I see on the Matroosberg site, only real 4x4's can go up. BMW x3 and x5, a Pajero, Kia, Nissan xtrail and various other models all had trouble. They are not allowed do the route in this conditions. Low range is compulsary as well as a good ground clearance.
On saturday x3 vehicles went up at 04h00 in the morning without getting the required permits, hope they were not club members.
Yes, it was wise to drive past, they had to do quite a lot of recoveries. At some stage traffic on the mountain was hold up by 2 hours. The biggest problems was the SUV vehicles.