I’ve been reviewing cars for almost a decade and in that time, only two cars have ever broken down on me. The freaky thing is that both were completely unexpected faults and the vehicles in question share a nationality. Take a deep breath, everyone. They weren’t British or Indian. They were both Japanese.
Blog
Caution, caution! The authors of these blog posts are anonymous for a reason – they are quite grumpy when it comes to certain aspects of driving or owning a car…
The psychological effect of cars?
Every bakkie driver is a farmer, all Mercedes owners are snobs, Mini pilots are gay and BMW drivers are Afrikaans cardboard boxes, right? Right. While most of these statements are complete hogwash, the psychological effect of different cars has a degree of truth to it.
The fingerless rubbish
Keyless entry and start systems
Dear car makers, it’s time that we had another one of our little talks. You know, the one where I whine like a little school girl and y’all ignore me. I’ve gotten used to this setup and, in my head, I believe that you have too. Today I’d like to chat about keyless entry and start systems.
The missing cogs
Hurray, another rant about gearboxes
This one’s been steaming in my grey matter for a while and never really bothered me that much until recently. Here goes: why do brawny sports cars have nineteen gears and underpowered city hatchbacks have, like, three?
The emperor’s cogs
Dual-clutch gearboxes are rubbish
There, I said it. Somebody had to, eventually, although I’ve been preaching this for what seems like a decade. DSG, DCT, S-tronic, MCT, it doesn’t matter what you call an automatic shifter with more than one clutch – they’re fairly terrible most of the time.
The basic luxury
Fancy equipment and new technology is good, right?
We may have a problem. Well, maybe not all of us but a very specific group of people. In fact, it’s only a tiny percentage of the population but I fear that the issue is so grave that it warrants its own set of paragraphs and a jolly good rant.
Discontinued Cars
The quiet exits
So you’re on your way to buy a new Chevy Sonic or finally order that big Honda Accord. Bad news – you’ll only find those on crunchy gravel forecourts laced with colourful bunting and misspelled slogans. For your entertainment (or misery) we’ve made a small list of cars that are no more.
The lying dial
Someone or something in your new car is lying to you…
There’s a modern deception I desperately need to make you aware of, a blatant liar who’s slipped right under every new car owner’s nose without them even noticing. Perhaps some of you have noticed and I’m not the only one proposing this conspiracy theory to a row of blank stares…
The annoying assistants
Why do we have all these electronic nannies in modern cars?
Believe it or not, as a motoring journalist I have an inexplicable attraction to basic and classic vehicles. This love is due to the uncomplicated nature of cars like the Renault Sandero, Suzuki Jimny, Land-Rover Defender, Volkswagen Polo Vivo, etc.
The red flags
How to read car advert text…
Today we need to sort out a few things in the used car department, not just those on dodgy corners with faded red flags and torn bunting. Most of these transgressions are made by almost every private seller and second-hand car dealer, even the ones who have a one-touch cappuccino machine.