Does a Toyota Corolla even need to be reviewed? We think this new one does…
370Z
Top 5: Sound Systems
Today we are counting down the list of thee most impressive sound systems we’ve ever heard in a car. Please note that this excludes any aftermarket SPL monster installs because our friend Jonas with his speaker-drenched Citi Golf Designa would knock everyone off this page and make you deaf.
Tested: Audi A3 Cabrio
The basic suspect
Sometimes it feels that the collective car makers are building a car for every person. New models, filling niches, updating a range, they just keep on coming. Obviously this is quite enjoyable when you’re a motoring journalist but it also means that you have to get your head around cars like the Audi A3 Cabriolet.
List: (affordable) High-rev Monsters
The fizzy champions
I’ll let you into a little secret. There’s a get-out-of-jail-free card which I will allow any car to pull no matter how terrible it may be. It’s not red paint, it’s not Xenon lights, nor is it a gigantic sound system or two-tone sports seats. Those do count for something but they can’t compete with high revs.
The correct time
Dear car manufacturers, I’m writing to you today with less of a rant than a positive criticism about a trend that has been slowly creeping into luxury cars over the past few years. It isn’t massage seats, head-up displays or infra-red vision, no, it’s the analogue clock.
Tested: Infiniti EX37
Something truly special
Most people in South Africa associate luxury vehicles with the three German manufacturers that dominate this market sector. However, I’ve recently become a fan of the latest offerings from Japan. This move was spearheaded by Toyota with Lexus now fairly established in the country but Nissan’s new Infiniti brand is no less impressive.
0-100km/h times [2012]
The trump cards
Many people will argue that naught to a hundred times are childish and irrelevant, an automotive statistic only useful at the bar counter or in a pack of trump cards. Others will defend this benchmark test as a measure of a car’s performance, perhaps even reasoning that it’s important to know how quickly a car accelerate away from potential harm, or onto a motorway.
Tested: 2012 Nissan 370Z Roadster (A)
The aggro darling
Last year on a drizzling May morning I was silently praying and denting the passenger foot-well of Nissan’s 370Z Roadster as a seasoned motoring journalist took us through a damp Du Toits Kloof Pass, often sideways and one-handed while merrily chatting about modern advertising standards.
Tested: 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLK350
The furious plaything
This year’s South African Car of the Year competition had one outright winner, a few middle men and an undisputed loser. Racking up the least amount of points ever was the Mercedes-Benz SLK350, a luxury plaything that looked lost among a sea of affordability and puzzled many by even making the finals.
Padtoets: Nissan 370Z
Winskoop van die jaar
Drie maande moes ek wag voordat ek my beurt in Nissan se nuwe 370Z gekry het; en sy opgewonde aanhangers het nie gejok nie. Dit is ‘n fantastiese sportmotor, en hy’t sopas nog ‘n aanhanger gekry!