NISSAN ALMERA RETURNS TO MZANSI

Nissan has reintroduced the Almera badge to the South African market with the launch of the new India-built Almera 1.5 Acenta sedan. It’s been years since the last Almeras were sold here, and they were quite popular in both sedan and hatchback shape. Now Nissan is looking at the value seeker to put it back into the top 10 sales charts.

AUDI A8 UPDATED WITH NEW FACELIFT

Hard to believe but it’s already facelift time for the Audi A8. Audi SA launched the car in Mzansi in August 2010 amid tougher promises of a harder push to capture BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class customers. The car has done better than its predecessor, and this upgrade will only serve to improve things even more when it launches in South Africa during the first half of 2014 to face the all-new S-Class and updated Jaguar XJ.

CHEVROLET SIMDRIVE PUTS STUDENTS ON THE ROAD SAFELY

SimDrive, which has been designed around international concepts and which has seen enormous success in countries like Germany and the Netherlands, uses the same technology found in aircraft simulators to teach learner drivers how to drive, from the most basic clutch and accelerator control to ‘real’ driving scenarios which include traffic and pedestrians. The mobile unit currently travels between schools in Johannesburg, with plans for expansion in the future.

RANGE ROVER UPDATES EVOQUE, INSTALLS NEW GEARBOX

There’s no doubt the Evoque is Land Rover’s most successful vehicle at the moment, with sales of over 170 000 units since it went on sale 18 months ago. Yet even that hasn’t stopped LR from trying to enhance its appeal even more. One of these enhancements is a new 9-speed gearbox.

FERRARI 458 SPECIALE HEADING FOR MZANSI

Ferrari has announced that it will showcase a new 458 model at the 2013 Frankfurt International Motor Show next month. The car is called the 458 Speciale, which we assume to mean it’s very special indeed. What makes it special? Apart from the fact that it sports the highest specific power output of any naturally aspirated production car?

THE NEW 221KW GOLF R

Volkswagen has finally pulled the covers off its most powerful production Golf model of all time, the brand new Golf R. Sorry about the lack of more pics, but these are all that we could find. Never mind, the Golf R will be unveiled next month at the 2013 Frankfurt International Motor Show. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at some of the mechanicals involved.

OPEL ASTRA SEDAN CONFIRMED FOR MZANSI

General Motors today announced the imminent arrival of the all-new Opel Astra sedan. Complementing the existing range of Astra hatchbacks, the new sedan marks the return of the four-door Opel Astra to South Africa.

NISSAN TERRANO RETURNS

Some exciting news coming out of India today is that Nissan is bringing the Terrano name back. Terrano, if you are under 30, was a compact SUV that, if I recall, was one of the first, if not the first of its kind to come to Mzansi. It was discontinued after a while, but is now looking like a sure-thing for our market as well.

MERCEDES-BENZ SHOWS OFF NEW GLA-CLASS

Mercedes-Benz is really taking the fight to BMW and Audi, listed as number 1 and 2 respectively in the global premium car sales list. Latest armour is the new GLA-Class, the brand’s smallest SUV so far. The GLA will be for eligible people who don’t like the X1, Q3, nor the Volvo Cross Country. It’s coming to Mzansi in 2014.

HONDA TEASES 190KW CIVIC TYPE R

Normal 2012 Honda Civic hatch

We’ve posted a teaser video on our YouTube page featuring the upcoming brand new 2014 Honda Civic Type R. If you click over to the video you’ll notice there isn’t much going on there except for a Nürburgring masked “intruder” who jumps over the fence and starts painting Type R on the track tarmac itself. That’s about it.

CHEVROLET UPGRADES CAPTIVA. AGAIN

General Motors South Africa has refreshed the Captiva SUV for a second time since it was launched here. In addition to some styling changes, the vehicle now also has some extra interior kit. The Captiva is Chevrolet’s best-selling mid-sized SUV and they would like to keep the sales ticking away.