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| Loyiso Gumede, curator of the Albert Luthuli museum in Groutville with the Huyndai Atos, ideal for road tripping on a budget. |
SPARE a thought for Stanley Anderson, sales and operations director at Hyundai Automotive South Africa.
The last time he marketed the littlest car from Hyundai, the rand was at R6,50 to the U.S. dollar.
These days, you need over R14 to buy that “lil’ piece of paper coated in cholorophyll” that Ray Charles sung about, which means the little Atos these days costs quite a bit more to import from Korea — just shy of R160 k.
THE COMPETITORS
This price pits the Atos squarely against South Africa’s four most affordable hatches, namely the:
• Renault Kwid 1,0 Dynamique: R150,900 (50 kW, 91 Nm)
• Suzuki Celerio 1,0 GL: R158,400 (50 kW, 90 Nm)
• Datsun Go 1,2 MID: R158,400 (50 kW, 104 Nm)
• Hyundai Atos 1,1 Motion R159,900 (55 kW, 99 Nm)
• Tata Bolt 1,2 XMS: R159,995 (66 kW, 140 Nm)
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| Budget hatches allow budget road trips to places where 2+1 bunny chows are sold. Also 'rassians & chips'. |
TESTED ON SA’S WORST ROADS
Deon Sonnekus, general manager: corporate communications at Hyundai SA, pointed out Hyundai is only one rally away from winning the 2019 manufacturer’s title in the World Rally Championship.
The little Atos is not a rally racer — it weighs 866 kg, which gives it a power to weight ratio of only 63 Watts per kg. But the relatively heavier body also delivers a more planted ride than the Kwid, if not quite as spirited a drive as the Go.
This ride has been refined over 1,104 million kilometres of gruelling tests on Durban’s steep and winding tar roads, Piet Retief’s steep, rocky dirt roads, Nelspruit’s sand roads and in Johannesburg high altitude, slow-moving traffic. These tests and Hyundai’s rally-bred standards mean the Atos handles well, even when a handbrake turn is needed. (And at Wheels, we can always find a reason for a handbrake turn to be needed.)
WHERE THE MONEY WENT
Hyundai SA’s CEO Niall Lynch is confident the extras that Anderson had arm-wrestled the Koreans to add as standard in the Atos, will help the hatch to sell very well in the five-door, entry-level hatch — SA’s fastest selling car segment.
The latest sales figures back Lynch’s confidence. Over 230 Atos models have already been sold in KwaZulu-Natal in the two weeks before the official launch. This compares to average monthly sales of 190 for the Kwid and 286 for the Go.
Gideon Janse van Rensburg, operations director of HSA in KZN, puts these impressive sales figures down to three areas where the Atos trumps the competitors:
• a seven-year, 200,000 drivetrain warranty and a 1-year or 15,000km service plan;
• the latest in infotainment and touch screens; and
• solid build quality with two airbags and ABS.
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| A roadtrip that does not involve testing one of the ‘makowe’ mushrooms that are harvested during November and sold next to the N2 is just not proper. |
HOW THEY COMPARE
Among entry level hatches in SA, the Tata Bolt offers the most compelling buy on paper, with a two-year or 30 000 km service plan, a five-year or 100 000 km warranty and a willing 1,2 turbo that makes an impressive 140 Newtons. But Mzansi ain’t buying it.
This is because — as was the case with the three French cars in South Africa — fewer dealers offered poor service, which is a sure why to ruin a brand for a long time in a new market.
Renault’s saviour, Xavier Gobille, is now working his magic to fix the dealer problems to sell more Peugeot and Citroën vehicles in South Africa.
Tata does not yet have such brand rebuilding efforts, which is a shame, as the Bolt does offer its owners the toughest of tough from India.
The Celerio is another good offer, trumping the Atos with electric windows at the back and electric mirrors too. But the entry level Celerio lacks even an FM radio and Suzuki also saved on the service plan. This is exactly how the pensioners like it and why older buyers have helped Suzuki dealers achieve another record sales month in October.
That leaves the Renault Kwid and Datsun Go. That R9 k extra for the Atos compared to the entry level Kwid buys you a one-year, 15 000 km service plan, an infotainment system with touch screen as opposed to a radio with knobs, a multi-functional steering wheel that controls the audio and Bluetooth, and a body that is 7,5 cm wider. In a small car, 7,5 cm make a big difference for big people.
The Datsun Go is the closest rival for the Atos in terms of power, weight, size and infotainment, only missing out on the multifuntional steering wheel and the service plan that Hyundai offers.
On paper, there is very little to choose between the Atos and either the Go or Kwid, but on tar, or dirt, the littlest Hyundai’s extra shoulder room, heavier body and longer warranty add up to make the small Korean the smart money’s choice.
LIBRARIES
Motus, the group behind Hyundai, donates libraries, with like, actual books and actual qualified librarians. To date, 40 fully equipped libraries have been built in South Africa. For this reason alone, we heartily recommend Hyundai. |
| Ms Yvonne Tshepo Mosadi (left), human resources director of Hyundai Automotive South Africa, and Mr Niall Lynch (middle), CEO of Hyundai Automotive SA, unveils the plaque at the entrance of the new library that the company handed over to Libra Primary School in Lenasia. On the right is Mr Tyron Singaram, principal of Libra Primary School. |
