Driving Impressions: Chevrolet Lumina SS Ute
After a week with the most outrageous of bakkies, I come away a renewed love for eccentric motoring.
Chevrolet is known in South Africa for its affordable city cars and popular light commercials like the Utility but deep down in its inventory lurks an absolute hooligan. Meet the Lumina SS Ute. It’s a low-slung sports bakkie that attempts to combine a bit of practicality with some serious performance. It has four exhaust pipes, massive alloy wheels and, when viewed from straight on looks like something out of the Australian V8 Touring Cars.
Underneath that huge bonnet is a distinctly raucous 6.0-litre V8 with close on 300kW. That sort of power is reserved for serious sports cars, yet this is a bakkie. It has 270kW and 517Nm which is enough power to see the Ute hurtle to 100km/h in just 6.6 seconds. I reckon if it had some more grip off the line, it would be even faster. The fun doesn’t stop at 100km/h though, as the Lumina really shows off when accelerating from 80km/h…
So it looks good and sounds fantastic, but how does it drive? Perfectly fine is the answer. Despite the hooligan tendencies, the Lumina is as happy tiptoeing through traffic at 50km/h as it hurtling around a twisty mountain road at 150km/h. Was I brave enough to try drive the Lumina like a sports car? Not a chance. With all that power going to the rear wheels and there being no weight over the back, the Lumina breaks traction easily. It’s not a major catastrophe though – you just need to have your wits about you, especially in the wet.
When the back end does lose grip, the car’s electronic systems will kick into gear without hesitation, which is reassuring for inexperienced drivers. Should you have swallowed your brave pills that day, immense sideways entertainment can be had. (Disclaimer: tyres are getting expensive these days – don’t bother.)
Despite this being classified as a bakkie, it cannot go offroad. What it can do however, is cover large stretches of tarmac with ease whilst carrying asurprisingly large amount of cargo in the loadbay.
It’s one of the better highway cruisers I’ve ever driven, despite the performance credentials. With the big fire-breathing engine gently ticking over at around the 2,000rpm mark and cruise control engaged, the Lumina felt happy and settled. Make no mistake though, if you wish to overtake vehicles, slam the solid gear lever in 4th and bury your right foot. The Lumina will leap forward accompanied with a magnificent V8 bellow and reaches illegal speeds with very little effort.
It may look crude and carry the nickname of ‘Free State Ferrari’ but inside, it’s as comfortable as a midrange sedan. It has a powerful touch-screen radio with USB/MP3/iPod connectivity, satellite navigation, climate control, automatic headlights and automatic wipers.
Think of this thing as a modern-day muscle car. Yes, my motoring journalist peers will rag me incessantly for using a cliché but it’s totally true. Sadly, we’re living in era where you’re taxed for the size of your engine and the traffic police appear more focused on prosecuting drivers for exceeding the speed limit by the smallest of margins. Yes, the world needs greener cars, but in the meantime give me a healthy dose of V8-infused goodness. For R432 500, you’ll struggle to find something that is this entertaining and special, and I’m glad that Chevrolet keeps selling it in an increasingly green world.
- Why you should: It has a distinct old-school muscle hooligan feel to it, V8 engine sounds glorious, happy to spend its days chewing up hot hatchbacks, huge loadbay.
- Why you shouldn’t: Thirsty if you’ve got a heavy foot, can be a handful to drive in the wet, only seats two.
- It would be better if: Don’t change anything – it’s great.
- Competitors worth checking out: It’s pretty unique and doesn’t have any direct rivals.