Oh Captain, my captain – all-new Nissan Pathfinder TiL review
O Captain! my Captain! is a poem by Walt Whitman and featured in Dead Poets Society as a thank you to Robin Williams. However, it should now also be a tribute to the all-new Nissan Pathfinder TiL, as not only do you feel at the helm of a luxurious yacht when driving this modernised SUV, […]
Bigger, bolder best-seller – 4th Generation Nissan X-Trail TiL review
With three generations already securely under its belt, the Nissan X-Trail has become one of (if not the) best selling SUVs in the world and its popularity is not exactly hard to see – I mean, take a look at any carpark in NZ and you’ll probably spot one (after all, Nissan has sold over […]
Hot and Cool – ICE Mokka SRi review
Call me old fashioned if you like, but I do prefer certain things a certain way. For example, music should tell a story (and be 80’s), jeans suit most occasions and both tea and coffee must always be hot – or at least I thought so. Then Opel gave me their ICE’d Mokka to taste, […]
Hon’dna’ day & Jazz RS launch
Over recent years (thanks probably in a big part to certain areas of the motoring media), Honda has become somewhat synonymous with the more aged sector of the automotive driving public. The spotlight being shone on the middle of the road performance and rather vanilla styling models of the brand’s line up. However at the […]
Reshtyled and shmarter Karoq – 2023 Skoda Karoq Sportline review
Launched in 2017, the KAROQ was Skoda’s (Shkoda’s) second SUV (after the hugely successful Kodiaq) in their lineup. Despite its more urban/city focus it offered its owners ample space and plenty of the brand’s ‘clever’ mantra. Anyway, it’s now had a refresh and Skoda NZ let us take the Sportline out for a while. The […]
Say G’day to the new Kia Niro HEV GT line
It has to be said that when it comes to prestigious and desirable fashion houses, Australia ranks a lot lower than its European or Eastern USA counterparts. However, it would appear that when the designers and engineers at Kia looked to create their latest iteration of the Niro, our neighbours across the ditch had plenty […]
Last of the Breed – Mazda RX-7 FD Spirit R Type A Review
Confession time. Up until recently, I never really “got” the obsession some have with a Mazda-built Rotary engine. Sure, the promise of big turbo power from an engine a fraction of the size of something with conventional cylinders has always piqued my interest, but its never really been my favourite sort of internal combustion. This […]
Canny wee compact – 2023 Opel Corsa SRi ICE review
Not only does canny mean smart and shrewdness but from where I’m from it means pleasant and nice too – or in other words, the new Opel Corsa. For not only has this 6th generation been crammed full of smart tech and clever driving aids, but it’s also as cute as a bright new button. […]
The B’s knees – Mazda MX-5 GT review
Oddly, Idioms hold a huge amount of charm for me, not just the idiom themselves but their backstory too. Take ‘The bee’s knees’ for example. Meaning something is outstandingly good, the origins of this idiom has been traced back to the 1920s when the flappers (the hip people of the time) compared almost anything they […]
Wild Thing: Mazda MX-30 AWD Wild Hybrid Review
The Mazda MX-30 is a fine car which ever way you look at it. However, what you could never accuse the standard MX-30 of being is a bit wild. That was until Blackwells Mazda in Christchurch had an idea. Take a regular MX-30 Mild-Hybrid and turn it into something crazy different. “The idea came about […]