O Captain! My captain! Hyundai Palisade review
O Captain! My captain! Is a poem written by Walt Whiman about the death of President Abraham Lincoln but to me I will remember it being a special feature and conclusion to the movie Dead Poets Society. However, thanks to Hyundai New Zealand’s new Palisade, ‘Captain’ has a whole new meaning due to it’s captain’s […]
Kia’s Cirque du Soleil – 2021 Kia Carnival review
From a European based perspective a carnival is a festival that includes a procession, music and dancing, in North America it’s more of a traveling funfair or circus but for Kia, it’s an 8-seater multivan that’s just full of surprises. Anyway, there’s a new Carnival in town and Kia New Zealand let us test it […]
Yoo-No-Bi – all-new Honda Jazz review
To be perfectly honest, the similarities between Swindon in the South West of England and Nelson in the lush wine region of New Zealand’s picturesque South Island are pretty hard to find. One is by the coast, the other beside a long-since abandoned canal, one is known for its crafts and art, the other has […]
Electric Exec – 2021 BMW 530e review
For me, BMW’s 5-Series is the perfect fit. Sure I still have the ‘old school’ mentality of preferring Sedans over SAVs but in terms of size, function and (when you get up to the M5), ferocity, the 5 has it all. Well now they’ve added a PHEV to the range and BMW New Zealand let […]
Ahhh – Toyota GR C-HR review
For simplicity’s sake, let’s say that GR (Gazoo Racing) is essentially the performance arm of Toyota. It’s the brainchild of their president, driver and petrol head Akio Toyoda who is determined to ensure that GR ‘build better cars’, however, the C-HR is a family compact SUV and despite being a popular model, when powered by […]
A cut above – VW Golf Mk8 review
Since it first tee’d off on to the motoring landscape, the Volkswagen Golf has essentially been THE benchmark of the Hatch category. Good looks, nippy handling and everyday practicality made it an instant hit and has amassed over 35 Million sales during its near 50-year existence. Now in its eighth generation, we wanted to know […]
A plug for the Mercedes-Benz A250e PHEV
Although much less so nowadays, like many self proclaimed petrolheads, I’m still reticent about EVs. There’s something unnatural about a vehicle that doesn’t roar into life upon start -up, EVs just seem anti-climatic. Same goes when on the move, silence is not what I want to hear when heading towards treble digits. BUT, I must […]
Happily Haptic – 2021 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E200 review
You may or may not be aware that before 1993 the E in the Mercedes-Benz E-Class stood for Einspritzmotor, which essentially translates into fuel-injection motor, and what’s more, its production dates back to 1953 or if you’re looking to split hairs, technically beyond. Anyway, it’s now in its 5th generation AND had a facelift, so […]
Robust and Rugged Renault – Renault Duster Review
With a nameplate that dates back to the 80s and a previous generation of experience to draw from, the French/Romanian love child that is the Duster is now in New Zealand and we took a closer look. If we were reviewing the new Duster in the Northern Hemisphere then the badge on the nose would […]
Generation 8 Golf and 2021 Tiguan – first drive
According to Volkswagen NZ, albeit for different reasons both the Golf and the Tiguan sit high up on their food chain of vehicle importance. They have both recently been significantly revised and revamped (and next gen’d for the Golf) so we were very keen to take a look. The benchmark Golf requires very little by […]