Namibia's content-driven motoring portal
Short ‘n sweet, to the point. These are our no-frills Sprint Reviews:
What you need to know: Mercedes-Benz is not just the oldest car maker in the world, it’s also one of the most dynamic brands. A few decades ago they built boring beige tanks for your grandma, now they cater to our ever-accelerating desire for individuality, instant gratification and ego-boosting experiences.
What you need to know: Renault’s fourth-generation Clio arrived with new technology, great prices and fantastic looks – its fame was short-lived though because it hit a few wobblies with quality and servicing. RS stands for “RenaultSport” and is the hot-hatch model for battling Polo and 208 GTi’s.
What you need to know: Alfa Romeo used to build lithe little runabouts which – with a bit of tinkering – would perform like sports cars. If you need any proof of this claim, just hurl names like Spider, Giulia (say: Julia), Sud or GTV at the nearest elderly gentlemen and get ready for wide-eyed tales of automotive antics.
What you need to know: The Range Rover Evoque actually started life as the LRX concept car from 2008. Completely overwhelmed by the public’s approval, Land Rover simply had to build it; the first Evoques appeared in 2011 and are a huge success for the brand.
So huge, in fact, that now every Landy looks like an Evoque. The car that gave everything else its face was built on the Freelander Mk2 platform so it isn’t really a Range Rover.
What you need to know: Kia’s new Sportage is closely related to its Korean cousin, the Hyundai Tucson. Besides sharing a lot of technology, the relation is evident in both vehicle’s stylish looks. Where a Tucson shows flowing lines, the Sportage was penned with more determined strokes of the pen.
What you need to know: The Volkswagen Passat has been around for ages and it shows. This sedan is one of those insider tips, it’s a no-brainer that deserves more sales but somehow gets ignored. Wrong badge? Perhaps in our closed minds because elsewhere (overseas markets) it’s often Volkswagen’s best seller.
What you need to know: Hyundai’s popular compact SUV started as the Tucson, became the ix35 and then reverted back to Tucson for this third generation. With ever-improving design, quality, specifications and warranties, it’s no wonder that this range of Korean soft-roaders has become a roaring success.
What you need to know: The Volvo V60 is an estate car, no doubt about it. South Africans hate estate cars because they think of them as hearses. Volvo’s been clever by nailing some off-roady bits to a normal V60 and calling it “Cross Country”. You see? No more undertaker! All lifestyle, ready for your mountain bike trip…
What you need to know: The Toyota Prius was the first petrol-electric hybrid vehicle to go into mass production around 1997 and its maker sold about nine million hybrids since (including Lexus). 2,900 of those were in bakkie-mad, long-distance southern Africa. Exact Namibian sales numbers unknown…
What you need to know: The Renault Captur is a reasonably new sight in southern Africa, based on the compact Clio hatchback and squarely aimed at the mushrooming (B-segment) compact SUV market. Other car makers offer similar products with the Nissan Juke and Ford Ecoboost all relying on small hatch platforms.