Oops! I should have realised you’d yearn for yet another Lion

Peugeot 106. The current lot of Lions doing service for the NTSA is pretty to look at. PHOTO | COURTESY

What you need to know:

  • And who can blame you? The current lot of Lions doing service for the NTSA is pretty to look at — as I had indicated earlier — and one would be forgiven for lusting after them if one did not already know Peugeots and their reputation for fickleness.
  • Great cars to look at, great cars to drive, great cars for placing bets on unreliability.
  • Peugeot has had a line of GTI-branded cars that were pure manna for the discerning connoisseur helmsman; of particular note are the 106, 205 and 505 Turbo, and of course the 405 Mi16.

Dear Sir, 

You were spot on, man! I am, indeed, a farmer and not doing too badly.

I retired from the civil service under the “50 years rule”, and yes, I did leave city life for the farm. The wife abandoned the Prado along Mbagathi Way when it “refused” to go round a relatively slow bend downhill just past the Riara University pedestrian overpass.

And I find myself looking longingly at the Peugeots (most with GK plates) zooming around…Maybe, just maybe….

Patrick

 

Well, well, well! What have we here? I scored a perfect 10?

So you are a farmer (two points) and you are doing well (four). You left the city life for the farm (six) and you abandoned the Prado because of its less-than-stellar tarmac handling (eight) courtesy of the wife (10). I did not expect to be that accurate in my conjecture.

The one thing I did not see coming but should have is the Peugeot hang-up. You had already undergone this earlier, buying the 405 a while after the 504 left, with something else in between. I should have predicted you’d be back pining for another one.

And who can blame you? The current lot of Lions doing service for the NTSA is pretty to look at — as I had indicated earlier — and one would be forgiven for lusting after them if one did not already know Peugeots and their reputation for fickleness.

I am yet to drive one but I am really keen to. Perhaps their status of ill repute might be palliated by a fun and engaging drive experience. I don’t know, but looking at the past, there are signs of hope.

Peugeot has had a line of GTI-branded cars that were pure manna for the discerning connoisseur helmsman; of particular note are the 106, 205 and 505 Turbo, and of course the 405 Mi16. Great cars to look at, great cars to drive, great cars for placing bets on unreliability. It remains to be seen whether Urysia (the Peugeot sellers in Kenya) will play ball and hand over a set of keys or two, but let us see how this goes...

***** 

Hi,

I am an avid reader of your column. I would like you to review the Nissan Bluebird because I own a 2009 make and wherever I go, people say Nissans are not good cars. What’s your take, sir?

 

Well, word on the street is that the dashboard will melt if you park it in the sun. There seems to be some truth in this if you look around the interwebs.

Another word on the street is that rear legroom is more than excellent, and you don’t need the Internet for this, I will tell you right now: I have written here before that rear space in the Bluebird/Sylphy is very, very good. In fact, it is better than that in the new Mercedes-Benz E Klasse, and that is saying something. I have sat in both

***** 

JM,

I own an Audi A3 1.8 tfsi 2009 model. That thing “eats” engine oil like there is no tomorrow: one litre for about 1,000 kilometres.

Coupled with lack of spare parts and knowledgeable mechanics, it is making my hairline recede at an alarming rate! I can’t complain about the speed and looks, though.  I am thinking of trading it in for a Mitsubishi RVR 2010 model, a fitter version of Outlander really.

Do you think it’s a wise move?

What other trade-in options would you go for if you were in my shoes?

 

If I were in your shoes, I’d buy a Volkswagen Golf, specifically a GTI. The Golf is the closest thing to an A3 you can get on these shores. If anything, the A3 itself is one of the Golf’s many clones, alongside the Seat Leon and the Skoda Octavia. The proliferation of Rabbits in different guises and iterations means there is equally no shortage of experts who experiment with them. For such cars, if you walk on thin ice, you might as well tap dance. Ignore the whitewash poverty spec 1.4s and 1.6s and go for the cooking GTI. The R32 might be a little out of range for long-term use, but if you have the money, why not? YOLO.

***** 

Hi Baraza,

I want to buy a used Isuzu DMAX (20,000km mileage, KCL, 2016 model) vehicle. Please advise about its suitability for intensive field work for three months and normal use and intermittent field work thereafter.

It costs round Sh2.9 million

What about its resale value after a few years?

Peter

 

Sh2.9 million for a low mileage — effectively brand new — Isuzu DMAX sounds like a deal to me and you’d be unwise to walk away from it. The vehicle is rugged enough to withstand whatever you want to throw at it in those three months of intensity.

I don’t know what its resale value will be after a few years because much as I’m an amateur soothsaying gazer of crystal balls in my spare time, my talents cannot account for how you will treat the truck or who you will sell it to. Just use the car according to your needs and forget about resale value for the time being. “A few years” is a long way off; a lot of things could happen between now and then.

**** 

Dear Mr Baraza,

I am a ardent reader of your column since its inception and find it quite interesting.

I would be grateful for your help.

My problem is, I have a 1978 Mercedes Benz W123 series model with an electric sliding sunroof. The sliding roof is not working. Whenever I drive on an uneven tarmac road, there’s a noise that seems to come from the sliding roof.

Kindly let me know what the problem could be and where I can get it fixed. 

Kamaljeet Singh Matharu

 

Hello,

I know what the problem here is: the car is old. Thirty-nine years is more than enough time for an electric motor to work relentlessly without displaying signs of fatigue, regardless of the fact that it is on one of the most solidly built vehicles ever in automotive history. This is the general diagnosis.

As for the particular diagnosis, I have absolutely no idea what could be wrong with the sliding roof mechanism. Maybe the motor is jammed, maybe four decades of accumulated gunk have finally established themselves as too much of a veritable obstacle on the runners, maybe a fastener has rotted and/or rusted away, loosening everything... As I said, 39 years is long enough for any combination of things to happen, and the only way to diagnose, andtherefore solve this, is to see it in person. Now, given that I have declared several times  that I am not a mechanic, the most recent declaration being but a week ago....

Find a mech.

**** 

Hi Barasa,

I’ve being thinking of buying a V8 Petrol vehicle in some years to come. Among the cars I have been considering are a Landcruiser VX V8, ZX V8, Land Cruiser Sahara and a Range Rover Vogue V8. It will be a second-hand car in which I should be comfortable and relaxed when cruising at normal speed. I currently drive a Toyota Vanguard 240S.

As far as I know, Prados are not stable on the road compared with Range Rovers and Land Cruisers V8.

Please advise which one is the better vehicle between a Range Rover Vogue and a Land Cruiser V8 petrol.

Tom

 

Hello,

I like your ambition. Ignoring the fact that you are scouring the pre-owned market, you are aiming very high, my friend. Perhaps a little too high in the case of the Range Rover.

There is a reason why used Range Rovers are relatively cheap and that is because what you don’t pay for on the sticker price, you will pay for in maintenance. These cars are only good brand new; show them a few sweeps of the clock face and a few flips of the calendar pages then reality hits. It gets worse with newer models, at least with the Classic, most of the issues were centred on the body work. Contemporary models carry a constellation of electronic systems that will be a hard to put right once they log off their workstations, and they will at one point or another. Then there is the air suspension...

Now, the Landcruiser. Reliable to a fault but the 200 Series you are looking at is deeply flawed, so flawed that it might just turn out to be the swansong of the full-size Landcruiser line, leaving the Prado to battle it out with the competition. What flaws are these?

It is too big, too heavy, too thirsty, too expensive, too ostentatious, too complicated, too cumbersome and did I say it is too big? It is closer to a Cadillac Escalade than it is to its 100 Series predecessor, and for a marque that earned its stripes by conquering the uncharted and unmapped corners of God’s green Earth, this reads like something of a fail. Most of the people who buy it rarely take it off-road, where it should shine, and the few who do quickly discover that while its genetic talent is still discernible, a little dimensional discretion in the design phase would not have gone amiss, and it thus loses out to its predecessors. The Landcruiser is a parody of its former self.

It will also cost more than a Range Rover, but at least the odds of it going wrong at an inopportune moment are slim. Just don’t go too fast in it, there are limits to braking systems when asked to haul in three tonnes of metal.

***** 

Hey Baraza,

Kindly advise between these SUVs which is the best bet: A Range Rover, a Prado, and an Audi q7, all ranging between Sh4 million and  Sh5 million. My choice is the Audi q7 since it’s a German machine with style and the 2010 model is pretty good. 

Oude

 

The question is: best for what?

The Range Rover is best for posing (pretty), the Prado is best for off-road (rugged); the Q7, being unusual and slightly novel, is best for fooling the wilfully ignorant who know nothing about motor vehicles and have never read a single car review in their lives. Of these three, which is your intention?

*****

Hi Baraza,

I appreciate your vast knowledge of “machines”.

Now, I am  first-timer on the road to owning and driving a machine. The problem is, I don’t know which one. I have a family, so their comfort counts. I move around a bit, especially outside Nairobi, and also to my rural home once I a while. I am looking at comfort, ease of operation, moderate consumption, availability of spares, etc. So far friends have mentioned BMWs, the Toyota Vanguard, the RAV4, Harrier and Prado. Diesel vs petrol. Please advise.

Esther Okone

 

Get a petrol-powered RAV4. It might cede comfort levels to the Harrier, but it wins on ease of operation, consumption and availability of spares.

As a first timer, steer clear of the Prado because it has become apparent that Kenyans don’t know how to drive these things, and it makes me sad because the Prado is eventually going to be remembered as an industry icon on matters off-road, and this moment of honour will be marred by a loud Kenyan at the forefront talking smack about “deathtraps” and “lack of stability”.

Actually, get a Vanguard. It is a “RAV4 Plus”.

***** 

Dear Sir,

Many of the Toyota 2AZ-FE engine (RAV 4s and Harriers) have been lowering the oil level after about 1,000 kilometres from service or top ups. No leakage signs, no sign of oil being burnt from exhaust, oil doesn’t mix with coolant. What might b the problem or where does the oil go?

Paul

 

Well, it turns out that the 2AZ-FE was subject to a Limited Service Campaign (LSC) by the manufacturer for excessive oil consumption.

An LSC is the same as a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB), which is a lightweight version of a recall. Recalls are usually issued for safety defects.

The solution to the high oil consumption was replacement of the pistons, which is what you might have to do as well.

Further reading reveals that it is not the pistons themselves, but the piston rings that are at fault.