Drive time to Durban

Is it reasonable to expect to drive a rental car between East London and Durban in one day ?

The answer is yes, you can do that. We also did so with a Camper Van some years ago.
But it is a very long way and quite strenuous - the roads are sometimes not the best and when we were, they did a lot of repairs and we had to wait at several places, because the road was only one lane there. But this may have changed.
Have a good time there (we really enjoyed it)
Corinne

Driving time will be around 7 - 8 hours. Do not travel this route at night particlary through the Transkei - since the road is being constructed and long waits will await you.
Also be carefull of cows and goats on the road - since not all the farm land is fenced off.
The route is simply - head on the N2 South towards Kokstad - Umtata - Butterworth - to East London.

yes it can be done, we have travel from Port elizabeth to Durban in one day before.
but as other advise- dont do it at night as the road can be treacherous ( particularly the scary bits winding up and down the passes) and you have to watrch out for animals and people on the roads.
Start out from Durban as early as possible (dawn) and you should be fine.

I second all of these. We just drove from Grahamstown to Durban in 10 hours, but the Transkei roads--though definitely improving--are extremely narrow, winding, fast-paced, and animal carcasses are everywhere. We saw a dog get run over 10 feet in front of us.

If you don't fancy what will most certainly be a scary drive, I suggest that you hook around northern Lesotho via Clarens, the Golden Gate, and the Drakensburg for a far more pleasant route!

Hope this helps.