I always find it quite hilarious that when a new hot hatch is launched it is almost immediately compared to the VW Golf. I don’t know when the Golf became the undisputed king of this segment, but what I do know is the last time I drove a hot Golf, it was without doubt one of the best cars I had ever driven. It was the all-wheel drive Golf R, and it’s going to take some beating.
Car journalists are often forced to endure fully paid for stays at beautiful hotels, and then face the punishing task of driving a brand new car over the country’s best roads, followed by a painful lunch in Franschoek. After surviving these nightmare scenarios, we managed to put together a few opinions about the Mercedes CLS 63 AMG and the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
Gavin actually owns the old Subaru Legacy, so this week’s review was close to home. The new Outback (not a legacy any more sadly) is not a bad car by any means, but its changed character so much that we can’t help but feel it’s lost some of the older model’s magic.
Mini has continued to expand and the next Mini to arrive in SA will be the new Coupe. We feel Mini are trying hard to move away from being a “handbag car” – ie, just an accessory to attracting buyers who want to drive them for their driving dynamics, which have always been very, very good indeed.
Gav’s been driving the GrandDaddy Range Rover, the one footballer’s like. It’s quirky but quite spectactular all in all. And lastly would you like to know what a former Spice Girl and the latest Range Rover have in common? Well look no further.
This week we have a go in and at the new Nissan Micra, a good car which pales in comparison to the model it replaces. We also have a chat about South Africa’s car of the year, the BMW 530d. What a sensible luxury car; if only we could get our politicians driving these.
I think if you told a mielie farmer in the 80s that one day he could buy a bakkie that looks this good, drives this well, has a reverse camera, satellite navigation and a sound system worthy of a U2 concert, he would have laughed very loudly and then chased you off of his farm. We review the new Nissan Navara V9X.
I think it’s important that we don’t forget that cars in general should excite us. They should just exist in our lives for no other reason than to make us feel like 7 year olds. I haven’t felt this way about a car in years, I actually want a poster of this on my wall. The Ferrari 458 Spider.
We’ve driven the single and double cab variants of this car and I’ll start off by saying I think they’re brilliant. Volkswagen has really taken the fight to the establishment and created a clever, powerful, fuel efficient, good looking, massive range of bakkies.
We should point out that in America these bakkies are marketed as “compact pick ups”.The Amarok is anything but compact. It is simply massive. Its like driving New Zealand. Not driving around in New Zealand, I mean the whole thing.
Catch us next week on Expresso!
First, the news. Pictures of Porsche’s new 911 leak onto the internet and absolutely no one is surprised that it looks exactly like the old 911. We drive a stunning coupe: The Peugeot RCZ, which looks like nothing else on the road. Ciro loves it, Gavin not so much, mostly because he can’t really fit in the thing.
This week it’s all gone a bit hybrid. We reviewed the future, in the form of the Honda CRZ and the brand new Lexus CT200h, which sounds like a microwave.
OverdriveTV has just kicked off a weekly radio show on the kick-ass digital station, 2OceansVibe Radio.
Catch OverdriveLive every Tuesday between 6 and 8pm, with hosts Ciro De Siena and Gavin Williams.Tune in right here!
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