Toyota Fortuner Limited review: Sharpening an old axe
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THAT old saying about how ‘they don’t make ‘em like they used to?’
Wrong. They still do. It’s just that they don’t make quite as many.
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Volvo XC40 Recharge PHEV review: Easy to plug
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FULLY fossil-fuelled cars are certainly not at the point of being untenable, yet surely only those so close-minded to risk being considered unhinged must accept that breaking away is not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’.
Manufacturers have already decided to move on; the big rush to provision products that, to varying degree, leave us better sorted for a future quite different to our present state is well and truly on.
Read MoreMitsubishi Eclipse Cross VRX: New look, new ambition
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NO matter how well it sells, the Eclipse Cross will always have a special place in Mitsubishi’s product history – being both a first and a last.
How so? It’s the first new model to emerge under the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance. And yet, as its development was all but completed prior to the deal happening, it’s also the last Mitsubishi that was wholly created without influence from those other brands.
Read MoreSubaru Forester X Sport: Trophy catch
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ANYONE who enjoys fishing will know of, and possibly have, an ‘x spot’ – what better way to spend time at one than by driving there in an X Sport, the latest version of Subaru’s Forester?
It’s easily picked out, being the one with 18-inch black alloy wheels, water-repellent seat fabric … and orange accents inside and out. The latter because it’s the colour is most associated with amusement, the unconventional, warmth, energy and activity.
Read MoreSubaru Outback X: Still hitting the spot, but ..
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THE old saying cites ‘contempt’, though it really means ‘complacency’.
The way I see it, it’s wrong in respect to the Outback. With the sixth-generation of Subaru’s elevated station wagon, the more applicable word when discussing about what exactly the familiarity this car breeds … well, it’s more along the lines of ‘contentment’. There’s no distaste.
Read MoreKia Stinger GT Sport: Singing a more aggressive song
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HOW’s this for anticipation? When you turn the Kia Stinger’s Drive Mode selector to Sport, the side bolsters on the driver’s seat fold inwards to hold you more securely in place.
That little action acts as a prelude to some enthusiastic motoring – if you want it - aboard this big 3.3-litre twin-turbocharged V6-engined rear driven sedan.
Read MoreKia Stonic Limited: Just the tonic?
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Stonic? Apparently it’s a combination of ‘Speedy’ and ‘Tonic’.
An appropriate name given how the vehicle has rapidly become one of the dominant players in what is now this country’s hottest vehicle segment.
Seemingly out of nowhere the Stonic has gone from being a new vehicle due to arrive in the midst of various vehicle assembly and shipping holdups caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, to instantly positioning itself as New Zealand’s eighth most popular passenger vehicle.
Read MoreMazda3 SkyActiv-X: So petrol’s dead? Hold that thought …
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PUSHING boundaries is a Mazda thing – going rotary, dabbling with hydrogen, re-inventing the sports car. So much beyond-the-box thinking.
At a time, then, when so many other brands are announcing intent to either freeze ongoing internal combustion engines or even drop them altogether, it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Hiroshima concern is putting a dollar each way.
Read MoreMercedes-AMG GLA35: Fire and ‘nice’
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OFTEN you hear about brands that are ‘late to the party’; not so here – indeed, quite the contrary.
Mercedes has offered AMG versions of its sports utilities since 1999, so it was there at the start and knows the playlist backward.
Drive some AMG cars are you’d think this is a brand that has its head buried in the speakers as they blare sounds of past decades. Research what they’re preparing for the times ahead, however, and you’ll know that’s not true. Quite the contrary. These people accept electric-enhanced driving is coming, understand why it has to be and have signed off their plan.
Read MoreToyota Hilux SR on the road to abandon
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IN one of the North Island’s most isolated places, there’s a ghost town.
Nestled in a peaceful Taranaki valley, Tangarakau was briefly a bustling little settlement with a resident population of at least 1200.
Even though many structures have gone, memory of its existence linger.
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