Businesswomen get behind the wheel at thrilling event

MBOMBELA – Twelve businesswomen, owners and those in senior positions of companies around the Lowveld, were selected to test drive 10 different cars from brands such as, Subaru, Volvo, Westvaal, Land Rover, Mazda, Jaguar, Peugeot, Honda and Mahindra.

Each woman had to drive every car on the same route, accompanied by the dealer representative as the co-driver over a distance of about 18 kilometres.

The route took them past the back of the Riverside Mall, to Makro and Produkta Nissan, and along the back route to the Mbombela Stadium, where a slalom course was set-up.

It was the first time that the slalom course had been added to the event. Each female had to participate with each car through the course.

The slalom offered, among others, an emergency brake challenge. The purpose being for the driver to truly experience the various suspension set-ups.

Johan Grobler, a qualified and accredited advanced driving and 4×4 instructor, designed and oversaw the course.

The women were also required to vote for both the cars and the best dealer representative. This will be published in Autodealer Lowveld on August 29.

During the drivers’ meeting, Matthys Ferreira, Autodealer Lowveld editor, emphasised that in some cases a car worth

R300 000 could deliver the same five-star driving experience as a car worth double the price, and participants were advised to be mindful of this when casting their votes.

The truth of this statement was proven during this event.

It is seldom possible to be able to test drive so many different brands of cars on the same day and back-to-back. It was a unique experience for the women and was thoroughly enjoyed by all those who attended.

They were able to leave with new impressions of all of the cars. Look out for the supplement in next week’s Autodealer.