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/ 1 September 2004
"There I was, driving along in the little Kia Picanto LX — weighing in at all of 1100cc and R72 995 — and my cell phone rang. If I liked, I was told, I could drop off the little Kia and pick up a Mercedes- Benz C230K Sports Coupé for the rest of the week. So what did I do? I turned the offer down." Gavin Foster tells us why.
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/ 1 September 2004
With the all-new Ninja ZX-636R, the Big Green K is out to prove you can have your cake <i>and</i> eat it too. With a new 636cc engine, tuned to give even more grunt, married to host of features previously found only on the ZX-6R track model, the new Ninja now delivers better-than racetrack performance on the road.
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/ 1 September 2004
It’s obvious that the Brazilians who designed the new Opel Corsa bakkie intended it to be taken seriously. It has the biggest cab and deepest bin, and boasts the healthiest ground-clearance of all competing bakkies in its class.
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/ 1 September 2004
South Africa’s best selling car — it’s held that title for an incredible 22 years on the trot — has had a facelift, along with a model realignment that sees the Toyota Corolla 180i GLE and 180i GLS Auto replaced by the 180i GLS and the 180i GSX AT respectively.
Building the vehicle is the easy part — planning and co-ordinating the launch is enough to make anyone sweat blood. Take a look at the lengths Toyota South Africa went to for the Hilux Legend35 launch in Madagascar last month …
Once you’ve made it past the security checkpoints, passport control and customs officers at Johannesburg International airport, you’ll find yourself in a shoppers’ paradise, festooned with flashing lights declaring the vendors to be "tax free" and "duty free". This is a dangerous phase of your trip.
After reading all about Triumph’s gargantuan Rocket III we’ve finally had a chance to ride the monster. it’s just as big and <i>badass</i> as the overseas media have led us to believe. The Rocket III is beautifully built and remarkably easy to live with for such an extreme machine. In this case, nothing succeeds like excess.
Volvo’s new V50 sportswagon is here, aimed squarely at young families. The interior of the new wagon is typically classy and uncluttered, with ample space for four people plus their luggage. And with all the usual features we’ve come to expect from the Swedish motor manufacturer, plus a few more, this wagon is good value.
I was rather sorry to see that the Peugeot 307cc sent to me for evaluation was the 100 kW version, lumbered with an automatic gearbox nogal. At over 1 410 kg, thanks to the reinforced body shell and the complicated roof-folding mechanism, the convertible is just too heavy to be the nimble performer its looks promise.
A new fuel management system is out to get fuel fraudsters and thieves. Fuelmaster Fleet works by way of an electronic identity tag in the vehicle’s fuel tank that communicates directly with the service station pump’s security system, allowing fuel to be dispensed and charged to the company’s account.
Let’s be honest: the first Mazda 323 was not a very exciting car. Enter the modern equivalent. The Mazda3 is to its ancestor what the latest laptop is to an abacus, with sophisticated electronic gimmickry providing comfort and safety levels that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.
Remember him? South Africa’s first motorsport World Champion, Kork Ballington won 31 grands prix and four world titles, taking both the 250cc and 350cc crowns for Kawasaki in 1978 and 1979. Today, Kork and his family live in Brisbane, Australia, where he and his wife Bronwyn run a retail fastener business — nuts ‘n bolts, in other words. Gavin Foster has a word with the former champ.
General Motors have given us a sneak-peek at the new Opel Corsa Ute, and we think it’s a stunner.
Triumph chewed up and spat out the rule book when they built a motorcycle with a gargantuan 2,3 litre three cylinder engine. Although officially classed as a Cruiser, the bike recently launched in Johannesburg is quite simply the fastest accelerating machine in the world. And it’s starter motor puts out as much power as Triumph’s first motorcycle did 102 years ago.
Fiat’s new Punto, already one of the most successful Fiat passenger cars ever in Europe, has arrived in Africa. The new range of cars comes in three and five door body shells, motivated by three different engines — a 1,2 litre double overhead camshaft 16 valve petrol unit, a 1,3 litre JTD turbodiesel and a high-performance 1,8 litre petrol burner.
It’s been a whole decade since the last all-new Isuzu KB series bakkie arrived in South Africa. Now the fifth-generation pickup has been launched and it’s bigger, more comfortable and safer than the model it replaces. Gavin Foster gave it a spin in Namibia.
Yamaha has launched a fresh attack on the adventure bike market with their all-new XT660R.
Honda has launched a brand-new version of their big adventure twin, the Varadero. The 996cc V-twin engine – derived from the VTR 1000F – has shed its two big-bore flat-side carburettors in favour of Honda’s PGM-F1 programmed fuel-injection system
DaimlerChrysler SA has introduced a limited edition Jeep Wrangler Extreme Sport.
BMW has finally ended months of rumour and speculation by releasing pictures and some specifications of their first real superbike. The K1200 S will deliver over 120 kW, so it should be a real flyer.
First came Mazda with their "Zoom Zoom" philosophy. Now Renault has released a limited edition Clio called the "Va Va Voom". Is this a sign of a general dumbing down in the car marketing game, asks Gavin Foster?
Kawasaki South Africa has received stock of the biggest V-twin motorcycle ever built. The recently launched VN2000 has already proven so popular in Harley Davidson’s homeland that an American magazine <i>Cruising Rider</i> has decreed it their 2004 Bike of the Year.
Korea’s relentless assault on the rest of the world has gained extra impetus with the arrival of the very impressive and affordable Kia Picanto LX. Having made its debut at the 2003 Frankfort Motor Show the versatile little city-car was launched last week in the Cape and, after driving it for around 60 km, I can happily say that it stands out as an absolute bargain in South Africa’s overpriced car market.
Volvo’s all-new S40 has arrived at last. The cars now on sale in South Africa were all built in Ghent, Belgium, but we can expect to see local production in full swing before the end of this year. While the previous S40 was developed alongside the Mitsubishi Carisma and built at the Japanese company’s factory in Holland, the new car shares genes with the current Ford Focus.
Korean cars and trucks have beaten American and European brands in the JD Power and Associates Initial Quality Survey for the first time ever, after years of steady product improvement.
Smith Mining Equipment has now entered the quad fray with a budget 260cc four wheeler, retailing at a very competitive R29 950.
You might as well say hello to Toyota’s new Corolla Verso, because you’re likely to be seeing a lot of it in future. Although Toyota has built a number of similar vehicles for other markets this is the first of its ilk to be offered here, and the company clearly has its sights set squarely on the Renault Scenic market.
Following hot on the arrival of Fiat’s Stilo three door and multi-wagon late last year the Italian company has now launched a five door model in South Africa. Fiat claims that the Stilo-5 door is two cars in one.
BMW has given their single cylinder F650 models a facelift. Mechanically, the biggest change is to the cylinder head, which now boasts twin sparkplugs.
If ever a single model has worked wonders in uplifting a motor vehicle brand in South Africa, Hyundai’s Getz is the one. The 1,6 litre variants were launched in this country at the beginning of 2003, with the 1,3 litre version following soon after, and our roads are now awash with the little cars. Now the three cylinder common rail diesel engined 1,5 CRDi is here.
"You can believe it. Living in close proximity to a famous mountain gives you delusions of grandeur and fries your brain. Cape Town’s city fathers really are serious about charging professional photographers for taking pictures in their fair city. Anybody who takes the trouble to post a 36-page list of film and photographic rules on their website is obviously being shitty with serious intent", writes Gavin Foster.
MG Rover has introduced a new MG model to South Africa. The MG ZT 160 1.8T, baby brother to the 2,5 litre MG ZT 190, costs R50 000 less than the R315 000 tag of the ZT 190, and gets along pretty briskly with the 118 kW and 215 Nm that its turbocharged 1,8 litre four cylinder engine dishes up.