Author:charleen-clarke
In the automotive world there are specific vehicles that have no equal. The Suzuki Jimny is one of them. The Jimny? That diminutive, unintimidating three-door 4×4 with just a 1,5-litre four-cylinder engine? Surely there are other 4x4s that could teach this little mite how itโs done? There are, sure โ but at R299ย 900 for this GLX manual model, you have to almost double the price point to find them. You will find 4×4 or all-wheel drive vehicles only slightly north […]
Hyundai calls its new Kona crossover โbeautifulโ and โperkyโ โฆ Iโm not sure Iโd go that far, but one thing is for certain โ this is Hyundai breaking out of its conservative mould and into a bold new world of design! Indeed, in the ultra-competitive C-segment SUV/crossover arena, the Kona will have to stand out to make a real impressionโฆ Looking rugged, bold, eye-catching โ alienistic โ stand out it does! Muscular haunches and strong character lines are interplayed with […]
Three and a half out of ten, thatโs what I rated Datsunโs original GO back in 2015. It was so lacking that my suggestion was to rather buy something second handโฆ In the ensuing years, though, the market has changed significantly, with many new competitors entering the entry-level segment โ and prices going up (as with everything in recent years). Nissan South Africa knew, therefore, that it had to ensure the updated GO addressed all its previous issues and offered […]
As part of its activities at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Daimler Trucks hired the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and let us loose on and around the track … in order to experience its latest (and most definitely greatest) North American truck and bus/coach range. Daimler Trucks is aiming to offer the widest electric commercial vehicle product range in North America (out of all the original equipment manufacturers). Accordingly, the bulk of the test vehicles โ the […]
Daimler let its incredible Urbanetic, which we first saw at the 2018 IAA in Hannover, lose on the world-famousย Las Vegas Strip during the Consumer Electronics Show. Needless to say, it attracted a massive amount of attention. That was primarily because the vehicle looks so funky. However, the technology inside this vehicle study is even more incredible. Naturally, it is autonomous (dah, thatโs obvious nowadays). It also runs on a battery-electric drive (another dah to that, because itโs also hardly breaking […]
Sophie Punte, executive director of the Smart Freight Centre, has a dream. She would like to โgreenโ the global supply chain. CHARLEEN CLARKE went face to face with her and asked her how she planned to achieve this. Have you always been an environmental champion? Yes, when I was 21, I travelled to India and I returned a changed person. I discovered that the environment needed to be protected and I decided to dedicate my life to this cause. I […]
The Ford Ranger is consistently among the top-selling bakkies in South Africa (every so often it claims the top spot for the month) and, with a model range of more than 25 vehicles, there is certainly something to suit every buyer and application. In but a few monthsโ time a new series of Ranger will be launched locally, with new models and a new generation of engines. We thought, then, that this would be the perfect opportunity to get reacquainted […]
Peugeot has reimagined its 308 and repositioned it โ whittling the range down to one high-value model, the 308 Allure 1,2 THP (with manual or auto gearbox). In a segment dominated by the ever-brilliant Golf and packed full with a host of new competitors, that are more determined than ever to have a piece of the Golf pie, the lone 308 has a tough fight on its hands. What can I expect from the 308? Peugeot has given the 308 […]
Incredibly, after years of hoo-haย surrounding the topic of platooning, the concept has been ditched byย the worldโs biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles! This revelation came from Martin Daum, member of the board of management of Daimler AG with responsibility for Daimler Trucks & Buses, who was addressing the worldโs commercial vehicle media at a press conference at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Daum told us lots of other interesting stuff (more about that later), but it was the […]
The boom in the compact SUV segment is showing no signs of abating, with almost every manufacturer offering at least one model. Opelโs is this, the Grandland X โ one of the first new models to be launched following General Motorsโs offloading of the brand to the PSA Group (Peugeot/Citroรซn). This means that the Grandland X shares a platform with one of its rivals โ the Peugeot 3008. Youโd expect much of the same, thenโฆ But, a week spent with […]
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