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Niche cars are all the rage nowadays. Niche cars, in case you didn’t know this, are vehicles which fill alleged gaps between various segments of the market. Volvo’s V40 already straddles hatch and estate chairs but has just been given a pair of gum boots to turn it into the V40 Cross Country.
Cross-overs sind heutzutage sehr beliebt, Fahrzeuge für eine Lücke oder Nische zwischen verschiedenen Marktsegmenten. Volvo’s V40 schwebt schon zwischen Schrägheck und Kombi aber hat jetzt ein paar Gummistiefel angezogen und möchte als “Cross Country” sich etwas im Gelände austoben.
A gruff, off-beat sound usually accompanied by a whistling turbo charger can only mean one thing: five cylinders. With even numbers being the preferred stencil for engine manufacturing, the five-pot is just as quirky and potentially unbalanced as those little three-cylinders.
I often get asked for car buying advice and happily dispense it, even if it’s just confirmation of someone’s top choices. It’s very rare that someone derails from these and ends up buying something completely different. It’s even rarer that they confess this mistake to me: “we should’ve bought the V40!”
Despite fluctuating sales the motoring industry has never offered more diversity and consumers are absolutely spoilt rotten for choice when it comes to selecting their next set of wheels. We at NamWheels have compiled a wee list of cars which we believe to be hidden gems.
It’s always a great indication of a good product if you can boast enthusiastic brand ambassadors amongst your customers. Volvo must be doing excellent work with its cars as I had the tremendous pleasure of being accosted by a very enthusiastic Volvo owner while driving the fantastic V40 T3 Excel just the other day.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Modern consumer culture demands that the motor industry almost perpetually reinvents itself, especially big companies like Volvo. Having just tested the impressive V40, this week we found ourselves in the familiar surroundings of a Volvo V60.
Yesterday while cruising through some bustling and café-laden side streets, I realised that my current test vehicle must nudge the upper limits of cool and trendy. Some may disagree but I’ve experienced plenty of rubber-necking and made two new friends thanks to the Volvo V40.
One of the most striking things about the motor industry is its diversity; not just in terms of products but the preferences of various regions. Every continent, nation, country, often even province is different from the next and what sells next door may not even feature on the newest local brochure.
Sometimes it’s great to be a motoring journalist. Hang on, actually it’s pretty awesome being a car journo. Our own cars tend to be non-existent, broken or extremely impractical so when some unexpected visitors propose a scenic tour around the Cape Peninsula, one simply phones around a bit.