HONDA'S intentions are so hard to read as far as the Southern African market is concerned. To the casual observer, the company has been keeping its head below the parapet compared with the halcyon days of the Ballade when local assembly and a union with Mercedes-Benz created so…

RECENT events around the globe have had a catastrophic effect on the motor industry (and most other things too) and we haven’t been spared on the southern tip of Africa, especially with a three-week lockdown now in force. (more…)

  BUYING patterns in southern Africa telegraph that there’s a loyal clientele for pick-ups (hereafter referred to as bakkies) and that loyalty is also brand-orientated to a remarkable degree such that market share by badge has remained incredibly consistent, year by year. (more…)

LONG-term readers of Top Gear may recall that back in the dim but not so distant past, I had a Suzuki Swift Sport in my personal wheeled armoury, having selected it as appropriate transport for my wife who had a preference for smaller vehicles. (more…)

EVERY now and again, a test car exhibits a peculiarity that demands close attention to discover its source. The Peugeot 5008 SUV/Crossover quickly caught my attention not so much for its large and extremely versatile cabin, but for the pervasive tyre drone that infiltrated that capacious cabin whenever…

HISTORY tells us that French drivers have always preferred cars with a softer disposition. The ground-breaking Renault 16 of around half a century back rolled like an overloaded fishing vessel in the Bay of Biscay when pressed into corners, and of course, the hydraulically suspended Citroen ID and…

. . .Volvo XC40 T5 AWD R-Design   NO-one should be surprised to know that Volvo’s SUV range accounts for way over 50% of the company’s output, notwithstanding the presence of some rather stylish saloons such as the S60 and S90 which demonstrate just how far Volvo has…

THE Sea of Tranquility was the location of the Apollo 11 moon landing but it could just as easily be the driver’s seat of the new Audi A7 Sportback, such is the relaxed, refined demeanour of this surprisingly large sporting cruiser. (more…)

IT'S not very often that I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised by a bakkie because as pure driving machines, they are all seriously flawed compared with well-set-up SUVs. The Ford Ranger Raptor therefore achieved the equivalent of an Oscar when it did enough to earn grudging…

EARLIR this century, I suspect VW’s product planners were having something of a snooze on the Baltic coast while some rival manufacturers recognised the irreversible consumer swing towards SUV architecture, even when applied in compact form. (more…)