Hi Baraza, please review the Honda Vezel Hybrid

Hi Baraza,

I am an avid reader of your column, keep up the good work. I am interested in buying the Honda Vezel Hybrid (1.5l) 2015 model. Would you mind reviewing this car in terms of maintenance and robustness especially during off road trips and fuel consumption?

Kevin

Hi Kevin,

The Vezel is not a very common car around here, so there will be a lot of inferences and guesstimates about it, but educated ones.

Maintenance: It is a Honda, which means it is reliable. But it is also a Honda, the brand where small four-cylinder hatchbacks use the same number of spark plugs as gigantic V8 monsters. So, while it may not break down often, if and when it does it may not be cheap to put right. Major service may also be a bit of a pain. It is also a hybrid, which means it is complicated...VERY complicated. It uses the standard petrol engine which runs on the non-standard Atkinson combustion cycle combined with an electric motor. That already is fearsome enough before we bring into the picture something called the "Sport Hybrid i-DCD" which is a truncation for intelligent dual clutch drive. Then there are the lithium ion batteries which have seen seven years of use between the year of manufacture (2015) and now. They are dangerously near the end of their productive life and they are painfully expensive to replace.

Robustness: well, the Vezel was designed for mild use, perhaps a mix of mall-crawling, suburban stalking and a bit of inner city assault. You don't need a robust vehicle for this kind of work, unless bank robberies are your forte and a getaway vehicle is necessary. It therefore follows that the Vezel isn't as heavily built as a Landcruiser

Off-road: the Vezel isn't built like a Landcruiser, so don't encumber it with tasks meant for a Landcruiser, it will not handle them that well. It may have all-wheel drive, but greenlaning is not why all the wheels are powered. Just forget about that.

Fuel economy: the car should be capable of 27km/l - allegedly. Whether or not you actually attain this figure is entirely dependent on how you, and where you drive, and from the description given about that i-DCD hybrid system, it is more of an on-demand performance enhancer than a substitute player for petrol power. Expect 20km/l more realistically.

Demystify these misconceptions about the Nissan Sylphy CVT

Jambo Barasa,

There are too many misconceptions out here regarding the transmission of the Nissan Sylphy 2014 1.8L CVT: It overheats and eventually breaks down, etc. Does the vehicle require installation of a cooler as I've read elsewhere? If so, at how much? Apart from the regular servicing, what else needs to be done to maintain the vehicle's transmission? Please help demystify this vehicle's transmission.

Baba Ethan

Baba Ethan,

Yes, the Sylphy CVT does have transmission issues centered around heat and yes, the installation of an aftermarket cooler can help alleviate this problem.

I don't know the costs involved since I do not buy cars in which the customer assists the manufacturer in engineering their vehicle through paid-for beta testing. Apart from proper service, alleviating CVT problems that stem from overheating comes down to two things:

1. Avoid long distance driving, but if you cannot, then give yourself plenty of breaks, breaks long enough to allow the CVT to cool considerably between hauls.

2. Install the aftermarket transmission cooler as recommended in the forums

I want to upgrade my Toyota NZE with a Nissan Sylphy…

Dear Baraza

First is to appreciate the good service you are providing Kenyans regarding motoring. Initially, we depended on the mechanics to give us the pros and cons.

I am currently using a Toyota NZE which has served me well for the last four years. My plan is to upgrade to a Nissan Sylphy. I do 80kms daily, week days.

Please advise.

Benson

Hi Benson,

With the answer to the question above in mind, the question is: do you really want to go down that path, with this new knowledge? Anyway, 80 kilometers daily is nothing extreme, so your CVT should not worry about cooking itself, but... would you want to drive a car that you know will fail under certain conditions, conditions which other cars (such as your current NZE) can tackle hassle-free and with relative ease?

Does a diesel engine make sense on a small car?

Greetings Baraza,

I am a new reader of your column. I must have missed a lot because I am the 'vehicles person'. Most of my peers ask about cars from me, maybe because I acquired a kasmall car when we were still in school trying to make sense of what we wanted to be. The car has miraculously been moving without fail to date.

Now, there is this one question I am never able to answer with facts - diesel or petrol for a small car? Why on earth should there be a

powered by diesel? My old school knowledge tells me that diesel engines are for the heavy vehicles, the like of the Prado and double cabs. You may have reviewed this earlier but please welcome me with facts on diesel engines on 'normal' saloon cars. Do they bear any advantage above their petrol peers? I’m looking to purchase a Mazda Atenza. Should I go for diesel or petrol? I am aiming for the best power on the road and some savings on expenditure in maintenance.

Kabura

Hi Kabura,

So you are new to this column, huh? Fear not, there is a chance at redemption. You see, I have been writing this here article for the past 11 years, and much as you missed a decade's worth and change of my high level output, you can still catch up. I am selling almanacs of Car Clinic, arranged in annual compilations, on my website, so click on motoringpressagency.com and look around the shop to see what I have on offer.

I too have never been a believer in small diesel engines. Diesel engines sell themselves on two fronts: unmatched torque and outstanding fuel economy, however, to eke out any semblance of torque from a small diesel requires the use of a turbocharger (or two) and this is where we have a problem.

There is something called boost threshold, and this is the engine speed (rpm) at which the turbocharger comes into play. To make the turbo work properly and to the maximum, fairly high boost thresholds are applied, and given the tendency of small diesels to use big turbos means boost comes in a large lump that causes the vehicle to surge under throttle. Now, diesel engines have a very narrow power band. This in turn means that even in the absence of a turbo, the power comes in a brief surge that quickly dies away once the rpm band is exceeded.

You may or may not see where I'm going with this, but the essence is: small diesel engines are fairly annoying to drive and can even be embarrassing in certain instances. The pickup is a bit slow, then once the turbo kicks in, the vehicle lunges forward. This happens through the gears, in every gear. It is more pronounced in a vehicle with a manual transmission whereby constant calculation and a keen eye on the tachometer are necessary steps for a semblance of smooth progress, otherwise forward motion will be jerky and lacking in finesse.

Overspooling: this is a problem that was noticed more with small European diesel engines - the sector that popularised this concept in the first place (hi Volkswagen and Peugeot). The small engine - made so in the interests of saving weight - runs a single turbo - to keep costs low and manage the selling price - with high boost pressures - to try and squeeze out as much performance from it as possible. This works sometimes. Introduce high altitude and problems arise.

To maintain the boost pressure, the turbo spools are very high speed, but this spooling is mechanically kept in check through the use of wastegates and actuators and naturally via the density of air. At high altitude, atmospheric pressure and thus density of air are lower than at altitudes closer to sea level. With less dense air going through the turbo, the air resistance is reduced, meaning the impeller can spin almost at free will. It sometimes spins too fast, causing the shaft to snap. Turbo failure becomes reality.

Maintenance: I have written here before that one of the downsides of a diesel engine is the short service intervals. Combine this with the cost of the service itself (plus parts) and maintaining that fuel efficient engine starts to bring doubt into the equation that was supposed to save you money to start with. Yes, you will save plenty of money at the fuel dispenser, but that money will go into servicing and parts.

When you mention the Mazda name in a diesel conversation, it brings to the fore a trending topic in recent times: the CX5 diesel. This vehicle is not enjoying good PR as we speak, but there are two sides to this affair. I have dissuaded people from buying it before and I am not about to change tune now, so that answers that part of your question (buy the Atenza petrol), but the topic is not dismissed yet. Hold on a minute...

Declaring an engine a poisoned chalice does not in any way help those who already have it. Are they to cut up their vehicles and sell the pieces off as scrap metal? No, not really.

Followers of my social medias may have noticed that I've been haunting the Lusaka Road premises of CMC Motors (it's actually Al Futtaim but CMC is the more familiar name, though obsolete). They are fully aware of the Mazda CX5 diesel issues and they say they will not abandon lovers of the brand, despite their not-too-keenly-informed purchase decisions (my words, not theirs). There is something they are putting together that should calm the nerves of diesel CX5 owners somewhat, but really... when I ask you not to buy a car, don't. I've been writing this column for 11 years, I am privy to a lot of information. It pays to pay attention to what I say.

* * * * * *

Baraza, your sense of humour is to die for…

Hi Baraza,

I was thoroughly entertained by your description of the Vellfire after quickly dispensing with the Murano-Rogue comparison. Almost had me running to the dealer despite my low perch on the pecuniary ladder.

Eric

Hi Eric,

I am glad I made your day. Keep reading!

Do you have a Motoring question you’d like to ask Baraza? Email [email protected]