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Welcome to this week’s contradiction on wheels: the decidedly extravagant Range Rover powered by a sensible turbo-diesel engine. Half the appeal of a flashy R-R Sport was always its thundering beast of an engine so does this mean the Sport badge should be ripped off its backside?
If I mention the word Jaguar do you also think of a spotted tiger and stodgy British cars? More senior readers might lean back, tug on their pipes and reminisce about Le Mans D-Types, sexy E-Types and Mark Twos but you’ll be hard-pressed to locate a fanatical S-Type or X-Type owner.
I’ve typed it before and I’ll type it again; I love a random pleasant surprise by having my expectations exceeded. When a dark grey Chevy Cruze dieselled its way into my life it had a rather steep hill to climb as my expectations were low to non-existent.
I’m assuming that some of you have just returned from a long, hot and tiresome holiday trip ready to trade in the spouse’s ageing wheels. In your absence, most dealerships have steam-cleaned the driveway, topped up the coffee machine and are waiting (some, anxiously) for your visit.
The key I currently have in my pocket will grant access to a Peugeot 207 of sorts with, umm… This manufacturer is rather stingy with their badges so that’s all I know for now. I’m unsure what engine it has but can report about the presence of five doors and a solid roof so it’s neither the GTi nor the flip-top CC.
When the cat’s away, the mice will play. No sooner had our senior journalist boarded an Airbus bound for Germany and I took charge of the office. I rearranged all thumbtacks, drank all the coffee, put my feet on the desk and got myself invited to the launch of the new Volkswagen Amarok.
No time for chit-chat this week, I have a lot of stuff to work through with our latest test car, the Range Rover Vogue SE TDV8. If you think that name is quite long, you should cast your eyes upon the car itself. I can’t recall when last I drove a car that is, mostly, taller than me.
Die Prado VX is waarskynlik die koning van voertuie in Afrika. Dié van ons wat al regtig rowwe paaie en wilde riviere deurkruis het op pad Kongo toe, kan daarvan getuig. Soos ‘n paar jaar gelede wat ons met groot bravado ‘n rivier in volle vaart deur is sodat die voorste GP nommerplaat losgeruk het en vandag iewers in die Atlantiese Oseaan dobber; dit terwyl die man in sy VX rustig halfpad deur gesto het om sy voertuig ‘n slag weer te was!
I never understood our senior journalist’s love for automatic Diesel SUV’s, until I strapped myself to the new Honda CR-V i-DTEC. It turns out they’re not as noisy, smelly and slow as I always maintained. Well, this Honda isn’t.
Peugeot van Suid-Afrika het vergeet om ons te nooi na die bekendstelling van hulle jongste model in Suid-Afrika. Maar dis nie die ergste nie; sover het ek nog nie van hulle gehoor dat hulle vir die kanniedood Peugeot 404 vanjaar ‘n 50-jarige partytjie gaan geen nie. Hierdie model, wat in 1960 bekendgestel is, het in Suid-Afrika (en Oos-Afrika) baie diep spore getrap.