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The bang bus
As our first launch report for 2016, it’s only fitting that it should start with a bang. Bang for your buck, that is. In a market where small city runabouts long surpassed six figures and compact luxury sedans are pushing half a bar, it’s great to know that Hyundai’s updated H1 bus range represents excellent value.
The legendary status
Talk about a trip down memory lane. When Volkswagen invited us to attend the launch of their new, sixth generation T6 models, the manufacturer hauled out plenty of dusty memories and a few shiny examples of previous models. They even gave it an ad slogan which rightly claims that “legendary status comes standard”.
The cheerful combo
Cars can be so boring. White and silver boxes stuck in a slow and endless march to work, seas of grey metal in a dark multi-story office car park with the odd red or yellow specimen parked under a sign proclaiming “Reserved for Marketing”. Suzuki certainly recognized this with the launch of their brand-new Vitara.
The smoother coincidence
Recent events have shoved the giant car maker Volkswagen onto its back feet but the colossus is using this situation to leap up with new focus and new products. Although it’s probably coincidence, their timing couldn’t have been better to introduce the new-generation Passat in southern Africa.
Volvo is known for building safe, reliable family cars and their big seven-seater XC90 SUV has always typified this. While the outgoing model was still a great car, a wave of fresh design and new technology is sweeping through the Swedish manufacturer with this brand-new XC90 at the pointy end.
The best bus?
Like most of its competitors, Mercedes-Benz is on a serious mission to build more and more models in an effort to offer their products in almost every market segment. They’ve also been fiddling with their range descriptions and the latest addition slots in at the end – this new V-Class.
The serious contender
As one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world, Chevrolet took a bit of strain after the recent recession yet the American giant was blessed with perfect timing as that coincided with the launch of their new world beater – a passenger car for markets around the globe – the Chevrolet Cruze.
The brilliant plus
Although we are blessed with a multitude of cars – some may even argue abundance – there are some models which we don’t get. Next to any left-hand-drive-only examples, quite a few sub-species don’t always make it to our shores. One such car was the Volkswagen Golf Plus.
The new jam
The Opel Adam is an important little car. With the German manufacturer reeling from internal struggles and slumping sales, Adam represents the spearhead of their new market onslaught. Named after Opel’s founder Adam Opel, it’s akin to Ford calling their new car “Henry”. It’s a big deal.
Usually I wouldn’t be this generous on a Thursday morning but you find me in a particularly good mood so I’ll let you into an insider’s tip. One of the best kept secrets of the industry and a car which almost every motoring journalist raves about – yours truly included – is the Honda Accord.