Driving Impressions

PORTIMãO, Portugal – For more than 40 years, the BMW 3 Series, with its combination of luxury and rear-wheel-driven dynamic agility, has won favour with buyers looking for something a little more dashing than its business-suited segment rivals. Now in its seventh generation (check out pricing ...

PALMA, Mallorca – Flagship models may be the most expensive (and, least cost effective) examples of their respective ranges, but many South Africans cannot resist buying them. Here’s an example: in the local range of the award-winning Volkswagen Golf, the GTI version is the bestseller. Granted, ...

GAYDON, United Kingdom – “It needs to be as good to drive as it looks.” At least that’s how Aston Martin chief engineer, Matt Becker, described the (unofficial) mission statement for the DBS Superleggera’s development programme at the firm’s headquarters in Gaydon.I’m about to find out ...

RONDA, Spain – “It’s just an expensive (Volkswagen) Polo.” That derisive statement is often uttered by critics of the Audi A1 and now the second-generation of the Ingolstadt-based premium marque’s littlest hatchback is out, the grumblings are bound to start afresh. Unsurprisingly, the newcomer ...

CAPE TOWN – Globally, the majority of automakers have shown or are showing some sort of interest in electrification. But here in South Africa that's largely not been the case thanks to pricing and infrastructure considerations (although that appears to be slowly changing with the likes of the all-electric ...

RONDA, Spain – It’s dark, wet and miserably cold at Circuito Ascari, a privately owned and intricately curved test track on the outskirts of Ronda in southern Spain. All I have to guide me around the course is the Laser Light technology fitted to the updated Audi R8; its howling V10 sports upgraded ...

CAPE TOWN – “Go big or go home”. This saying can be applied to many aspects of life ... but now also to the double-cab bakkie segment in South Africa. The reason? The local launch of the highly anticipated, V6-powered Mercedes-Benz X350d, which becomes the most expensive and most powerful bakkie ...

GEORGE, Western Cape – Four. That's how many turbochargers BMW has strapped to the 3,0-litre straight-six diesel unit sited over the front axle of the M50d, the derivative that plays the role of flagship in the new, fourth-generation X5 range (ahead of the inevitable launch of the as-yet-unrevealed, ...

As a modern-day commuter, it’s hard to imagine the challenges drivers faced piloting cars a century ago. This 1911 Fiat, for example, feels a world away from anything else on the road today. Some parts, like the brass ancillaries, foot pedals and four-spoke steering wheel, are wonderfully solid but, ...