By: Henrie Geyser

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There certainly is much to like about this snazzy people-carrier with its cute and cheeky looks, fancy alloy wheels and shiny roof rails.

The overall look and feel of this mega-Megane is classy, almost futuristic and it certainly stands out in the company of other compact MPV's.

And the nice thing about it is that it is quite un-French in the simplicity of its interior design and lay-out with all the knobs, dials and gauges where you expect them to be.

The gauges are all housed in an elegantly shaped centrally positioned console with the speedometer, fuel gauge and rev counter all indicating in digital format.

It looks look and the only criticism I have is that the rev counter is a little too small too read accurately.

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The steering wheel is adjustable and finding a comfortable driving position is dead easy. The only problem is, with the front of the vehicle tapering away sharply it is not always easy to judge distances between the front bumper of the car and objects ahead.

The rear view is good and reversing into tight spots is no problem, courtesy of rear parking proximity sensors.

The Navigator has five comfortable seats and the two outside-mounted seats in the back are Isofix structured which makes it easy for mum to unstrap and lift two young ‘uns in or out.

The seats are unusually comfortable for this type of vehicle and handsomely finished off with grey saddle-stitching.

There are lots of little mousey-holes in addition to the cubby-hole, including a centrally mounted storage space with a light and a sliding lid, and two cleverly hidden drawers under two of the back seats.

The sound system is really superior and quite a few notches up from the tinny, el cheapo versions one finds in so many cars these days.

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The Navigator is equipped with an important safety feature which other manufacturers often overlook - a headlamp adjuster. Any heavily-loaded vehicle's headlights change angle when it is carrying a load and they can blind cars coming in the opposite direction, so it's really important to adjust the angle of your lights under different load situations.

(And while on the subject of safety, please use seat belts at all times and DON'T chat on the cell phone when driving. Mum's taxi drivers are by far the main offenders when it comes to these two cardinal sins - and to make matters even worse, there are invariably a couple of youngsters in the car who, like mum's bad example, also are not using seat belts).

Matching the spaciousness of the cabin is the Navigator's ample luggage space which can easily be vastly increased simply by folding down the three rear seats.

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The boot lid is big and rather cumbersome, but this is the price one pays for having such a big, wide mouth through which to load boxes, suitcases, cots and prams - or daddy's golf clubs.

But the best feature of the Navigator is its punchy 1.9-litre diesel engine which churns out 96kW and a very healthy 300Nm from as low as 2,000 revs.

Coupled to a six-speed manual gearbox it sips diesel at a rate of only six-litres/100km in the combined cycle which certainly helps to keep the monthly fuel bill down.

The engine is a tad gravel-voiced, but nowhere near intrusive, thanks to good cabin insulation.

The Navigator's range-topping status is confirmed by its full house of standard features, particularly its safety features which earned it a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. These include multiple airbags, Isofix child seat mountings, rear head restraints adaptable for child use in the back seats and inertia reel seatbelts with pre-tensioners.

The Scenic has been around since 1996 and to date more than 2.8-million of them have been sold - and with good reason because as a safe, comfortable, economical good-looking MPV it is difficult to beat.

The new diesel-powered Navigator is priced at R258,000, which includes a five-year/60,000km maintenance plan and five-year/150,000km warranty.

[19 Aug 2008 15:31]

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