This is where you’ll find all English-speaking cars. OK jokes, this category has all our English reports of many different vehicles.
The black sorcery
Top dog, alpha fe/male, king of the hill. These expressions may be outdated or even frowned upon in our modern society but their meaning remains the same – identifying a leader. Of course this can also be done in the automotive world and while my latest test car may have an increasing number of rivals, I think that the Mercedes S-Class is still top dog.
Cars can be so boring. In our hectic modern lifestyles, where automobiles have simply become a mundane means of traffic-jam-infested transport, it breaks my heart to see hordes of lofty 4×4’s and bland hatchbacks. Why? They simply don’t make my soul sing like a powder blue Volvo XC40 with white wheels.
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.
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.
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.
I’ve got another confession to make. Besides incredibly common cars like Polos or Fortuners, there’s another class of automobile that leaves me reasonably cold: the mid-size SUV. You know what I’m talking about, right? Think Audi Q5, BMW X5, Mercedes ML or GLE and my latest test car – Volvo’s XC60.
Almost exactly 24 years ago, my parents had just taken delivery of a new 4×4 when my best friend from school coaxed his Dad into taking us for a spin in his latest acquisition – a Dakar Yellow E36 BMW M3 Coupé. That spirited June drive through Windhoek left quite an impression and a secret yearning to own an M3.
Have you ever brought a knife to a gunfight? A speedo to a beach party? If you can imagine the buttocks-clenching feeling of such faux-pas, you have a good idea what state I was in while testing the newest compact SUV from Jaguar. You see, we didn’t just saunter through town with the E-Pace, we took it deep into the dirty Karoo.
Good news. People are actually reading my reviews and, more importantly, some of these people appear to be listening to my suggestions. When I dismissed some sporty BMW convertible a few weeks ago and stated that I’d rather drive a weaker version, I honestly didn’t expect it to pitch up so quickly.