If you look carefully, the gem could be in your backyard..

A hidden gem, only 10 minutes from central Pretoria and 45 minutes from Sandton, you are greeted by this Cape Dutch-style architecture wine estate built on a 16-hectare property which is incredibly unique and refreshing for a place found in the city. Upon the entrance, you will immediately feel as though you had been on a two-hour flight to Cape Town and arrived at some wine estate in Franschhoek or Stellenbosch. We recently discovered this gem in Gauteng, Pretoria, the mission: drive to Kievits Kroon with the refreshed Mazda 3 hatch.

We have said this many times before, but I don’t think we can say it enough, it is great to be able to travel again. One of the things that I have always taken for granted and thought that there would always be enough time. We have all learned that life is unpredictable, so putting things off for another day may work against us. Since we are in the business of exploring our beautiful country, we thought starting in our backyard would be appropriate.

I wouldn’t be doing this experience justice if I didn’t mention what a beautiful, hot summer day it was during our day visit to Kievits. We got into our trusted stead for the short drive from Pretoria East; the Mazda 3 in its Astina trim. Unquestionably gorgeous-looking car, flawed in some ways that I will later get into.

Our Mazda 3 got on to the currently still being updated ramp entrance and a driveway full of ducks and around the beautiful water fountain, we went to find our parking spot and would later enjoy our brunch dining experience. Kievits Kroon has lots to offer, from day visit activities such as a Spa Day for those much-needed self-care days to romantic getaways with your spouse or (other?). The wine estate also caters to corporate experiences, weddings, and photoshoots just as long as you call ahead and make a booking because according to Evah; one of the pleasant staff members at Kievits; they have a ton of photoshoots, especially Matric shoots that take place on the property.

We had our Mazda 3 pose in this tranquil residence and boy did it highlight our hatch’s good looks on both the interior and exterior. Mazda has stuck to its sleek, clean design language proving once again that less is more will never NOT work. The uncluttered interior makes the cabin feel larger than it is, with sufficient legroom and headroom for both passengers and the driver. The reduction of visual noise does not take away from the tech in the car, there is still all your connection needs, and can all be accessed from the multifunction steering wheel and the centre console, with an 8.8 -inch infotainment non-touchscreen (for safety purposes) showing you all you need. Mazda also went all out to deliver built-quality giving the interior a premium feel, including the 12-speaker BOSE sound system for the Astina trim.

Now to the flaws, The Mazda 3 is powered by a Skyactiv-G 2.0 – litre naturally aspirated engine delivering 121kW and 213Nm of torque mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission which takes a while before the gearshifts kick in making the car whine whenever you step on the throttle, turning what’s meant to be a quick overtake into a loud delayed process. Perhaps the next update should come with a Turbocharged engine? Just a thought. Overall, the Mazda 3 can be a daily car, it looks stunning, consumption is at around 7-8 litres per 100km, looks and feels super premium, and comfort levels aren’t too bad either, I would say a young professional city slicker would flourish in this one.