Adventure and Travel

Explore Cape Town’s road climbs with the Kia Seltos

Words and pictures by Rae Trew-Browne

· By Press Office · 0 comments

It’s no secret that Cape Town roadies are blessed with some pretty spectacular climbs. So we loaded up a Kia Seltos and hit 7 of the most picturesque and challenging climbs in and around the Mother City.

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Ou Kaapse Weg

First up is the infamous Ou Kaapse Weg, known for its spectacular views of Tokai and False Bay.

With a distance of 3.42km, a vertical gain of 228m and an average gradient of 6.7%, it isn’t Cape Town’s most difficult climb but it is iconic nonetheless with Muizenberg Peak towering over you.

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Smitswinkel

One of the climbs made famous worldwide by the Cape Town Cycle Tour. The 1.7km climb has an average gradient of 5.5% and a max gradient of 10.3%. The views out towards Cape Point are pretty spectacular, so don’t forget to appreciate the vista on your way up. The climb only gives you a gain of 91m which probably explains the KOM speed of 34.2km/h.

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Naval Hill

This is one of Cape Town’s lesser known climbs, chances are you have cycled passed it a million times and never even knew it was there. Just before the right turn up Red Hill there is a dodgy looking overgrown cement road that turns off the Main Road into Simonstown. The climb takes you up to the old guns at the Scala Battery once intended to defend False Bay.

It’s a short climb of only 1.43km but an average gradient of 9.3% and elevation gain of 134m will keep the legs honest. Don’t forget to stop at the Gun Battery 1 to appreciate the view.

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Red Hill

The Red Hill climb is known for being pretty relentless, it doesn’t have the steepest average gradient (6%) but it’s 3.25km length and some steep kickers around the switchbacks make it quite a tough climb. Going too hard early on could blow your attempt at moving up the segment leaderboard for this 200m elevation gain climb.

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— The climbs continue below after a brief break to look at the Kia Seltos —

Kia Seltos 1.5 EX+ CRDi

With the seats folded down the Kia Seltos has a significant boot capacity of 433lt. This means a road bike fits easily into the boot without the driver even needing to remove any wheels.

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This particular model came with a 1.5 CRDi diesel engine which might not be the most powerful option but the fuel economy was incredible. We did close on 600km in the first half of the tank driving around town and on the open road. At the end of our trip we had an average consumption of 6.6lt/100km, which when you consider the size and weight of the car, is quite a remarkable number.

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The interior is stylish and modern with Apple CarPlay / Android Auto as standard, and on our particular model, the 1.5 EX+, leather seats come standard as well. Other great features include a 8-inch color touch screen infotainment system which becomes a wide angle rear facing camera in reverse, automatic light control, and side mirrors that close automatically when leaving the vehicle. Kia have really put a lot of thought into making the Seltos as funky and fun as possible.

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As mentioned before the engine is not the most powerful, the 86kw engine does feel sluggish on the overtake but has no issue holding its cruising speed out on the open road. The small engine coupled with the 6 speed automatic gearbox still gives you a very smooth ride, and gear changes are hardly noticeable. If you feel like you need a little more power under the hood though, the turbocharged 1.4 petrol engine has about 20kw more power.

I get to test quite a few cars and it must be said I was quite sad to have to return the Seltos, it surprised me in so many ways, most of all in its ease of use and the joy it gives to drive it. The Seltos definitely moved Kia a lot higher on my ‘favourite car brands’ list.

Kommetjie (Slangkop)

Apart from Chapman’s Peak Drive, this has to be one of Cape Town’s most beautiful climbs with its full views out over the Atlantic Ocean and the iconic Kommetjie Lighthouse. A relatively short climb of only 1.5km and 93m gain, this one is all about the views.

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Chapman’s Peak Drive

One simply cannot talk about climbs in South Africa without mentioning the infamous Chapman’s Peak Drive. People fly from all over the world to run, cycle, and drive over it. Many people even regard it as one of the most beautiful roads in the world. Climbing from Noordhoek gives you 4.5km of sheer beauty, slightly shorter than the Hout Bay side of 5.1km. An average gradient of 3% and an elevation gain of 158m lets you enjoy the views without having to suffer too much for it.

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The Glen

The Glen is one of the steeper climbs in Cape Town with the gradient hitting 15% in parts. Climbing from Camps Bay, The Glen is a punchy 2.14km stretch at an 8.2% average gradient and 176m of elevation gain. At the top the climbing can continue up towards Signal Hill for a total of 3.8km and 287m of elevation gain making it a popular choice for Everesting attempts.

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Explore on Strava

Keen to get out on the climbs yourself? Here are links to the Strava segments for each:

Keen on the Kia Seltos?

Drive away in a turbo-diesel KIA Seltos from just R6099 per month. For more information, visit https://www.kia.co.za/promotion/seltos-turbodiesel

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