As the sun sets on 2024, these were our most popular car reviews

Keeping our road test section bursting with content means regularly getting behind the wheel of cars, SUVs and bakkies of all shapes and sizes, and 2024 has seen some memorable test drives.

But looking back on the ones that resonate most with you, dear reader, confirms one thing - Chinese cars are not just becoming an accepted alternative to the mainstream brands, they’re already there, and then some.

Of the six most-clicked-on vehicle reviews featured on IOL in 2024, it was interesting to note that four emanate from China. 

But the top road test was something of a wildcard, not Chinese-built but nonetheless audaciously presenting itself as an alternative to the established SUVs at a very premium end of the market.

1. Mazda CX-60 3.3d Takumi

Thinking of buying a luxury SUV? Buy this Mazda

Mazda make some of the most drool-inspiring cars around - there’s hardly a hatchback anywhere in the world to compete with the gorgeous Mazda 3, the CX-30 is one of the most attractive and sleek crossovers, the CX-5 could easily have had a Jaguar badge on the grille, and the MX-5 is the top-selling roadster of all time.

I recently took the exceptional Mazda CX-60 Takumi on a road trip to the Southern Cape - an over 1,000km round trip that included twisty mountain passes, long stretches of open national road, quaint village drive-throughs, and hundreds of kilometres through rough gravel and shallow (paved) stream crossings along the R327. And boy, was I impressed.

I’d recently reviewed the CX-60 2.5l petrol model and was disappointed that to get the best out of the engine, I needed to keep the revs high; not ideal for a family SUV best suited to cruising.

Read IOL Editor Lance Witten’s full review here

2. Suzuki Fronx 1.5 GLX

Suzuki’s budget-friendly Fronx by any other name would be as sweet

William Shakespeare questioned in ‘Romeo and Juliet’: “What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

And it appears to be the same sort of thing with Suzuki’s Fronx. As weird a name as it is for a car, it’s selling well, and the brand-engineered Toyota Starlet Cross (essentially a Fronx in a Toyota frock) that was recently launched is sure to follow suit.

Overall, the car is great. A small crossover, it doesn’t try too hard to emulate a boxy SUV and goes for a sleek raking back, more like a hatchback in hiking gear. Full review here

3. Chery Tiggo 8 Pro Max

Chery Tiggo 8 Pro flagship takes value to the Max

The Chinese motor industry is something of an emerging superpower, both globally and in South Africa. With many established brands gradually pricing themselves into oblivion, buyers are finding it impossible to ignore the value on offer from the Land of the Red Dragon.

At the moment Chery is leading this charge on the local market, and the importer was the seventh best-selling car brand in May. While the smaller Tiggo 4 Pro is the volume pusher, with over 1,000 of them finding homes each month, the Tiggo 8 Pro remains a strong seller among the seven-seat contenders in the market, with around 300 monthly sales being the norm.

The Chery Tiggo 8 Pro was given a bit of a makeover late last year, which brought a few tweaks inside and out. Full review here

4. Ford Ranger Platinum

Ford Ranger Platinum is too niche to be a smash hit but it’s really high-end

The once-humble one-tonne “workhorse” bakkie was surely never meant to be this fancy. Or was it? Given that so many double cab buyers are city based, and that South Africans hardly flinch at the idea of a million rand bakkie anymore, maybe Ford is onto something with its new Ranger Platinum.

The Ford Ranger Platinum is probably not something you’re going to want to take too far off the beaten track, with its 20-inch machined alloy wheels wearing all-terrain tyres that look lower in profile than the rubber you’d usually expect from a bakkie.

But as far as Rangers go, you don’t get more high-end than this. Full review here

5. Jaecoo J7 1.5T inferno

Jaecoo J7 is a classy and luxurious SUV that looks more expensive than it is

While most of the Chinese players initially focused on the more affordable end of the SUV market, we’re now seeing a bold move upstream, with the likes of GWM’s imposing Tank 500 recently surpassing the million-rand mark.

The subject of this test, the Jaecoo J7, also represents a move upmarket for its parent company Chery, and it slots right into the middle ground of the urban SUV segment.

Though not exactly cheap by Chinese car standards, it does at least look like an expensive piece of machinery and many onlookers gave our test car a very clear thumbs up. Full review here

6. LDV T60 Double Cab

Close but no cigar for the LDV brand’s double cab bakkie flagship

What, an LDV? That’s right, another Chinese Bakkie is on the showroom floors hoping to tap into our predilection of all things double cab.

Without boring you with too much of its detail, LDV is owned by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC Motor) and with more than 5-million vehicles sold last year is a serious player in the global automotive industry.

R100,000 more expensive than GWM’s P-Series, LDV have also thrown down the gauntlet with the 2.0-litre dual-turbo diesel engine producing 160kW and 500Nm coupled to an eight speed ZF automatic gearbox. Full review here

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