Road Tests

While many enthusiasts would happily opt to be behind the wheel of cars such as the Porsche 718 Spyder, global sales figures of sports-SUVs suggest the demand for stirring performance allied with usable levels of versatility and practicality remains high.   Launched in South Africa nearly three ...

Given the hatch-buying public’s often slavish devotion to the likes of Volkswagen, Toyota and Ford, it must be immensely frustrating for a firm such as Mazda to be sitting on the sidelines. In recent years, the firm has built up a portfolio of models that are daringly styled, precisely built and ...

We’re big fans of the XC40. Does the lustre remain when there’s one fewer cylinder and only two driven wheels? In 2018, we group-tested Volvo’s new XC40 in D4 AWD and T5 AWD forms, and both wowed the CAR team with their panache, practicality and comfort. In fact, when 2018 drew to ...

Less power but more appeal: the four-cylinder BMW Z4 is an altogether better-balanced package than its big brother... Now that we’re well acquainted with the long-awaited rear-wheel-drive sportscar collaboration between BMW and Toyota – see our recent test of the Z4 M40i – it’s ...

Co-developed with SsangYong, the new Mahindra XUV300 represents a watershed moment for this robust Indian brand... If Mahindra’s steadily growing market footprint in the South African landscape has to date relied on adjectives such as “rugged” and “reliable”, with the arrival ...

Until recently, the Amarok V6 was SA’s brawniest lifestyle bakkie … then the 190 kW X350d landed and kicked up a froth at braais across the country. If you’re a devoted reader, you’d know this comparative test has been a long time coming. We first promised to include it in the ...

The GSi badge returns to South Africa in the form of a tweaked Opel Corsa as a range-topping warm hatch... Opel’s GSi badge is one which resonates with many South Africans. At the tail-end of the previous century, it represented everyday cars that had a little extra poke under the bonnet, examples ...

We let Ford’s eagerly anticipated off-road rocket spread its wings on dunes, dirt and blacktop to see just how capable this formidable-looking newcomer is... For all of its hardebaarde connotations and braai-side bragging rights, off-roading requires a surprisingly delicate touch. Obstacles often ...

Is BMW Z4 number three the one to convince purists it’s a purebred sportscar?  You might not instinctively associate the white and blue roundel with roadsters – not like you would Mercedes-Benz or Porsche, at least – but, since the launch of the Z1 in 1989, the Bavarian brand ...