THE popularity of SUV vehicles in South Africa remains on the upward climb and if consumers are confused which SUV to buy given all the models to choose from, perhaps the new JMC Lanwind 5 will help ease the blues.
To say the Landwind 5 is impressive is most probably an understatement; the shiny, well-built car offers so much value for money. It comes with most comfort and safety features a consumer wants from a car, more so in this category perceived to be luxurious.
These standard features, all in good standing, include air-con, power steering, central locking, a radio with MP3 and aux port, plus single disc CD, electric windows and side mirrors, rain wipers with intermittent setting and roof rack rails.
Safety features include dual airbags, ABS with EBD, park distance control, high-mounted LED brake light and child-safety rear door locks. Normally all this will cost a fortune, but for just R249 880 if you really want an SUV that works and no further frills, the Landwind is the car for you.
Tried and tested reliability is what sits under the bonnet: a Mitsubishi 4G63S4T inline, four-cylinder engine. This engine powered the Mitsubishi Evolution model when it came out but for the Landwind 5, it has additional oomph in the form a Borg Warner turbocharger for figures of140kW/250Nm.
Credibility is clearly what drove JMC technicians when building this SUV as further technical assistance was sought elsewhere to help develop the Landwind5. These include Prodrive, a British motorsport and engineering group,which helped with the suspension, while Delphi, also a British automative company, did the electronics. German-based Getrag was roped to handle the gearbox department.
The Landwind 5 is also not build for speed but if the user needs that, take off from 0-100km/h time in 11 seconds clearly makes this SUV no slouch. The fuel consumption is also decent at this level, at 8.5 litres/100km.
Overall assessment is that the Landwind, also nicknamed the Landwind 5, will simply blow you away in all fronts – given its price for the technology involved.
Pricing:
Landwind 5 MT 4X2 LUX R249 880
The price include a three-year/100 000km warranty and a five-year/100 000km service plan.ind
LANDWIND5, SHINING STAR ON THE ROADS
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