Nicol Louw

CAR’s technical editor was once the senior vehicle integration engineer on Optimal Energy’s Joule electric car and had stints with Ford (UK), Integral Powertrain (UK) and CAE. He completed his MSc in mechanical engineering in 2004, obtained UK Chartered Engineering status in 2009 and is a judge of the International Engine of the Year competition.

TECH FEATURE: Torque vs Power

“Power is how fast your car hits a wall at full throttle; torque is how far it moves the wall after impact,” is one description of the two units I recently heard. Unfortunately, this explanation is not entirely accurate, but it is a way of making sense of the concepts in simple terms. Although ...

New Porsche Taycan: tech insight into the brand's first all-electric car

An all-electric Porsche? I have to pinch myself as I climb into the Porsche Taycan for my shotgun ride around the carmaker’s Düsseldorf test track. Is this a sign the electric-vehicle (EV) revolution has truly started? There is not much time to philosophise before the Porsche test driver mashes ...

DRIVEN: Audi Q3 35 TFSI S tronic S line

GEORGE, Western Cape – It's no longer an ugly duckling, is it? Beauty is, of course, in the eye of the beholder but the previous-generation Audi Q3 (although popular) was hardly the most visually appealing vehicle in the Ingolstadt-based firm's range. The tortoise-shell shape looked awkward from ...

DRIVEN: Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid Coupé

DÜSSELDORF, Germany – Leaving the car park in E-Power mode, there is no telling this is the leading Porsche SUV and the fastest Cayenne to date. The 100 kW electric motor is providing near silent propulsion as we navigate the congested roads around Düsseldorf. Even turning onto the motorway ...

DRIVEN: Opel Grandland X 1,6 Turbo Enjoy AT

CAPE TOWN – Vanilla-flavoured ice-cream is always a conservative but safe choice. My mom had a confectionary shop that also sold ice-cream. I used to sample all the flavours, including chocolate (sprinkled with nuts), rum 'n' raisin, peppermint and strawberry, to name but a few. After a couple ...

Serious about camping? Here's how an off-road trailer is made...

The modern camping trailer is a prime example of practical engineering. We go behind the scenes to find out how one is designed and built... What load-shedding? Camping on the South Coast in the luxurious Bushwakka Sundowner, I’m oblivious to the national energy crisis. The battery pack, charged ...

DRIVEN: Ford Everest 2,0 BiT 10AT 4x4 XLT (and Limited)

BOTSWANA – Standing on the majestic salt flats of Makgadikgadi I observe something that is tragically absent from modern-day life: absolute silence. The kind of stillness and peace that cuts to the soul and makes one re-evaluate life. A few metres behind me, with its wheels planted firmly on the ...

Interactive engine simulation: check out Toyota's 1,6-litre 4A-GE!

Ever wondered exactly how an engine works? Now you can play with this interactive model and have a little fun while you learn. Local company DigiSoft has given us a taste of its simulation capability by bringing the famous Toyota 1,6-litre 4A-GE engine to life in digital form. The user can change parameters ...

Where the rubber meets the road: we investigate the science of grip...

A vehicle’s motive and cornering forces are generated at the tyres’ contact patches. We attended the Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport launch at Spain’s Ascari Circuit to learn more... In the tyre industry, UHP stands for “ultra-high performance”. It accurately describes the ...

Long-term test: Kia Sportage 2,0 CRDi EX Plus auto visits Golden Gate

Almost 4 000 km is a tough initiation stint for any vehicle. But that's exactly what the Kia Sportage faced only two days after arrived at the CAR offices. The reason? My midyear family holiday trip, this time to the picturesque Drakensberg region. The Sportage range was updated in 2018, which saw ...