Audi is celebrating two decades of its iconic TT with some model lifecycle upgrades and a return to some of the original car’s design traits. Celebrated for its Bauhaus interpretation of coupe motoring in the late 1990s, TT transcended the traditional petrolhead realm and became a design icon. Now, 20 years after it first came […]
If you require a family vehicle capable of extensive gravel travel, Toyota’s new Rush is an especially appropriate choice. Launched this month, it gives Toyota yet another product within the company’s immensely successful SUV/crossover portfolio. The Japanese brand dominates in South African and has virtually owned the family SUV market since it debuted Fortuner more […]
Lamborghini this week confirmed that its audited sales numbers for the first half of 2018 have far surpassed expectations. The renowned Italian supercar brand, which curiously evolved from the eponymous tractor company back in 1963, sold 2 327 cars to its customers in the first six months of this year. That number, remarkably, represents greater production […]
BMW has confirmed this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) will see it revealing a new M2 concept. Founded in 1996 the FOS has effectively replaced the British motor show as an event where manufacturers and collectors gather to celebrate the old and show the new. Brands with an impressive performance motoring heritage make a […]
If you are the calibre of person capable of buying a Bentley, it stands to reason that you probably also own a game farm or some exotic mountain hideaway on the Lesotho border. For British aristocrats Bentley has always been an easy sell, because estate living in the U.K. implies an easily passable driveway. South […]
The brand of choice for successful designers and events coordinators has revealed its latest product portfolio updates for South Africa. An upgraded Mini range, 18 derivates strong, debuts in Mzansi this week and attempts to be more ‘British’ than ever. Most noticeable on these new Minis are their redesigned lights, front and rear, with the […]
Hope often sources from misfortunate and Porsche’s motorsport engineers have spent most of this year proving that logic to be true. After the brand’s enormously successful 919 racing cars were forced into retirement due to corporate rationalisation, some of the motorsport team’s senior staff commiserated over a round of beers – and hatched an inspired […]
The X-Class bakkie range has been Mercedes-Benz’s most keenly anticipated product debut in years. For sceptics it has also presented an opportunity to criticise the spate of joint-venture engineering projects proliferating within the global automotive industry. In principle the Stuttgart bakkie shares a great many components with Nissan’s Navara, including all the four-cylinder diesel engines, […]
How much worse can it really get?
Nissan might be best known for its bakkies, SUVs and GT-Rs but the Japanese brand has not forgotten its passenger car portfolio. Keen to reassert itself in the compact car market locally, Nissan’s sales strategy in this regard revolves around its fifth-generation Micra. Mechanically it is a twin of the current Renault Clio, with some […]
Global markets and the media are obsessed with Tesla, the electric car company founded by former Pretoria Boys High matriculant, Elon Musk. Overpromising and underdelivering have become a feature of Tesla’s customer relations and in South Africa the only true electric vehicle brand with any credibility is BMW. The Bavarian automotive specialist has just released […]
VW’s Golf GTi is a hot hatch institution. Since establishing the genre back in 1976, Golf GTi has evolved into what can arguably be classed as the most accomplished performance car also capable of deputising as a family vehicle. Unfortunately, the automotive world which birthed GTi has changed – a lot. The reality is that […]
The latest version of BMW’s original X-car has been revealed. Now in its fourth-generation, the latest X5 has grown longer by 36mm and incorporated a raft of technical upgrades. Although the styling changes are evolutionarily in nature, not altering the distinctive X5 shape much, BMW’s engineers have invested handsomely to deliver an impressive range of […]
VW South Africa has added a new Maxx derivative to its most popular product line. The Polo Vivo, which is South Africa’s best-selling passenger car, now features something with crossover styling bits and some gravel travel credibility for slightly more adventurous buyers keen on exploring the country’s more isolated destinations. This new Maxx derivative adds […]
When the vehicle in question is Toyota’s Hilux, even the most innocuous of product updates are significant news. For decades Toyota’s 1-tonne bakkie has been the crucial logistics gearing of South Africa’s economy, transporting goods and enabling services in the agricultural, mining, construction and small business spheres. The eight-generation Hilux has continued the legacy of […]
There is perhaps no other car which BMW South Africa has ever marketed that has quite the cachet and following of its numerologist’s favourite: the 333i. A true African M3. Produced in very limited numbers from 1985 to 1987, at BMW’s Rosslyn facility on the outskirts of Tshwane, 333i remains the prototypical South African E30 […]
Limousines are sophisticated and luxurious, absolutely the most comfortable way to travel on four wheels. Unfortunately, they can also be very expensive to maintain in the long term. Unless you are driving a Lexus. Toyota’s luxury division did the impossible in the 1990s by carving itself significant market share in the American market – which […]
After being revealed at the Frankfurt auto show in September last year, Opel has finally released the Grandland X locally. For Opel the last year and a bit has been a traumatic and tumultuous time, both internationally and locally. The German marque was acquired by France’s PSA group last year, and shortly afterwards its South […]
Isuzu is reinterring the South African SUV market. The Japanese brand, which inherited the General Motors production facility in Port Elizabeth after Chevrolet quit the local market last year, has finally introduced its MU-X seven-seater SUV locally. The local market for bakkie-based SUVs remains tremendously strong. Toyota’s achieved rampant success with its Fortuner (based on […]
South Africa is one the world’s most competitive bakkie markets. Nearly a third of all new vehicles sold locally are bakkies. From double-cabs which repurpose as family vehicles to game lodge guest transport and crucial small business logistics solutions, South Africans are serious about their bakkies. Little surprise that esteemed luxury car brand, Mercedes, has […]
A superbly stylish VW sedan offering stellar performance. Meet the Arteon.
The thought of a baby BMW being something desirable will be odd to most, but the Germany car brand’s latest offering is its smallest sportscar – and hugely desirable.
BMW has shown yet again why many investors consider it to be the true electric car company of the future. The legacy car maker has revealed its new iX3 concept, which boasts greater range than any other battery powered BMW to date.
In a world where SUVs and crossovers are rapidly replacing the four-door sedan, Mercedes-Benz has done the unthinkable and revealed a new A-Class, with a boot.