What you need to know: Mercedes is apparently back-paddling and emergency-meeting the living daylights out of themselves because of the X-Class. No matter what they do, no matter what anyone says or writes, all people remember is that it’s based on a Nissan. Navara with mascara. And nothing, nothing else matters.
For many years I’ve been warning people about buying Peugeots because of their mediocre quality, inferior dealer count and frightening aftersales stories; like that poor chap who had to wait eight weeks for a new 207 GTi clutch from Paris. Now though, I’m about to change my tune because of this second-generation 3008.
Love or hate its name, that compact Nissan SUV with the strange badge is here to stay. And where I lamented the recent loss of identity by its bigger X-Trail sibling, this second-generation Qashqai is quite a handsome machine. Its first incarnation looked a bit… librarian.
While luxury sedan sales are heading south, there’s still a market for affordable compact sedans. Honda just pressed the refresh button of theirs.
What you need to know: The old Type R is dead, long live the new Type R! When Honda shocked the world with crazy turbo power in their new hot Civic, they did so (locally) with the spaceship hatchback body. Now though, for reasons I’m not sure about, they’ve killed that model off in favour of this sedan / fastback car.
Renault is a strange old brand. It started just a few months shy of the year 1900 and has always danced to its own tune. They’re reasonably big on motorsport but never bothered much with luxury cars. At some point they aced all EuroNCAP crash tests but still focused on affordable transport for the masses; like this Sandero Stepway.
It’s a well-known fact that Volkswagen of South Africa built a modernized version of the original Golf (“Mark 1”) right up to the point where it couldn’t cope with safety and emissions standards. The Citi Golf lived from 1984 to 2009 as a youthful and affordable mode of transport in southern Africa. NamWheels gives you some details:
Was Sie wissen sollten: Mercedes ist scheinbar am rückwärtsrudern und Notfall-Treffen wegen der neuen X-Klasse. Egal was sie tun, egal was irgendjemand sagt oder schreibt, alle Menschen erwähnen nur, daß sie auf einem Nissan basiert. Navara mit Mascara. Und nichts, nichts anderes zählt.
Acronyms are everywhere, especially in cars. Besides A.B.S., E.S.P. & Co., I’d like to introduce you to K.I.S.S. While the word is usually reserved for loved ones and that amorous aunty at Christmas, the abbreviation “Keep it simple, stupid” applies to my latest test car, the new Ford Figo.
Hyundai is busy refreshing its entire range, to save everyone some time they’re even doing it in pairs now with the Creta and Tucson.
Read moreLaunch Report: 2018 Hyundai Creta & Tucson Facelift