Sometimes it’s nice to be part of a minority. Exclusive. Quirky. Whatever you care to label it, there are upsides to staying clear of the herd.
Z4
Tested: Mazda MX-5
The direct crisis
There’s an itching in your soul. Somewhere between cellphone bills, more grey hairs, meetings about meetings and the school run you feel a void of unhappiness. What you have my friend, is a mid-life crisis, and the only thing that’ll fix it is a little red convertible sports car. May I suggest the new Mazda MX-5?
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.
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 BMW Z4 sDrive20i
The brilliant base
BMW’s have recently had a strong showing on these pages and there are a few simple reasons for this. Firstly, they’ve introduced a few fresh models and more importantly, the Bavarians have a new range of engines in most of their vehicles.
Tested: 2012 BMW 320i
The striking progress
I’m a petrol head. While most people fondly remember their first kiss, first bike or first dog, I like to think back to the first car I took sideways, the first car I managed to chirp into third gear and the first car I inevitably spun. These honours belong to just one automobile… a BMW Three Series.
The best intentions
The basis for my rants is usually an annoying event that becomes downright intolerable or repeats itself too often. The latter occurred just this morning in the shape of two forwarded emails about BMW’s.
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.
Tested: 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35i
Third time lucky
If an underwear model came up to you for the third time and offered to buy you a drink, would you refuse? I thought so. I have no idea what happened and even less interest in the consequences, but last week someone gave me a Z4 that I have tested before.
Tested: BMW Z4 sDrive35i
The double-turbo Fräulein
Sometimes you get a second chance; a second chance for success, to say sorry, or with an old flame. When I cautiously dropped into the new BMW Z4 sDrive35i it felt like I was getting a second chance with a beautiful girl; only in my absence she had frequented the gym.