Stuttgart, 5 June 2018 – The latest iteration of Ferrari’s turbo-charged V8 that equips, in various forms, all Ferrari’s V8-engined cars, has been nominated the best engine in the world for the third year running in the 2018 International Engine of the Year Awards.
Five days. That’s how long it took me to finally get used to my latest test car or rather, to actually appreciate what its maker had in mind. Forgive my initial resistance to its charms, but the BMW M240i Convertible annoyed me for 120 hours straight with its many, many flaws during my regular commutes.
Die opgedateerde 2017 Captur mag dalk vir baie vreemd lyk, ietwat soos ‘n skilpad wat besluit het om vir ‘n Donald Trump “spray tan” te gaan. Gedurende ons week met die Captur, was die konsensus egter die omgekeerde en het talle persone gesoek na ‘n foto, of slegs net ‘n binne toer van die voertuig. Die Captur is presies waarna die naam verwys, ‘n voertuig wat individue se harte steel met die eerste oogopslag.
Have you noticed how some cars are starting to look the same? Not to name and shame, I can think of a few luxury marques whose range can only be deciphered by a veteran salesperson or the designer himself. Happily, Honda didn’t get that idea (yet), especially with their new Civic sedan.
The motoring industry often develops its own names for certain genres of automobiles. Softroaders, MPV’s, Sports Sedans all denominate a category of car but none is more revered than the fabled Hot Hatch. After spending a week with Honda’s new Civic Type-R, I’d like to propose a rethink of that classification.
We all know them, those long ribbons of tarmac which lead us to the next Namibian town. Usually dead-straight, kissing the hazy horizon and made from 50 shades of grey. Out here you need a proper car, something comfortable with good road-holding, great tunes and a fuel-efficient engine.
Every other month, a car manufacturer announces that they’re launching the most important model ever. Considering the manpower and investment it takes to put a new car on its wheels, I certainly won’t argue with that but find the phrase slightly overused – with very few exceptions. Like the new Opel Astra.
I finally met Eleanor – my automotive unicorn. No, she isn’t a grey Mustang but, much like in the modern Gone in Sixty Seconds movie, this car has given me a proper runaround. With three cancelled bookings and a premature departure from my house, I now know that my Eleanor is a Mercedes-Benz CLS400.
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.