Road Tests

2011 might be drawing to an end, but the automotive industry doesn’t seem to be dabbing the brakes. Manufacturers have unleashed some exciting models onto the local scene in this last quarter – take a look at some of the new products we’ve sampled, from a beastly AMG to a quirky Japanese jester.

One of the most sought after aromas is the telltale scent of “new car.” This triggers the idea that “you have arrived” because you now have a new car. However, once the intoxicating new-car miasma dissipates, it may behoove you to know that new-car smell is potentially toxic.

Who would have thought a bunch of German’s would vote for a Brit over their own kind? Well, 70,000 readers of German motoring magazine, Auto Bild Sportscars, did just that.

With the exception of the locally conceptualised Joule, mention of electric vehicles (or EV’s as they’re commonly known) is almost unheard of in South Africa. But that’s all about to change with the imminent arrival of the Nissan LEAF.

My first ever experience with the Kia Picanto came in 2006 on a family trip to George, where we hired the little Asian to run around town – in the event the local golf course was a bit too shabby for our liking.

Now that the excitement and hoopla that was the Johannesburg International Motorshow is over it’s time to sit back and take stock of one of the main reasons Drive RSA went. The launch of the MG6.

I will soon be trading in the sleepy coastal town of Durban for “big city” life in Johannesburg. The prospect of having to navigate around Joburg often gives me cold shivers.

I tested a Honda Jazz back when I first started out as a motor journalist in 2009. In those days the B segment wasn’t all that hotly contested.

I’ve just got back from the brilliance that is a press day. It’s that magical time where press get a first look in on something before Joe public ruins it by turning up in huge crowds.