. Not that there was much time for debating the pronunciation of the French manufacturer’s name – we still had some way to go to reach Swakopmund, on the west coast of Namibia. There we would meet up with Werner Schaap of the Battle of the Dunes competition – essentially a bunch of 4×4 drivers who tackle the toughest Namib dunes and see who can make it up or over. That was exactly…

HEAR YE! HEAR YE! Went on an amazing overland trip or adventure? Snapped some high resolution photos along the way? Then send us your story and you stand a chance of winning some great camping gear, courtesy of Front Runner, if your story is published. The monthly prize, worth R2 685, includes a Front Runner Flip Pop Tent (two-person tent that pitches in seconds) as well as two of the company’s nifty Expander camping chairs. More information on these products at frontrunner.co.za or Tel: 011 466 0155. Please send your stories to editorial@leisurewheels.com. Damaraland. Wedged between Kaokoland in the north and the road between coastal Swakopmund and Windhoek, in the south, Damaraland is rugged and mostly remote. The name hails from the Damara people who lived here before being relocated…

THERE we were, at the McCarthy 4×4 Club’s clubhouse, east of Pretoria. We were part of a media group invited to compete in the #PajeroTough event. This 4×4 competition featured three sections, and was designed to really put the latest Mitsubishi limited edition model, the shorty Pajero Legend II, through its paces. And we’re not talking obstacles designed to highlight only the vehicle’s best attributes – no siree, Mitsubishi’s marketing and public relations departments put their money where their mouths are and devised some really tough 4×4 obstacles that would kill any soft-roader, and that would test even pukka 4×4s’ abilities to the maximum. You don’t often see a manufacturer or importer being so ballsy – we take our hats off to the company for putting so much faith in…

Earlier this year, TomTom released its annual Traffic Index report and once again, Cape Town was named the most congested city in South Africa. Johannesburg ended up in second place, East London in third. The average Capetonian will spend around 152 extra hours a year behind the wheel because of congestion. Jozi inhabitants aren’t far behind, spending an additional 134 hours per year stuck in traffic. As Kimberly ‘Sweet Brown’ Wilkins famously said, “Ain’t nobody got time for that.” We’d much rather spend our downtime at home than despondently staring at the bald patch of the guy driving in front of us for hours on end. That’s why all of us need navigation with live traffic updates. One simply enters the final destination into the navigation system and it finds…

Engine: 5.7-litre straight six diesel Capacity: 5675cc Power: 70-90kW Torque: 350Nm Gearbox: Four-speed manual with high and low range Weight: 3 300kg without modifications Drive system: Part-time 4WD Traction aids: None 0-100km/h: Not possible Top speed: About 90km/h. On a downhill MERCEDES-benz's Unimog was born in the ᾽40s with farming in mind. Designed as a multipurpose vehicle that could be used both in the fields to plough and to transport the farmer on the road, the first model was powered by a 19kW diesel engine. Fast-forward about 20 years to the ᾽60s – that’s when the Unimog 406 range was introduced. This model, also the focus of this writing, became a true 4×4 legend. We found this red firefighting unit at a company called Gigantic SA in Pretoria. This company’s…