With the 218i, BMW have made a brave move producing a front wheel drive, a huge risk as BMW purists have felt that the rear wheel drive platform is tried and true. True petrol heads will want that feeling of cornering control that only rear wheel drive can give. Not to mention the chance to get the tail out (on a racetrack of course!).
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Ultimate luxury here in the Toyota Highlander, from the moment you plant your tush on the soft black leather, 12 way electrically adjustable seats you’ll notice the supreme comfort and attention to detail.
Soft touch dash panels with brown stitching to add a splash of colour. Keep toasty warm in winter and refreshingly cool in summer with the heated and cooled front seats, dual climate aircon with separate controls for the middle and rear rows of seats. Nice blue ambient lighting throughout the cabin makes this a very pleasant place to be at night.
First impressions can often be wrong. My first impressions of the Lexus CT200h F-Sport were certainly proof of that. Yes the looks of the CT200 are fantastic, absolutely no doubt about that. Sleek modern lines, tidy shapes, aggressive angles and stance. The front end styling is something special, the rear a tad chubby but still very pleasant to gaze upon. The sparkly white Nova Glass Flake with Onyx paintwork stunning.
After testing a few different Commodores I have to say they haven’t won my heart, or my head for that matter. Styling was dated and it has to be said not very exciting. Quality was definitely lacking especially when it came to the interior with cheap feeling plastics that had an amazing allergic reaction to whatever it was they were supposed to be attached to, and would try to run away. All this in $50,000 + machines was never a great look nor an economical purchasing option when you consider the quality and equipment levels one could get from a Japanese, European or Korean made alternative.
Have been wanting to get there every year for a while now, whether or not I had a car to show I just wanted to get along and perv at some nice shiny metal. I’ll admit I’m a Ford guy, always have been always will be, so it is rather odd that it has taken me so long to get along to the Auckland All Ford Day. Something or other has always come up and I could never make it. This year the calendar was circled and I also had my own car to show, yeah it’s not exactly a show car and I was worried it wasn’t good enough to put on show but glad I didn’t let that stop me!
For a car that is essentially a Mitsubishi, it is amazing how different it really is. The Peugeot 4008 shares almost everything with its Japanese sister with the outer shell being the main obvious difference. And a fantastic difference it is, I for one am totally sold on the 4008’s looks whereas the ASX looks chunky and lumpy the 4008 has a more of Remuera tractor look that should, and in most cases no doubt, never ever go off road any further than a pothole on Ponsonby road. This is unfortunate with these nice looking 18 inch alloy wheels, as fitted to the Feline model we tested, never being lucky enough to see a muddy farm track for the 4008 is actually a fantastic machine to bump over grassy knolls or splash through fresh cow pats.
I was wondering how it would be testing the 2012 Hyundai Veloster with having to squeeze two children and their car seats, one rear facing, into the back seat. Being a coupe I was expecting the usual useless back seat where for any human to be seated they would have to be legless, and by legless I don’t mean out on a bender in town legless. I needn’t have worried, for the Veloster has ample room in the rear and easily accommodated the little rug rats and their seating requirements as easily as most larger family transportation devises, headroom could be an issue though for taller bipeds. Then there is the boot space. Once I had the seats in and saw how well they fitted I assumed all this space would have to be created at a loss to luggage capacity in the hatch area, incorrect. We managed to fit in our largest pushchair for our youngest ankle biter with room still for a couple of shopping bags and other bits and bobs.
