Fronx ticks all the right boxes

VERSATILE: HANDLES HIGHWAYS, ASCENTS, DESCENTS AND SHARP TURNS WITH EASE

- Michel Bega

The mountains were calling. Specifically the mountains of Magoebaskloof. A few months ago, in a moment of what I realise now was madness, I entered the Magoebaskloof Ultra 28km trail race. About 400km away from Johannesburg, at the northeastern tip of the Drakensberg in Limpopo, between Haenertsburg and Tzaneen, I questioned whether my 22-year-old sedan, with much mileage on the clock, would get me there reliably.

Fortunately, The Citizen Motoring editor, also a running enthusiast (maybe realising a 28km trail race would be enough suffering for me to endure), loaned me a Suzuki Fronx GLX manual. Today I appreciate that he did.

Immediately I was struck by the car's stylish design. It's billed as a compact-SUV, but to the untrained eye the car presents as quite a large and spacious vehicle.

It sits very high, with a ground clearance of 170mm, giving the driver an almost true SUV-feel.

The top of the car features silver roof rails, with bold wheel arches and 16-inch silver alloy wheels.