Gavin Foster

Audi in South Africa has added another model to the booming diesel trend in the luxury car market with the introduction of the 120 kW A6 2.5 TDI sedan and Avant station wagon. The new model uses Audi’s unique “Multitronic” six-speed automatic transmission, and the factory claims that the 310 Nm torque that is available […]

Take a look at the all-new Volvo S40 launched at the Frankfurt Motor show this month, replacing the current eight-year-old design. The new S40 will be introduced with a choice of 5-cylinder petrol engines, with the 162 kW T5 model topping the range, as well as a 100 kW 4-cylinder turbodiesel. The car can also […]

The Nissan Almeras have always offered bullet-proof engineering at very good prices in — we think — rather bland packaging. The new model is a huge improvement. For many of the existing Nissan fans out there it’ll be "Al weer ‘n Almera". For the rest, it’s well worth a closer look.

Kawasaki has tackled all of the essentials in producing what’s tipped to be THE one litre sports motorcycle in 2004. The Ninja ZX-10R, due to arrive in this country towards the end of this year, will be lighter, more streamlined and more powerful than anything else in its class.

The reborn Triumph brand has built its reputation upon an excellent range of three-cylinder engines, and the cruiser follows the recipe, although in an all-new engine with over twice the capacity and is the first bike to break the two litre barrier.

Honda South Africa’s Motorcycle Division has set its sights on a larger portion of the growing All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) market in this country, and to mark the occasion invited a number of motoring journalists to play with some of their products at a quarry near Hartebeespoort Dam.

The latest version of the Subaru Forester, delivered to us for evaluation a week or two ago takes the wagon even closer to being all things to all people. It boasts all the normal Forester attributes, but with its performance hugely boosted by the addition of a Mitsubishi TD04 turbocharger that ups power by a whopping 40% to 155 kW, and elevates torque from 223 Nm at 3600 rpm to a very useful 320 Nm at the same revs.

Following on the success of its Car-of-the-Year Polo 1.4 TDI, Volkswagen South Africa has launched a new Polo flagship in the form of the 1.9 TDI. The 1.9TDI produces 74kW at 4 000 rpm and a maximum torque output of 240Nm.

BMW has slotted a third model into its four cylinder K1200 motorcycle range. The new machine, designated the K1200 GT, offers better comfort and improved weather protection than the RS without gaining the bulk of the LT.

Thanks to the valuable credits earned by Toyota’s Corolla export program, the company’s now in a far better position to price its imports keenly, and the newly arrived RX300 is the first Lexus badged vehicle that can justifiably be called a bargain in South Africa. At R462 695 it’s not cheap, but it’s exquisitely built and a fair bit cheaper than the German opposition it’s taking a tilt at.

KIA’s Sorento SUV has won leading United Kingdom-based 4×4 Magazine’s Overall 4×4 of the Year award.

Volkswagen is being cagey about the future of Golf 5 in South Africa.

Volkswagen South Africa has done its bit for affordable motoring by launching an economy three door Golf 1.6.

Vespa is making a concerted bid for a slice of the Korean-dominated South African scooter pie, with upmarket dealerships in Gauteng, Durban and Cape Town, aiming at those who seek a lifestyle statement rather than a cheap mode of transport.

Honda South Africa’s steady model roll-out plans continue with the launch of a new derivative of the Honda Accord.

A year after their world premiere in New York the two derivatives of DaimlerChrysler’s challenge to Rolls Royce and Bentley, the Maybach 57 and Maybach 62, have arrived in South Africa.

PSSST! Fancy a peek at Germany’s most politically-incorrect export since the V2 rocket? The Mercedes-Benz factory has just released pics of their monster SLR McLaren – a gull-winged, aerodynamic beauty rumoured to reach 100 km/hr in under four seconds, and attain a top speed of 340 km/hr.

After a long wait Volvo’s passenger car based XC90 has arrived, and it’s every bit as good as all the hype led us to expect. The XC 90 T6 is the flagship model in the Swedish car-maker’s new XC range. Although not a REAL off-roader, the Volvo is well qualified to take on the BMW X5 and Mercedes Benz ML series soft-roaders, both in the rough and as a tarmac-chomping family wagon.

In developing the YZF 450 quad, Yamaha did what quad nuts have been praying for — taken the motor from their race-winning four-stroke YZ dirt-bike series and put it into a four-wheeled frame that can deliver handling to suit.

In case you’re wondering why it took Daimler-Chrysler South Africa nine months to get around to launching the smart car to the public after Budget took delivery of their first examples, the answer surely lies in the press pack. With just one of the myriad press releases occupying a full 32 pages of enthusiastic prose it must have taken the poor buggers forever to produce. But we won’t inflict the full 5 525 words on you — just the important ones.

How do you decide just what is the best car on the market? If that question was easily answered our roads would be full of one model, and everybody else would be out of business.

Kia’s new Carens turbodiesel just serves to underscore the point that the Koreans are now very serious about making world-class cars.

When Ford’s new Focus arrived on these shores several years ago, many felt that it was the first great product from that company since the mingling of genes with Mazda started a few decades ago.

Kia’s Carnival 2,9 CRDi may feel like a bit of a barge until you get used to its bulk, but the amount of space inside the large multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) more than compensates for the perceived lack of nimbleness.

Being given somebody else’s expensive 4X4 to play with is a bit like winning a mid-winter week-long holiday in the Berg and then finding that the beautiful roommate you’ve been allocated is your best friend’s wife.

Honda has developed a system called the Collision Mitigation Brake System (CMS) that anticipates a collision based on driving conditions, distance to the vehicle ahead and relative speeds.

If those who say that beauty is only skin-deep while ugly goes right down to the bone were correct, then Fiat’s recently launched Multipla would be a good car to avoid.