CAR CLINIC: Buying an SUV? It all boils down to horses or coins

Hi JM (M for mwalimu I guess because that is what you are — a teacher). Kudos for the great work you are doing. Kindly enlighten me about these ‘small’ SUVs (crossovers): Suzuki Jimny and Land Rover 110. I saw the Jimny competing very very well with proper SUVs like Land Rover 110. Is there anything special about the car? Can you recommend them instead of the fuel guzzlers?

The second question touches on the government. How do they come up with the car makes and models to purchase or use? Previously ‘they’ were using the VW Passats, but currently government officers are using Peugeot 508. The only thing I know about the 508 is that it was the car of the year in 2011. Of course, the Land Rover is a legacy from our colonial masters.

As a side note, just in case the government does not have an adviser relating to automobiles — like the Attorney General when it comes to legal matters — then you should be vetted for the position.

Kigera Samuel.

Hi Samuel,

The Jimny is an extremely capable little goat off-road, and will outshine the big dogs when the going gets military and the path gets increasingly gnarly. Their compact dimensions and low weight make them very handy off-roaders, and they will pussy-foot their way through muck that could swallow a Land Cruiser whole.

This last statement is not hyperbole. A few weeks ago, I was privileged to be invited to join a clique of off-road enthusiasts for a jaunt through the Ngong Hills. I had a shiny new Volkswagen Amarok for test from DT Dobie (more on that later). There were Land Rover Discos, Land Cruisers, Pajeros and some such hardware, but swimming among the sharks was a tiny little Jimny pickup trimmed and massaged into a mud-plugging, rock-eating wonder.

While all the other shiny expensive stuff got welded onto the landscape at one point or the other, this pint-sized hero did not put a foot wrong even once — and that includes traversing a crevasse that almost claimed the life of a Mitsubishi Shogun, and crossing a mud pit filled with enough sticky quagmire to swallow an entire Land Cruiser, which it proceeded to do in short notice.

The little Suzuki simply walked over all this nonsense at idle speed, as opposed to the struggling Land Cruisers bouncing off their limiters while wallowing in unacceptable defeat.

Would I recommend the Suzuki? Not quite yes, but also not quite no. The car is difficult to live with especially if you are coming from the lap of luxury that is a Toyota Land Cruiser. It is poorly specked (if at all), it is tiny, noisy, uncomfortable and seriously underpowered, more so for highway work.

The slabsidedness means crosswinds are a clear and present danger, especially now that you can’t outrun anything with that minuscule food blender under the bonnet that they call an engine. It is not an ideal everyday car.

However, fuel economy ranks among the newest hybrids. Off-road capability is at par with a teenage mountain goat. This makes it a perfect as a weekend tool for misadventures such as that cold, wet Sunday spent in the Ngong Hills.

There is a new one, by the way, and it looks more promising. It has a raft of new features, most of them focused around safety, but much as its DNA is immediately apparent, it is a whole new car. The interior belies its low cost of entry, as does technology such as automatic emergency braking.

CMC have been the purveyors of four-wheeled Suzukis ever since the earth was flat, but they are surprisingly quiet about this new 2018 model. I am deeply curious about it because the Japanese-language video I watched highlighting its features probably oversold it to me, but I am even more curious because the 2018 Jimny is exactly what the Mobius should have been but isn’t.

About the government … erm … I’m not one to comment on such matters because it is very easy to step on someone’s toes; someone who could get angry enough and has more resources than a social media rant at their disposal to make their displeasure known summarily to any offending “journalists”.

My assumption has always been the government boosts the local motoring industry by sampling vehicles from diverse dealerships. Of course being government, this is not just done willy-nilly but through issuance of tenders. And it is with that seven-letter word “tenders” that we shut this conversation down because it will not lead anywhere.

It should be fairly obvious by now that much as I would relish in the thought of being chief automotive adviser for GoK, I am not sure I can live with the pitfalls that come with the territory. The amount of negativity in the populace is shockingly high; we downplay and undermine each other’s achievements while highlighting wrongs, both real and perceived (case in point: one of my own buddies accused me of accepting brown envelopes for making the Polo Vivo Car Of The Year 2017 instead of the Range Rover Velar, despite my spending most of the 2,000-word quota I am allocated weekly explaining how a car for the 1% cannot possibly beat the most affordable People’s Car on sale right now for that award).

I have also been accused of “targeting” specific brands; to what end they do not say. This kind of thing is likely to get a lot worse if I get a position in government advising them on what cars to buy and which ones not to. I do not have the fortitude to dabble in such, and the security of my family is paramount! Thanks, but I’ll pass.

How dealers determine prices of used vehicles

Please accept my humble gratitude for the work you do on Car Clinic and Behind the Wheel. Thank you.

After reading your view on the reliability of Subaru (Daily Nation 16/5/2018), I have been looking at the second-hand Subaru Foresters for the years 2013-2015.

On Tradecarview website, I have seen three Singapore Foresters from 2013 and 2014 — with mileage below 80,000km — priced at half the price of their Japanese contemporaries. What is so essentially different with the Singapore cars?

Thanks. J Mumira

Hello,

There are a lot of things that go towards the selling price of a car, though on the face of it I'd expect the Singapore cars to cost more than their Japanese equivalents, not the other way round.

This is because Singapore has a rather high importation tax protocol for motor vehicles, making them quite expensive to buy new.

I don't expect depreciation on a Subaru Forester to be that extreme, even in Singapore.

Another difference could be stemming from the spec levels of the cars themselves, but again I don't expect this to affect price disparities by a factor of two, which is extremely high.

Have you compared the vehicles spec-for-spec?

Now a third aspect came to light courtesy of my infamous Facebook group. I cannot vouch for the veracity of this information, but I am bringing it up here because it raised an interesting point.

The poster says Singapore is a high humidity country and this climate wreaks havoc on a vehicle's inner workings, up to and including — but not limited to — electronics. It therefore follows that two identical used vehicles of similar vintage, one being Japanese and the other Singaporean, will have the latter cheaper because it has wonky humidity-packed electrics.

Like I said, it is a strange theorem and one I had never heard of or read about until last week.

If anyone out there can shed more (scientific) light on this, we will be very appreciative. If anyone can also explain thoroughly why Singaporean cars are cheaper rather than more expensive, we will appreciate that as well.

Carburettor engines are not the most efficient, but …

Hi Baraza,

I hope that is your name if I am not wrong. Anyway, thank you for the informative articles. At least every Wednesday I have something to wake up to and read before I get started.

Direct to my questions: Firstly, I am a great fun of old school. I am driving one at the moment — Mercedes W123 (Carburettor) — and I am considering buying it. It’s in great shape and I am told spare parts are readily available.

However, the issue is fuel consumption. Given a chance, would you buy it and what should I consider when buying? I hear they don’t break down easily, is it true? My dream car was Mercedes w124 (111 engine) but they are costly.

Secondly, I think you contradict yourself a lot. I guess that is why some women say men are complicated beings — I think you one of them.

One time when asked your opinion between SUVs — to be precise Toyota Prado — you said you would go for the Prado and gave it lots of positive reviews. However, on the next page, you go ahead and say it is one car you wouldn’t think of buying given its instability etc. So I am left wondering, which side are you? What is the best SUV you would go for given a price range of Sh3 million?

This may sound stupid but I see many SUVs, even brand new ones, raised so high and I wonder if the instability is caused by them being raised. Why then don’t they lower it or have a knob for adjustment, like the new Lexus 570?

Antony Karina.

Hi Karina,

Go ahead and dive right into the 123, but if fuel consumption is a problem, make it a collectible! Carburettor engines are not the most efficient, though their thirst can be circumvented by some fancy tuning and deft helmsmanship. Are you up for the challenge?

The 123 is a wise buy because the 124 has experienced surge pricing due to demand, yet the 123 is the rarer and older vehicle. 124s are overpriced, I agree. That is why I cajoled and manoeuvred an E34 into joining my family circle before those too price themselves out of range. BMW Owners’ Club members, wipe the smiles off your faces, you are still fair game.

I know it is easy to see my work as contradictory and a little befuddling, but there is something I always insist my readers should understand first before reaching for their pistols and coming for my head: context. Context is very important because it helps one understand where the writer is coming from and his perspective. So, context aside: I like Prados, a lot.

They are comfortable, capable, reliable, dependable and could quite possibly be all the car you ever need if you were to be limited to single vehicle ownerships only. That is why I am in the Land Cruiser group: coveting other men’s property and inspiring myself to work harder so that one day I can call myself a Land Cruiser owner too. I hope we are clear on that: I like Prados and I want one soon.

Then we now come in to context and the first question is: did I say I wouldn’t get one because it’s unstable or did I tell my inquisitor not to get one because it is unstable? There is a difference. The bottom line is a Prado is unstable, but that is by design. It needs to be tall with plenty of suspension travel for it to work properly off-road, which is exactly what it was invented for. The issue arises here: I know how to handle a Prado; I have done that many times.

Many Kenyans don’t, which explains why social media is chock full of rants against “unsafe” cars, demands for a recall or an outright ban on the model by people who want to palm off their ineptitude on something that is largely blame-free. These are the kind of people I ask to steer clear of Prados before they harm themselves or others.

Physics is a difficult subject which is why many people dropped it back in high school, but you cannot escape its laws. A Prado is not a performance car and should not be driven as such; get that into your thick skulls, lest natural selection plays its cruel hand in maintaining the balance of nature. Nature does not forgive incompetence.

For Sh3 million, there a number of SUVs you can get, the best of which of course is a turbodiesel J120, but only if you know how to drive a Prado. If you don’t then you could get a Surf for cheaper than Sh3 million. Same Prado platform but slightly better on-road handling. You could commit financial suicide and get a German like a Touareg but good luck with that.

Adjustable suspension is very expensive, which is why not many cars have them straight out of the factory; but your thinking is very correct: it widens a vehicle’s capabilities by a huge factor.

Land Rover has deployed this technology to devastating effect in their line-up such that they handle like sports cars on tarmac and can still dice with the rudest, most rudimentary hardcore rigs when the situation demands it. Perhaps this is what you should go for: a Land Rover Discovery 3 for that same Sh3 million. It will cost another Sh3 million in maintenance but it will not go belly up if you try and carve corners like a saloon car.

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