IT'S very easy to get starry-eyed over some of the test cars that pass my way over a whole year but some of those flashy cars that raise the pulse rate with disarming ease are not always great long-term ownership prospects. (more…)

MY first association with the Mahindra XUV300 compact SUV, which I gather shares a lot of its genes with a Ssang Yong, lasted a little more than 24 hours when the left front window was shattered by a granite chip launched by a roadside trimmer devoid of any…

TO get the cash tills ticking, it seems that manufacturers need to design more and more Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and place them on showroom floors where a customer’s biggest headache is to differentiate the multiplicity of offerings on display. (more…)

DESPITE the fact that margins on entry level cars must be small, the sector is developing into something of a battle ground in RSA given the recent return of the Hyundai Atos alongside the Kia Picanto and the upgrades lavished on the Datsun Go, the 7-seat Go+ and…

I HAVE absolutely no need in my personal life for a double cab bakkie and I rather doubt that the majority of the not inconsiderable number who drive down that route in southern Africa can honestly justify their choice of a “bakkie.” (more…)

  EVERY now and then, the stars align such that whatever you have been  experiencing feels just right. Clearly, the stars aligned in my week with the Audi Q3 as it turned out to be one of the most charming wheeled devices of my very busy year. (more…)

HOW well I remember the know-alls denigrating VW for its decision to fit a 2.0 Turbo Diesel in its earlier Amaroks. “Far too small was the cry” from those who had never even sat behind the wheel, let alone driven one. (more…)

WAY back in the dim and distant past, and to be specific, I refer to AD 2008, Land Rover unveiled a concept model badged the LRX. (more…)

I’VE written screeds on how perception in South Africa has driven car buying habits to an unusual degree and I’ve nearly always brought this up in the context of Volvo in Mzansi. (more…)

THERE can’t be a soul on the planet who does not know that South Africans exhibit an undying love of black interiors and so deep-seated is the love affair, that many manufacturers only offer black or dark anthracite interior trim. Each to his own but my preference is…