Hyundai ix35 1.7 CRDi

If you want to get from Johannesburg to Cape Town by road in as little time as possible, it may come as a surprise that you don't need a powerful sports car. A vehicle that can return exceptional fuel consumption, thereby reducing the number of stops on the way to the Mother City, is equally suited to this journey.

Cue Hyundai’s ix35, currently the best-selling compact SUV in the South African market (it often eclipses a staggering thousand units a month). Not that the vehicle needed a boost in appeal, but Hyundai SA has added an entry level turbo diesel model. Featuring a 1,7-litre powertrain, the newcomer provides a more cost-effective alternative to the 2,0 litre CRDi.

With 85 kW and 260 N.m of torque delivered to the front wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox, the ix35 1,7 CRDi’s party trick is miserly fuel consumption. Hyundai claims an impressive consumption figure of 5,3 litres/100 km of (only) 50 ppm diesel in the combined cycle. thanks to the lower torque maximum than the larger engined oil burner, this new car’s power delivery isn’t as peaky; torque arrives in a linear fashion as the maximum is developed between a lowly 1 250 and 2 750 r/min.

Hyundai SA provided us with a test unit a few weeks ahead of the model’s local introduction to undertake the same road trip that many South African families will be making later this month. With camera gear and bags loaded, lensman Kian Eriksen and I headed southwest from Gauteng along the N12 to the Cape.

The stop start nature of the N12 between OR Tambo and Kimberley left me pining for an automatic transmission, but once on the open road, hardly a shift was needed except to effect quick overtaking. Despite fighting a strong headwind between Johannesburg and Beaufort West, we managed an excellent tank range of 782 km. Plan your trip carefully and you could travel from the Big Smoke to the Big Chill with only one fuel stop.

Large tracts of the N12 and N1 have been resurfaced, so these byways proved no challenge but, even when we found ourselves of the beaten path and dodging goats, sheep and potholes in some of the smaller towns, the ix35 maintained a good level of composure.

It’s easy to see why the ix35 range has been such an unmitigated success: it has plenty of space, good comfort and a comprehensive line-up of engines. the new engine merely adds to a package that offers an option for most needs. It’s no wonder ix35s are such a common sight on our roads.