Lexus GS450h

Whenever I see someone in a Lexus GS450h I’m overcome with a wave of respect, because here is someone who has paid a respectable amount of money to stand out in a crowd. I like that, and as a result I was desperately looking forward to my first go in the GS450h.



This, the Lexus GS 450h, is the first rear-wheel- drive hybrid to reach the market and the second hybrid from Lexus following the launch of the RX 400h some time ago. It's powered by a 3.5-litre V6 and a permanent-magnet electric motor. When they overlap in operation, peak power is 225kw. The killer figure though is the power produced by the electric motor from standstill, which helps the GS450h hit 100km/h in under 6sec and backs up its claim to offer a genuine alternative to a powerful V8 saloon.


The GS 450h also has the most complicated transmission in the world and this is where it gets a bit technical so stay with me.. Forget DSG, SMG and Ferrari's F1 system; the Lexus's Power Split Device has 'a central sun gear, an outer ring gear and intermediary planetary pinion gears which engage the central and outer gears'. Not only does this complete solar system of cogs allow the electric motor to run independently of, or in conjunction with the V6, but it also cleverly eliminates the need for a starter motor. Confused? You should see the diagrams...



Impressive as the technology is, however, the GS is still anything but dull


Standard equipment in the GS450h includes satellite navigation with touch screen, Bluetooth, heated fully electric front seats with memory function, keyless entry and parking sensors. The GS450h can be complimented for it’s more than generous interior space and the RX450h is no different.


Additional premium amenities include dual-zone automatic climate control and a Mark Levinson Premium surround sound.


The GS450h has a relaxed character and its sharp styling was created for those who live in the moment. This fusion of premium luxury and exhilarating performance is symbolic of the proud genetics inherited from the Lexus dynasty. I'm going to be a bit daring here, and say that the GS450h may just be the sweetest-handling luxury sedan you can currently buy.


As a driver’s car, then, this is yet another winner and I’d buy one in a heart beat.

New Kid On The Block.. The 2011Golf R

I like the style of all modern VW’s. The Scirocco is the suave, cool people carrier, the Touareg is pant-wettingly handsome and the new Passat is simply fabulous.



Certainly, the new hot Golf R ticks all the relevant boxes. It has twin exhausts, big wheels, multi function, leather steering wheel, carbon fibre racing bucket seats, a sunroof and a turbocharged 2 litre engine that kicks out 188kw. That is a lot for a car of this size, so obviously the performance is electrifying. You go from 0 to 100 in 4sec and you keep on going until your peripheral vision meets up at the back, by which time the needle is sitting at just under 200km/h.

Think of this car, then, as a five-star luxury hotel. They’ve thought of every little detail so it looks fine in the brochures. Put simply, it’s fast and extremely fun but the renewal of what was the old Golf R32 has been more comprehensive than is usually the case with VW’s models. The entire front has been redesigned which gives the car a radical new appearance, carving out a distinctive personality. This, coupled with the angled lines of the front bumper and the new headlamps, reinforces the impression of speed and sportiness.

Every time I started this machine up, the vibration of the engine worked its way up my spine, like Morse code tapping out a message: I need to be floored!


Idling at a robot, you simply can’t wait to hear the “oohs” and “aahhs” from pedestrians in shock following a short four-wheel spin and devilish speed to the next intersection.
So, it looks good, makes plenty or power, and benefits from all-wheel drive. In all gears (especially third and fourth) there is an accelerative sensation , pulling that blue needle across those white numerals with quite a lot more urgency than a GTI. The R’s steering has been recalibrated and I must admit, is a touch too light at speed but remains accurate, quick and supported by outstanding suspension. Ride quality is good and body roll absent, even at racing speeds.

There is a touch of understeer if you leave your braking too late, but if you match your corner entry speeds properly the R is brlliantly balanced and has outstanding traction control.
In real-world driving its composed ride (thanks to those big alloys), all-weather/road condition dual-axle traction, stunning cabin finish and infinitely superior blend of performance and economy make the Golf R a really compelling proposition.


The Golf R is a sexy looking hatch that may be the ticket for those looking for something new for the driveway that won’t show up in the neighbors drive way as well. It has my vote and remains a contender worth serious consideration.

Land Rover Discovery 4

Land Rover Discovery 4



‘Anywhere is Possible ’

The arguments for and against off-road cars are both fairly silly. On the one hand, you have a Top Gear wannabe appearing on DSTV, saying that he doesn’t like the new BMW X5.


And on the other, you have Honda arguing that its new CR-V will cause no more damage to the planet than a toaster or a cow.


The facts of the matter are irrelevant because if you drive a large SUV round a city centre these days you are almost melted by the hate. You’d get less reaction if you were caught videoing a school playground while wearing a dirty shirt.



Now truth be told, I’ve always wanted a proper Land Rover, but today I’m not sure I could actually buy one. It seems 4x4s kill polar bears, drown Indonesians, bankrupt ski resorts and don’t slow down for porcupines. Strangely, however, the car makers don’t seem to have noticed this. Instead of launching a new small hybrid to quench the thirst of all those weird beards, that enjoy organic everything and making the word a greener place. Land Rover has left that to Honda, stuck to it’s rugged city slicker image and announced the arrival in South Africa of a Land Rover Discovery 4 . . .





Not since the rolling stones last picked up a microphone have we heard anything quite so out of tune with the way of the world. But like the rolling stones, this thing does have a place.

It’s reliable, good looking, quite well priced and it’s served on heritage of no nonsense performance. The V6 turbo diesel is quiet and muffled until you mush your foot in the carpet at which the fury of this epic machine becomes exhilaratingly obvious, professional power, more moving than a speech by Tony Robins and as powerful as an exploding grenade and weirdly, way more economical than it’s older brother with substantially fewer carbon emissions.


The Freelander will hit your pockets around R637 000, and along with a cavernous interior you'll get comfortable leather seats air-conditioning and a premium sound system as well as satellite navigation, air suspension and a host of little extra features.





This car changes everything. I assumed that because Land Rover is owned by Tata, which also owns Jaguar. It’s an all new 3 litre V6 unit, designed in conjunction with state of the art turbo diesel technology, and to be frank it’s really good.



It makes a nice noise, and because it develops 225kw your big Landy will get from 0-1oo in 6.2sec and reach 240km/h. You really can’t think of it in the same breath as it’s German or Japanese rivals. A machine for the ages, a Jack of all trades and something to look out for in the driveway of any distinguished mans home.

Peugeot's 508 - now with a HYBRID option

This is the Peugeot 508 RXH. It will be Peugeot’s top of the range hybrid, following the introduction of the 3008 HYbrid4 (the world’s first production diesel electric hybrid) in October ( abroad )



The four-wheel drive RXH will be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and will go on sale in spring 2012, and is set to be Peugeot’s most expensive model at over R400 000.



A 2.0-litre HDi engine powers the front wheels while an electric motor takes care of the rear axle. The combined torque of the powertrain is impressive, though it’ll likely have over 1.8 tons of Peugeot to shift. Claimed sensible figures are a combined consumption cycle of 67.2mpg and emissions of 109g/km of CO2.

Ferrari Beats Mclaren

In the biggest clash of 2011, Ferrari 458 Italia beats McLaren MP4-12C. The 406km/h, 458 is resoundingly more emotive than the 410km/h McLaren.







Contrary to predictions, the Ferrari lapped Bedford over a second faster than Woking’s baby with our own Roger Green at the wheel. With the hype surrounding the McLaren’s outright speed and efficiency we thought it would trump the Ferrari not only on pace, but also detailing and user-friendliness. At eight-tenths on the road, the Mac does not feel as thoroughly resolved as we expected it to be.

2011 BMW Z4

When you push a car past 160km/h, the world starts to fizz and can get a little bit frightening. When you go past 240km/h it actually becomes blurred. Almost like you’re trapped in the Delorean in ‘back to the future’. At this sort of speed the tyres and the suspension are reacting to events that happened split seconds ago, and they have not finished reacting before they’re being asked to do deal with the next set of obstacles. The result is an either electrifying or terrifying sensation, depending on weather you’re Michael Shumacher’s apprentice or a seasoned veteran. The latter may not be best when you’re covering 150ft a second.

But once you go past 220km/h it isn’t just the suspension and the tyres you have to worry about.At 100km/h it’s relaxed. At 150km/h it’s a breeze. But at 240km/h you really have to know what you are doing.


You might want to ponder that for a moment. Covering half the lengh of a football pitch, in a second, in a car. And then you might want to think about the braking system. Yes, it’s just that good.

I didn’t care. On a recent drive to Franshoek I desperately wanted to reach the top speed but there wasn’t a long enough stretch where I could make the needle hit more than 200km/h. Where, astonishingly, it felt planted. Totally and utterly rock steady.


Not quiet, though. The engine is a riot and becomes even more furious when you bury your foot into the carpet. At 2500 RPM the car awakens and the roar from the tyres curls the corners of my mouth upward. This machine is brilliant. Utterly, stunningly, mind blowingly, jaw droppingly brilliant.


I would have to say though that in recent years some of the handling fizz has gone. A modern 3-series, for instance, is nowhere near as electrifying as a 3-series from, say, 1984. But that said it’s also less dangerous. You get a small hint of understeer to let you know that maybe you’re going a bit too quickly, and then a little yellow light on the dash to say that underneath it all the traction control system is working its magic on the rear end. In an old Beemer you were still grinning from ear to ear, completely oblivious to any danger, when you hit the tree.

And there’s more to worry about, because although it says 3.5s on the back it doesn’t have a 3.5 litre engine. What you get instead is a 3 litre straight six, which is force-fed its diet of air by two small turbochargers.

On paper this sounds fine. Because they’re small, they don’t take an age to reach operating speed, which means there’s no turbo lag.

But because each one is feeding only three cylinders, you still have loads of power and loads of torque.

This engine is little short of a masterpiece. There’s so much low-down grunt that even the BMW traction control system — a good one normally — is regularly woken from its electronic slumber by the wave of torque.

From behind the wheel of the new BMW Z4, Cape Town is the size of a small coconut. I cannot tell you how fast I crossed it the other day. Because you simply wouldn’t believe me. I also cannot tell you how good this car is. I just don’t have the vocabulary. I just end up stammering and dribbling and talking wide-eyed nonsense. And everyone thinks I’m on drugs.

This car cannot be judged in the same way that we judge other cars. It meets drive-by noise and emission regulations and it can be driven by someone whose only qualification is basic clutch control and depth perception. So technically it is a car. And yet it just isn’t.

2011 Honda Accord

Two weeks ago, while you were at work, I was 36 000 feet in the air en route from Mauritius to Cape Town reliving some of the better moments from the last few weeks. The time when the BMW Z4 stuck a wheel on the gravel and made earthquake noises as I wrestled to regain control. The time when I executed a perfect power slide in a Jaguar XF.

Then I arrived at Cape Town International to find, sitting in the early morning Cape Town sunshine, a Honda Accord.


Oh dear. This was a bit like sending a food critic to the best restaurant in the world and presenting him with a Big Mac. It looked all wrong, parked among the Range Rover sports and the Ferraris and the hyper-tuned Masserati’s. It looked a bit dull.


With little enthusiasm I eased out onto the N2 and, with my mind in neutral, set off to for home.


The thing is, though, that after a short while it became screamingly obvious that despite the girl-next-door looks and the 2.4 litres of V-TEC-power, this car was head and shoulders above everything else I’d driven out there.


Where a Jaguar or a BMW shouts and waves its arms about, the Honda just gets on with the job of going fast and telegraphing messages to the seat of your pants and your fingertips, instantly and with no ambiguity at all.


Honda has massaged the Accord for the 2011 model year and came up with normal cosmetic tweaks — and a notable boost in fuel economy.


The changes are part of what Honda calls MMC — minor model change — customary about halfway through a vehicle's life. A fully redesigned Accord is due as a 2013 model


Honda is pitching the new Accord as a 'quality' car. That means neither mass-market nor premium, but somewhere in between. Trouble is, every carmaker is trying to head ‘upmarket’, but if everyone does it we'll be back where we started. Anyway, everything fits together beautifully and moves smoothly, and the glovebox is very nicely flock-lined, but the value is in the underskin engineering and the driving qualities that flow therefrom. That would be a very Honda-ish approach, putting priority on the mechanicals where much of the buying public would fail to notice just so the engineers can sleep soundly.


The instruments light up, in backlit bright red, as soon as you open the door. The decorative motif is 'technical metal', the ambience dark and sexy. Into the first of six gears, off we move with the engine quiet but metallically Honda-edged. Underfoot is a drive-by-wire throttle, crisp and smooth apart from an abruptness when throttling-off.


The Honda Accord revs with zeal but you don't have to hit the heights; it's very driveable. But that is not what makes the Accord, against indications so far, special. You need some corners to discover where its salvation lies.


I'm going to be a bit daring here, and say that the Accord may just be the sweetest-handling front-wheel-drive sedan you can currently buy.


As a driver’s car, then, this is yet another winner and I’d buy one in a heart beat.

BMW Back In Hollywood

BMW is pleased to announce their participation in the upcoming Paramount Pictures release “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol” as the film’s main automotive partner.







High performance with fewer emissions is the name of the game: One of the BMW vehicles provided for Tom Cruise´s next film is the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car. It has been recognized as having the most sophisticated technology and the most striking design among the current concept electric supercars. In a few years the BMW i8, which was inspired by the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept vehicle, will enter series production.






“We are thrilled to be involved again in another Hollywood Blockbuster,” said Ian Robertson, BMW AG Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “The BMW Group leads the way in developing future mobility with a focus on sustainability. One great example is the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car which will be presented in the film. With its futuristic design and large glass surfaces, the car offers a fascinating perspective on the future of sheer driving pleasure – in combination with maximum efficiency. Also with BMW ConnectedDrive technology, it is the perfect car for Ethan Hunt to outsmart his pursuers through narrow streets and busy city traffic.”

Amarok Single Cab ..

Internationally the Amarok enjoys a high profile as the official escort and back-up vehicle for the annual Dakar Rally. In this vital support role for the event a fleet of 35 Amaroks has successfully completed two Dakars (some 18 000 kilometres), traversing some of the most challenging terrain in the world, without a single breakdown.

Back in South Africa, the Amarok became the first pick-up to be named as a finalist for the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists Car of the Year award.



Six single cab models, all powered by latest technology turbo-diesel engines, will be available immediately to be followed by two advanced technology direct injection petrol engine derivatives in the last quarter of 2011. All models will be available in either Basic or Trendline trim levels with 4 Motion 4-wheel drive available on three of the six diesel variants.



The addition of these new single cab variants will provide Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles with full representation in the 1-ton pick-up market in South Africa with a range of vehicles filling every requirement from basic fleet workhorse through to buyers whose needs extend to the use of the vehicle for both business and personal use.

NEW Audi R8 - this one is only available in the UK though - sorry gents!

Audi has announced a UK-only limited edition of the R8 V8 coupe to, as the company puts it, ‘honour the tenth victory for Audi in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.’







Not that the name is going to win prizes for originality – this is the Audi R8 Limited Edition. In addition to the option of extra-cost ‘titanium effect’ paintwork that’s unique to the model, the LE gets several of the most popular R8 options thrown at it. Standard kit includes 19-inch ‘titanium look’ alloys, satnav, premium Bang and Olufsen speakers and mobile phone preparation. Audi’s magnetic ride adaptive damping system is also included in the price, as are various trim upgrades.