When faced with this choice what do you do? Go pee, or take photos for social media. You only have time for one.
One Week Earlier:
We wanted to do a road trip to the adventure province of Eastern Cape. But which car would get us there the safest, quickest and given South Africa’s fuel price woes, the most affordably! We knew we want to journey in an Audi. But which one? And without hesitation, our team decided we try three of them. The hatch, the sedan and the SUV. Not fair? Of course it’s not! But what’s an experiment without a challenge in the works!
Present Day:
The challenge was simple – pick a car and drive it from Johannesburg on a scenic route to Tsitsikamma on the least amount of fuel – and within 15 hours. That’s a fun 1,250km journey! There was little time to prepare except get a good night’s sleep because the very next day, the cars were ready to go!
By pairing a speed challenge with a fuel-economy challenge, we weren’t there to just sit back and enjoy the scenery. We had to constantly find the sweet spot to ensure we don’t burn fuel unnecessarily.
Excitement gripped us all. We picked the cars we’d drive out of a hat like a bunch of children! Miriro picked the A7, Nancy got to drive the S6 and I took on the mommy car, the Q5. Sure, my ego was a little bruised as I hoped to take on the S6 but hey… ladies first right?
To guarantee memories to last a lifetime, we chose the most interesting roads possible and skipped the big population centers rife with chain restaurants, cookie-cutter hotels, and crowded freeways. We explored the far less travelled—and far more interesting—precincts of South Africa. Of course, when you’ve put a little distance between you and crowded civilization, you don’t want any surprises.
The S6 sports car with super-sticky tires is perfect for mountain passes but is completely wrong for off-road exploration. Yes, you can cover a wide variety of topography in the Q5, but such a vehicle is a jack of all trades, master of none. All in all, South Africa’s diverse territory gave each car an advantage over the terrain!
Despite some serious (and not so serious) competition, your man at the wheel managed to rally in the Q5 to victory, beating team A7 in second-place. Each car had it’s special wins along the way, but if you’re ever looking for a fuel efficient car to take on a road trip to the coast – the Mommy car Q5 is definitely a favourite!
