I really am beginning to despise capable little cars. Especially the cocky sort that get the job of commuting done effortlessly on a whiff of fuel because they seem to be having a laugh at the other seemingly pointless behemoths that refuse to move out of their garages without at least 10 litres of fuel in their tanks, writes Sukasha Singh.

Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) are not things people usually think about when buying a car, but they can certainly become an annoyance after the purchase of a vehicle. NVH is exactly what the term implies and when manufacturers don’t pay attention to reducing it, their cars usually exhibit a great deal of road noise and other little annoyances that can cause a fair deal of discomfort.

I’ve always been fascinated by rally drivers simply because it must take nerves of steel to be able to push those souped-up cars to the limit on often slippery dirt roads, knowing that the slightest miscalculation could result — as it often does — in costly accidents. It’s not something I’ve ever wanted to try because I’m more at home on a properly tarred racetrack, writes Sukasha Singh.

While I was watching <i>The Fast and the Furious, Tokyo Drift</i>, I wondered why anyone would go through the tedious process of making such a dreadfully weak movie that is essentially an excuse to show off the growing worldwide phenomenon of drifting. Why not just make a documentary and save the money you would have spent on actors, asks Sukasha Singh.

Most people who like to think they know a great deal about cars will tell you that any red-blooded motoring enthusiast has at some point in his/her life owned an Alfa Romeo. That may or may not be the case, but if there’s one common denominator about Alfas of the past, it’s the way in which their owners speak about them, writes Sukasha Singh.

"Tired of being accused of driving only glamorous cars, I accepted an invitation to the launch of the new Nissan Patrol Pickup.If you’re looking for a rugged, no-frills workhorse, then the Patrol Pickup is your car. It’s built for the sole purpose of traipsing over treacherous terrain with the talent, finesse and ease of a mountain goat on a mission," writes Sukasha Singh.

Two days before I was to take delivery of the press test vehicle I would have been driving during my 30th birthday, the booking was cancelled. Just when it seemed that I would have to drive my boring old car during a landmark birthday, the ever-efficient Toyota marketing guys phoned me to say that they had secured a Lexus RX350 for me.

If there’s one thing we expect from the Volvo brand, it’s safety. Volvo has successfully entrenched its core value even to the point where one would have to admit that it sometimes comes across as rather boring and one-tracked. But that’s not a bad thing because it’s a great foundation to build from and that’s exactly what it has done very consistently over the years.

Okay, I’m going to die now. That is it, there is no way I’m going to survive this. We’re doing nearly 270kph, coming very close to what looks like a 90° corner and this dude has no intention of braking. Hope I’ve been good enough in this life to ensure that I don’t come back as a dung beetle in my next life (not that I believe people reincarnate into insects and animals, but that’s not the point).

"Sometimes, I can really take my hat off to marketing folk in the motoring industry. Of course, not all of them work off the same page and even in this day and age there are still some who are prejudicial and rude. But there are some who are exceedingly cunning and clever, such as the Renault team," writes Sukasha Singh.