Coupe with a Sportier Seoul – new 2020 Hyundai Veloster
From EVs to SUVs, Sports cars to Compacts, Hyundai New Zealand’s list of vehicles is as broad as it is long, but somewhere between their N-performance vehicles and hot hatch’s lies the Hyundai Veloster, a vehicle that’s been created to stand out, even from themselves. And now there’s a new version. Originally launched in 2011, […]
RAM just got bigger – new RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab review
It’s fair to say that when it comes to NZ roads, there’s not much that can top the RAM in terms of size and overall numbers. It boasts Best‐in‐class towing and Best‐in‐class power which makes their tag line ‘Eats Utes for breakfast’ rather fitting. Anyway, the 1500 Express (let’s call this the ‘budget RAM’) has […]
The Darkside Difference – VW Amarok Darkside Edition review
Launched in 2010, the VW Amarok burst into the Ute/truck scene to critical acclaim. VW group build quality, Euro styling and (the now overused) car-like interior. It was, and still is, a ute that is tough enough to do the grunt work during the day, yet doesn’t look out of place when pulling up at […]
Fastback flashback – Hyundai i30N Fastback review
I am lucky enough to be of an age that when I learnt to drive in the UK a manual gearbox was the primary option. Sure there were auto boxes but on the whole, they were clunky, un-reliable and slower to change than by hand. On top of that, the car I learnt in (I […]
Sport’s BACK – 2021 Audi Q3 Sportback review NZ
Audi Q3 Sportback review – Last weekend saw NZ take a huge step on its road to post COVID recovery, with sport (and in particular, the nation’s favourite sport Rugby), allowing fans to attend live games. And support they did. The Blues vs the Hurricanes boasted record attendance at the Eden Park game while similar […]
Making sense of the Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+
Mercedes-AMG GLE 53 4MATIC+ review NZ There are, of course, many reasons why large performance SUVs are pointless. I mean, why would a carmaker want to create something that’s designed to carry multiple passengers (often in luxury), ride high (and therefore feel safe), tow boats, go off-road (softroad) and usually weighs over 2-tonnes, race off […]
Scala steps up in style – Skoda Scala Style Review
For those of us that missed out on Latin classes, Scala means ‘ladder’ or ‘step’ but in Czech (particularly Skoda) it means ‘4.3m long nifty looking hatchback that’s as spacious as a wagon but as nimble as an alley cat’ – I’m not sure that’s the literal translation but I missed Czech language classes too. […]
Whistling Performance Pony – Ford Mustang High-Performance review
With its timeless fastback profile, muscular haunches, uber-cool heritage and film star good looks, the Ford Mustang is as iconic as it is popular. But what happens when you mess with its winning formula and replace its V8 roar with a whistle? Well, quite a lot actually. I can already hear the Mustang purists bolting […]
An Elite Venue – Hyundai Venue review
Generally speaking, a venue is the scene of any event or action, it can be as big as a stadium or (nowadays) as small as your home/office for a video chat. However, recently car maker Hyundai added an all-new Venue into the mix with the launch of a new ‘baby’ SUV with the same name […]
Shhh – we review the all-new Mazda CX-30
Much has been said about Mazda’s new CX-30 crossover, certainly in the looks and size department. Fitting perfectly between the CX-3 and CX-5 and boasting the ‘Utsuroi principle’ or interplay of light that the new Mazda3 displays, but now having driven the GSX model for a week, one of the biggest things we noticed about […]