We tackle Mpumalanga with Suzuki and Engen
We took on the lovely Mpumalanga province in what turned out to be a great adventure full of surprises. When I say surprises, I mean how well the Suzuki Grand Vitara handled the journey.
We arrived at the Suzuki headquarters shortly after 6 a.m., and the atmosphere was palpable. We were all enthusiastic about the journey, and our first glance at the branded vehicles gave us goosebumps. We had one red Grand Vitara and two silver ones, and we were all eyeing the red one. After the draw, Greg was the lucky winner.
We grabbed our luggage and proceeded to Engen Linbro Park to fill up and, of course, stock up on the typical road trip food after picking our chariots. It had been an early morning for me, so I wanted a cup of tea and some doughnuts, Thankfully, there is a Steers tucked within the fuel station, so I was able to grab what I needed.
We travelled the N12 with all the cars and people "filled up," and the first thing I noticed was how pleasant the Grand Vitara's cabin was. While our other contributor, Jack, had attended the premiere on our behalf, it was a very other feeling actually trying it on my own, and what better way to do so than taking it on a road trip?
The Suzuki Grand Vitara we drove on our trip was powered by a 1.5-litre mild hybrid petrol engine with 76kW/136nm of torque; it was the Allgrip model, so power was sent to all four wheels, which would come in handy later in the trip when we took a short detour on gravel roads. Anyway, returning to the mild hybrid system, which is a first for Suzuki SA, and the 12V system that they've added to the engine is designed to aid with fuel efficiency, which it did throughout our journey. We were able to get numbers as low as 5.4L/100km, topping the claimed 5.6L/100km, and we weren't even attempting to be fuel efficient; after all, Engen was a fuel sponsor.
Tired of reading? Watch our Grand Adventure here.
We arrived at our first comfort stop after about 138 kilometres, and we stopped at Engen Del Judor to make sure everyone was still okay and to check on how we were doing fuel-wise. Everyone was still under the 6L/100km mark with ranges well over 400 kilometres, so we did not need to fuel up.
However, hunger had set in because we had not had breakfast, so we grabbed a few supplies at the Krispy Kream as well as the Wimpy that was there. The Engen fuel experts made sure our windscreens were clean, and after the meal, we hit the road for the 230-kilometer drive to Graskop.
The scenery was spectacular, and I believe Mpumalanga has some of the greatest roads in South Africa. The Grand Vitara also handled the journey admirably, and I believe the cabin is obviously a winner in this area. Wireless charging and app connection, leather seats, panoramic sunroof, and ample cargo room to fit practically everything. Anyway, when we got to Graskop Gorge, we conducted another fuel check, and everyone was slightly above 6L/100kms, which I assume was due to the inclines as we approached Graskop and the Vitara's engine being overworked. For whatever reason, the range was still well over 300km, but we weren't complaining.
Fortunately, we had pre-booked and paid for our entrance and activity online, so it was a smooth entry into the Gorge and all we had to do was receive our armbands and proceed to our activity, which was Ziplining as we had all chickened out on the Big Swing. Mpho would later back out of the Ziplining after viewing the views at the Gorge, but Greg and I were unfazed. After our activity and lunch, we headed to our accommodation which was a 25-minute drive into Hazyview however the roads were riddled with potholes.
The bumpy terrain was handled well by the Grand Vitara and having All Terrain rubber fitted on also made it better. The all-terrain rubber would prove once again handy on the little gravel detour we took in White River however this was never going to be a problem for the the Grand Vitara Allgrip.
Overall, the Grand Vitara proved to be an amazing companion over the 800 km round trip with the biggest shock coming n on just how fuel-efficient it was.
