When Nissan’s Navara range was launched last year in 4×2 form, it was generally accepted as the best-looking bakkie on our roads, but journalists were concerned about the future of the Hardbody. Nissan accepted that some cannibalisation would occur, but almost 12 months later sales of the Hardbody haven’t decreased and the Navara has managed to capture its own slice of the SUV pie.

There’s a detectable split in loyalty between people who buy mid-range performance vehicles much the same way there is a split between those who buy luxury sedans. In all likelihood, those people who are well-oiled and passionate about cars are either dedicated Mercedes-Benz, BMW or even Audi fans.

Women in the motoring industry are looked upon as token appointments who couldn’t possibly have a passion for cars, who couldn’t possibly enjoy the thrill of pushing a car to the edge of its abilities. It all gets a bit tiresome sometimes and it is for this reason that I felt slightly better about life, the universe and everything else at a recent Subaru vehicle launch, writes Sukasha Singh.

The BMW Z4 M Coupé is the kind of car that makes you realise that there are those among us (guys and girls), who have an extremist streak that makes them push the limits of recreation beyond reason. The Z4 M is a slick-looking two-seater sports car that feels about as comfortable as bouncing around on a pogo stick.

The German Touring Car championships (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters or DTM) is a racing series that takes place in and around Germany and, while not receiving as much international coverage as other racing championships, is a hotly contested series.

One of the first James Bond movies I remember watching as a child is <i>Goldfinger</i>. Sean Connery (the quintessential Bond) played the as-slick-as-a-politician-turned-BEE-millionaire secret agent 007 for British intelligence agency MI6. The movie featured the first in a series of Bond girls with daft names (Pussy Galore), but, more importantly, it featured Bond’s Aston Martin DB5.

Okay, let’s be honest, there are very few of us who are going to read about the B-Class and wonder really if it isn’t just the A-Class, only bigger. While the A-Class is, no doubt, a great vehicle in it’s own right, nobody really wants a vehicle that offers just slightly more than another, slightly cheaper vehicle in the range.

Any manufacturer that updates a current model in its range, adds a few new features and drops the price of the car deserves to be looked at more than once if that particular car falls into your price bracket. There are some manufacturers out there who are intent on continuing to bring out overpriced vehicles and it’s really quite easy to identify them.

Street credibility is important to have if you want to turn heads and impress with your car. It is defined by how fast your car goes, how well it handles and, most importantly, how good it looks. Of course, in reality, acquiring street cred means that you have to spend many tedious hours either modifying your car yourself, as most die-hard petrol-heads do, or you can buy a car that comes equipped with everything you need. The Ford Focus ST is that car.