You’ve no doubt read many an article listing the fastest cars in the world. But what about the slowest?
Well, we’ve trawled through the statistics to pick out the ten new vehicles with the lowest top speeds, currently on sale in South Africa. All of them, though, are capable of exceeding the national speed limit.
For the purposes of this article, we’re not too worried about 0-100 km/h acceleration times. No, instead we’re going to focus on top speed (as claimed by the manufacturer). For the record, we’ve excluded commercial vehicles (so you’ll find no bakkies on this list), choosing to limit the pool to passenger vehicles…
1=. Mahindra Thar 2,5 CDRe – 135 km/h
It’s a two-way tie for the ignominious title of South Africa’s slowest new passenger vehicle. First up is the Mahindra Thar, which may feel somewhat commercial to drive, but is actually classed as a two-seater SUV. And at least it can claim to be the country’s cheapest 4×4 SUV with low-range, with its 2,5-litre turbo-diesel heart making 79 kW and 247 N.m…
1=. Suzuki Jimny 1,3 auto – 135 km/h
Suzuki’s plucky little off-roader also isn’t the fastest thing on tar, with its 1,3-litre naturally aspirated petrol mill worth just 63 kW and 110 N.m. Equipped with an old-school four-speed automatic transmission, the Jimny tops out at 135 km/h (the manual version, meanwhile, goes 10 km/h higher).
3. Chery QQ3 0,8 – 138 km/h
One of the cheapest new cars in SA is also one of the slowest. Equipped with a tiny three-cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine, the base QQ3 takes somewhere in the region of 20 seconds to reach three figures. A 1,1-litre four-pot that tops out at 160 km/h is also available.
4=. Honda Brio 1,2 – 140 km/h
The Honda Brio doesn’t weigh very much, which means its 1,2-litre four-cylinder powerplant feels more than sufficient round town. But if you were to take it down a long runway, you’d struggle to touch 140 km/h…
4=. Mahindra KUV100 1,2 G80 K8 – 140 km/h
The second Mahindra to make the list, this particular KUV100 employs a petrol three-pot worth 61 kW and 115 N.m. A turbo-diesel engine of the same capacity is also available, although it’s not clear whether this is any quicker.
6. Nissan Leaf – 144km/h
Ah, an all-electric car. Yes, the Nissan Leaf has oodles of instant torque on tap thanks to its electric powertrain, but it runs out of oomph comparatively early. Anyway, who would want to drain their battery (and thus range) with top-end runs?
7. Suzuki Celerio 1,0 – 145 km/h
Powered by a 50 kW/90 N.m naturally aspirated triple, the little Celerio clearly isn’t built for speed. Interestingly, however, specifying the automatic transmission sees the claimed top speed figure rise some 10 km/h.
8. Hyundai i10 1,1 Motion auto – 146 km/h
Equipped with a self-shifting gearbox, the Hyundai i10 – which lacks ABS – feels most at home in the city, where it can trundle round at fairly low speeds. The manual version, for the record, stretches its legs to 153 km/h.
9=. BMW i3 – 150 km/h
Yes, another battery-powered car. Undoubtedly the fastest accelerating vehicle to 100 km/h on this list (at less than eight seconds), the BMW i3 reaches its peak at 150 km/h. Predictably, it’s also the most expensive here.
9=. Tata Vista 1,4 Ini Bounce – 150 km/h
This budget five-door hatchback employs a 1,4-litre petrol mill sending 55 kW and 114 N.m to the front wheels via a five-speed manual transmission. And it does without airbags and ABS…
Also read:
- 5 cheapest rear-wheel-drive cars in South Africa
- 5 double-cab bakkies coming to South Africa in 2017
- 7 most fuel-efficient double-cab bakkies in SA
- 6 most powerful naturally aspirated new cars in SA
- 5 cheapest new cars in SA with 200 kW or more
- 5 most powerful manual cars you can buy new in SA
- 5 double-cab bakkies that make the most torque…
- 5 bakkies we think South Africa would go crazy for
- 5 of the most blatant copycat cars out of China
- 5 big bakkies South Africa might want but can’t have
- 5 most expensive double-cab bakkies in South Africa
- 5 cheapest automatics on SA’s new vehicle market
- South Africa’s 5 cheapest vehicles with low-range
- 5 biggest gas-guzzlers on SA’s new vehicle market
- 5 most fuel-efficient cars we’ve recently tested
- 7 most fuel-efficient non-hybrid petrol cars in SA
- 5 most fuel-efficient non-hybrid diesel cars in SA
