Hello Baraza.
Thanks so much for your help in your Wednesday column. I have a new shape Nissan B15 but its seems quite thirsty. Someone told me to change the plugs and buy original ones from dealers. Is this the solution, considering it never misses service? And if so, where do I get them? Is there any other way of economising on fuel? Finally, there is an ECO sign on the dashboard, what is it and what is its work?
Munene
Yours is a strange car. Or you are the strange one? On the one hand you say fuel economy has gone to the dogs and on the other hand the car tells you that you are outdoing yourself saving fuel (the ECO light on your dashboard) all in the same breath. Which is which?
Don’t rush to swap parts in your car just so that it can cost Sh200 less in terms of fuel driving from Nairobi to Nyeri.
What does the swap cost, and how many trips will you make, saving Sh200 every time, before you can recoup the money you spent changing plugs? And what if you change plugs and there is no difference?
Just how bad is the fuel consumption?
First, try changing your driving style and go for a gentle approach, then get rid of any clutter in your car that you do not really need.
And, once in a while, use a matatu, especially in very bad traffic, or cut down on the trips you make. And do you really have to drive to Kikopey for meat with your friends every weekend? Stay home if you can — you will save thousands every year.
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Hello Baraza
I am interested in buying a Toyota Mark X. From the people you have interacted with, what views have they had about this vehicle?
I have read a lot of your articles and I am aware that the consumption will not be akin to that of a Premio.
No complaints so far, but give it time, they will surface eventually. And yes, the fuel consumption is not akin to that of a Premio, so start saving.
Join a chama if you can and every time your turn comes around, sink all that money into the gas tank… just kidding, the fuel consumption is not that bad, but it is higher than that of a Premio.
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Hi Baraza,
I am interested in purchasing a small 4×4 vehicle that I could use in my rural home as well as to ferry me to and from my office in town.
I have been thinking of any one of the following: Toyota Fielder/Kluger, Nissan X-Trail or Suzuki Vitara/Escudo (all second-hand).
Please advise me on the best in terms of price, fuel consumption, and maintenance.
M’Nchebere
For starters, the Fielder does not belong here, although it is the cheapest of the clique to buy and run. Whether it survives extended use off-road will depend on you, your mechanic, and how well roads are maintained in your home area.
As a general rule of thumb, from among the Kluger, X-Trail, and Vitara, the Kluger could be the priciest and the Vitara the cheapest.
Fuel consumption should not differ that much across the range (but approach the Kluger like a cat approaching a bath in this respect), so economy will be down to you driving like your grandma, shedding deadweight, keeping the windows shut, and the AC off.
From past experience, Vitaras have been hardy little things, so they will tolerate a lot more abuse before throwing in the towel compared to the rest.
Discovery (not the TV channel, but the court-like process) has led me to the knowledge that automatic X-Trails go through gearboxes with alarming speed, so you might want a manual on that front.
The Kluger does not seem cut out for hard use, but I cannot declare anything yet until I try one out.
For the second time:
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Hi Baraza,
My car is sucking wind from outside while at speeds above 50 km/h, producing a whistling sound from the AC vents on the dashboard.
The sound is always there irrespective of whether the vents are open or closed or whether the ventilation fan is on or off. It only stops when I reduce speed.
When I listen inside the engine compartment with the bonnet open when the car is standing still, there is no such noise at idle and/or when the engine is being revved.
Kindly advise me on what could be the problem as I have been unable to get a solution from the mechanics in my area.
What kind of car is it? Sometimes we motoring hacks talk about something called “build quality” and it entails, among other things, how long your car stays in one piece before panels and knobs start falling off, how easy it is to knock those parts off, panel gap tolerances and consistency, application of material (leather, aluminium, carbon-fibre, etc), and such other things.
It sounds like your car has issues with build quality. There is a leak somewhere, not that it is “sucking wind” as you so graciously put it; the weather is finding its way into your car. You may have to take it apart and patch up the leaks.
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Hi JM,
I am interested in importing a Toyota Corolla, Avensis, RAV4, or Previa from the UK with the D-4D engine. I am convinced that the fuel efficiency of the D-4D engine, being a common rail, should make it cheaper to run. What is your take on the aforementioned models and on availability of spare parts in Kenya?
The D-4D is quite economical, I agree, while at the same time imbuing some performance into the mix. That is the good part.
The bad part is that given the complexity of the kind of technology at work, and the size of some of the components at play (the fuel nozzles for starters), if and when the engine needs an overhaul you may have to buy a whole new engine because for the life of me I am yet to meet a single Kenyan who can fully service, strip, and reassemble a D-4. And that is what overhauling is all about.
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Hi Baraza,
I love Land Rover Freelanders and I want to own one soon. Please advise on its power, fuel consumption, efficiency and availability of spare parts. What is the major difference between the 2000cc and 1800cc, and which option is better, manual or auto?
Which Freelander in particular? Early versions of the first model had shortcomings in “build quality” and sometimes broke the 4WD transmission (the shaft to the rear axle sheared and rendered the car permanent FWD), among other things. It is a good car, though.
Performance can be lived with, economy is as expected from a car of this class, and there are enough Land Rover enthusiasts around to ensure that you will not be lacking spares any time soon. As for 1800cc vs 2000 cc, to be honest, there is not much difference in the real world, but generally, if you want economy, go 1.8, if you want power/performance, 2.0 is the way.
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Hi Baraza,
I have a 4WD Allion which has an “ECT snow” button. I have used it in mud, where the car responds slowly to throttle pressure and hence reduces skidding. Technically, how does it function and how different is it from “diff-lock”. Lastly, what are the pros and cons of the 4WD over the 2WD model in terms of performance, handling, thirst, and maintenance?
As I once explained, ECT is Electronically Controlled Transmission, but it is also tied in to some form of traction control. It is purely electronic and is actually some form of software that governs throttle response and gear shifts for the automatic transmission whereas diff-lock is mechanical and “locks” all the tyres so that they all rotate at the same speed with no slippage.
Now, 4WD vs 2WD. Performance-wise, it depends on a lot of things. The extra 4WD hardware might bog the car down with weight compared to the 2WD, but from a full-bore standing start, it has the advantage, seeing how torque is spread over four wheels instead of two, so wheel spin is minimised and traction is maximised.
4WDs are better for directional stability. This means that they are harder to turn and are sometimes prone to understeer.
But once they start turning, they turn better, owing to the grip levels available. Cars using advanced 4WD systems (like the Nissan GT-R and Lancer Evolution) use torque vectoring technology to achieve impossible cornering speeds and lateral G without understeer/oversteer/drift.
4WDs are marginally thirstier, again, because of weight. And they are harder to maintain because there are more things that can go wrong.
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Hi Baraza,
I am 21 years old and have a Nissan B15 auto (bought by my father in case you are wondering where I would get a car at this age).
My question is, what are the uses of gears 1 and 2 and when is the appropriate time to shift to these gears?
Felix
These gears are used when more power is needed, such as when overtaking. They can also be used in hill descent control when the foot brakes are not really needed.
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Hi,
I have used Subaru cars from Leon, Legacy, Impreza, and currently a Forester, since 2007.
I like everything about Subarus but I intend to change to a Toyota Noah or Voxy this festive season due to its space (but come January I will be back to Subarus).
My question is how, are these two models in terms of performance and fuel consumption compared to Subarus? Are there any other issues of concern in these models? Keep up the good work.
Gichovi
Why would you want to know about the performance of a van? How fast are you planning to drive it?
The consumption figures from Japanese test cycles are 10–15 kpl for the 3ZR engine vehicles.
Issues of concern? I don’t know of any but some of my acquaintances were lamenting about the diesel Voxy — they were not specific on just what exactly is wrong with it.
