2021 VW Passat Alltrack NZ review
The Volkswagen Passat Alltrack is billed as ‘an adventurous all-rounder’ and with its 173mm ground clearance, 4Motion AWD system and 2L turbocharged 4-cylinder engine it’s easy to see why. However, unfortunately the day after I took possession of the valiant Vdub, Auckland was thrown into level 4 lockdown (seriously not my fault). If I’m honest, […]
The all-new 2022 Range Rover by the numbers
50 years, 4 generations, 1 million lines of code, 30,000 conversations, hundreds of patents, 7 million hours for blood, sweat and tears and 1 million kms of testing all coming together in the most desirable, most technologically advanced and most capable Range Rover yet. Despite the actual live venue being a star studded affair at […]
Driver’s Diary – Cindy killed the Lambo
By Logan I love my Porsche, it’s a 997.2 turbo with sports chrono, sports plus, real paddles and launch control (I know this because my good mate Dave took it down a country road and treated my girl to the indignity of its first launch control moment), it’s a year ago but I still struggle […]
Great 3008 – 2021 Peugeot 3008 & Hybrid4 review
Originally launched a shade over a decade ago as a replacement for the 4007/8, the Peugeot 3008 almost instantly gave the French automobile producer a VIP entry to the very popular compact SUV segment. Two generations later the 3008 has been facelifted, and Peugeot New Zealand let us test a couple of models (3008 and […]
Pukka Trucka – 2021 Mazda BT-50 review
In British terminology, to be ‘Pukka’ is to be great, top draw, excellent even, however, as we found out, in the truck or specifically the Ute market, it just means it’s a Mazda. The long awaited 3rd generation BT-50 has arrived and Mazda NZ let us try it out. The BT-50 first hit the market […]
Mild and wild – 2021 Skoda Octavia review
Several weeks ago we attended the NZ launch of the new 4th Generation Skoda Octavia where we were told that it was bigger, faster and simply ‘clevererer’ than ever – well now thanks to Skoda NZ, we got to test that out. The Shhhkoda brand (said in a Connery accent) has come a long way […]
3 Kings of Leon – SEAT & CUPRA Leon first drive
The fourth generation Leon has arrived in New Zealand and it’s better than ever, with stunning new designs, advanced technology and both ‘clean car’ economical or ‘heart-racing’ ferocious powertrains. There are three models on offer and we got to test them all. Named after the Spanish city of Leon (which incidentally also means lion), the […]
Sports and Recreation – 2021 Audi SQ5 Sportback review
For many people, sports and recreation go hand in hand. Consider things like gyms, fun runs and social team sports, activities that combine fitness, pleasure and a release from the norm, and to me, that feeling is encapsulated in the new Audi SQ5 Sportback. For (as we found out in our NZ review), not only […]
Jazz-e – 2021 Honda Jazz Luxe e:HEV review
The Jazz nameplate has been in Honda’s range of great vehicles since 2001, however, recently we attended the NZ launch of the next or 4th Generation of this popular model in its NZ spiritual home in Nelson. I drove the three new variants at the launch, the Life (the regular Jazz), the Crosstar (a Jazz/SUV […]
Merc’s baby EV SUV is here – Mercedes-Benz EQA first drive
The NZ launch of Mercedes-EQ EQA 250 was a very sustainable event that began at New Zealand’s first 5 Green Star hotel, The Hotel Britomart. From its hand-made brick exterior and timber-lined rooms to its linen, staff uniforms and sustainably caught seafood-biased ‘Kingi’ restaurant, this 99 room hotel oozes good green karma from every angle. […]