It is only if you
are looking for outright performance that the Endeavour will fall
short. For all daily commuting needs whether they be on the road or
off it, the Endeavour will heartily oblige, provided you keep the
revs over the 2000rpm mark. Keep the motor ticking over that mark
and driving will be effortless. That is all very easy to say but there
is always that time when you start and the revs will be below the
2000rpm mark and… well, you will face some very harsh facts
of life with the Endeavour.
All said and done, the Endeavour is the quickest of all the homegrown
diesel SUVs and not too far behind the petrol ones.
It gets to 100kmph in under 20 seconds and crosses the kilometre
mark in just over 40 seconds. Okay, agreed that these figures aren't
all that exciting, but then you have to remember that this huge SUV
weighs close to two tons, has the capacity to seat seven people and
isn't designed for the best aerodynamic efficiency. Considering that,
one realises that the roll-on figures (the figures that will make
a difference in your daily driving, unlike the flat out acceleration
ones that you might not even do once in your lifetime in the Endeavour)
are pretty decent when the engine is ticking over a rev range from
2000rpm to 3500rpm. Thus when the engine crosses over the 2000rpm
mark at a speed of just under 60kmph in fourth gear does the SUV get
quick, getting to 70kmph in under three seconds and then to 80kmph
in just over three seconds.
Ninety and 100kmph each come up in around three and a half seconds
by when the car is already getting close to the 3500rpm mark and starts
to run out of steam. Top speed we achieved was a very creditable 142kmph
although the SUV does take a long time to get to that figure.
February
2004