Namibia's content-driven motoring portal
Short ‘n sweet, to the point. These are our no-frills Sprint Reviews:
Some facts: Volkswagen has refreshed its Polo range with more efficient engines and better technology, at the same time giving the hot-headed GTi a good seeing-to. Where once pounded a 1.4-litre heart, the new Polo GTi now has a growling 1.8-litre with 141kW; in DSG or Manual.
As a city kid that was transplanted to a farm at the tender age of 10, a bakkie has always held a certain kind of magical fascination for me. I think it stems from those early days of embracing farm life on a massive estate that mixed dairy, sheep, fruit and grape farming into one fabulous whole and which was managed by friendly farm managers who didn’t mind nosy kids tagging along for a ride on the back of their sturdy farm bakkies.
Some facts: The BMW 3-Series has always been the sporting driver’s choice and I’ll get straight to it – it still is. While other car makers are trying to infuse youthful dynamism into their machines, BMW just keeps filing away little-by-little at this winning recipe. In fact, this new model looks like they haven’t filed at all…
What you need to know: The Audi A6 is a medium luxury sedan which, while hugely popular overseas, joins its brethren from Mercedes and BMW in the friend zone. Everyone respects them but buys their smaller brothers (A4, C-Class and 3-Series) while lusting after the big A8, S-Class or Seven Series.
Some facts on the CR-V: The Honda CR-V has been around for almost 20 years and happily it’s a car that our market carried almost from the start. With inoffensive looks, no-nonsense tech and clever interiors, the CR-V not only sold well but also commands some pretty impressive resale values.
Good facts to know: The Hyundai Veloster is not exactly new, having been launched internationally in 2011. We got the car about three years later because it took that long to re-engineer its distinctive feature for right-hand-drive – the Veloster has two doors on one side and only one on the other.
What you need to know: The Mercedes CLS is a four-door coupé, which means that it’s technically a two-door car with four doors. This brazen contradiction is quite elegant and practical though, proven by the CLS’ popularity – built since the mid 2000’s, this model is the second generation of this car.
I always liked the Toyota Yaris. I thought it was funky. Great lines, clever, economical car. So many people I know drive one of the older versions and are happy as Larry with their choice. So it was with no small amount of anticipation that I accepted the keys to my bright blue test vehicle. Post testing views are a bit dampened however.
What did we like? Subaru seem to be on a winning ticket with their Outback. It’s a spacious SUV type that offers impressive handling with superb road holding. The 3.6l CVT Lineartronic offers sublime acceleration through a super-smooth gearbox without the accompanying whine so prevalent in most CVT ‘boxes.
What you need to know: Now in its second generation, the Kia Soul is a strange-looking box of a car which is actually quite versatile and good to drive. With LED’s here, more space there and fresh drive trains, gen two retains the proportions of its ancestor (2009-2014) while upping specification levels.