As 4X4 wagons go, I’ve had two favourites for the past year or so. The Toyota Fortuner and GM’s Hummer H3 appeal to me because they offer acceptable comfort levels, genuine off-road capabilities and are relatively well-priced. Just about everything else is either too fancy and expensive to take into the bush, or inadequate for really serious use off-road, writes Gavin Foster.

As I write this, Father’s Day is drawing to a close and I can’t help but think how different it all could have been if I’d had access to Audi’s new S3 back in November 1974. Back then, I naively believed that taking up motorcycle racing would render me irresistible to sexually unfulfilled young women, writes Gavin Foster.

With earnings of maybe R40-million from the movie <i>The World’s Fastest Indian</i>, Sir Anthony Hopkins did much better from Herbert James Munro’s love for his 1920 Indian Scout than the eccentric genius from New Zealand did. Gavin Foster looks at the life of Munro, one filled with crashes and motorcycle maintenance.

How many of you have ever seen an eight-time world champion hustle a 500-horsepower motorcycle down the drag strip in anger? Now’s your chance, because Ricky Gadson’s here to break in Africa’s most powerful two-wheeler — the newly arrived Bear Ghost Rider Kawasaki ZX-12R Turbo.

A friend once told me that whenever he hears "Land Rover" he always sees, in his mind’s eye, a skinny, middle-aged man with blackened fingernails, wearing khaki shorts that stop just above grubby knees. Ever since then I can’t help but see the same old geezer every time I hear or see the magic words, writes Gavin Foster.

Toyota has introduced a station-wagon version of its Panzer-like Land Cruiser pickup to the South African market. Unburdened by the electronic gimmickry, low-profile tyres and tonnes of luxury features found on top-end 4×4 wagons, the Land Cruiser 70 wagon uses most of the underpinnings of its rugged bakkie sibling to provide the ultimate off-road performance at the cost of some comfort.

Nissan made its intentions quite clear at the launch of its all-new Tiida late last year. It wanted to knock a dent in Toyota’s monopoly over the passenger-car C-segment and, to do that, it would have to attract ordinary people rather than just the fleet owners who traditionally bought the outgoing Almera by the bucket load.

Kawasaki has always believed in delivering horses for courses. With their latest ZX-10R and ZX-6R superbikes they told the world that these uncompromising machines were designed to deliver the best possible racetrack performance for experienced riders, and those who wanted a bike more suited for everyday use should look elsewhere in their range.

For a company so steeped in tradition, Harley-Davidson sure broke the mould when it introduced its V-Rod back in 2001. Its liquid-cooled, fuel-injected engine was developed with the help of Porsche, and the new bike’s styling looked 10 years ahead of its time, rather than 40 years behind.