Speaker 1: Join the conversation.
Speaker 2: Join the conversation you're.
Speaker 1: With Kate Talk the conversation turns out to All Things Motoring.
Speaker 1: That's the name of the TV show hosted by Ernest
Speaker 1: Page on Ignition TV. Here is also, of course a
Speaker 1: representative of Change Cars dot co dotza, and he's standing
Speaker 1: by to talk to us about what he's been driving,
Speaker 1: but more importantly to answer your questions about what you
Speaker 1: are or could be driving. So if you want to
Speaker 1: ask a question today, remember you can phone in on
Speaker 1: two one four four six O five sixty seven. You
Speaker 1: can also send us a WhatsApp to seven two five
Speaker 1: six seven one five six seven. Good to have you
Speaker 1: back with us.
Speaker 2: Ernest, fantastic to be by Potmanalaba. You said that more importantly,
Speaker 2: it's about what the listeners want to drive, because that's
Speaker 2: why my job exists. It's not about me driving the cause,
Speaker 2: it's about getting people into the car that they want
Speaker 2: to get into and figuring out if that's that I've.
Speaker 1: Got absolutely, and thank you in advance for all the
Speaker 1: help you give our listeners and making those decisions. We do, though,
Speaker 1: like to sort of live vicariously through you and your
Speaker 1: driving a little bit each week, So tell us what
Speaker 1: you've been driving this week.
Speaker 2: At the moment, I've got the M two three five BMW,
Speaker 2: and this is one of those situations where I'm not
Speaker 2: walking my opinion back let me start there. But what
Speaker 2: I am doing is I'm realizing that I might need
Speaker 2: to amend my opinion on this car. So I've driven
Speaker 2: the M one three five mostly, and then i spent
Speaker 2: a little bit of time with A two three five
Speaker 2: a couple of weeks ago. And BMW's just launched this
Speaker 2: car now and it's gotten interesting reviews worldwide. Basically, my
Speaker 2: conclusion and the conclusion of many others, was that it's
Speaker 2: not a traditional BMW. It doesn't feel like a traditional BMW,
Speaker 2: it doesn't drive like a traditional BMW. It's not three
Speaker 2: will drive. It's actually based on a front wheel drive platform,
Speaker 2: and the tops pick models, the one three fives, they
Speaker 2: come with four wheel drive. But the reason for that
Speaker 2: is because it's technically it's based on the Mini. It's
Speaker 2: based on the Mini chassis. It's based on because MENI
Speaker 2: and BMW. Basically it's the Mini's owned by BMW, so
Speaker 2: they get access to all the technology. So you're looking
Speaker 2: at a bat for the Toppix model, about nine h
Speaker 2: and fifty thousand for the Topsic model, which is again
Speaker 2: it's always a lot of money these days. I mean
Speaker 2: I always exclaim who buys these cars, but upon close
Speaker 2: inspect the price is very competitive when it comes to
Speaker 2: its nearest competitive which is the gulf Ar.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: So I'll parked the car in the driver the other
Speaker 2: day and while I've literally got a slight look of
Speaker 2: disdain on my face, my neighbor comes throwing over and
Speaker 2: he's this young guy, you know, cool like he's twenties,
Speaker 2: just like gets the world and it gets what's cool,
Speaker 2: and he says, I love this car. So I told him, look,
Speaker 2: we need to go for a spin. And we chat briefly,
Speaker 2: and I think where this car plays is that sort
Speaker 2: of thirty young, thirty audio old to someone that's making
Speaker 2: decent amounts of money once and is deciding between a
Speaker 2: golf R and a BMW, but maybe wants to go
Speaker 2: for a slightly more mature option, and that's where the
Speaker 2: BMW fits in. So, whether the BMW sells a lot
Speaker 2: of these cars or not, it's a good way for
Speaker 2: strategy wise. It seems like it's a good way for
Speaker 2: them to get more people into that specific BMW and
Speaker 2: potentially then get them into air quotes the real BMW's
Speaker 2: later on.
Speaker 1: Okay, so your labor loved it, even if you were
Speaker 1: on the fence a little bit. That's a very interesting
Speaker 1: comment when you say they have to be earning decent money.
Speaker 1: Just how much decent money does want earn to pay
Speaker 1: for this car?
Speaker 2: Okay, So letty, I need to work at the installments
Speaker 2: on that one. But it's basically a million, million Ran.
Speaker 2: So you're looking at a twenty thousand rand installment basically
Speaker 2: thereabout because it's a million RAN car effectively, So yeah,
Speaker 2: you're looking at about I think about twenty k all
Speaker 2: in with insurance, et cetera, et cetera, ettech. So, but again,
Speaker 2: some people might get this car as a company car.
Speaker 2: Some people might get this car on a lease of a
Speaker 2: BMW does have options for financing, which is I wouldn't
Speaker 2: say competitive. It makes the installment price a lot lower.
Speaker 2: I don't have those numbers in front of me right now,
Speaker 2: but they do make the installment prices a lot, a lot,
Speaker 2: a lot lower. However, I wouldn't necessarily recommend that pricing
Speaker 2: structure unless you're going to be doing a certain amount
Speaker 2: of mileage which is appropriate for that, or it's a
Speaker 2: company car and the company's paying a set amount every
Speaker 2: month and you want to get into the best possible
Speaker 2: car that you can.
Speaker 1: Okay, Okay, thanks for that. Okay. So that was the
Speaker 1: BMW M two three five. I believe you've also been
Speaker 1: playing with the new VWT Cross range.
Speaker 2: Yes, BWT Cross has been updated. It was a couple
Speaker 2: of months ago and they've launched a new entry level
Speaker 2: model for three hundred and ninety nine thousand. I'm a colleague,
Speaker 2: Jason Williams. You went to the event to go check
Speaker 2: out what was happening and the T Cross line. The
Speaker 2: pricing has remained very competitive even when they updated the vehicle.
Speaker 2: So now you can still get into the seventy kilowat
Speaker 2: manual version for just their hair under four hundred thousand
Speaker 2: and three hundred ninety nine thousand, and the top peck
Speaker 2: one goes for five hundred and forty three that's the
Speaker 2: eighty five killer what now. VW has been very clever
Speaker 2: about this because they know that this is their entry
Speaker 2: level suv and they've got lots and lots of competition
Speaker 2: in the space. So you do, however, get a manual
Speaker 2: gearbox with this, but you also get decent fuel consumption
Speaker 2: under under six liters one hundred claim the real world
Speaker 2: figures is about six point five. It's got Apple corplay
Speaker 2: and auto USB ports, it's got a nice entertainment system
Speaker 2: sixteen inch will central locking, child locks, et cetera. So
Speaker 2: the basic good stuff is all in there. But then
Speaker 2: when you look at the competition, of course, you look
Speaker 2: at something like the Cherry t Go four Pro, which
Speaker 2: maxes out at three hundred and eighty six thousand, which
Speaker 2: is less than the entry level, and then the Renokai
Speaker 2: Go one lead to Turbot, which I think it's not
Speaker 2: premium enough, that's at three hundred and twenty nine, and
Speaker 2: then of course the regular Haval Jullian one point five
Speaker 2: T top spick for just thirty thousand more, you're gonna
Speaker 2: get a fully loaded Haval Jullian. So a couple of
Speaker 2: years ago, the VWT Cross would have been the sensible choice,
Speaker 2: and I think it still is the sensible choice if
Speaker 2: you're not willing to risk it with one of the
Speaker 2: with a Valve or Cherry, which is not to say
Speaker 2: it is a risk I just think, you know, we're
Speaker 2: still at that point where there are still some questions
Speaker 2: being asked, and I'm starting to get some feedback on
Speaker 2: parts availability, with certain parts not being as easily obtainable.
Speaker 2: But I need to get more concrete evidence on that.
Speaker 2: But I did a review on a Handai. The other
Speaker 2: had had Tucson, and someone I know actually bought that car,
Speaker 2: and I can maybe get your input on this. Hyundai
Speaker 2: went from being the Korean Handa was the old Chinese
Speaker 2: cause basically just like before that the Japanese cause with
Speaker 2: the turn from the East kind of thing. But now
Speaker 2: Honda has become a trusted brand. And even though the
Speaker 2: pricing on that car is a little bit high, the
Speaker 2: person that I'm usedtill got it because they trusted the brand.
Speaker 2: What do you think of that?
Speaker 1: Yeah, I hear you. I've never driven one myself. I
Speaker 1: have to say that upfront, but I think you're right
Speaker 1: that the perception of the brand has sort of settled
Speaker 1: and solidified, and it's a very different perception today than
Speaker 1: it was just a couple of years ago. We're still
Speaker 1: a bit of an unknown factor. People were nervous about it.
Speaker 1: You kind of you were nervous, a little nervous about
Speaker 1: parts availability and servicing quality and all of that stuff
Speaker 1: going forward, and reliability and longevity. I think it's now
Speaker 1: had sufficient longevity that we could trust trust in the
Speaker 1: brand more. And you know, one hopes that the same
Speaker 1: will apply in five or six years time to the
Speaker 1: brands that right now we're feeling a little bit iffy about.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, and we at that we get into that
Speaker 2: crossover point now where GWM has been in the country
Speaker 2: for many, many years, and I think they are trusted brand.
Speaker 2: I've had some incidents, as I mentioned before, with people
Speaker 2: that own GW and BUCkies with the white Africans gentlemen
Speaker 2: said to me in a very strong Africans accent, it
Speaker 2: loved it. So you love these GW and Bucky. So
Speaker 2: that is starting to happen. But the sensible choice is
Speaker 2: still the VW T Crass starting at three ninety nine
Speaker 2: for the manual version.
Speaker 1: Okay, thank you so much for that feedback. Ernest page
Speaker 1: Dandy by now to take your calls and questions O
Speaker 1: two one four four six, O five six seven if
Speaker 1: you want to ring through, otherwise, pop through a WhatsApp,
Speaker 1: text or voice note to seven two five six seven
Speaker 1: one five six seven. Diane's call was more consumer than motoring,
Speaker 1: even though it relates to a cart. So Diane, we're
Speaker 1: going to call you back during Consumer Talk and Tyrone
Speaker 1: just confirming receipt of your question for Wendy. But if
Speaker 1: you'd like to speak to Ernest, please send your question
Speaker 1: through right now to O seven two five six seven
Speaker 1: one five six seven. Let's take a question that came
Speaker 1: in last week that we didn't get a chance to answer,
Speaker 1: and it was from Jackie who would like to know
Speaker 1: your opinion on the Proton one point five versus a
Speaker 1: t Go four.
Speaker 2: So the Proton one point five is the one point
Speaker 2: five turbo three cylinder engine and the Ti Go four
Speaker 2: is the one point five liter turbo four cylinder. Both
Speaker 2: of them make similar power, similar talk. But the Proton
Speaker 2: has got a seven speed DCT gearbox, which means that
Speaker 2: it's a conventional deal clutch gearbox versus the CBT and
Speaker 2: the Cherry Ti Go four, which not my favorite tub
Speaker 2: of gearbox, especially when you've got to call it a
Speaker 2: little bit of power. Then you start noticing the CBT,
Speaker 2: and I think the talk and the power in the
Speaker 2: Cherry Tig. It's quite up there. The Proton will and
Speaker 2: should use less fuel than the Cherry Tig, and I
Speaker 2: don't necessarily believe the claims of both of these manufacturers,
Speaker 2: so it would be something that you'd have to get
Speaker 2: real bold figures for. Unfortunately, I don't have any of
Speaker 2: those deal Bolt figures at the moment. Both of them
Speaker 2: have warranties of about five years, but the Cherry Tig's
Speaker 2: GO one hundred and fifty thousand kilometer warranty, and then
Speaker 2: of course there's that ten year one million k kilometer
Speaker 2: one million kilometer warranty on the engine, which that's gimmick key.
Speaker 2: If you're going to keep the car for a million ks,
Speaker 2: then you've got a warranty. The engine vituals service plan
Speaker 2: on the Proton is better than the on the Cherry Tig.
Speaker 2: Excuse me. The Proton does feel more premium inside with
Speaker 2: a lot more soft touch materials, but the ti Go,
Speaker 2: of course, especially the elite version tops Pick one, is
Speaker 2: going to be much much higher spect and it's also
Speaker 2: both be causse f ten point twenty five touch cream displays,
Speaker 2: where the Tig has a seven inch digital cluster and
Speaker 2: leave the seats so the t GO is quite a
Speaker 2: substantial amount less than the proton. So if money is
Speaker 2: the primary consideration, then yes, you're looking at about a
Speaker 2: sixty five thousand difference and you're paying that premium on
Speaker 2: the proton. I think protons still, They've been here before,
Speaker 2: but they are still. Was he trying getting a foothold
Speaker 2: in South Africa? I would just say my personal recommendation,
Speaker 2: I would probably go for the TIG on this one.
Speaker 1: Thank you very much, Jackie. I hope you were listening
Speaker 1: to hear that feedback and thanks for the help on
Speaker 1: that one. Ernest. Okay, let's see we've got a WhatsApp, Blanche.
Speaker 1: I'm afraid we can't assist with valuations live on air,
Speaker 1: but so I would advise you to rather go and
Speaker 1: just do some research on sites like change cars, dot co,
Speaker 1: dotja to get an idea of the comparative value of
Speaker 1: the vehicle that you are discussing. So let's rather move
Speaker 1: on to Dana. Dana would like your thoughts on the
Speaker 1: Persia two thousand and eight GT.
Speaker 2: Two thousand and eight GT. I spent some time with
Speaker 2: that car a while ago, and she's correcting saying that
Speaker 2: I used to call it the two double eight that's
Speaker 2: actually a two thousand and a GT. It's got the
Speaker 2: one point two liters three cylinder engine. There is a
Speaker 2: later model now, so I haven't driven this car in
Speaker 2: such a long time, and there are various iterations, so
Speaker 2: I think I'm want to walk away with this one
Speaker 2: and do some research. I am working with a client
Speaker 2: now that actually sells these cars as well, so I
Speaker 2: can get some inside info and maybe even get some
Speaker 2: pricing for us, so I can get more info, and
Speaker 2: then I'll come back to us next week with the
Speaker 2: detailed research on the future, because I haven't given one
Speaker 2: of these in ages.
Speaker 1: Okay, thank you so much for that, So Dana, please
Speaker 1: make sure you're listening next week for feedback on that question.
Speaker 1: Amanda has a follow up to one of your earlier comments.
Speaker 1: She is interested in how the Kia Sonnet models compared
Speaker 1: to the Cherry and the Toyota Cross that you've been discussing.
Speaker 2: So again, the Ka Sonnet dependable, solid care. I just
Speaker 2: feel like what my opinion is that it's generally underspect.
Speaker 2: It's got a decent sized boot of my three hundred
Speaker 2: and eighty five liters eighty five Killer Watts talkers, the
Speaker 2: one hundred and forty four Newtons, most of them have
Speaker 2: CVT gearboxes. If you're not going for the manual, it
Speaker 2: starts at two ninety nine, it ends off at about
Speaker 2: four hundred and eighty. The sensible choice, for sure, the
Speaker 2: sensible choice. Easy to drive, easy to live with. Everything
Speaker 2: works good, right, quality, sometimes a little bit firm. The
Speaker 2: visibility of the backs not the best in class, but
Speaker 2: again it's the same choice for me. Now. The main
Speaker 2: and we're getting a lot of these questions, the main
Speaker 2: consideration is how much spec do you want versus the
Speaker 2: sensible choice. That is the key a sonnet which will
Speaker 2: definitely not be as well inspect. But again, the manufacturers
Speaker 2: of being now being forced to play in the space
Speaker 2: where there are tons and tons of features, even on
Speaker 2: an entry level car. So that three hundred thousand, four
Speaker 2: hundred thousand grand space is the most difficult space to play. Now,
Speaker 2: if you're shopping in this, well, not difficult, but it's
Speaker 2: got the most options. For me, it's difficult because I've
Speaker 2: got to come up with good alternatives.
Speaker 1: Okay, thanks for that, Amanda. I hope there's some food
Speaker 1: for thought in there. Okay, I'm trying to digest a
Speaker 1: question from Dean. Let's come through with I think perhaps
Speaker 1: the spelling or autocorrectors not quite said what Dean was
Speaker 1: precisely meaning. But I think I'm getting the gist of
Speaker 1: it that Dean is wondering when there is going to
Speaker 1: be a shape update for the Suzuki Jimney three door.
Speaker 1: If I'm making head or tail of a somewhat confusing question,
Speaker 1: any comments on on on the on the styling of
Speaker 1: the Suzuki Jimney.
Speaker 2: I haven't heard anything about the chimney being facelifted. There's
Speaker 2: I'm looking online now, there doesn't seem to be any
Speaker 2: facelift discussions. There's just HD autel says there's I've just
Speaker 2: found an article on HD Auto desk. You can try
Speaker 2: them out, and they're talking about a features update which
Speaker 2: is ads TIC update, which means that you basically have
Speaker 2: drivers support systems for traffic recognition, break support, automatic braking
Speaker 2: and things like that. But it does seem like the
Speaker 2: design is going to stay. I changed it, and I
Speaker 2: think Suzuki knows that they're onto something with head Cliff
Speaker 2: and Jimney. Everybody loves the chimney that has one and
Speaker 2: to change the look on that car. I think it
Speaker 2: would be a risk. I think it should it's not.
Speaker 2: It's it's still fresh face. Let's do that way. It
Speaker 2: still looks cool and I think it will continue to
Speaker 2: look cool for quite a while longer. So don't missed
Speaker 2: with something that's a good sort of recipe. I think
Speaker 2: they're going to keep that card looking like at for
Speaker 2: a while. There's in my mind, there's no in my circle,
Speaker 2: there's no mention of an update on the looks on that.
Speaker 1: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I'm with you,
Speaker 1: I'm with you.
Speaker 2: And having said that, but if you do want to
Speaker 2: spruce up your chimney, there are so many off the
Speaker 2: market options available. But yeah, you can get lift kits,
Speaker 2: you get big wheels, you can get light covers, you
Speaker 2: can get through fras, so there's a lot of ways
Speaker 2: to make your jymney look cool and individual so Zuki
Speaker 2: is very much about individualization. They do sell some parts
Speaker 2: themselves in house, but there are also many companies in
Speaker 2: South Africa that do upgraded parts for the Suzuki jymney.
Speaker 1: Okay, so lots and lots of space to play with
Speaker 1: what you've already got. If you're getting bored with the look.
Speaker 1: I think they're still very cute and fresh. As you say, okay,
Speaker 1: I think we can squeeze in one more. And this
Speaker 1: is from Fran who is interested in the new golf
Speaker 1: and would like to know what other options should she
Speaker 1: be considering an the same class size and price capacity.
Speaker 2: As far as the golf goes, I've spoken to a
Speaker 2: couple of people, and I haven't driven it myself yet. Unfortunately,
Speaker 2: I was invited the Lords but couldn't make it, and
Speaker 2: the colleague of mine went through and it is still
Speaker 2: the good old fashioned, dependable VW. You know exactly what
Speaker 2: you're going to get. It's the same pleasant polo esque
Speaker 2: driving experience with extra space, but it's just not as
Speaker 2: relevant as it used to be, simply because the market
Speaker 2: is now looking at SUVs. But if you set on
Speaker 2: getting something like this, the starting price is five hundred
Speaker 2: and eighty thousand for the one point four life and
Speaker 2: goes up to a million round or so. But for
Speaker 2: the call we spoke about early on, which is the Golf,
Speaker 2: are other cass to consider would be the Honda Civic,
Speaker 2: a much better all rounder. Possibly it's a lot more refined. Also,
Speaker 2: maybe a little bit more modern looking, a bit larger
Speaker 2: than the Golf. Other option is the Mass the three
Speaker 2: one of the best looking cause in the segment, very
Speaker 2: underrated all Masters, or just blanket underrated Pugo three h
Speaker 2: eight if you want something of a bit of French flair,
Speaker 2: that's also an option starting at four eighty. But notice
Speaker 2: that these these cars will start at one hundred thousand
Speaker 2: and less than the Golf. And then the Toota Corolla
Speaker 2: Hatch bulletproof, Toota Corolla super efficient, well equipped, and also
Speaker 2: there's a hybrid version as well, which I think might
Speaker 2: be the pick of the bunch. And if you've got
Speaker 2: a bit of extra budget, then maybe look at something
Speaker 2: like the used Audi A three.
Speaker 1: Oh. Okay, fran there are lots of options for you
Speaker 1: to consider there. Thank you. I'm intrigued by what you
Speaker 1: just said about Mazda's being so underrated, Ernest. Why do
Speaker 1: you think they are? Is there is there history here
Speaker 1: of problems in the past that is still lurking in
Speaker 1: people's memory.
Speaker 2: I think a lot of it's got to do with
Speaker 2: marketing and the engine range. Firstly, let's start with the
Speaker 2: marketing side of things. They I believe you do need
Speaker 2: a Halo car on your fleet. They've gotten the rid
Speaker 2: of their Halo car, which is the NX five. They've
Speaker 2: now only got the hard top hotel version, which is
Speaker 2: not great, So you don't have that enthusiast sort of
Speaker 2: sub section of the market that's always mumbling about. Also,
Speaker 2: Masdas are and then they're pricing it's pretty decent their
Speaker 2: cause of well inspect, but the engines have let them
Speaker 2: down in the past. They've now started to bring in
Speaker 2: bigger engines, but I think MASDA might need to look
Speaker 2: at turbo charging down the line. But once you inside
Speaker 2: the car and you drive the car, and you experience
Speaker 2: a car, it's chic, it's stylish, it's not overly spect,
Speaker 2: but it's well inspect and I just think it's a
Speaker 2: good driving experience for someone that's thinking maybe something a
Speaker 2: little different.
Speaker 1: Okay, thanks so much for the explanation. So we're going
Speaker 1: to leave it there for today. But I just want
Speaker 1: to just say a reminder, if you've got a particularly
Speaker 1: complex question, or if you are wanting a comparison of
Speaker 1: multiple vehicles and competitors within a class, can I encourage
Speaker 1: you please to feel free to send that through in
Speaker 1: advance that we can brief Earnest to research it for
Speaker 1: you and give you same week feedback. You're very welcome
Speaker 1: to do that any time of the week. Just pop
Speaker 1: through an email to me on peperh at cape talk
Speaker 1: dot com co dot Sday and we'll brief Ernest to
Speaker 1: research for the following Wednesday so that you can get
Speaker 1: the quickest possible feedback. Danis, So we're going to do
Speaker 1: that for you for next week feedback on your question
Speaker 1: around the perso. But I just wanted to remind everybody
Speaker 1: that you very welcome to not wait until Wednesday and
Speaker 1: send your questions in advance. Ernest. We always appreciate the
Speaker 1: research you do for our listeners, and of course the
Speaker 1: hard work behind the wheel, the terrible job of testing
Speaker 1: all these cars. I know you hate it.
Speaker 2: It's a tough line, but someone's going to do it. Please.
Speaker 2: There was a cheeky answer from me, but I'm feeling
Speaker 2: cheeky today. Thanks so much for everything. Appreciate that.
Speaker 1: Thank you, and please drive safe. Feeds. We'll reach out
Speaker 1: again next week Wednesday. Ernest Page of Change Cars dot
Speaker 1: Co dot Surday