The Toyota Blog

Bernard Hellberg broke the tradition of air travel and opted to drive down to the annual Cape Argus cycle race in a Toyota Quantum.

Let me state from the outset that, as a cyclist with a love affair with the annual Cape Argus, I have sincere reservations about travelling to the Cape by road. As a rule, I regard flying as the way to go.

However, for this year’s event, I was offered a ride in a Quantum 2.7 petrol with the promise that the vehicle would be more than competent to tackle the 1 460 kilometres between Pretoria and Cape Town.

The ten-seater was suitably modified for the trip, since it had to transport four people, six conventional bicycles and a racing tandem. It managed to swallow the odd-looking load, and the luggage, without missing a beat.

Filled with trepidation, and despite Toyota Fleet Manager Anthony Clifton saying, “We build cars so that people don’t have to ride bicycles”, the trip turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

Stable in the prevailing crosswinds – despite its bulky-looking exterior – the Quantum impressed by being easy to handle at speed, comfortable and, above all, safe and reliable. The brakes were superb, kitted out with ABS and Brake Assist. In fact, few things are as reassuring on a vehicle as the knowledge that the brakes won’t let you down. The driver and front passenger are protected by airbags, and all other passengers enjoy the benefit of three-point seat belts.

With a slightly shorter and lower body than the 14-seater, the Quantum still offered superior seating comfort (believe me, you know all about comfort after 1 460 kilometres!) and the best headlights I’ve come across in a long time. Leaving Pretoria at midnight, under light traffic conditions, the Quantum shredded kilometre after kilometre without any signs of distress.Interior comfort and convenience are also of the highest order. There are more than enough places to safely store bottles, soft drink cans and snacks for the long trip. The rear passengers even have magazine nets.

There is, however, the fear that the Quantum’s popularity might encourage car thieves. Toyota South Africa have the last laugh, since the Quantum (and all its mates) has remote central locking and a transponder key immobiliser. And then there’s the fascinating ToyotaCare microdot system which scatters as may as 10,000 microdots – each bearing the vehicle’s VIN number – throughout the vehicle.
Virtually impossible to see with the naked eye, the microdots are impossible to remove completely, and form a foolproof means of identification when viewed through a special device. Hiding a stolen Quantum from the authorities after having nicked it would be tantamount to building a tricky puzzle in the dark with your hands tied behind your back.

Now that we’ve discussed the traditional features for which Toyotas have become famous – such as reliability, great design and comfort – it must also be appreciated that the 2.7 Quantum consumed 520 litres of fuel over a distance of 3 680 kilometres. This works out to 14.14 litres/100km for the entire trip – bearing in mind the heavy load, the number of passengers, high average speeds (Pretoria to Cape Town in just over 13 hours), and the pesky and unpredictable winds that blew during the Argus-weekend.

I conclusion, I must admit that flying still is much quicker, but that it was a pleasant experience to once again enjoy the beauty of the Karoo (especially at sunrise) from the safety of the Quantum’s interior. As a cynical motoring journalist I must confess that, despite my initial misgivings, the Quantum 2.7 is an excellent vehicle – spacious, affordable, fairly economical and, above all, a pleasure to drive. In fact, it’s almost as superb as my bicycle.