Christian von Koenigsegg: “In fact, we set everything up for at least 500kph”

MAY 2019 R45.00

AL O N G POSH SUV
FIGHT!
E
New Range Rover
McLaren 720S Spider
| C A M E T H Evoque
vs Porsche Macan

R
+ Cobra 427

PI D E
50 years apart vs BMW X2
05090

9 772224 624003
The 8th season in
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The new 911.
Iconic design, also in the 8th generation: seamless taillight strip and wider track.
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Discover more at www.porsche.com/911

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A super sports car soul and the functionality typical for an SUV: this is Lamborghini Urus, the world’s
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www.johannesburg.lamborghini www.capetown.lamborghini
 Welco e
072
Our TopGear overlords in the
UK ran the saucy headline
“Electric Beats Petrol”
slathered mockingly across
an image of a Tesla Model 3
in a choreographed drift
ahead of a BMW M3. This
was in response to Elon’s
tweet (obviously) that not
only would his Model 3 beat the heartland performance
car in a straightline, but deliver headier driving thrills too.
Yet based on 1) that Tesla isn’t available in SA, 2) that EVs
are not finding the South African community as embracing
as they do elsewhere and 3) we recently fattened our
bellies on an EV smorgasbord of late, the magazine you’re
holding delivers a welcome reprieve back to the sucking
burning and banging of petrol. And lots of it fed in by
either goblets or by finely atomised vapour to the insides
of an unusually high proportion of V8- and W12-powered
sportscars, grand tourers and hypercars.
Next we needed the right adventure. A destination,
Andrew Leopold EDITOR
6 MAY 2019
Issue 90 MAY 2019
preferably one that is as marvelled by mankind as it is
random. Fortunately we found two – the Faroe Islands
where we explored the modern labyrinth of tunnels
beneath the raging seas in a Bentley Continental and
then ironically got more soaked zipping up and down
Apache Trail in Arizona at the wheel of the McLaren 720S
Spider and Cobra 427. Cowboy attire isn’t very waterproof…
If electric beats petrol, then Christian von Koenigsegg
wasn’t paying much attention when we visited his
boutique workshop/laboratory where his 480kph hypercar
was being frantically assembled for its world debut.
Electric cars have the edge in acceleration but hitherto
are no match at top speed, especially one that is so
ambitious it only exists on the simulator. So that’s another
win for petrol.
So while we vacillate between the world of petrol and
electric vehicles daily, fundamentally the TopGear
adventure and humour hasn’t changed a bit. The cars, the
places and the people we meet along the way are as
interesting as ever.
Enjoy the read.
 Contents

080
054 Baby F1 072 Koenigsegg Jesko
Back in the day, experience used to count for something; Jesko is the name of the new 300mph (480kph) Koenigsegg.

not so these days, when the F1 grid is populated by kids It’s also the name of CvK’s father. Coincidence? Of course not

058 Lando Norris 080 Mc720S vs Cobra

We talk to one of the youngest of the new crop of Formula Two period-defining roadsters head off to take in some

One drivers – the immensely talented Lando Norris Arizona views. Between rain showers

Garage
060 Bentley in the Faroes
093 What we’re running
The Conti GT is a shrine to leather and luxury. We take it at TopGear

to a tunnel underneath the Atlantic

Data
098 All you need to know
about the best cars on sale
today

8 MAY 2019
 Contents
“Twenty years ago, the
business of deciphering
good from bad was easier
because there were more
bad cars”

032
023

042
“It’s a bit like comparing
how quickly two Michelin-
starred chefs can pour milk
into a cup of tea”
024

the ten

040
013 Ford Mustang GT500
018 Alonso in a Hilux
019 Porsche Cayenne Coupe
020 Peugeot e-208
022 BMW 530 MLE

060
Intake
026 Life in cars
028 TG gadgets
029 A brief history
030 TG watches

Drives
032 Merc-AMG GT 63S 4dr
vs Porsche Panamera Turbo S
e-Hybrid
038 Bentley Continental GTC
039 BMW Z4
040 BMW M850i
042 McLaren 600LT Spider
044 Ford Ranger
046 Evoque vs X2 vs Macan
 Making
it happen
Who: Lance Branquinho
Where: George, Western Cape
Lance contemplates the
viewpoint from his soon-to-be-
added mountain bike
What: Germany vs Italy
Where: TG car park, UK
Split by a kilowatt. Andrew
jumps out the 331kW Audi for
a 330kW Maserati.
What: A bag AKA ‘The Worm’
Where: Los Angeles, USA
TG tests many many things
to breaking point... including
luggage. Having travelled
many times around the world,
Rowan’s bag finally gives up
DHS Media Group, First Floor, Block 6,
Fourways Office Park, Corner Roos Street &
Fourways Boulevard, Fourways, Johannesburg,
South Africa
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Andrew Leopold
Publisher & CEO Dirk Steenekamp dirk@dhsmedia.co.za
Digital & Client Manager Louise van der Nat louise@dhsmedia.co.za
Managing Editor Jason Fleetwood jason@dhsmedia.co.za
Tech Editor Peter Wolff peter@dhsmedia.co.za
Illustrations Editor Toon53 Prod. toon53@dhsmedia.co.za
Gaming Editor Andre Coetzer andre@dhsmedia.co.za
Fashion & Grooming Editor Greg Forbes greg@dhsmedia.co.za
Who: Avon Middleton
Where: Johannesburg, South Africa CREATIVE TEAM
Avon’s garage extension for the
Creative Director Gareth Bouwmeester gareth@dhsmedia.co.za
M5 proved ready for the Rolls-
Senior Photographer Tim Hulme tim@dhsmedia.co.za
Royce Cullinan
Senior Photo Editor Luba V Nel luba@dhsmedia.co.za
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
Lance Branquinho, Avon Middleton,
Francisco Nwamba
ADVERTISING & SALES
Pieter Lourens pieter@dhsmedia.co.za
BBC STUDIOS, UK PUBLISHING
Publishing Director UK - Chris Kerwin
Director of Editorial Governance - Nicholas Brett
UK Publishing Coordinator – Eva Abramik
Who: Walter Mahlangu and
Jacob Matabane IMMEDIATE MEDIA
Where: Custom Restorations,
CEO – Tom Bureau
Vereeniging
Director of International Licensing and Syndication – Tim Hudson
If you’re going to source an
International Partners Manager – Anna Genevier
original 530 MLE chassis, you
better source the original builders.
TOPGEAR UK
Managing Director, TopGear UK – Adam Waddell
Publishing Director – Simon Carrington
Editor-in-Chief – Charlie Turner
Associate Editor – Tom Ford
BBC Top Gear magazine is published by DHS Media Group (pty) Ltd, under licence from BBC Studios, Television
Centre, Wood Lane, London W12 7TQ. The Top Gear logo and the BBC B ocks are the trade marks of the British
Broadcasting Corporat on. Used under licence. © Immediate Media Company Limited. All r ghts reserved.
Re-production in whole or part prohibited without permission. Printed in South Africa by Paarl Media Cape.
Who: Naveed Yousefzai
Where: Willows, USA CONTACT
Ever wondered how we TEL 010 006 0051
MAIL info@dhsmedia.co.za
get those GoPro driver’s FACEBOOK FACEBOOK.COM / TOPGEARMAGAZINESA
perspective shots in drag-race TWITTER @TOPGEARMAGSA
videos? Naveed did, now he’ll INSTAGRAM @TOPGEARMAGSA
never be able to forget
THINGS WE’VE LEARNT THIS MONTH

MAY 2019 13
 Shelby GT500s can trace their
ancestry back to 1967, when the
name first appeared as a range-
topper beyond the GT350. Killed off
in 1970, it didn’t return until 2006,
complete with 500 supercharged
horsepower. Yee, and indeed, hah.

The Shelby GT500 is

maximum Mustang
Ford reckons that the European supercars should now be quaking
in their rubber boots. It might just be right...

14 MAY 2019
Since the Fiesta ST’s modern
engine can’t run on our fuel, how
about a good old V8 instead?

MAY 2019 15
 Not pictured: a highway
patrolman about to
make his quota
takedown artist.” That’s how Ford
“A describes the gobby-looking new
Mustang Shelby GT500. We
presume that’s ’Murican for ‘giant
killer’. That’s backed up by Ford’s bullish claim
that “the new Shelby GT500 will surprise
supercar owners with its Ford Performance
racing tech, supercharged engine and visceral
swagger”. Sounds punchy, until you look at the
spec and discover the Shelby is every inch the
musclebound supercar botherer.
Behind the slightly Audi-esque mega grille
(supposedly inspired by modern stealth
fighter jets), there’s a 5.2-litre supercharged
V8 engine. It develops “a projected 520
kilowatts” and promises 0–100kph in the
mid-threes, and a quarter-mile times below
11secs. Stopping it after the finish line are the
largest brake discs ever fitted to an American
sports coupe.
The upgrades for the new GT500 are
pretty mouth-watering across the board. The
all-aluminium engine is hand-built, with
forged conrods. In a purist-upsetting move to
improve drag and lap times, there’s a 7spd
dual-clutch gearbox good for 100ms shifts.
It’s not the same transmission as the Ford GT
supercar, but its fine-tuning is related. You
get Normal, Weather, Sport, Track and Drag
modes. And yes, it’ll do a line-lock burnout.
Power is sent to the bespoke Michelin-
16 MAY 2019
tyred rear wheels via a carbon-fibre
IN THE DOGHOUSE
driveshaft. Ford describes the next-gen
magnetic dampers as ‘baked-in’ (no, us
neither) but we are promised the highest ever
lateral acceleration for a Mustang. Avoid scaring the hound
Helping harvest those pesky g-forces is a with Ford’s quiet kennel
GT4 racecar-spec aero package, complete
with an adjustable rear wing. Spec the For the GT500 owner that has
carbon-fibre pack and it comes in the glossy everything, including pets of a
weave finish. So does the splitter. And the sensitive disposition, this is Ford’s
wheels. Meanwhile, the rear seats are noise-cancelling kennel. It’s a
replaced with fresh air. prototype, but any dog owner
There’s more hardcore stuff, like a who’s seen their best friend
removable rain-catching tray under the quivering while they rev their
massive bonnet vent. If you live somewhere 500kW V8 on the drive will be
dry, you can ditch the rain guard and help your begging it becomes real.
cooling. The giant holes in the car’s face help it Warning: a production version
achieve 50 per cent better cooling than the won’t be cheap. And your dog
Shelby GT350 too. So, that 520kW motor will sleep on the sofa anyway
anyway. SD
ought to sustain repeated abuse on track.
But, if you want to pose, then Ford’s got
you covered. You can have electrically
adjustable seats instead of lighter buckets if
you’re a bit of a wuss. Ford offers a 12-speaker
B&O hi-fi as well.
We shouldn’t mock – the whole point of a
Shelby Mustang is to be a blue-collar, working
class hero, sticking it to the supercar
aristocracy with brawn and stripes. A giant
killer, or takedown artist, if you will. Looks
like it’s mission accomplished, no? OLLIE KEW
 A steering wheel... an optional extra
in Lagonda's vision of the future

Aston’s EV SUV
looks like this
Lagonda All-Terrain concept
will be built in Wales from 2022

Lagonda appears to have gone for the

scatter-gun approach when it comes to
naming design influences for its All-Terrain
Concept, with everything from super yachts to
Mars exploration via the “planetary forces of
gravity fields” all attributed to the car’s
aesthetics. But it’s going to get made, and it
will look more like this concept than you’d
expect, even that elongated tail. An SUV will
be the first production car from new-age
Lagonda (because what else do you launch
a brand with these days?) though little is
divulged about what powers the All-Terrain at
the moment, save for it being fully electric. SD

You’re looking at the new,

The buggy is back,
and greener than ever
Over half a century ago, Bruce Meyers
decided to re-body a VW Beetle with a
lightweight plastic body and steel rollover
bars. Now VW wants to bring it all back,
although instead of a four-cylinder boxer
engine out the back, it features a 62kWh
battery and 150kW electric motor that’s
good for 250 kilometres on a single charge.
The new-age drivetrain is all integrated in
Volkswagen’s MEB platform, which has
now spawned five ID concepts – hatch,
saloon, SUV, microbus and this. The Buggy
might be the least sensible for Pretoria, but
it’s the one we want the most. GP
all-electric Fiat Panda
The Centoventi concept is a boxy city car
that explores what the new Fiat Panda
could be. Electric, cheap, spartan,
no-nonsense but desirable electric
transport. The car would only be
produced in one colour, with a choice of
four body colour wraps, four roof
colours, four wheel trims and, you
guessed it, four bumpers. The flexibility
extends to the batteries. Fiat starts you
off with one, giving you 100 kilometres of
range. Then you can buy or lease up to
four more, each one giving the same
amount of range, up to the full-fat 500
kilometres. Clever, no? TC
Audi has popped out
another battery SUV
Meet the Q4 e-tron concept, it’s a
compact four-door SUV that’ll arrive
after the e-tron, e-tron Sportback, Q2L
e-tron for China and the e-tron GT
coupe have all gone on sale. A rival for
the electric BMW X3, it’ll be the
company’s fifth electric model when it
goes on sale by the end of 2020. Two
motors, 225kW and four-wheel drive
mean a 0–100kph sprint in 6.3 seconds
and a limited top speed of 178kph.
Range? 450 kilometres. Unremarkable
really, proof of how quickly EVs are
infiltrating the mainstream. GP

MAY 2019 17
 F1, Indy, Le Mans,
Dakar?
F1 retirement isn’t all bingo and gardening

ince Fernando Alonso quit Formula 1, it feels like we see more South African off-road racer and previous Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers

S of him than ever. He’s dabbling in all kinds of motorsport now

that he’s had 20-odd weekends freed up, and the latest is
off-road rallying.
Yep, following forays into Indy 500 and endurance racing – the latter
more successful thus far – he’s now had a go in a Dakar bakkie.
Namely, Toyota South Africa’s Dakar Hilux which Nasser Al-Attiyah
took to victory in January of this year. Alonso’s clearly on good terms with
Toyota, given he won Le Mans with them last year and his team currently
leads the World Endurance Championship. And it appears he has freedom of
the company toy box, something he’s only too happy to make use of.
Alonso teamed up with the crew out at the Kalahari Goerapan to
complete his two-day test in the South African-built Hiluxes along with
who helped mentor the champion of circuit racing, specifically how to read
the terrain.
Alonso’s clearly impressed by the speed and toughness of the Hallspeed
Hilux, “It’s difficult to read the bumps, and how much speed you can carry
over them,” said Alonso. “But the car feels great. Very good grip, balance,
power, braking… It’s a never-ending learning curve at the moment but I’m
so happy we experienced the car, it’s just amazing. Zero problems, even if
you treat it quite bad – in my opinion – in the bumps, but these cars are
made for this.”
Indeed they are. And it appears Alonso might be made for Dakar,
possibly joining Jacky Ickx as the only driver to win in Formula One, take
victory at Le Mans and win the Dakar rally. AL

DTM 2.0
Download the DTM calendar
for 2019 because there are two
reasons behind our renewed
Vd Linde vs Aberdein. We haven’t interest in the series. The first is
travelled back in time. the switch from 380kW V8s to
450kW 2.0-litre 4-cylinder
turbo charged engines which
will make the cars faster,
cleaner and globally relevant
to downsizing. And before we
get emails, we’re aware that
this engine setup is a few
cylinders shy of the production
cars they are based off. The
other reason to put DTM
above Formula One is that for
the first time in the series’
history there will be two South
African youngsters on the grid.
Sheldon vd Linde takes his
seat with BMW where he’ll race
the M4 DTM and Jonathan
Aberdein moves up from
European F3 to join the WRT
Audi team where he’ll
campaign the RS 5 DTM. The
rich seam in this story is that
both surnames are etched in
South African motorsport
dynasty; Shaun vd Linde
raced BMW Touring Cars from
1994 to 2002 while Chris
Aberdein’s reputation is
inseparable from the
Rothmans-liveried Audi 80
Quattro. The first race kicks off
in Hockenheim on the 5th of
May. AL

18 MAY 2019
 Cayenne Pepper
New niche-buster from a company that doesn’t do niches
oes the world really need another fast SUV, especially
D
one whose versatility is deliberately curtailed in the
name of style? No, but the temptation to mine another
profitable seam is overwhelming. Satisfying a need
nobody knew existed is one of the engines of capitalism, after all, and
arch rivals elsewhere in Germany have been doing it for long enough.
Says Porsche AG chairman Oliver Blume, “the Coupe includes all the
technical highlights of the current Cayenne, and its more dynamic
design and new technical details position it as more progressive,
athletic, and emotional”.
Indeed. But I wonder what ‘ker-ching’ is in German
It clearly points to the Cayenne Coupe’s more aggressively
sporting character, and the inevitability of another Nürburgring
record (there’s even a crash helmet in the boot of one of the reveal
images. Two engines are available at the South African launch: the
3.0-litre, 250kW V6 turbo, which’ll hit 100kph in 6.0 seconds and
reach 240kph, and the 4.0-litre 407kW twin-turbo V8, that dusts
100kph in a faintly silly 3.9 seconds and will reel in highways at
speeds up to 285kph. No diesels here.
None of these beasts, BMW X6, Mercedes GLE Coupe – is what
you’d call a looker exactly, but the Cayenne Coupe is a distinctive,
typically well-resolved addition to the canon. Kind of Macan-plus
rather than Cayenne-minus, which is a good thing. Michael Mauer,
Vice President Style Porsche (quite the job title), points to the
Coupe’s ‘flyline’ at the rear of the roof, while the windscreen and
A-pillar have a sharper rake, and the roof is 20mm lower than the
standard car. The rear doors are new and the wheel-arches more
pumped, to the tune of 18mm. Boot space is smaller.
It’s a strict four-seater in standard configuration, the rear two
positioned 30mm lower to optimise headroom. A full bench seat can
be ordered as a no-cost option, but then you may as well as go the
whole, erm, hog and order the full Cayenne to go with it.
The standard Cayenne Coupe will land in South Africa later this year
priced at R1 303 000 for the entry-level, the Turbo at R2 277 000.
They will surely be as magnificent to drive as they are a largely
pointless addition to the 2019 automotive landscape. JASON BARLOW
MAY 2019 19
 The fastest
version of the
new Peugeot
208 is an EV
Take styling from the 508, shrink and add much
electricity... hey presto, the new e-208. C’est bon
his is the new Peugeot 208, and the
T
big news is... it’s gone electric. Or at
least the e-208 version has. Fully
electric; a 100kW motor teams up
with a 50kWh battery to deliver over 320
kilometres of real-world range, not to mention an
8.5sec 0–100kph time. That makes it quicker than
any petrol or diesel option currently available.
Though not as quick to refuel, of course. It’ll take
over 20 hours to fully charge on a traditional
domestic socket, but eight hours from a
dedicated fast charger, with the ability to gain 80
per cent of charge in just 30 minutes if you can
find a vacant rapid. The time it takes for a wee ’n’
tea, essentially.
Other practical gubbins include the ability to
manage the heating of the car from an app, so it
warms up efficiently on chilly mornings. Not a
new feature to the car industry, but one that’s
20 MAY 2019
fresh to cars this dinkky and affordable. The
battery also gets an eight-year, 160 000km
warranty, and sits beneath the floor to give the
e-208 equal luggage space to a petrol or diesel
208.
Those petrol and diesel 208s are around 30kg
No garish seat
lighter than the cars they replace, and comprise
stitching? Surely an
various tunes of 1.2-litre 3cyl petrol – possessing oversight, Peugeot?
up to 95kW, and available optionally with an
eight-speed auto – and one 73kW 1.5 4cyl diesel,
which we suspect few people will buy in SA.
While a snickety manual gearbox feels right in
a tiddly car, choosing auto brings semi-
autonomous driving in jams and full self-parking,
among a bunch of other de rigueur active safety
systems.
Like the bulk of its rivals, it’s now five-door
only, with styling seemingly borrowed from the
absurdly handsome 508 saloon, though how

successfully that’s been shrink wrapped around a
smaller car is up for debate. A straw poll of our
office finds many delighted at the 208’s newfound
aggression, but some missing the daintier old car.
There’s no arguing it’s distinctive, mind,
something that’ll only crank up when a Peugeot
Sport version arrives. The old 208 GTI by PS was
one of the hardest-cored hot hatches of recent
times, but there’ll be nothing to directly replace it.
Peugeot Sport’s new direction is electrified
(launching first with a 260kW 508 sports saloon)
so any hot hatch iteration of this 208 will possess
some flavour of motor/battery combination. A fully
electric hot hatch? It’s possible, according to
Peugeot Sport boss Bruno Famin. Given how
wonderfully aggressive that 208 GTI was (and
indeed the 308 GTI remains), might electrification
calm the brand’s boisterous attitude down a tad?
“Maybe our cars will be a bit softer,” he says.
“The compromise in the sportiness has to change.
Generally speaking, we can’t say we are not going
to make a fully sporting version of the 208 yet, we
don’t know, but an extreme car like the old 205 GTI
cannot be affordable now.” STEPHEN DOBIE
OR YOU COULD WAIT FOR THIS... THE MINI COOPER S E
While the new 208 was designed from the
get-go to accommodate an electric motor
and the batteries to power it, the Mini...
wasn’t. The Cooper S E – yep, that’s its
name – uses bits from the BMW i3,
squeezed in where they’ll fit. Impressively, it
still has back seats, and the boot isn’t full
of battery. Exact specs will be released
nearer to the car’s reveal in July, but we
know battery capacity is 33kWh, giving
around 135kW and probably just over 150
kilometres of range. Not far – but the
average Mini owner only drives his or her
Peugeot nicks design cues
from its own 508. Well, imitation
is the highest form of flattery
ICE car a quarter of that distance every
day. Work and back. Weight is up by 250kg
on a normal Mini, blunting performance
somewhat, but weight distribution is
actually better. We’ve had a quick go and
can confirm it feels like a Mini – good
steering, and a trick new traction control
system that all but eliminates wheelspin on
even the slipperiest of surfaces. As for
looks... don’t be fooled by the psychedelic
camo. Save for a faired-in grille, it’s a
pretty normal-looking Mini under there,
which is what the people want. TH
MAY 2019 21
 Rust to Riches
South Africa’s off-the-record M Car
will join M1 and 333i in the museum
he three letter MLE suffix on a BMW
T badge is almost lost in the modern
rhetoric but if you’re trudging back
through BMW South Africa’s lineage
to put a date and place to the first M Car, the 530
MLE is considered - under some caveats - to be the
genesis that predates the E28 M5 in 1986. With
misty-eyed nostalgia BMW South Africa has taken
the time to reflect and restore the legend of the
BMW 530 MLE.
It’s the 1970s. Cars like the BMW M1 are still a
few years away but South African motorsport is
thriving on an international scale, especially at the
newly built Kyalami circuit. Win on Sunday, sell on
Monday is a mantra employed by all manufacturers
and that couldn’t be closer to the truth with the E12
530 MLE which was devised under TGSA’s favourite
law, homologation. That word is responsible for
everything cool in the transition between road and
track.
22 MAY 2019
The 530 MLE (Motorsport Limited Edition) was
built at Rosslyn for Modified Production Racing.
With a Schnitzer-modified 3.0-litre straight six
fuelled by Zenith carbs atop high-revving cams the
530 MLE pushed out 147kW and 277Nm. 0-100kph
in 9.3 seconds meant it wasn’t much slower than a
Ferrari 308. The gearbox was a 5-speed dogleg
transferring power through a limited slip
differential. Bilstein shocks were also fitted.
It was a special car without resorting to full
Batmobile aero. In fact, in form and function the
530 MLE was more in the vein of BMW South
Africa’s other homologated model, the 745i.
That said, the car did carry some unique
aesthetic treatment to differentiate it from a regular
5er. These include BBS wheels, fatter bumpers,
Scheel bucket seats, thinner glass, aluminium
panels and the tri-colour M Division livery -
identical to the one worn by the new M4 DTM. The
lightened car, by 100 kilograms, sees unsubtle metal
atrophy in places like the boot hinges and pedals.
Fifteen wins from seventeen starts along with
three championships in 1976, 77, 78 has earned its
place in BMW South Africa’s museum, which
includes the M1 and 333i. This example carries
some serious provenance and is rumoured to be one
of the very few survivors from the 227 homologated
models. This is chassis number 770100 – the last
three numbers meaning it’s the 100th one built
which belonged to driver and the racing 530 MLE’s
team manager Peter Kaye-Eddie who is
synonymous with BMW’s production car racing
including the 325is EVO II.
The restoration of this priceless Type 1 BMW
530 MLE is in the care of Luis Malhou of Custom
Restorations, assisted by a team of guys who
worked on the original 530 MLE. If that doesn’t
get your classic car bones twitching, we’re afraid
you might be of the AWD, twin turbo charged,
dual clutch era… AL
 “Twenty years ago, the
business of deciphering good
from bad was easier because
there were more bad cars”

Testing cars for a living is rarely a scary job – at
least not until the seat runners fail on a TVR
Cerbera and you play “Look-no-hands!” at 200kph.
It’s a fun job with few consequences. Apart from
one that always worried me – still does, in fact –
testing a car on a product launch event and saying
it was good, then driving it a few months later on
roads near me and discovering it was, in fact, not
very good. This, as far as I was concerned, was the
ultimate professional no-no.
Twenty years ago, the business of deciphering good from
bad was easier because there were more genuinely bad cars
being made, but also because people seemed to genuinely care
if something was s**t. Whereas now, so long as the finance deal
is good, the badge is fancy and it might garner numbers on
Instagram, no one actually cares if something isn’t very good.
Like the McLaren Senna.
The Aston Martin DB9 was probably the most important car
the company has ever made, and that remains true today. I
drove it on some amazing roads in the south of France, back to
backed it against a 911 Turbo and a Gallardo, and felt
absolutely convinced it offered a blend of skills people would
just love – chief among them a chassis that was direct and fun,
but way more comfortable than the others’. It was a genuine GT
car; cue lots of ‘Aston beats Porsche’ headlines. Fast-forward
six months and it was time to drive a DB9 near where I live. Oh
dear. That plush, expensive ride was gone, replaced by what felt
like springs 100 per cent firmer, and the whole package suffered
terribly as a result. Many years later, I met a chap
who’d worked on those launch cars in
France: “They were great cars with
those special Öhlins dampers fitted,
weren’t they?”
Yes, they really were. Gits.
Which brings me to the Alpine A110. Doyenne
of the motoring press, scalper of many a supercar
– seemingly flawless. But not on the M1 in a 60kph
crosswind. As I battled to keep the little Frenchie
between the white lines, and the DAB radio
struggled to find a single station, a fear ran
through me that I hadn’t felt since the DB9
incident. Was the Alpine actually a bit rubbish?
Had we all been duped?
I decided to investigate. This required some old-school road
testing. At this point, please hum the training montage from
Rocky IV, as I dust down my notebook, aversion to paying for
anything and reboot the need to change gear twice as often as
necessary.
At highway speeds, in high winds, the Alpine is a handful.
Far worse than a Cayman. Having never driven it in such
weather before, I didn’t know this. And I didn’t listen to the
radio the first time I drove it, because I was too busy talking to
a Panasonic mic. The wipers leave the most annoying residue of
water after the final swish, and the infotainment system is
generally slow and unhelpful.
But, away from the highway, it drives every bit as well as I
remember – perhaps better. It’s fun at low speed, supple where
most are harsh, and the engine and gearbox are genuinely
enjoyable and exciting. The steering wheel could be less ornate
and thinner, and some of the interior plastics are terrible.
The fundamentals are stunning, though. I’d take one of
these over most sports cars on sale. Only a 720S offers
a more enjoyyable comfort/handling balance over
myriaad roads. But when it’s windy and you
need to use the highway, leave it at
ome. Phew.
ho

MAY 2019 23
 “It’s a bit like comparing
how quickly two Michelin-
starred chefs can pour
milk into a cup of tea”

Electric cars are having a huge impact on the world of
motoring. They’re improving air quality in cities, reducing
our reliance on fossil fuels, and even helping us save on
running costs. But they’re also responsible for something
far more dramatic: killing the long-relied-upon performance
benchmark that is the 0–100kph run.
When electric minivans like the Faraday Future FF 19 or
Tesla Model X, both designed with no deliberate bent
towards sportiness, can beat a supercar, then what’s the
point in even measuring car performance in this way? We’ve reached
“peak 0–100”. Sure, Elon Musk reckons he’ll be able to go sub-2.0secs
with the next Tesla Roadster, and I salute his ambition. But already EV
makers are having to add extra decimals to show any difference in their
times. Faraday Future had to claim its FF 19 manages the sprint in
2.389, just to steal a march on the Model S P100 D’s 2.4.
Pure petrol-powered cars don’t stand a chance. The Dodge Demon,
with the help of super-sticky drag radials, an even stickier rubber-laden
drag strip and shopping cart front wheels, manages it in 2.3secs, and
only because its engineers have forsaken other performance metrics in
the pursuit of a world-beating drag time – corners be damned. Will any
pure combustion production cars go faster? Possibly, but not by much.
And if so, then at what cost?
We’re seeing diminishing returns at the lower end of the
performance car food chain, too. FWD cars have peaked at around
5.5–6.0secs. AWD hot hatches manage it in something beginning with a
4, sports cars by around the 4.0secs mark, and anything costing seven
figures returns a figure in the region of 3.0secs.
The only real gains in the future will come from
magical new tyre compounds, or variations in the way
we measure the time. We already have to ask
ourselves whether any quoted measurement is a
true 0–100kph, or one that includes a one-foot rollout.
Whether it’s actually 0–62.1mph (0–100kph), or if the
figure’s been rounded up or down or adjusted for
elevation or temperature variations.
Asking how quickly two cars can go from a
standstill, engines bouncing off their rev-limiters to
100kph is a bit like comparing how quickly two
Michelin-starred chefs can pour milk into a cup of tea.
Getting a good figure is so easy to achieve, so
close-run and so rarely required by normal folk it’s almost pointless
knowing the answer.
So what do we replace it with? Do we add a couple of decimal places,
à la Faraday Future? Ten supercars that all run 0–100kph in 3.0secs
might seem identical, but 3.000secs is a world away from 3.099 for those
that truly care. Can you imagine discussing such differences without
risking losing friendships?
No. We need a whole new metric. It can’t be a quarter-mile time, as
that’s so far removed from reality as to be pointless, and 0–200kph and
0–300kph are best left for the really expensive stuff, so that leaves
0–160kph. Unlike a sprint to 100kph, reaching 160kph isn’t just an
exercise in avoiding wheelspin off the line – a car’s power, weight and
even design also play a part, and we’d have a far clearer picture of how
cars compare.
But I’d much rather we all just stop getting so hung up on the
numbers. I yearn for the day when somebody asks me how that car
makes me feel, what it does to me emotionally when I bury the throttle,
or what frequency the sound of my yelp is when I unleash its full fury.
It’ll never happen, of course. Figures mean too
much to too many. Just don’t expect the set of
numbers we currently rely on to change too
drastically any time soon.

24 MAY 2019
Intak
EDITED BY ANDREW LEOPOLD

Faces. Retro. Entertainment. Car Culture. Every month

PIC OF THE MONTH

CAMEL RACING
You’d be forgiven for thinking we’d unearthed a vintage photograph of a Mini dealership rocking cigarette sponsorship this
month, but no. Welcome to Camel Auto Shop in Hachiōji-Shi, Tokyo: Japan’s premier classic Mini specialist, since 1987.
Because in Japan’s Technicolor collage of car culture, of course there’s a space for a 60-year-old bonsai British icon. Camel is a
one-stop shop where you can buy, service and tune a Mini to your exact spec, then thrash it at one of the shop’s Mini-only
Tsukuba track days. It’s Gran Turismo fusion petrolheading, made adorably real.

MAY 2019 25
 MY LIFE
IN CARS
Freddie
Flintoff
New TopGear TV
presenter and cricket
legend talks Rovers,
crashes and Lambos
I
passed my test third time. I didn’t have to
buy my first car, because Lancashire
[County Cricket Club] had a deal with
Lookers Rover and you paid one per cent of
the car’s value per month on a rent, so it was
like R2000 per month, and another R500 for
insurance. But they wouldn’t give you a 220
Turbo. So I had 216 Coupe, in blue. At 17 years
old. I was the nuts. I didn’t drink, so I used to
take my mates home and I’d get stopped by the
police in Preston every night without fail.
Because in Preston, that car, a 1.6 Rover, was
the equivalent of driving a McLaren in Chelsea.
I swapped it for a Cabrio, but they’d sent the
wrong car – it was purple instead of blue, so I
had that for about three months, then I got a
pay rise and I stretched myself to a 620ti. That
was a car. And then someone went in the back
of it when I was on my way to a team game in
Cheadle. So I couldn’t play that day because of
whiplash, but I got a grand for whiplash and
taped the boot up.
The first car I bought was a Boxster. I was
on tour in Pakistan and I was a bit bored, so I
26 MAY 2019
bought it. Lovely car. Trouble with that was I
was driving it one day on a back lane and a
Metro came the other way. I stopped, but the
Metro couldn’t. He hit me. Back then, the
Metro had metal bumpers. Nothing, no
damage. The whole front end of my Boxster fell
off.
Then I had a BMW M5. The E39 with the V8
and manual gearbox. That was amazing.
Amazing. That car started with Lee Westwood.
Darren Clarke (we were with the same
management company) bought it off him for
half of what Lee paid. And I offered him half of
that. It had 15 000 kilometres on, and was three
years old. It was a car and a half.
Worst car I’ve ever had was an Overfinch
Range Rover. I drove over a pothole and two
tyres went down. And when I drove through a
big puddle – couldn’t help myself – the
undertray fell off. It went to the garage, I picked
it up three days later and, with no word of a lie,
drove home though the same puddle – only
doing 50kph – and the bottom fell off again. So
I said: “Look, I never want to see this car
again,” because the electrics had had a few
problems as well.
I had a VW Touareg, the V10 TDI. Didn’t
realise how good that car was until it was gone.
And a Ford F-150 Harley Davidson edition. I
crashed it going to my mate’s house. I wasn’t
going that fast, but I went around a bend in a
lane and the back end came out, I tried
correcting it and it went the other way. It went
through a fence and a bush and as I had the
window open, that all came in the car.
My daily driver is a Porsche 997 Turbo:
black, 10 years old, 70 000 kilometres. I bought
it on a whim, but I genuinely love that car. It’s
everything I wanted. And we’ve got a Merc
GLS350d for the family. The other car in my
garage is a Lambo Murciélago. I feel a knobhead
driving it: it’s got carbon bucket seats that you
can’t put back; after anything more than half
an hour I’m sore; and I can’t use the indicator
going left because my knee’s in the way. But I
go in the garage and just look at it. I’m not a big
fan of the Aventador and the newer ones, but I
just think the Murciélago is beautiful.

CAR TRENDS THAT
NEED TO DIE IN 2019
M COLOUR
GRILLES
Some repeat offenders here, for
sure. Quite where the trend for
painting, wrapping or clipping the
vanes of a BMW kidney grille to ape
the M Division tricolour originated,
we’re not sure. Not from any BMW M
car, at any rate.
FREDDIE’S CARS
MOTOR
SHOWS
Rover 200 cabriolet Not all of them. But when Geneva is
now routinely described as ‘a quiet
one’ and Paris has entire halls sat
empty, do we really need an
international motor show every
other month? Will there be more
BMW M5 E39 diary casualties in 2019?
Ford F-150
Porsche 997 Turbo BULLSH*T ELECTRIC
HYPERCARS
Almost every day TG is bombarded
with a lengthy press release from a
ne’er-proven start-up which claims
to have a megawatt-powered
Lambo Murciélago
thrustmobile that’ll do 0–100 in minus
one seconds and create a
singularity. And drive itself.
TOPGEAR TOP 9
FAKE
BADGING
We see you, in your Merc C220d. With
your AMG badge. We see you,
thinking your eBay AMG badge fools
us into thinking your single- tailpipe
repmobile is a thundering V8
monster. Do yourself a favour and
return to factory settings.
MASSIVE
GRILLES
Huge grilles are a rich seam of
trends we want binned. The A8 and
X7 are modern cars with heat-
optimised engines, so don’t need
more cooling than a diesel loco.
Even worse, the e-tron doesn’t even
have an engine to cool.
TOUCHSCREEN
CLIMATE
Hiding the functionality of simply
heating or cooling the cabin in a
touchscreen which invariably is slow
to respond or doesn’t react to
gloves is idiotic beyond belief, and
downright unsafe. Yet for the sake of
design, carmakers are mad for it.
‘DIAMOND-CUT’
WHEELS
Which aren’t cut by diamonds by
master jewellers deep in the Swiss
Alps. Basically, it’s two-tone alloys.
They were fine, when it was only one
or two brands doing them, and
doing them well. But now they’re
overdone and ready for the bin.
MODIFIED
LAND ROVER DEFENDERS
Are there any standard Defenders
left? It seems the ones that haven’t
been nicked and callously stripped
for parts are all destined to live out a
life of urban ignominy, bolted to
enormous, fussy wheels and
sporting bolt-on widebody arches.
IMITATION
GRILLES
Into the bin they go. So obsessed
has the car industry become with
meaningless mesh being shorthand
for power, more and more cars are
peppered with risible plastic acne
that serves no purpose besides
looking cheap.
MAY 2019 27
 GADGETS

HANDY CAM DJI OSMO POCKET

Your iPhone is a far, far better video camera than actual video cameras were only a few years ago. But
for all the colours, all the sharpness, all the image stabilising tech, mobile phone footage is still a bit…
wobbly. Enter the Osmo Pocket – a proper three-axis mechanical gimbal you can quite literally carry
around in your, erm, pocket. This properly tiny gadget shoots super-smooth 4K, 60fps video,
or 12MP stills. Connect your phone to access pro mode and its many settings, or use as a simple,
standalone device. Stick a memory card in the side and fill it with car stuff. ormsdirect.co.za; R7 100

AMAZON ECHO AUTO GRAVITY INDUSTRIES JET SUIT SERIES 3

Sure, voice control systems in cars are getting better – try a new
Mercedes A-Class on for size – but none is as feature-rich as
Alexa. This little cassette-sized dongle lets you take Amazon’s
virtual assistant with you in the car, and gives access to
basically all its features. US-only for now, but it’s coming.
Once you supply your measurements, Gravity spends a month
or two building your very own jet suit. It has five turbines
and produces the equivalent of 800kW. Max altitude is
12,000ft, if you can even bring yourself to take off. Thankfully,
they give you a bit of training beforehand.

28 MAY 2019
 A BRIEF
Overheard on the internet,
so it must be true...

A Ferrari 250 GTO is now

HISTORY OF...
worth more than its weight
in gold. A Reddit thread
recently posited that “The
Electric cars
current gold price is R17
901.86 per ounce, which
1837 On a stretch of Glasgow railway, Scottish chemist Robert
translates to R575.473 per
gram. In August, a 250 Davidson successfully tests the first electric vehicle. The seven-tonne
GTO sold for R700,207,597 locomotive is later destroyed by railway workers, thus proving the
which makes it the most eternal truth that, if you’ve got a shiny new ride, you’re best not
expensive car in history.
leaving it parked overnight in Glasgow.
For this you get 880kg of
the most special car in 1859 French scientist Camille Alphonse Faure pioneers the first
automotive history. This
equals R795.608 per gram –
rechargeable battery. This represents a huge jump in EV development:
1.4 times its weight in gold. before 1859, customers had been put off by the onerous costs of having
to buy a new car every time they ran out of charge.

Who says concept 1900 The electric car enters its first golden age, with battery-
cars never get made? powered vehicles outselling petrol cars almost two-to-one in the
United States. The battery powered vehicles’ popularity is attributed
The Nissan Italdesign
to (a) being simpler to maintain than a gasoline car, and (b) being less
GT-R 50 is going into
likely than a horse to boot you squarely in the plums.
production, complete
with GT3 racecar-spec 1908 The Model T Ford arrives, almost instantly ending the electric
turbos, 530kW, and car’s first ‘golden age’. Model T drivers appreciate being able to travel
further, faster, than any electric car of the day, and not have to pack a
a cool R20mil price
whole suitcase of adaptors when they head off on a driving holiday.
tag. Bespoke carbon
bodies don’t come 1971 The electric car enjoys a brief moment in the sun, as NASA’s
cheap. Even on a battery-powered Lunar Rover becomes the first car to drive on the
Moon. When the Apollo 15 mission departs, it leaves three Lunar
Nissan…
Rovers on the surface of the Moon. EVs have maintained a 100 per cent
share of the Moon new car market since.
Porsche says the 918 Spyder
hypercar’s successor needs 1985 The Sinclair C5 is launched, an electric car delivering all the
to be capable of a 6min 30sec speed and handling of a mobility scooter, with none of the good looks.
Nürburgring lap time, says
fast car boss Frank Walliser.
The C5 does more for the popularity of the internal combustion
“It must achieve a 6m30s engine than every glorious supercar of the 20th century combined.
at the Nürburgring. I don’t
care about the drivetrain. An 2008 The Tesla Roadster is launched. Not only the first production
electric car in 6m30s is quite EV to use lithium ion batteries, the Roadster is also the first
a challenge. So, a hybrid may
production EV that could legitimately be described as ‘interesting to
be unlikely, a fully electric
hypercar even more so. drive’. Despite the worldwide success of the Roadster, Tesla’s owner,
shrinking wallflower Elon Musk, manages to keep a low profile over
Williams F1 is the only the subsequent decade. Whatever happened to that guy?
team on the 2019 F1 grid 2017 The UK government announces legislation to make all new cars
to produce a slower race
I M AG E S : G E T T Y

electrified by 2040. The move causes widespread outrage among

car than last year’s FW41. A
comeback to forget, Kubica mainstream manufacturers, who complain there’s no way they can
probably wishes he stayed implement such wholesale changes by twenty to nine that evening.
in retirement.

MAY 2019 29
 THE WATCH GURU

STORYBOOK
ROMANCE
Richard Holt on how the
companies engineer desire

E
veryone who works in the watch industry is locked in
an ongoing battle against dullness. In the old days,
things were not like this. A watch was an essential
piece of kit, so you bought one according to how much
money you had and whether you needed it to go with a lounge
suit or a boiler suit. Now that the exact time is never further
than a glance or tap away, nobody needs a watch. Companies
must therefore work hard to make the desire for one so
strong that you can no longer distinguish between want and
need.
A product launch is often accompanied by an elaborate
computer simulation of the watch movement being put
together. As an action-movie soundtrack plays, you see
wheels and pinions being assembled in such dramatic fashion
you would think they were building a machine to explore the
next dimension, rather than something that ticks away
obediently on your wrist.
The thing that the Swiss men in sober suits don’t like to
admit is that in a world of things that explode and fly and
have thousands of horsepower, the watch is the quiet one in
the corner. That is why watch sales depend to a far greater
extent than other industries on telling stories. When watches
play a supporting role in the lives of stars and heroes, or have
been to the Moon or the bottom of the sea, the brands are
compelled to tell you about it. A lot.
Some take a different route to cool-by-association. They
look at designs from other sectors and say: why don’t we
make a watch that looks like that? So we have watches that
are like rev-counters from classic cars, or pressure gauges
from submarines. Perhaps the most successful at the
not-a-watch watch game is Bell & Ross. They have made all
kinds of different designs, but the one they are best known
for is based on a cheerful piece of industrial espionage. The
founders, a Mr Belamich and Mr Rosillo, looked closely at the
dashboard instrument on a fighter jet and decided it would
I M AG E :G E T T Y

look rather fetching on the wrist. Well, it turns out they were
right, and it has certainly excited the punters, who can’t get
enough of them.

30 MAY 2019
HUBLOT CLASSIC FUSION
CHRONOGRAPH
Hublot counts Ferrari, Pelé and
Usain Bolt among its close
friends, so glamour is never in
short supply. This special
edition is among the more
sober Hublot designs, but with
45mm titanium case and a CF
bezel, it is easily big and bold
enough to live up to the
company name.
ROTARY
HENLEY
The Rotary Henley
chronograph caters to
an active audience.
This model features a
refined and dynamic
case shape with a
black genuine leather
strap.
TW STEEL ACE
ATERNUS ACE304
The new Swiss made TW
Steel Ace Aternus ACE304 is
your perfect everyday
watch. Powered by a Swiss
chronograph, it features
anti-reflection sapphire
crystal, a black Italian calf
leather strap, 20 ATM and
five year international
guarantee.
WATCHES OF THE MONTH
BREITLING
SUPEROCEAN HÉRITAGE II
B20 AUTOMATIC 44
WENGER
ROADSTER
Rugged and sporty, this
Roadster chronograph
A sleek and striking new interpretation of the family is the timepiece will make you
Superocean Héritage II B20 Automatic 44, a three-hand feel like you’re ready for
version of the watch powered by the Breitling Manufacture action. With Superluminova
Caliber B20. There are two subtle stain less-steel designs: hands, numerals and
one with a black dial and a black Aero Ocean Classic markers this Swiss
rubber strap, the other with a blue dial and an Ocean timepiece is reliable,
Classic stainless-steel bracelet. efficient and stylish.
The stunning stainless-steel and gold Superocean
Héritage II B20 Automatic 44 has a black dial and a black
Aero Classic Rubber strap.
MAY 2019 31
 32
MAY 2019
EDITED BY ANDREW LEOPOLD
 Über W
e’re in the little market town of
Barnard Castle, on the edge of
the Pennine Hills, and the
bruisers Mercedes-AMG GT 4dr is
attracting so much attention, it’s almost as
though some minor royal has decided to pay
Merc-AMG GT 63S 4dr a surprise visit. Nobody takes any notice of
vs the Panamera. It’s a hulking presence, but its
Porsche Panamera grey mass blends into the scenery so
effectively it may as well be the world’s
Turbo S e-Hybrid longest, most powerful and most expensive
Volkswagen Passat.
R2 922 531 / R2 931 000 The Panamera is the reason the Mercedes
exists, of course. Despite a wealth of options
at the top of the Mercedes/AMG tree,
customers were supposedly deserting the
WE SAY: IT’S A BIG-MONEY
three-pointed star because they couldn’t
SHOOTOUT: PREMIUM
upgrade to the car they really wanted to own
GERMAN 4DR COUPES
– a 4dr coupe bigger, more focused and more
expensive than the CLS. A Mercedes
Panamera. It’s a nice enough problem to have
– when customers desperately want to spend
more money on your products – so we
suspect Merc couldn’t have been happier to
oblige.
And so here we have a four-door AMG GT
that, confusingly, isn’t really an AMG GT at
all, because it’s based on the same MLA
platform at the CLS, E-Class, GLE and so on.
Motive force comes from the same 4.0-litre
twin-turbocharged V8 as other 63s, here with
470kW and 900Nm.
Zero to 100kph takes 3.2secs and the top
speed is 315kph. This is adequate. And so it
ought to be, for R2 922 531 – a million rand
more than a normal E63S.
MAY 2019 33
 MAY 2019
“It’s very capable, but at
no point does it excite
or entertain its driver”
But a very precise, very Germanic R10 000
less than the equivalent Porsche Panamera.
Porsche pips Merc
The daddy of all Panameras, no less – the
in the all-important
war of the wings Turbo S e-Hybrid, or the PPTSeH, for short.
Thank God it’s not a Sport Turismo. It too gets
a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, this time with
404kW. A 100kW electric motor, drawing
power from a 14kWh lithium battery pack,
gives a few kilometres of EV running and
boosts total outputs to 504kW and 850Nm.
At a cost, mind, because the PPTSeH
weighs a staggering 2,310kg. Heavy things,
batteries and e-motors, seeing as the normal
Panamera Turbo, effectively the same car sans
electrification, is 315kg lighter. And
substantially cheaper. And very nearly as fast.
The Mercedes is 2,120kg. A featherweight, by
comparison, but also over 100kg weightier than
an E63S.
As much is obvious when you start driving.
Nowadays you can, to an extent, engineer your
way around excessive mass. But you can only
take things so far before the laws of physics go
“Hang on a second – that’s not right” and
unilaterally decide to pendulum you off into
the nearest barrier. Just to prove a point.
Porsche has thrown a lot of acronyms at the
Panamera to try and disguise its adiposity –
PTV, PCCB, PASM, PTM, PDCC and PAA, to
If your AMG GT doesn’t name but six – and for the most part, they do a
say ‘S’, you’re not trying grand job. But there’s no escaping this is a very
hard enough... big, very heavy car that would much rather be
sat in the outside lane of an Autobahn than...
wherever it is you are.
The amount of grip on offer is immense –
but then it is wearing 325-section tyres on the
rear axle (like a Ford GT) and possessing a
AWD system that doesn’t understand the
meaning of the word ‘slide’. It doesn’t roll
(because it’s got active stabilisation), direction
changes are faithful and controllable and the
steering is sensibly geared, given the length,
34 MAY 2019
width and amount of grip generated by those
fat tyres. It’s a very capable car, but at no point
does it particularly excite, amuse or entertain
its driver.
The Mercedes does, though. If these two
occupy a kind of no-man’s land between
luxury- and sports-saloons, the Porsche tends
towards the former, while the Mercedes has
more in common with the latter. On your
average road, it feels significantly less wide
(even though it’s actually a bit wider), so you
can have more fun more often, and don’t wince
when something comes the other way. The
steering is beautifully sharp, accurate and
well-weighted, and because it acts on the rear
axle too (the Panamera is available with 4WS
too, but this one didn’t have it), the GT 4dr
pivots into bends like a car half a tonne lighter
and about a metre shorter. It feels more
focused and purposeful than the Panamera –
while there’s as much technology keeping you
out of trouble, it seems more natural in its
application. The whole experience is more fun,
more energetic, more athletic. It might even be
more fun than an E63. And that’s a big deal.
The same is largely true of the pair’s
straightline performance. The numbers say the
Panam is monstrously rapid – 0–100kph in
3.4secs and 310kph, only a fraction slower than
the lighter, albeit less powerful, Mercedes. But
it simply doesn’t feel as swift as a car with
504kW ought to. There’s no doubt in my mind
it’ll do those numbers (and then some, given
Porsche is somewhat notorious for under-
P H OTO G R A P H Y: S T UA RT P R I C E
reporting acceleration figures), but the way it
delivers them simply isn’t very exciting or
engaging.
Unlike the Mercedes, which delivers its
numbers in fairly dramatic fashion. There’s less
of a delay when you prod the throttle, because
there are fewer computers to wake up, and the
ensuing surge of acceleration is accompanied
The modern age – full of
flammable fabrics and
non-communication
 MAY 2019

The Porsche has the better

quality of materials, but
Merc wins the design battle

by one of the world’s finest eight-cylinder

soundtracks. The Porsche’s 4.0-litre V8 is
seriously impressive, but the Merc’s is more
charismatic, and damn close to Ferrari’s
3.9-litre V8 as far as responsiveness goes.
Gearboxes too – the Porsche’s eight-speeder is
smooth when it needs to be and quick when it
doesn’t, but it’s the Mercedes one that reacts
better to manual actuation.
Where the Porsche comes good is in the
everyday. You can’t drive like a madman the
whole time, and when you don’t, the difference
between these two cars is far narrower. Both
are tremendous cruisers – they ride well (the
AMG is a massive improvement over the E63;
that’s almost worth the extra million rand all
by itself), have very comfortable seats front
and back and in their meekest modes are easy
as anything to drive. Stick the Merc in Slippery
and it’s especially docile.
And, of course, the Panamera has the added
benefit (as far as everyday driving goes, yes,
it’s a benefit) of being able to drive for a few
kilometres at a time on electricity when
conditions allow. Porsche claims 3.5l/100km
and 74g/km of CO2, but realistically you’ll get

36 MAY 2019

“Where the
Porsche
comes good
is in the
everyday”
mid tens. Still, that represents a massive saving
in fuel and tax over the 12.7l/100km, 257g/km
CO2 Mercedes (which admittedly will do its
claimed numbers all day long). We’re led to
believe there will be a hybrid version of that in
time, too, though.
The Panamera also benefits from the nicer
interior of the two – in terms of quality, if not
design. Though Merc has given the dashboard
more rake and raised the centre console so you
feel like you’re sitting in the car rather than on
it, the GT still feels a bit too E-Class. It looks
Mostly elegant, but the silver
console feels more like it’s from
a R1.5mil car than a R3mil car
great, plusher and less business-like than the
Porsche, but in parts the quality of the centre
GT 63S 4DR SPECIFICATION
3982cc, V8 twin-turbo, AWD,
console (everything else is spot on) is closer to 470kW, 900Nm
that of a R1.5mil car than a R3mil one. 12.8l/100km, 257g/km CO2
Those ‘buttons’ on the centre console,
meanwhile, really ought to be actual buttons
0–100kph in 3.2secs, 315kph
rather than displays, and getting rid of the 2120kg
infotainment’s rotary controller in favour of a
8
VERDICT: Bit cynical and
touchpad is a step in the wrong direction. Say
rather pricey, but for the
what you like about the Panamera’s gimmicky most part as dynamically
electric air vents, but it feels very well made capable as it is desirable.
inside, and the touchscreen infotainment is Which is very. 10
among the very best of its kind.
Unlike the rest of the car. The Panamera is
very impressive technically, but this is not the
one to go for. The added complication and PANAMERA TURBO S SPECIFICATION
weight of the hybrid system make for an 3996cc, V8 twin-turbo, AWD,
504kW, 850Nm
ultimately less satisfying, less good car than a
regular Panamera Turbo. But even so, while it’s 3.5l/100km, 74g/km CO2
not quite as high-quality an item as the Porsche 0–100kph in 3.4secs, 310kph
(nor quite as aspirational a badge), the GT’s
2310kg
benefits more than outweigh its shortcomings.
It’s a more engaging thing to drive thanks to its
7
VERDICT: Lovely item,
lighter weight, better steering and charismatic but not the Panamera you
engine. As for looks – the entire population of want. Electrification adds
weight and complication,
Barnard Castle can’t be wrong. TOM HARRISON not fun. 10
MAY 2019 37
 MAY 2019

Hats off T
here aren’t many differences
between the Continental GT
Convertible and the coupe on which
Where you really notice the weight is on the
brakes. These may be the biggest steel discs ever
fitted to a production car, but use them hard and
Bentley it’s based. Except the roof, obviously, often and things start to unravel. The other thing
Continental GTC which is a Zfold fabric item that can be stowed or is that because this is a convertible, there is a bit of
erected in 19 seconds at up to 48kph. scuttle shake. Nothing like as much as a Mercedes
R3 750 000 Chassis strengthening in the form of much S-Class Cabrio, for example, but enough that you
metalwork means it’s five per cent stiffer than might notice a wee bit of a wobble over rough
before, while aluminium panels mean the body is roads. It remains, however, a deeply satisfying
20 per cent lighter. And happily, better looking. thing in which to cover thousands and thousands
WE SAY: A 2.4-TONNE The old car was not unattractive, but this moves of kilometres. Broadly as talented as the coupe,
CABRIO THAT CAN HAVE A things on. The interior too – it’s a tremendously just with (literally) miles more headroom. Proper
TWEED ROOF. JOB DONE comfortable, brilliantly built place to sit. Quiet as Bentley. TOM HARRISON
the old coupe when the roof’s up, and with it down
almost totally free of turbulence (so long as you
use the windbreak).
Mechanically, it’s the same car as the coupe.
That means a W12 with a couple of turbos, more
power and torque than before and cylinder
deactivation for better economy. Still drives all
four wheels, but now through an 8spd DSG rather
than a torque-converter auto. Three-chamber air
suspension aims to give a silky smooth ride, while
48-volt active roll control is tasked with keeping
the substantial mass in check through the corners.
The GTC’s 2,414kg bulk means it’s some 100kg
SPECIFICATION
5950cc, W12 twin-turbo, AWD,
heavier than a fully loaded Discovery and 170kg 467kW, 900Nm
more than the coupe. But all that tech means the 12.2l/100km, 290g/km CO2
GTC steers, grips and goes very well indeed. Still a
heavyweight, and proud of it, but an athletic one 0–100kph in 3.7secs, 333kph

that doesn’t heave or lurch. 2414kg

VERDICT: Simply put,

this is miles better than
the old one. A proper
intercontinental missile.
Looks good as well.
8 10

38 MAY 2019
 Stirred.
Not he BMW Z4 has it easy. While it
Shaken. T
shares large helpings of the same
architecture as the Toyota Supra, the
weight of expectation on the new
BMW Z4 2.0 sDrive BMW Z4 is a lot lower. With the Z4
the internet is not erupting with vitriolic
R755 900 criticisms written by irate fans who have watched
too many Fast and Furious movies. The Z4 leads a
far more sheltered existence amid the Supra’s
malarkey, perhaps because it never reached peak
WE SAY: CAUGHT IN THE
iconic status in the first place.
TRAFFIC TO AN ED
That’s not to say the mortal BMW Z4 is going
SHEERAN CONCERT? to walk its segment. Convertible sales are
PREPARE TO BE MOBBED. nosediving, which is why Audi axed the TT
convertible. Now what’s left of the ilk is an
apocalyptic landscape of the dull Mercedes SLC,
the raucous Nissan 370Z and Porsche’s scalpel-
sharp but downsized 718 Boxster.
BMW’s bringing two versions to market. The
public will go for the 2.0-litre because it costs a lot
less than a 718 Boxster and marries the price to
encouraging performance – similar to a MINI
Cooper S in punch and histrionics. The Z4 M40i
– which we didn’t drive on launch – uses the
3.0-litre straight six with 250kW and 500Nm.
Think convertible Toyota Supra. It too is cheaper
than the equivalent SLC 43 AMG which runs
similar capacity but with cylinders in a V-shape.
The Z4 M40i comes with a Nurburgring lap
time but you would rather it be handsome,
wouldn’t you? They’ve done well to contain the
bulker tech it must carry or the improved safety it
now needs but I would like the nose to be lower
and the rear to have less of an early Ferrari
California hump to it, especially since fabric roofs
are meant to offer the perk of compactness. Don’t
think for a second that fabric roofs are inferior to
folding hard tops for insulation because if
convertibles now match coupes for speed, even a
soft top like this would match a hard top for seal
and shut. And it will win the race between its two
latch points with a time of 10 seconds. Far more
relevant on the stopwatch than the Nurburgring.
The interior is largely plucked from a 3 Series
which means BMW can’t do the whole driver-
focussed angle that would work so well in a Z4. It’s
a nice place to sit, but not very roadster. A bit too
dense with sombre packaging whereas roadster
vernacular usually includes fun elements such as
toggle switches or little cutaways or punched
aluminium struts that allow light to flow through
the cabin while creating little nooks for storage.
This one is designed to stop your cinnamon latte
from toppling over.
A blustery Cape Town jabs at the sides of the
Z4, pushing it hither and thither at speed, while
the high-geared steering has been done to give the
front end the sensation of sharpness, yet there’s
not a lot of textured communication returned by
the wheels. Hyper alert like a city car, but ADHD
on these mountain passes where the ratio of lock
doesn’t feel as sinuous as the road ahead.
Perhaps the new Z4’s only measurement is
whether it could be the star in a James Bond film
– like the Z8 and Z3. Button-mashing revealed no
Stinger missiles lurking behind the headlights and
there’s no hot-air-on-neck feature either, the latter
being absurdly low-tech for the world’s most
famous spy. But it does ride with far greater
stability and reconciles the perks of coupes and
convertibles with aplomb. Sophisticated like Bond,
but not as charismatic. ANDREW LEOPOLD
SPECIFICATION
1998cc, 4cyl turbo petrol, RWD,
145kW, 320Nm
6.1l/100km, 139g/km CO2
0–100kph in 6.6secs, 240kph
1480kg
VERDICT: Form
juxtaposed by function.
There’s a purity that’s
missing.
7 10
MAY 2019 39
 MAY 2019

Six Series T
he resurrection of the 8 Series
badge after a lengthy hiatus has
seen a busy BMW invent and

substitute? refine several now-mainstream

segments, including the ubiquitous SUV no
less. Yes, it’s been that long – the X-range
BMW M850i Coupe wasn’t even a twinkle in BMW’s eye when the
original 8-Series was conceptualised.
R1 872 900 Numerically this is the brand’s new halo
model and the price certainly nibbles at the
ultra-premium space, yet wisely undercuts
doyens like the Bentley Continental GT.
WE SAY: THE CAR THAT DEVOURED Regardless, the new 8 Series sees BMW return
THE 6 SERIES HAS SOME BIG SHOES to the elite clientele whose wealth and status
TO FILL had hitherto outgrown the BMW family.
The previous 8 Series bestrode a period of
gorgeous wedged-shaped supercars like the
Ferrari Testarossa. If you look at Ferrari’s
evolutionary styling since then, you’ll have
accurate context to compare the M850i’s
rounded design. But it’s hard to find one really
interesting design element, so while
attractive, ultimately, the M850i is a pair of
gullwing doors shy of making a statement.

40 MAY 2019

This is because the 8 Series has been
designed to spawn several iterations
(convertible, Gran Coupe and of course the
M8) so styling and therefore packaging is
recognisably modular, even compromised.
This taints the 8 Series’ purity – leave the
model proliferation to 5 Series and 4 Series,
we beg you.
In the past it was as though BMW
assigned and funded an elite team to the 8
Series badge with a whole new framework of
accountability but this version isn’t nearly as
creatively unhinged.
Behind the very conventional doors is an
understated 2+2 cabin that lacks the baroque
craftsmanship or novelty of a car costing R2
million. I drove the BMW X5 a week before
this and seating position aside, it’s difficult
to split the two cabins. Exceptionally
well-engineered and on a long journey I can’t
think of quieter, smoother places to sit but
its elegance is prejudiced by carbon fibre and
orange jet-fighter dials. This is not a cockpit
of beautifully sourced veneers or a Swiss
centre-placed chronograph. It’s a digitised
cabin for speed.
This 8 Series made a world debut at Le
Mans meaning that there’s veritable merit to
BMW’s claim that it has racing
underpinnings - but reimagined to be a
flatteringly easy car to drive fast in a pair of
suede loafers. The motor has been revised
with new heat shields, better cooling and a
new crankcase to put out 390kW and
750Nm. This is an engine that we know can
produce considerably higher states of tune
but 0-100kph in 3.7 seconds is hardly shabby,
is it? During our drive I’m reminded that
BMW conceptualised the M8 first, then
reverse engineered into slightly less
aggressive models like the 850i. But the
connection between M8 and M850i is never
too far away.
Looping back to the headline, the new
BMW 8 Series feels like a replacement for
the current 6 Series rather than arching
above it. Soon you’ll be able to buy the 8
Series as a Gran Coupe which will render the
The last time BMW built an
8 Series cabin it featured a
casette player
remaining 6 Series model null and void
- joining the fate of other 6 Series models.
Showroom floors are crowded, so the
potential choice between 6 Series and 8
Series has been removed which suggests to
us that the difference between actual and
perceived quality is smaller than many
would like. The 8 Series has always
surrounded itself with drama and theatre…
the success of BMW’s other models depends
on it. ANDREW LEOPOLD
SPECIFICATION
4395cc, V8 twin-turbo, AWD,
390kW, 750Nm
10.5l/100km, 240g/km CO2
0–100kph in 3.7secs, 250kph
1890kg
VERDICT: A Germanic
astuteness sees the 8
Series competent but not
charismatic.
7 10
MAY 2019 41
 MAY 2019

Mac on T
his roadster has an appetite for track
work that has to be experienced to be
believed. Even then, you might not

track believe it. The way the 600LT Spider

dives at apexes, the energy it carries through
corners… I can’t recall another roadster that
McLaren conducts itself with quite the same focus and
600LT Spider aggression. Not many other cars, full stop.
Whatever happened to roadsters being the softer,
R5 800 000 baggier versions of their coupe counterparts? Carbon
fibre, that’s what. Every McLaren is built around a
carbon core, roadster and coupe developed together
to use the same tub, so each is as structurally stiff as
WE SAY: MCLAREN SHOWS the other. The only weight gain over the 600LT coupe
HOW TO MAKE A ROADSTER – a paltry 48kg – comes from the roof mechanism.
AS HARD AS A COUPE That operates electrically rather than hydraulically to
reduce noise and increase speed. It’s effective in both
regards, able to operate at up to 40kph and taking
only 15 seconds to perform its back deck acrobatics.
In total, this harder, faster version of the 570S
Spider is over 100kg lighter. There are big gains (top

42 MAY 2019
exit exhausts save 12.6kg, new forged wheels
17kg, one-piece carbon seats 21kg), and small
gains (thinner windscreen 3.5kg and absent
glovebox 1kg). It’s pretty bare inside –
carpet-less, too.
Once weight is removed, speed can be
added. Not so much from the 3.8-litre twin
turbo V8 – up 22kW to 442kW – but in the
guise of various bits nabbed from McLaren’s
next-step-up Super Series range. Brake
calipers and discs, front and rear aluminium
double wishbones and suspension uprights,
stiffer, thicker roll bars and toe links and a
more efficient water pump all come from the
720S. The ride height is dropped 8mm. The
seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox gains
ignition cut for faster shifts and Inertia Push,
which pulses the torque as the next gear
engages.
The 570S Spider is already sporting
enough for most of us. This is less easy going.
Naturally, there’s more vibration and
harshness, creating a slight buzz through the
chassis, while the ride is intolerant of
expansion joints. The brakes don’t bite
enough at the top end and it drives with a
steeliness that lets you know that crawling
around Hout Bay or Parkhurst is not what it’s
about.
Instead it’s designed to shred racetracks.
And it does that rather well. The first thing
that strikes you is the instant confidence you
have in the steering and chassis, the clarity of
communication. There’s none of the
distortion you get in some convertibles where
chassis and steering column shudder if you
run over a kerb. The 600LT is tight, solid.
There are various modes, but unless the
track is super-smooth, leave the suspension
in Sport. Track is noticeably harder, making
the car feel almost hyperactive. In Sport you
carve smoother lines. Either way, the Spider
is almost ridiculously nimble, has stunning
braking power from the standard carbon-
ceramics and incredible grip from the Pirelli
Trofeo R tyres. But it’s the transitions, the
way it moves from braking to turning, then
from turning to accelerating, that’s so
impressive, retaining its poise and balance
even in extremis. It’s a bloody weapon. Drive
it with the roof up, but the rear window
lowered. That way you get the V8’s unfiltered
bark and snarl – engine noise and sharp
dynamics in harmony. OLLIE MARRIAGE
SPECIFICATION
3799cc, V8 twin-turbo, RWD,
442kW, 620Nm
12.1l/100km, 276g/km CO2
0–100kph in 2.9secs, 323kph
1404kg
VERDICT: Remember the
675LT? McLaren does. All
sneers about roadsters
not being for serious
drivers can be ignored.
9 10
MAY 2019 43
 MAY 2019
Ten out
of Ten
Ford Ford Ranger Bi-Turbo
Wildtrak double-cab 4x4
R678 200
WE SAY: PEOPLE LAUGHED AT VW FOR
BUILDING A 2-LITRE AMAROK. NOBODY
WILL BE DOING THE SAME TO RANGER.
hen you have too many choices,
W there is always an anxiety that
perhaps, you have made the
wrong one. This is exactly the
issue with Ford’s new Ranger.
The latest iteration of Ford’s immensely
successful T6 platform, new Ranger is not
simply a facelifted bakkie with a redesigned
grille, and some reposition LEDs (which,
incidentally, it is – sort of). Hiding behind that
new twin-bar grille and reshaped LED
headlights, are deeply impressive new engine
options.
In a bid to outpower Toyota’s Hilux, Ford
has done the unusual by adding smaller engines
to the Ranger model portfolio. The new engines
are of a 2-litre turbodiesel architecture and
available in two output grades. A bi-turbo
version is the most powerful of these and at
157kW and 500Nm, it ranks as notably more
potent than the 3.2-litre five-cylinder
turbodiesel, which remains available.
Making these new 2-litre engines even more
44 MAY 2019
effective are ten-speed automatic gearboxes,
gifting them unrivalled in-gear flexibility.
People who live and breathe bakkie news will be
aware that this 2-litre bi-turbo engine and
ten-speed gearbox combination also powers
Ranger Raptor, Ford’s ridiculous Kalahari
Ferrari – which goes on sale mid May.
The bi-turbo 2-litre is phenomenal. Not only
is the 2-litre bi-turbo more powerful and
efficient than the 3.2-litre five-cylinder, it is also
30kg lighter. By saving that weight at a crucial
point, just above the front axle, Ford’s new
2-litre Rangers are less susceptible to dive
during emergency braking and their turn-in is a
touch sharper too.
Ford’s engineers have also changed the
suspension configuration on Ranger’s front
axle, where the anti-roll bar is now repositioned
behind the double-wishbone linkage. The
result? Better isolation of the lateral and vertical
forces which influence suspension kinematics.
All new Rangers are also rated at a 3.5
towing capacity and there’s a clever torsion
beam spring assisted tailgate mechanism, which
requires 60% less effort to close – a
tremendously useful feature to those who are
continuously loading and unloading mountain
bikes, braai wood or pets over a weekend.
There is a risk that some might be missing
out on the best value Ranger by fixating on
owning one of the Wildtrak trim versions,
which are powered by that Raptor bi-turbo
engine. In a range of bakkies 33 derivatives
strong, there will always be a stealth hero and
with new Ranger that bakkie is the 2-litre single
turbo.
A milder version of the 2-litre engine
architecture, it boosts an entirely adequate
125kW and 420Nm. Importantly it also pairs
with the ten-speed automatic and that allows
for a tremendous spread of intermediate gear
ratios.
Where both the single- and bi-turbo 2-litre
Rangers really come into their own, is off-road.
Those ten-speed automatic gearboxes also
feature low-range reduction gearing, effectively
 SPECIFICATION
1996cc, 4cyl, turbo diesel 4WD,
157kW, 500Nm
6.7l/100km, 177g/km CO2
n/a

2246kg

VERDICT: Ford has taken a

step back from passenger cars
to build bakkies that drive
just like them .
9 10
giving you an amazing 20 forward gears. The
ability of a 2-litre Ranger to idle up severely
technical off-road trails without any lurching, due
to the surplus of gears and impeccably throttle
calibration, is remarkable.
Difficult choice, then? A Wildtrak with
additional features such as noise cancelling cabin
acoustics and superior open-road cruising and
overtaking ability, or the single turbo 2-litre XLT,
which does without the more comprehensive
comfort and convenience features?
The defining feature of Ford’s updated Ranger
is without doubt the ten-speed gearbox and if you
can have that at a R100k discount in an XLT, by
sacrificing 25% engine power, it seems like a great
deal. Then again, for those who wish to have the
Raptor drivetrain without those Dakar rally
specification suspension bits, a Wildtrak bi-turbo
would be great too.
It appears that back in 2010, VW knew an
evidential truth about where bakkies were going to
trend, with 2-litre engines. Ford has now proven
that intuition. LANCE BRANQUINHO

MAY 2019 45
 RANGE ROVER EVOQUE
P250 R-DYNAMIC HSE
R962 300

The big test:

small, posh SUVs
The Evoque invented the trendy SUV. Now it’s back
to take on rivals that were inspired by the original
WORDS PAUL HORRELL PHOTOGR APHY MARK RICCIONI

46 MAY 2019
 BMW X2 XDRIVE
20D M SPORT X
R700 392
he first Evoque needed
explaining, all right. A sport
utility vehicle deprived of the
utility… what was that all about?
Well, it turned out that the
world adores this mysterious
idea. And so it came to pass that over the
course of a single eight-year generation the
Evoque went from the car that nobody
understood to the car that needs no
introduction.
As the car industry loves to do with a
successful format, the Evoque has been boxed
PORSCHE
MACAN 2.0
R849 000
into a stereotype and made a ‘sector’. BMW
made the X2 as a direct rival, so we brought one
along. Lexus has its new UX. Audi is on course
for its own rival, a low-roof Q3 counterpart
called the Q4 (not to be confused with the
all-electric Q4 e-Tron which it’s also launching in
a couple of years). Mercedes will shortly replace
its GLA too.
Our third car here might at first be a surprise.
The Porsche Macan is bigger, and longitudinally
engined so it can be amped up to take a whole lot
more power than the other two. In the past we’ve
compared it with the Jaguar F-Pace. As you’ll
know because you have a PhD in automotive
platforms, Range Rover’s mirror of the F-Pace
is a Velar, not an Evoque. But never mind the
engineering, because sure as eggs is eggs, the
buyers don’t mind the engineering.
All three cars cost roughly the same in the
outfits presented here, so they’re rivals, and
there’s an end to the matter. At first blush the
Evoque seems avariciously priced, but it’s
actually no more than the previous generation,
and that found lots of buyers. The base-model
Macan looks well-equipped, and let’s not
forget it’s a Porsche, folks.
MAY 2019 47
“THE MACAN HAS AN AWESOME
REPUTATION AS A SPORTY SUV”

The Flood Barrier failing

to hold back the tide of
expensive SUVs
 Engines also throw up a slight anomaly. Until
the BMW arrives as X2 M35i, there’s no quick
one in the line-up, so we’re using a 140kW
diesel. But Porsche says diesel is history and so
the basic Macan has a petrol, of two litres and
180kW. The Range Rover is also a 2.0-litre
petrol, here in 183kW tune.
But the Evoque doesn’t feel like 183kW
anyway. That’ll be the effect of its heffalump
mass – it’s all but two tonnes, which is an
unflattering bit of spec when they say it’s an
all-new car. Still, the engine is quite a pleasant
installation, smooth at low revs, zingy high up
and only a bit grumbly in the middle. The
transmission’s nine speeds feel like too many
and it’s not always decisive in choosing between
them. But that ’box does have one advantage: a
superlow first that’s useful off-road.
The Macan has a quick-witted seven-speed
DCT. This, together with slightly less weight,
plus some other magic not explained by the spec
sheets, makes it overdeliver on its quoted power.
It actually feels notably quicker than the
Evoque, even if its engine doesn’t hit the big revs
as willingly as the Evoque’s does.
Meanwhile, the BMW’s diesel is less of a
handicap than you’d think. Versus the Evoque
it’s lighter by four grown men, which does it a
world of good. It’s a notably quiet and free-
revving engine, given the oily stuff it burns, and,
as always with the Bavarians, the automatic
gearbox is on-point. But when you’re aiming at
A-road overtakes, the petrol cars definitely have
the legs of it.
Into some corners now. The Evoque’s
steering is light but has a damped, almost
viscous quality to it. So does the whole car. It
changes direction when you’ve deliberately
asked, and not before. It’s not without feel, but
basically trucks around a bend without influence
of throttle inputs. It’s tidy, thanks to progressive
build-up of roll, and it’s supple enough not to be
bothered by bumps on the way around. The ride
seems a little firm for a Land Rover product, but
then you drive the Porsche or BMW and forgive
it. In town it’s compliant, and on the highway it
stays nicely supple and doesn’t kick up much
tyre noise.
The Macan has an awesome reputation as a
sporty SUV. Hoon the Turbo on a smooth
surface and sure it is. But with less power to
deploy and on a real road, it stumbles. There’s a
wooden clunkiness to its ride, even in this
Three medium SUVs on their optionally air-suspended sample. And it rocks
way to pick up Princess you side-to-side on the straights because the
Apple Blossom from school
anti-roll characteristic is forced. Sure, tyre grip
and steering precision and cornering balance are

MAY 2019 49
 01
RANGE ROVER
EVOQUE
1. Rear-view mirror has
switchable display from
a rear-mounted camera,
seeing past passengers
or crammed boot
2. Steering-wheel touchpads
have variable functions, but
horrid inconsistent sensitivity
3. JLR does CarPlay at last
4. This touchscreen’s for
climate and drive mode, or
music display with nav on 03
upper screen. Has hardware
ring controls embedded in 02
5. Many upholstery texture and
colour choices, though this one
has boring black

04

05

BMW
X2
1. One of the final BMWs
to get nice clear round
backlit clocks. Enjoy
while you can
2. This is a touchscreen
but you’ll more likely use
the iDrive controller down
by your knee. Works really
02 01
well these days
3. BMW’s automatic
transmission calibration
is peerless. Makes the best
of diesel torque
4. Climate controls and row
of programmable shortcut
buttons look old and messy
but are ergonomic bliss

04

03

50 MAY 2019
 PORSCHE
MACAN
1. Small speedo dial reads
to 280kph, so numbers are
tiny. You’ll look at the digital
readout instead
2. Excellent touchscreen,
with shortcut buttons too.
Has CarPlay
3. But screen pushes the
air vents down to belly-
button height
4. Endless buttons down
the console, but still some
blanks to make you feel like
a cheapskate
5. PDK transmission times
shifts well, and responds
sharply to your paddling
04
superb. But it’s humourless, lacking the
real-world fluency and communication to live
up to its rep.
The X2 tries not to be a crossover at all. But
then as your doctoral thesis notes, it shares a
platform with the bigger Minis. You sit low,
and the steering’s very quick off-centre so it
jabs into bends, but once into the curve it has
almost as much accuracy as the Porsche.
Because you sit closer to the ground, you feel
less of the lateral rocking, and so the anti-roll
bars have been set up softer without harm to
agility. The ride’s firm and a little nuggety but
its biggest chassis flaw is the tyre noise. At
highway speed you find yourself fiddling with
the stereo volume every time you hit a new
section of asphalt or concrete.
In towns, the BMW and Evoque have
compactness on their side. The Porsche feels
its bulk when snaking down narrow streets,
but the upside is you feel like you’ve room to
stretch when sitting in its front seats. The
Evoque is snug, though not actually cramped.
As for their back seats, grown-ups do fit in the
X2 and Evoque. The Porsche is a bit bigger
back there but not to the extent its longer
wheelbase predicts, because its longitudinal
engine swallows space. Where the Macan
really scores is the boot, thanks to that long
02 01 05
03
overhang. The BMW is shorter but its rucksack
isn’t at all bad because it’s deep. The bob-tail
“THEY’RE
Evoque won’t fit much of a haul from Jhb to St
Francis.
LIKE HOTEL
But you never see families aboard these CHAINS OR
things. Any talk about their cabins is really a
discussion about the look and feel, and the ROLLED-OUT
RESTAURANT
amenities. All these three adhere zealously to
the specifics of their brands. They’re like hotel
FRANCHISES”
chains or rolled-out restaurant franchises. If
you’ve ever been to their other branches, you’ll
know perfectly well whether you’re going to
like them before you cross the threshold.
So the Porsche cabin is all a bit 911-ish, but
rendered more upright and chunky for the SUV
mission. The furniture is solid and serious. The
instruments can call up more powertrain info
than a dynamometer printout. The central
screen is powered by a superfast processor, and
it too has enough configuration options to keep
a Swabian software engineer happily diverted
for days. But because it’s a Porsche, many of
the performance options have direct-access
control buttons, laid out down the centre
console alongside identical climate switchgear
in a guitar-fret style. Changing the damper
settings in a hurry is like trying to play ‘All
Along the Watchtower’. The Hendrix version.
Not that it matters; the defaults are best.
MAY 2019 51
 Specifications

1 2 3
RANGE ROVER
EVOQUE
PORSCHE
MACAN
BMW
X2

It’s heavy, Fine powertrain, and Sensible interior and

handicapping the very solid engineering dynamics, but a
VERDICT
engine. Dynamics are make it grippy and crossover-coupe isn’t
well-pitched. Style and precise. The flipside about sense. Get
interior take the win is it’s noisy a lower-spec version

ENGINE
2.0 4cyl petrol 2.0 4cyl petrol 2.0 4cyl diesel
POWER
183kW 180kW 140kW
TORQUE
365Nm 370Nm 400Nm
ACCELERATION 0–100 6.6secs 0–100 6.7secs 0–100 7.7secs

230 kph
227 kph
221 kph
TOP SPEED

ECONOMY/CO2

7.4, 169g/km 8.9, 204g/km 5.0, 131g/km

WEIGHT

1925kg 1870kg 1675kg

TOWING CAPACITY
1800kg 2000kg 2000kg

BOOT CAPACITY

475/1156 500/1500 470/1355

SCORE
8 10
7 10
6 10

52 MAY 2019
“IN TOWN,
THE BMW AND
EVOQUE HAVE
COMPACTNESS
ON THEIR SIDE”

1 JUST TO CLARIFY...
10 Our scoring system has
changed – be afraid

1
Run. Hide. Get as far away
from this car
as humanly possible

The Evoque’s cabin takes Range Rover X2 a good buy, but at the price level of this test it’s
2
Like a common cold. Not
themes of simplified masses and lots of soft just a bit ordinary. actively lethal, but it’ll
still ruin your weekend
natural materials, available (but not shown The Macan meanwhile resembles a leaner, fitter

3
here) in several interesting colours. Onto this Cayenne. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays Too forgettable and
dreary to actually be
minimalist backdrop the Evoque fixes a stack of when the Cayenne Coupe comes along. The terrible. Which is worse

display screens. Mostly they work efficiently and Evoque looks special. It’s so well-considered, so
4
Below-par. AK A “meh”.
look good. The annoyingly erratic touch controls shorn of anything random, and it’s well enough There’s too much good
competition these days
on the steering wheel are the exception. proportioned that it doesn’t need embellishing

5
Perfectly, exactly
The BMW is best ergonomically: clear round trickery to disguise things (unlike the big RR average. Does the job
dials, well-arranged switches and the still- which has fake vents on the door to dissemble the asked of it, nothing more

unmatched iDrive controller. But it’s all set into side’s length).
6
A decent car, but not
a dash that looks generically ordinary compared It’s not just the Evoque’s silhouette that a great one. We’d
recommend it, except...
with the others, and the already limp wow factor enables it to play at this price. The whole set-up is

7
...you can do better. Why
is further eroded by the fact it’s just the same as appropriate for its purpose. The Macan is a settle for mid-table?
one of their SUVs. satisfying piece of precision engineering and Good cars start here

On the outside, mind, the BMW designers well-equipped enough to justify the price, and it’ll
8
An eight means great.
have made more effort to be distinctive. Glance carry more stuff. But in search of speed in what Well-priced, good to
drive: a fab package
at it in isolation and you might mistake it for an are, in all honesty, pretty abstract circumstances,

9
Top of the class. The sort
X1, but the next X1 you see after that will strike Porsche has sacrificed too much of the warm of car we’d auction off
you as ill-proportioned and chubby. Wasn’t the embrace you want from a crossover. The Evoque is organs to drive again

idea of a coupe to burnish the brand as a whole, surprisingly more satisfying on a bumpy, slippery
10
A flawless, perfect car.
not to undermine the mainstream cars? In fact suburban road, and considerably more refined for Shouldn’t really exist, but
there’s always hope
the X2 is cleverly packaged: it loses little the towns and highways where it’ll spend most of
practicality to the X1. That makes a more basic its time. That’s why it wins.
10 10
MAY 2019 53
 YOUNG F1

54 MAY 2019
WHEN
DID F1
DRIVERS
BECOME
F1 2019 HAS THE YOUNGEST GRID IN HISTORY.
DAN READ INVESTIGATES HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED
P HO T O GR A P H Y L AT A ND GE T T Y

SO
YOUNG?
MAY 2019 55

On Saturday 13 May 1950, in front of His Royal Highness King George
VI and 120,000 other wildly excited spectators at a dry and sunny
Silverstone, Formula One held its first ever grand prix.
That day’s driver line-up was, by modern standards, a bit weird.
Among those taking their places on the grid was a popular jazz
musician (who would soon drop dead of tuberculosis), a Swiss baron
and a Thai prince named Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh. But the
most striking thing of all wasn’t their health, wealth, nor their exotic
names, but their age. Of the 21 starters in that inaugural race, three
were in their fifties and five were over 40. The winner, former Italian
cavalry officer Nino Farina, was knocking on 44 years old.
On Sunday 17 March this year, in front of 324,000 animated Aussies
in Melbourne, F1 held its 998th Grand Prix. This time, the driver
line-up was a little less wrinkly. In fact, the average age was a
fresh-faced 26 years and three months, making this the youngest grid in
the history of F1. A grid where half of the drivers were 25 or under. If it
weren’t for Kimi Räikkönen – a pensionable 39 years old – the average
age would have been closer to that of a community crèche.
So when, exactly, did Formula One get so young? How did we go
from flat caps and shirt sleeves to Snapchat and sleeve tats? And are we
hurtling towards history’s first fully adolescent grid?
In truth, the age of F1 drivers has been falling ever since that very
first race. By the end of the Fifties, the average had dropped sharply to
32, where it hovered for the next few decades. There were, of course, a
few exceptions. Plot a graph (actually we’ve done that for you, see
right) and you’ll notice the dips where some prodigy or other bursts
onto the scene.
Take 1959, when 22-year-old Bruce McLaren became F1’s youngest
ever race winner (at only his ninth attempt), a record that would stand
for well over 40 years until Fernando Alonso won in Hungary in 2003.
Not long after McLaren’s youthful triumphs, in 1963, Jim Clark
became the youngest F1 world champ aged 27, just a year after his very
56 MAY 2019
first win.
Similarly, there are occasional spikes where some old trooper
refused to shuffle into retirement – or perhaps more accurately,
miraculously survived the mortal dangers of the time. Jack Brabham.
Graham Hill. Mario Andretti. All were nudging 40 when they won
world titles. The Nineties was also a surprisingly elderly era, giving us
three of F1’s oldest ever champs in Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and
Damon Hill.
At the same time, coming up fast behind the OAPs – and
sometimes spearing right into their sidepods – was a young German by
the name of Michael Schumacher, who at 25 became the youngest
champion since Niki Lauda back in 1975. We all know how the Schumi
story played out, but while he reigned, an even younger brigade was
assembling outside the paddock.
It was 1998. McLaren had just launched its young driver
programme and Red Bull would soon follow with one of its own. The
idea was to scout quick young drivers, accelerate them through the
single-seater ranks and shape them into F1 material, complete with
corporate manners and pre-programmed personalities. And by the
mid-2000s their first graduates emerged, in the shape of Lewis
Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel.
Needless to say, they did alright. Before we knew it, other teams set
up similar schools, and the grid began filling up with teenagers.
Red Bull even started an entire youth team when, in 2006, it turned
Minardi into Toro Rosso – the squad that gave Max Verstappen his GP
debut as the candles on his 17th birthday cake still smouldered. That
made him the youngest F1 driver of all time, a record he’ll keep forever,
after the FIA – fearing an enormous pile-up – swiftly imposed a
minimum age of 18, also decreeing that F1 stars should have an actual
driving licence before they’re issued an F1-grade super-licence.
This season, 17 of the 20 drivers are graduates of a young driver
The moment when
you realise you’ve programme, even if some of them have bit more facial hair these days.
left your helmet at
And when you take into account all the reserve drivers, and those in
home and brought
your swimming hat junior formulas earmarked for F1, today’s teams have more young
drivers than they know what to do with.
In fact, drivers are starting so early that by their early twenties
they’re starting to look like grizzled veterans. Max Verstappen – born
in 1997 – is now the ninth most experienced of the current F1 drivers,
level with Kevin Magnusson (born ’92) and Carlos Sainz (born ’94).
Damon Hill was almost 32 on his F1 debut.
All of which means that new recruits have about five minutes to
 YOUNG F1

“HOW DID F1 GO FROM

FLAT CAPS AND SHIRT
SLEEVES TO SNAPCHAT
“And as soon
as the race is
done, we’ll get you

AND SLEEVE TATS? ”

all back to
the home for a nice
cup of tea...”

prove themselves, or risk losing their seat to the next in line. Lewis
Hamilton became world champion in his second season. But he is
Lewis Hamilton. For every champagne-soaked career, another spins
into the gravel on lap one. Consider just a few of Red Bull’s juvenile
rejects: Christian Klien, Jaime Alguersuari, Sébastien Buemi, Scott
Speed. Whatever happened to them?
LANDO CHARLES MAX CARLOS ALEXANDER ANTONIO PIERRE
But still they keep coming. This year, there are no fewer than three NORRIS LECLERC VERSTAPPEN SAINZ ALB0N GIOVINAZZI GASLY

rookies, all of which have been under the wings of big teams since way 19yrs 21yrs 21yrs 24yrs 23yrs 25yrs 23yrs
before their voices broke. They are 22-year-old Alexander Albon of
Toro Rosso, 21-year-old George Russell of Williams, and 19-year-old
Lando Norris of McLaren, who, as it happens, is the youngest Brit ever last year). He finished the race a respectable 12th, genuinely gutted not to have done
to start a Grand Prix. better. At the next race he was sixth, well into the points and happier, having mixed it
In the year Lando was born (1999) McLaren had a champion in with big hitters while showing none of the hot-headedness displayed by other
Mika Häkkinen. Since then, it’s had another in Lewis Hamilton. And youngsters (especially Dutch ones).
given his initial showing in Australia and Bahrain, the word is that But what’s it like, being the youngest driver on the youngest grid in F1 history?
Lando has what it takes to follow in their tracks. At the season opener, Does he know his way around the circuits? And can he remember a time when F1
he comprehensively out-qualified teammate Carlos Sainz, sticking it drivers sported moustaches and combovers? To find out, we sat down with the man
eighth on the grid (Alonso had just two forays into Q3 in the whole of himself…

AVERAGE DRIVER AGE BY YEAR

S O U R C E : SA R A H C O N N O R S

1957
JUAN MANUEL 1975
FANGIO NIKI LAUDA
(WC AT 46) 1963 (WC AT 26)
JIM CLARK
45 (WC AT 27)
1992 2005 2008
NIGEL MANSELL FERNANDO LEWIS
40 (WC AT 39) ALONSO HAMILTON
39.30 (WC AT 24) (WC AT 23)

35
1950
NINO
N
GIUSEPPE ‘NINO’
30 FAR
RINA
(WCC AT 43)
26.25
25
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 20115 20
019

1966
JACK BRABBHAM
(WC AT 40)

MAY 2019 57
 W H O
I S HOW WILL YOU FEEL WHEN LEWIS HAMILTON OR SEBASTIAN
VETTEL APPEARS IN YOUR MIRRORS?
I don’t know! I’ll be able to tell you once I start doing it. I respect the
drivers so much, so if I do manage to overtake Lewis, that will be a
cool thing to say. I doubt I’ll be racing them much at this point in the
season, so that’s something I have to look forward to in the future.
WHEN DID YOU GET YOUR DRIVING LICENCE?
Around 17 and a half. I passed my practical first time, and my theory
second time… I think I failed the first one on some stupid questions.

Graduate of the McLaren

young drivers programme.
Ex-wearer of lead shoes.
Youngest Brit ever on an F1
grid. MotoGP fan. Will the real
Lando Norris please stand up
WORDS DAN READ
PHOTOGRAPHY TOM BARNES

N O R R I S ?

Just a week before his first-ever formula one grand prix, on a

blustery roof terrace above london’s trafalgar square, 19 year old F1
rookie Lando Norris already had the world at his feet. Now, after a
storming start to the season, it’s in palm of his hand too. But even he
might not have seen that one coming…
TG: HI LANDO. SO, WHEN DID YOU START WATCHING F1?
LN: I must have been around six or seven. It was around 2005. I
remember it more when Lewis joined McLaren, and the Alonso
versus Hamilton season. Those are the first few races of Formula One
that I can remember. I mean before that, when I was even younger, I
actually wasn’t so interested in Formula One. I was much more into
MotoGP and motocross.
WHO ARE YOUR F1 IDOLS?
I haven’t had many F1 idols. Since I was four or five, my hero has
been Valentino Rossi; he’s the one I’ve always loved watching and
supported the most. There are people in F1 who I’ve grown up When WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST ROAD CAR?
B*Witched
watching, and I’ve been inspired by different parts of them some topped the
A Mini Cooper D. I managed to get a bit of a deal through the BRDC,
have great racecraft or qualifying pace or personality. You don’t just charts with and it was a pretty nice first car. Then I got a Clio RS, through
‘C’est La Vie’,
want to idolise someone and be like them, you want to take little bits Lando WASN’T
Renault [McLaren’s F1 engine suppliers]. It was my first automatic.
from everyone. EVEN BORN. HAVEN’T THEY GIVEN YOU A MCLAREN YET?
Poor lad
WHO ARE YOU REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO RACING AGAINST THIS I haven’t got one! I’d definitely like one, but I’m away so much, I
SEASON? wouldn’t get to drive it much anyway. I love the P1, and the 720S.
Nobody specific. Of course I would like to race against the top guys One that I definitely would like to have as an everyday car is the
Lewis, Vettel, Kimi. There are a lot of guys who hopefully I’ll be 600LT it’s a bit smaller, looks very cool, and it’s not as out there as
able to race against, although maybe not so much Mercedes or Ferrari the 720 or P1. Hopefully I can earn my way into one…
this year. Everyone in F1 is very good, so whoever it is, I know they’re IT’S AN INTERESTING TIME TO RACE FOR MCLAREN, IN THIS SORT OF
probably the best I’ve ever raced against. George [Russell] and I had RESET PERIOD…
a couple of good moments last year, but not as many as I would have I joined two years ago, so not in the best of times. It’s not like I have
liked! to worry about how we stay at the front, like Lewis did when he

58 MAY 2019
 LANDO NORRIS

joined. There’s a lot more “How can we get back to the front?” and “How can I make the most of
these few years and make sure I’m the best driver I can be?” for when those good times return. MIKE
TELL US ABOUT YOUR SIM RACING…
COLLIER
I play iRacing, under my own name, which I should probably change soon. Did you see the video
of Verstappen recently? We’re on the same iRacing team. He was doing some laps, and this guy MCLAREN
kept getting in his way, so Max ended up taking him out. I guess you get a bit annoyed, because YOUNG
you just want to have a bit of fun. I understand that people want to say they’ve raced against an
DRIVER
F1 driver, but it can quite quickly get into the news and give you a bad reputation.
WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CIRCUIT IN THE REAL WORLD? TRAINER
It’s between Spa, Austin and Silverstone. But Around F1 for 20 years (a large
part of which as Jenson Button’s
I’m looking forward to driving four tracks I’ve
fitness guru), now head of
never driven before Singapore, Shanghai, McLaren’s Human Performance
Centre, Collier’s helping to shape
Montreal and Australia. I’ve not been to those
the next generation of drivers,
countries, either. who could be even sharper than
THERE’S A MINIMUM DRIVER WEIGHT THIS the current batch

YEAR…
Yep, 80 kilos including the seat. With kit I’m
around 71kg, without the seat. So they have to
add ballast, and I have free rein to eat what I
like, as long as I don’t go overweight. Being 10
kilos overweight can cost you around two or
three tenths. You don’t want to give away that
kind of performance.
BEST LAY OFF THE PIES, THEN
I’ve always been on the lighter side. Even in
karting, when I was 11, there was a minimum
driver weight of 40kg. I was 38kg. So I wore lead “To come into a sport –
whether it’s on a pitch, a field
insoles and lead ankle ‘protectors’. Obviously
or a track – at a young age is
weren’tt meant to have all that stuff
you weren stuff. So
more and more common,
especially with the support

“IF I DO MANAGE TO mechanisms that weren’t there

30 years ago. With our new

OVERTAKE LEWIS, DNA programme, for example,

we’re getting young karters to

THAT WILL BE A understand the basics of

COOL THING TO SAY”

engineering and car set-up, so
that when they get into a
single-seater for the first time
they understand what it should
someone complained and I ended up getting feel like and how they

strip-searched at one of the races. communicate that. We all know

YOU’RE RACING ALONGSIDE CARLOS SAINZ that the great F1 drivers were
karters, but not all great
THIS YEAR. HOW ARE YOU GETTING ON?
karters make single-seater
Very well. It’s the first time apart from in F2
racing drivers, because the
where I’ve only had one teammate, so I don’t know really what to expect. He’s a very nice guy,
transition is significant. We
he’s very quick, and I’ve got a lot to learn from him – this is his fifth year in F1. He has a lot more
help that by educating them
experience than I do, so I need to make the most of it, and learn as much as I can. with experts on mindset,
DO YOU HAVE ANY MENTORS? nutrition, movement, recovery
Not mentors exactly, but people who have helped me a lot to get where I am. My dad. My trainer. – to iron out early problems
And my manager, who is also my driving coach. He’s been to all my races and will come to all that perhaps wouldn’t have
the F1 races. Fernando was at pre-season testing in Barcelona for a couple of days. He was in the been addressed before. But
debrief and gave his advice. And, of course, I raced with him at Daytona too… we’re not saying it’s F1 or
ARE YOU A QUICK LEARNER? nothing. We’re trying to
Part of my work over the winter was going through my feedback to the engineers. I had to listen accelerate a driver’s progress,
back to what I said to them after each run in testing, because they record everything. It’s like whether that be into touring

Formula One homework. I’ve improved a lot! Every little thing you can improve enhances cars, GT cars or F3. As long as
they can continue their career
performance.
path in something.”

MAY 2019 59
 WHAT
LIES
As old as time but underpinned by
modern marvels, the Conti GT and
the Faroes have a lot in common
WO R DS TO M FO R D
PH OTOG RAPHY MARK RICCION I

60 MAY 2019
BENTLEY CONTI GT

MAY 2019 61
BENTLEY CONTI GT

t’s the first gasoline car that’s ever been down here.
Actually, it’s the first car. Definitely the first
Bentley,” ponders Teitur Samuelsen, CEO of P/F
Eystur og Sandoyartunlar as we gingerly drive a
brand new Bentley Continental GT into a giant and
appallingly dirty hole. “Are you sure it’s going to be OK? It can get
pretty rough.”
“Everything is fine,” I mutter back through the walkie talkie,
quietly yet firmly stabbing the lift button on the Conti’s air
suspension. “We have raised the suspension and have four wheel
drive. This car is essentially made for this kind of environment.”
I can feel the side eye through 20ft of clear air and a double
glazed, 70kg car door. Probably because I’m lying. The Continental
is a super sports GT, and I’m crawling it into a very much unfinished
subsea tunnel over rocks the size of grapefruits. The Bentley’s red,
glossy paintwork slides under the harsh, wildly intermittent lighting
like a clot of blood oozing through an artery. I am beginning to
regret my overconfidence. Again.
“We’ve paused the blasting for 90 minutes,” replies Teitur, with
only the slightest of dubious pauses. “So we need to do whatever you
need to do quickly. We just passed under the seabed, by the way. The
roundabout is about another three quarters of a kilometre.”
And, with glorious understatement, we become a submarine. Or,
more precisely, a sub seabed tunneller, currently about a kilometre
into a new island to island tunnel that connects Eysturoy to
Streymoy, two of the larger landmasses in the Faroe Islands, itself a
place that appears as a random scatter of geography cast adrift
between Denmark and Iceland. A place on the map where, more
commonly, here be dragons. Usually, the tunnels would be slathered
with asphalt and lighting and very much more… finished. But keen
to see the tunnels on this trip, we’ve arranged some privileged
access to the 7.1km proto tunnel (it only runs to just past an as yet
very basic roundabout at the moment) that burrows from Tórshavn
on Streymoy towards Eysturoy’s Skálafjørður inlet. It splits in two
at a roundabout to connect both sides of the landmass at Rókini in
Saltnes and Sjógv at Strendur, cutting the distances travelled from
55km to 17, and knocking nearly an hour off the current transit
time. Useful if you’re transporting fresh seafood. It opens in 2020,
and there is another tunnel being built to Sandoy (the more
southern island), due to open in 2023. What this means is that one,
there is a gravel roundabout under the North Atlantic, and two,
nobody has ever done a donut around it in a Bentley.

62 MAY 2019
 When you said your local
transport was boring, we
didn’t think you meant...

What it lacked in compact

elegance, the Conti’s wiring loom
made up for in durability

“WITH GLORIOUS
UNDERSTATEMENT,
WE BECOME A
SUBMARINE”

A Bentley, far beneath

the sea. Just call it
the Sub-Continental
 “THE CONTI’S LIGHTS
SWEEP ACROSS ROCK
WALLS THAT SWEAT
WITH DISPLEASURE”

64 MAY 2019
BENTLEY CONTI GT

MAY 2019 65
 Which is how I came to find myself idly seeing how much I can drift a
big AWD GT around a very large subsea basalt pillar before someone tells
me off, or I get squashed by one of the enormous drilling rigs that Wow, this tunnel is so big
occasionally trundle by, like unused props from Alien. The Conti’s bright it feels like it has its own
weather systems
white lights sweep across bare rock walls that sweat their displeasure at
being forced through the seabed, and the unnaturally aspirated W12
grunts quietly to itself like a dreaming buffalo, wastegates sneezing
discreetly with every throttle lift.
It’s horribly filthy, surprisingly warm, and there are several tunnelling
specialists preparing shaped charges of explosive about half a mile away,
but hey, drifty gravel roundabout. Of course, the roundabout was not, in
fact, created exclusively for pointless but satisfying stupidity, but to
connect these various limbs of the Faroese geographical skeleton. This big
tunnelling project seems like overkill, seeing as how the Faroe Islands has
a total population of only 50,000. But there’s some weird stuff going on
that makes the Faroe Islands possibly the most fascinating infrastructure

“LIVE HERE, AND

YOU WILL NEVER BE
MORE THAN FIVE
KILOMETRES FROM
THE OCEAN”

66 MAY 2019

project in the world.
There are 18 major volcanic islands that make up the Faroes, all with
too many consonants, all with views and topography that’s a strange and
wonderful mix of high Scottish and Scandinavian fjord. Live here, and
you will never be more than five kilometres from the ocean in any
direction, and the coastline is gouged by the fat, greedy fingers of a
relentless sea, made ragged by time and salty determination. But there’s
more than meets the eye, and we’ve come to see a small part of what lies
beneath. Literally beneath. I’m not being obtuse.
The Faroe Islands, in a somewhat incongruous twist, is implementing
a huge civil engineering and rural development project to connect up
most of the archipelago and turn the entire set into what has been
referred to as a ‘network’ or ‘dispersed’ city. Which just means that with
the investment in roads, bridges and monster tunnels, the Faroes creates
a “coherent economic and cultural sphere which covers almost 90 per
cent of the population”, according to the Faroese government – it
BENTLEY
CONTINENTAL GT
Price: R3 395 000
Engine: 5998cc, W12,
467kW, 900Nm
Transmission: 8spd
auto, AWD
Performance: 0–100kph
in 3.7secs, 333kph
Economy: 12.2l/100km,
278g/km CO2
Weight: 2244kg
BENTLEY CONTI GT
basically stops being a series of islands or regions and is counted as one
place, with distributed services and a hydra headed series of ‘centres’. The
upshot is that it’s going to have for its size one of the most modern and
interesting road networks in the world, and there’s even talk of yet
another tunnel (this one a giant 20 ish kilometres long, making it the
longest subsea tunnel globally) between Sandoy and Suðuroy that would
mean that 99 per cent of the Faroes would be connected by roads. It’s an
epic project on a relatively small and forgotten little set of islands. With
the tunnels completed, the Faroe Islands will be a very traditional looking
set of communities with a supremely modern transport infrastructure
underpinning it. A bit like a Bentley Continental: traditional on top,
technological below.
To be fair, the trip to get here has not been uneventful. The first leg
was simple enough: a 14 hour slog across Europe, dispatched with the
quiet billow of that 467kW W12 and R188 900 Naim stereo set to random
podcast. We averaged 9.95l/100km, and on Germany’s derestricted ’bahn
MAY 2019 67
 STRENDUR ESTUROY

ROKIN

H V Í TA N E S

STRE YMOY

I L L U S T R AT I O N P E T E L LOY D
 BENTLEY CONTI GT

it was as fast and stable and dominant as you could ever wish it to be, even
if the winter tyres on this Rubino Red GT topped out just past 258kph and
the economical driving fell like a dropped rock.
But it’s a point arrogantly proved if you’ve got a big modern Bentley,
then the usual constraints of distance over time ease past like oil in a
bearing. We then caught a ferry from Hirtshals at the top of Denmark, and
crashed through bits of various angry seas, taking in the unforgettable
experience of nine metre waves and the unique ambition of trying to strap
myself into a narrow bed using a series of belts. After some 40+ hours of
other people’s seasickness, we arrived at 6am in the main port of Tórshavn
in the dark, and pottered out of the religiously practical town centre and
up into the hills. My first sight of the Faroes proper was on a small
mountainside on Streymoy Island, at dawn, just past where the small city
peters out in an apparent loss of interest in even the plainest architecture.
The violently colourful sunrise looked like a unicorn had thrown up all
over the horizon.
We drove around for a while and had a little marvel. This is an amazing,
weirdly foreign but familiar place. The main road is well maintained and
easy the Gulf Stream meaning that the Faroes might get a lot of rain, but
rarely debilitating amounts of snow the minor roads narrow, twirly and
suspiciously free from barriers. But it feels wild. Views that dominate, the
small mountains jutting up through the seascape like the spine of some
island sized leviathan. And then there’s the smell. Or lack of it. A crisp,
salty tang that has as much to do with the sea as the lack of industrial
excess. Your lungs are scoured and refreshed, and every time I got out of
the cosseting womb of the Bentley, I needed at least three slow blinks to
arrange thoughts into some sort of order.
Exploration continued for a couple of days, and we visited grass roofed
houses occupied by the same family since the 17th century, and villages
that boasted of being the first place where the Vikings made landfall. We
ran up and over the mountains on gradually narrowing roads. We fought to
a standstill with all four wheels spinning on one icy uphill back road where
gnarled, wind blasted trees canted backwards away from the sea and over
the tarmac as if they were shying away from the weather. It was like the
foliage was mounting an exceptionally patient ambush, waiting for our grip
to fail.
We delved into the new tunnels on both sides of the islands, met an
endless stream of warm, welcoming and endlessly interested and
Rush hour in the new
Faroese tunnel.
Wait your turn

“THIS IS AN
AMAZING, WEIRDLY
FOREIGN BUT
FAMILIAR PLACE”

MAY 2019 69
 interesting people. And we wandered all over the islands in a big red
Bentley, taking in the views. There are islets and skerries and sea
stacks littering the sea. Randomly scattered off the sides of the
bigger landmasses like rocky chaff, where the ocean has slowly eaten
away at the land like sugar on a tooth, aeons of tireless erosion have
left nothing but craggy, rotten stumps. You shoot through
single lane tunnels injected into hills, swoop out onto two lane
carriageways that curl around the hillsides like loving arms. The
weather is on the psychotic side of changeable, and you can ascend a
hill in fog and descend in bright sunshine. Or hail. Or rain. Or sleet.
You cross modern bridges, and five hundred metres later find
yourself squeezing the Conti’s warm bulk between a 17th century
church and a grass roofed house where the favoured method of
mowing is to put the smallest sheep in the flock on the roof for a few
days.
Bizarrely, the Bentley suits this place. You’d think this would be
an ideal venue for some sort of winched 4x4 or lithe little sportscar,
but the Bentley is at home with an epic backdrop. Where other cars
are engineered of malice and painted with pure irritation, the Conti
takes a different tack. It’s soft but gently relentless, building speed
rather than shocking with it: a catapult of a car, rather than a

70 MAY 2019
 BENTLEY CONTI GT

shotgun blast. This is a car that still happily eats perspective, chomps down on the
sightlines. And this Bentley, like a lot of these cars that can’t be pigeonholed neatly,
takes time and distance and familiarity to figure out. It’s the difference between a spike
of adrenaline and a comforting wash of endorphins. Some cars are created from
cobwebs and fashion, lightweighted and hollowed, and they feel strong in the same way
NOW GO AND DO IT!
that a Tupperware box feels strong. A Bentley is no such thing. It feels as dense as old
Flights
oak, as heavy as history. It’s not a car layered thick with flamboyance, but it is very
Lufthansa and Scandinavian
much rendered slick with subtlety. Much like the Faroes. This isn’t some intense
airlines do flights from
cityscape, all neon, populous and intense, but a quieter, more considered recipe for awe.
Johannesburg to Vágar (the
The detail is there, the brilliance real – it’s just that the presentation is a slower burn. only airport) in the Faroes for
It’s a strange place. I stand and look out across another random, hugely heroic view, about R50 000 return. Still
at one end of an island where a sparse village huddles in the embrace of a tiny bay, and interested? There’s at least
wonder. It wants more tourism, but the uncrowded, wild feel of the place would be three stops along the way,
spoiled by hordes of coach parties. The villages trace their origins directly to Viking pushing travel time up and
landings, but you access them via some of the newest, most interesting bits of roadway over the 24hr mark
in the world. In fact, it really is like the modern Bentley: resolute in its traditions, keen
to modernise, trying very hard to find balance. But after four days on the islands, we Transport
board the ferry in a Force 8 gale, looking forward to a 40+ hour voyage and a 20-hour You can hire a car at Vágar,
run across Europe all the way back to Lincolnshire, and realise that, sometimes, but they aren’t cheap – a 24hr

balancing tradition and the modern world takes time. But the two can find harmony. rental of a Kia Rio is around

The Bentley Continental GT proves it every single kilometre home. R1500, so better to stick to the
island tours (of which there
are many). You’ll get more
info that way as well.

Accommodation
We stayed in the Hotel Føroyar
just above Tórshavn, cost
around R1200 per room for
two sharing, depending on
the time of year, or whether
there’s one of the excellent
music festivals going on at the
time. That said, there is a
surprising amount of small
hotels and B&Bs, and an
increasing number of Airbnbs.

MAY 2019 71
 d ’s sl o w e st
the wor l
Welcom e to
b ir t hp la c e of
y,
car factor d’s fastest car
the worl WORDS
K
JACK R
R I C
IX
CIONI
MAR
G RAPHY
PHOTO
KOENIGSEGG FACTORY

MAY 2019 73
We're no experts, Christian, but
we think you're going to need
bigger wheels than that

here exists a simple formula for calculating the theoretical amount of power you require
to hit a certain top speed for a car with a given drag coefficient and frontal area. It’s
fascinating stuff, honestly, but I shan’t put us through it here. Ten bucks says John
Hennessey has it tattooed on the back of his eyelids, though. Because when it comes to
his ongoing, road-legal 300mph (480kph) project – the Venom F5 – you get the sense he’s
designed something that looks cool and slippery, then cranked up the turbo boost until
his calculator says the top speed is sufficiently large. After spending a day with Christian
von Koenigsegg (CvK), touring his factory in Ängelholm, Sweden and exploring the
all-new Jesko hypercar (literally hours before it was packed off to the Geneva motor
show), I can confirm that he has a very different approach.
“There is a version of this car which we call the Jesko 300, where we have a slightly
different aero package. That car, according to our simulations, is capable of going faster
than 300mph. In fact, we set everything up for at least 310mph (500kph), so there’s a little
bit of buffer for error as well.” He drops this, nonchalantly, into our conversation as if it’s
just another entry for the growing list of mind-bending stats that swirl around his latest
project. Probably because, in his mind, it is. The Jesko is simply the culmination of
everything he’s learned after 25 years in the hypercar business, a money-no-object

74 MAY 2019

He's creepy and he's kooky, mysterious
and spooky, he's all together ooky, he's
Christian von Koenigsegg
showcase of bespoke engineering, material science and speed. The fact that
a computer says it’ll crack 300mph appears to be a pleasant surprise, a
nice-to-have, but all that really matters is that this is the car – “a celebration
of the traditional hypercar with no electrification, a true successor to the
Agera RS; visceral, direct and as lightweight as possible” – he’s always
wanted to make.
That’s why he named it after his dad. Jesko is the man who helped him
set up a supercar company when he was a skint 22-year old with a dream,
and has supported him every step of the way. Now 80 years old, this is
Christian’s way of thanking him, and it definitely beats chocolates and a
card. Better still, the name was kept a secret from Jesko until the car’s unveil
in Geneva. Christian even had his PR team work up a fake press release to
placate his dad, who was desperate to know all the details… as, I’m sure, are
you.
Let’s start with the engine, a heavily modified version of the Agera’s
5.0-litre twin-turbo V8, now with a flat-plane crank shaft that’s 5kg lighter
than the old 90-degree one, which allows it to rev to 8,500rpm and “changes
Self-levelling screen tilts with
steering angle, like a Rolls-
Royce wheel cap. Nifty
the exhaust note quite a bit,” says Christian, grinning. Two wagon-wheel
turbos are supplemented by a 20-litre carbon tank (topped up by a small
electric compressor) that fires jets of air into the turbos at 20 bar, to help
them spool up and reduce lag. The result is 941kW running on 95 unleaded,
and 1177kW and 1498Nm of torque if you fill it with E85 biofuel.
The carbon tub is now 40mm longer and 22mm higher than the Agera to
create “enough space for a 2m person”, rear-wheel steering has been added
and so has a Triplex damper at the front and rear (a socking great horizontal
damper to prevent the car squatting under acceleration at the rear, and to
keep it level under extreme downforce at the front) to complement
traditional Öhlins dampers. About now, it’ll be dawning on you engineering
isn’t just a tool box for Christian, a means to solve problems quickly and get
production moving – it’s a fetish and he gets his kicks from taking it to the
nth degree.
What next? Oh yes, downforce. It has some. Quite a lot, actually. Thanks
to that enormous front splitter and boomerang-shaped, tilting rear wing,
around 800kg of it at 250kph, 1,000kg at 275kph and 1,400kg at its
MAY 2019 75

“THE FINAL CAR IS
GIVEN A WORKOUT
ON KOENIGSEGG’S
OWN RUNWAY”
undisclosed top speed. That’s around 30 per cent more than the
One:1, previously its highest-downforce model. The whole car
weighs a little over 1,400kg, so no, it can’t drive on the ceiling – if
it could, you know Koenigsegg would give it a good go.
And the lunacy doesn’t end there; Christian has a kink for
manufacturing, too. Most car companies buy in bits wherever
they can, but at Koenigsegg, if it can be made in-house, it is.
Around 30 to 40 per cent of the carbon components are produced
in Ängelholm – beginning life as a roll of pre-preg carbon, before
being cut, hand-laid, vacuum-packed, baked in the autoclave and
polished to a fine finish. Body panels are prepped and painted, the
chassis impregnated with engine, gearbox and wiring and then
the final product is given a workout on Koenigsegg’s own runway
– a handy bonus of setting up shop in hangars previously
76 MAY 2019
belonging to the Swedish air force fighter jet squadron No. 1, hence their
ghost logo on every car.
Take the wheels – Koenisegg’s largest yet lightest carbon fibre rims – 21-
inch and 7.7kg at the rear, 20-inch and 5.9kg at the front, fitted with
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s as standard and optional Cup 2 Rs. “We use
hollow carbon technology, so there’s no metal inserts at all – it’s just carbon
being locked onto the axle directly,” Christian explains, picking one up like
it’s a loaf of bread. “Slightly heavier, cheaper carbon wheel technology takes
around four or five hours per wheel; this is 40 hours because it’s hand laid
up, pre-preg, autoclave-cured, with much less epoxy and higher carbon
content.” So that’s one man working nine-to-five, for one working week, to
make one wheel. No wonder they cost $65k (R905 000) a set.
Think that’s over the top? Because you can’t buy a Chiron’s DSG off the
shelf, Koenigsegg just shrugged and designed its own gearbox, from
scratch, except it’s even smarter, smaller and, at 90kg, a lot lighter the
Bugatti’s. Dubbed the Light Speed Gearbox, it’s a 9spd multi-clutch
transmission. A bit like a bike that has three big cogs at the front and seven
at the back to make 21 possible ratios, here there’s two sets of three, with
six forward clutches (and one for reverse) that can select any combination
at any time. As a result, you can jump from one gear to any other without
going through the ratios between.
Pull the two-stage paddle half way and you’ll swap down one gear
(shifts take 20–30 milliseconds); pull it all the way and it’ll jump to the gear
that offers the best acceleration at that time. Because, y’know, when you’re
driving a Koenigsegg, you need all the help you can get. Koenigsegg’s
evocative name for the system is UPOD – Ultimate Power on Demand.
 01 02 03

1. Analogue G-force meter a typically eccentric option. Sits atop the dash, behind the wheel,
where a traditional instrument cluster would normally be. 2. Nope, not a no-seat, lightweight
Jesko RS, merely a car being frantically finished before its date in Geneva
3. One of the great car logos, inherited from the Swedish Air Force 4. This a turbo. A
big one. The Jesko has two 5. Oh stop it. Even the exhaust internals look immaculate

05 04
MAY 2019 77
 HERE’S A REGERA WE MADE EARLIER
How to build a 1177kW hybrid hypercar in eight easy steps

1.Wheel of fortune 2.Bake off 3.Mind the gap

Each ‘hollow core’ carbon Autoclave used for curing Before painting, panel fit is checked
wheel takes around 40 hours vacuum-bagged carbon parts. on a wooden buck, stripes –
to complete. Caution: this man Around 30 mins at 180 should do it, worth 30kW a piece – are marked
hasn’t slept in days 35 mins if you like it crispy out for painting later

6.The marriage 5.Spaghetti junction 4.The engine room

V8 engine, direct-drive gearbox, Either this man is figuring out Exclusive spy shots of
battery pack, high-voltage CvK’s new surround-sound Koenigsegg’s next-gen,
cables. Some of these things could home cinema system, or the raised ‘trolley’ architecture
be in this picture – it’s hard to tell Regera has a lot of wiring caused a bit of a stir

7.Job done 8.First steps

Panels on, interior in, fluids I ride shotgun for this Regera’s ‘gentle’
topped up, the finished article. bedding-in session. Involves a full-bore
Brown paper and bubblewrap 0–300–0kph run and nothing falls off,
trim a R2mil option including my face. Result!

78 MAY 2019
 KOENIGSEGG FACTORY

Strutting its stuff

Electric dihedral synchro-helix
doors a Koenisegg staple
– beware of high kerbs. For
maximum peacock mode, the
front bonnet, doors and rear
clamshell can all be opened
on hydraulic struts
at the touch of a key fob

“This is a thing you’re not supposed to do as a small carmaker,” says

Christian, looking delighted with himself.
And Koenigsegg is a small car manufacturer. In the past 25 years
it’s produced just over 150 cars. In total. It will build 125 Jeskos (all
sold out, despite starting at around R45mil) at an unprecedented rate
of 40 to 50 cars a year. This time next year, we’ll see another new
model – a joint venture with electric car specialists NEVS – a hybrid Jack quickly realised why
set to be built in larger numbers (think hundreds, not thousands) at a most authors start their
novels on paper, not metal
lower price (around R20mil). What form that car will take we’ll have
to wait and see, but we’re told to expect something entirely different.
A crossover? Perhaps. Either way, it’s looking like the Jesko will be
Koenigsegg’s last purely combustion-powered car.
Whether it’ll ever beat Bugatti and Hennessey and see the twinkly

“IN 25 YEARS IT’S

PRODUCED JUST
OVER 150 CARS” Koenigsegg's attempt to
improve the humble starfish
was off to a strong start

side of 300mph is anyone’s guess. “You have to find a venue, you have
to find the right car, you have to find a driver who is willing to do it
and a tyre manufacturer that supports your effort. It’s very dangerous
and scary – for the Agera RS, we had wildlife running around, birds
sitting on the road, anything can happen at these speeds.” You get the
sense that Mr Koenigsegg doesn’t really care whether the simulations
are ever proved right – screw the formula. For him it’s about pushing
the envelope with both hands and making something capable of such
feats that matters. That, and making his dad proud.

MAY 2019 79
 720S vs COBRA 427

e n 720 S Spide vs Cobra

M cLa 42

7
MAGICAL
H I STO RY

TOUR
The Apache Trail.
Two roadsters separated
by 50 years. Time for
a TG history lesson
WO R D S O L L I E M A R R I AG E /
P H OTO G R A P H Y M A R K R I CC I O N I

80 MAY 2019
MAY 2019 81
 Let me talk you through the outfit. I bought the hat
in Tortilla Flat, not because it sounds like the
opening line of a country & western song, but
because a baseball cap just wouldn’t cut it. In the
footwell are cowboy boots. The other footwell,
because they’re terrifically uncomfortable. I should
also be wearing a tasselled jacket with a coyote on
the back, but guess what? It’s raining in Arizona, so
it’s technical waterproofs and a bodywarmer.

The new sheriff in town. You’ll

know him by the roar of his V8
and the rustle of his gilet

Arizona: land of the

desert and, on this shoot,
the torrential rainstorm

82 MAY 2019

Rain. The most they’ve had in five years. It doesn’t make any difference
in the McLaren, whose glass roof glides silently, sleekly up in 11 seconds,
even while you’re rattling over dirt track washboard. The Cobra, though?
That doesn’t like washboard in the first place. Makes the whole chassis
tremble like a jelly, and that’s not becoming of a Cobra. This is the
original super-roadster after all, the most muscular machine that ever
bestrode Route 66. No car looks better parked up next to a saguaro
cactus. Not one.
Not many let in as much water, either. But we’re not here to compare
waterproofing – we’re here to have fun on a great road in a couple of
(hopefully) like-minded cars to see what lessons the youngster has
learned from the old-timer. And perhaps more interestingly, what’s been
forgotten. Because there’s a feeling cars have got too serious-minded and
boastful, constantly harping on about their power, downforce and top
speeds. Maybe that’s forgivable in a hard-top supercar (although ask
yourself what people think if you stand next to it and talk about lap times,
720S vs COBRA 427
torsional rigidity and make opposite-lock hands. They’d be making some
hand movements of their own). A super-roadster is different. More
liberating, more immersive, more involved with its surroundings, the
sounds, sights and smells, all about opening up rather than hunkering
down, getting away from raw speed and into experience.
Quick point of housekeeping. This is not an original Cobra. The big
wheels, 18s rather than 15s, suggest as much, while far out of sight you’ll
find a box-section ladder-frame chassis instead of the original 4in
round-tube construction. Superformance will build you one of those, and
with the correct CSX chassis number, too. They can, as they’re the only
firm licensed by Carroll Shelby to build replicas. Wheels and chassis aside,
this one is a doozy: 7.0-litre V8 sucking air through a Holley four-barrel
carb and blowing power through a 5spd manual to a rear axle containing a
limited-slip diff and absolutely nothing electronic to mitigate mistakes.
Was it created purely for sensory thrills? Of course not. It might look
like the anti-McLaren now, but back in the day it was designed for
MAY 2019 83
 Surprisingly docile Spider
chases deceptively
venomous Cobra

Arizona’s bridge network Ollie lashed his McLaren to the ol’

operated a strict ‘no hitchin’ post, and headed inside
gymnastics’ policy for a frosty pint of egg nog

84 MAY 2019

competition. And for 20 years, from 1965 until the Porsche 959
arrived, this was the world’s fastest-accelerating road car. One
hundred kilometres per hour in four seconds, 160kph in, well,
it’s all a bit lost in myth and legend, but somewhere in the
nine-second range. It had 362kW. A Ferrari Daytona had more
than 75kW less. Carroll Shelby used to tape a $100 bill to the
dash on test drives and tell punters they could have it if they
could grab it. But look at it. If ever there was a car to just drape
yourself in and rumble about, this is it.
Time has changed our perspective on the Cobra. Advances
over the last 54 years have been so massive that we now see this
monster as a plaything rather than a speed merchant. I mean,
just look at McLaren’s 720S Spider. A super-roadster that
contains every piece of technique and technology that the 2019
car industry can deliver: a R150 000 electrochromic roof that
varies the amount of light let in at the press of a button, active
aerodynamics, a carbon chassis as stiff as the coupe’s for a
kerbweight just 49kg more, cross-linked hydraulic suspension,
no less than 11 separate decorative carbon options fitted to this
one car. Very impressive all this, but a bit… dry? Not very…
Cobra?
Dry. Something I’m not right now. We started on the top side
of Phoenix, some 100 kilometres away, at an hour of the
morning when a super-roadster driver should be departing the
“AND THEN,
ABRUPTLYAND
COMPLETELY,
THE ROAD
RUNS OUT”
720S vs COBRA 427
bar, not entering his car. We drove through rain, and I got very
wet. Left leg mainly, plus an unpleasantly invigorating,
hat-requiring trickle down the back of the neck. Water built up
on the inside of the windscreen too, which was problematic.
Cheery, dry waves came from inside the 720S. I attempted to
return an equally bright expression, but there’s only so much
you can do when you have water running down between fearful
eyes and dripping from your nose. Three-hundred-and-eighty-
eight kilowatts and a set of 335-section Nitto Extreme Drag
tyres will have that effect.
It’s still dark as we set tyre on Apache Trail. Originally a
route across the mountains for the Apache tribe, at the turn of
the last century Phoenix needed water and a spot on Salt River
in the heart of the Superstition Mountains was identified as a
damn good, sorry, good dam location. Access was needed, so the
Apache’s trail was pounded flat at a cost of over half a million
dollars. US President Theodore Roosevelt came here and
commented, “The Apache Trail combines the grandeur of the
Alps, the glory of the Rockies, the magnificence of the Grand
Canyon and then adds an indefinable something that none of
the others have. To me it’s the most awe-inspiring and beautiful
panorama nature has ever created.” Admittedly he was opening
the road at the time.
But it is amazing. Really, truly, genuinely the equal of
anything you’ll find in the Alps. The first section, after the
sweeps past Lost Dutchman State Park, wriggles and fidgets
endlessly. We’re on it in the dark, Cobra trailing the 720S’s LED
taillights. I can hear the McLaren hiss and fizz, but over these
short snaps between corners it’s taking half a straight for the
turbos to wake up. The Cobra’s anytime torque has it covered. It
just bursts along. The rest of it takes work, though. A couple of
finger clicks and a lean on the brakes have the McLaren into a
corner. More planning is required in the Cobra: it likes a heel ’n’
toe to smooth the downchanges, and so do you, because it’s a
legit excuse to brrraaapp the throttle another time. You do it on
upshifts too. And when you pass under bridges, next to walls, in
the vicinity of anything that might bounce the sound around. Or
just anything.
MAY 2019 85
 Dark air blusters about; there’s not another thing on the road – all I
see is the McLaren and the twin snakes of the yellow lines. It’s so
absorbing that it’s only after about ten kilometres that I realise the
throbbing in my legs and shoulders isn’t transmitted from the engine,
but finds its correlation elsewhere: no servo on the brakes, no assistance
on the steering, no small amount of force required for the clutch.
I swap cars, dropping deep into the McLaren’s seat with a sigh. This
is easier. Much. The roof stows silently, the sky is light enough to
appreciate the extra rear visibility you get from the transparent
buttresses, and when I get moving, someone has turned the road to
velvet. You know how we bang on about how cars don’t need to be so
stiff, how we suspect that old cars used to do it better? Wrong. The
balance we now have between body strength, chassis control and
absorbency is astonishing. And the McLaren is so accurate, does such
an amazing job of filtering the signals you need from the ones you don’t.
It smooths your passage, calms your brain, gives you time, makes speed
easy. On this section the McLaren is an arrow, the Cobra more of a
tomahawk. But we suspected this. There’s not been much to interact
with outside the cars yet.
And then we arrive in Tortilla Flat, an ex-stagecoach outpost named
for the shape of the rocky outcrop above. Some artistic licence was had.
It’s early, but there’s a crew here, dropping tyre pressures in their lifted
Cherokees before heading off for a family day out. Bonnets are opened;
motors compared. It’s the McLaren that captivates the kids – the
rotating dash, roof, sleek lines – the Cobra that has their olds acting like
kids. You can see the engine here, in all its bechromed glory, relish the
detailing: the goose-neck lap belt, the little door catches, the
haphazardly sited Smiths dials you just wanna tap, the tiny toggles, the
smallness of it all. And having carefully posted yourself through the
catflap of a door, giving the fat exhaust a wide berth and fallen into the
cupped seat, you insert the thumbnail-sized key in the ignition and give
it a twist…
…and unleash your wildest dreams. Everything you thought, read or
heard about a 7.0-litre Cobra is true. It’s like Wreck-it-Ralph is punching
each cylinder up and down. Like riding a jack-hammer. Like a deranged
Barry White is chuckling manically in your ears. And you sit there
among the mayhem, grinning inanely and feeling like this is all you’ve
ever wanted and electric cars can just sod off.
It’s such a raw emotional response. I’m blaming the unburned
hydrocarbons. Follow the McLaren, and all you smell is light, soapy
chemicals; when I stick my nose over the edge of the Cobra, my eyes
water. The road gains height after Tortilla Flat, rising up to meet the
scenery. We’d scouted it two days earlier, when everything was dry and
orange, but water has changed the colour palette. Lichens have
bloomed, rock faces are now tinged green, cacti are swollen and bloated,
life has sprung. As viewing, smelling and listening platforms go, the
720S is decent. The deep windscreen means the road seems to flit back

86 MAY 2019
 720S VS COBRA 427

“THE APACHE
TRAIL
COMBINES THE
GRANDEUR OF
THE ALPS AND
THE GLORY OF
THE ROCKIES”

Getting it wrong here would spell

certain death. On the upside, at
least we’d never see that hat again
 720S vs COBRA 427
Half a century of tech between
these two. Not to mention half a
gallon of water in the footwells
under your feet, the wind ruffles the cockpit, but it’s all rather enclosed.
You sit low, hemmed in by high sides, windscreen and buttresses. Safe, in
other words. And on a road with regular rockfalls on one side and
thousand foot drops the other, there’s something to be said for that.
In the Cobra, all that’ll save me is my new hat. I pat it down a bit
further, and resolve to sit up straighter, slow down further and just cast
my eyes past the skinny-framed windscreen with its surprisingly effective
tacked-on deflectors, out over the voluptuous bonnet and just soak in the
remarkable vistas of this canyon landscape. And it’s glorious, just
woofling about, shuttling the ridiculous gearlever up and down, keeping
an ear out for the crunkle of falling rocks. Travelling faster had been hard
work. Corners required a full-body swing in, communication from
steering and axles isn’t what I hoped it might be. But slowing down and
soaking it all in is plain epic.
There’s more delicacy and finesse in the 720S. Hadn’t expected that,
88 MAY 2019
but this is one deft machine. I keep the dampers soft, the engine response
hard, and just enjoy the act of steering and pressing pedals, letting the car
surge and coast. So neat and accurate is it that I find myself falling into
the McLaren’s rhythm and picking up speed, focusing in on the road. I
have to remind myself to concentrate not on the car, but the world
around me.
And then, abruptly and completely, the road runs out. Bit excessive, as
speed-reducing road calming goes, but undeniably effective. The
McLaren, long of nose, low of splitter, feels very tentative now; the Cobra,
more robust, bullish, up for the challenge. We employ the McLaren’s
nose-lift and press on. For about 50 metres. And then we hit the first
washboard corrugations. In the 720S, the scuttle shake and rattle is
deeply unpleasant. Meanwhile the 427 appears to be attempting to
violently disassemble itself, every component jarring against every other.
We stop immediately, then resume at the pace of a snail through
Two British icons luxuriating
in British weather. Organised
especially for the event

MAY 2019 89
 720S vs COBRA 427
superglue. Why not just turn back? Because rock-crawling in
supercars is an adventure, and from what we’ve heard, the
scenery is unmissable. In places, the rain has dug gullies across
the road, but not once do we ground out or lose traction.
Instead we slowly, carefully, pick our way down into the
astonishing Fish River Canyon, the red Cobra and blue McLaren
feeling insignificant beneath the towering cliffs, noise seeming
to constrict in their exhausts. Ultimately all speed bleeds away
so we stop and leave the cars behind, just to get out and tread
softly, silently for a while. To imagine Apache stood on cliffs, to
drink in the views. And yeah, to be a little bit nervous of
treading on a rattler.
It’s far enough. So we turn back, rising out of the canyon,
the cars growing in confidence as they gain altitude. Turns out
we’d driven quite a few kilometres off-road, captivated,
encouraged onwards by the hypnotic Arizona scenery,
enthralled by how mad these cars looked against that cinematic
backdrop, how bonkers it was for our view out to be either past
a skinny wooden rim or over the rotating dash of a 341kph,
R7mil roadster. It’s with tremendous relief we regain tarmac.
Frayed nerves reconnect and we set off back towards
90 MAY 2019
rtilla Flat. And then the Cobra burps, hiccups, stops.
It’s out of fuel. Of course it is: the Shelby Cobra started life
a gorgeous but flaky Sixties British sports car, the AC Ace.
ould have known not to trust the “I’ve still got a quarter
nk” fuel gauge. I dash for a can of fuel, but it’s now tourist
lock in the afternoon so the traffic snake moves down the
ache Trail at about 30kph. They’re dawdlers. How can they
ssibly drive this slowly? Oh. Oh yeah, that was me a few
inutes back. And I was loving it. So I dawdle along, roof down
the McLaren, give myself a bit of space so I’m not staring at
e back bumper of a Honda CR-V and try not to stress. It
uld be easier in the Cobra, I’d have more to occupy myself,
t I can tolerate it. Later – much later – we’re parked on a
pway at Canyon Lake. And we’re waiting. Waiting for the
rfect moment. The moment when traffic has died away, but
ere’s still enough light to enjoy the run back along the Apache
ail. Sunset. We don’t get one, but we do get the road and
ese two cars. And that, I’ve got to tell you, feels very special.
o speed freaks, separated by half a century, and yet
ndamentally nothing has changed: good time cars, that relish
oadtrip. I tip my hat to them both.
“WE’RE PARKED
ON A SLIPWAY
AT CANYON
LAKE, WAITING
FOR THE
PERFECT
MOMENT”

McLAREN 720S COBRA 427

Price: R6 950 000 Price: R1.8mil est
Engine: 3994cc, V8 twin-turbo, Engine: 6997cc, V8,
530kW, 770Nm 388kW, 697Nm
Transmission: 7spd Transmission: 5spd
twin-clutch, RWD manual, RWD
Performance: 0–100kph in Performance: 0–100kph in
2.9secs, 341kph c4.0secs, 258+kph
Economy: 12.1l/100km, Economy: c18.8l/100km,
276g/km CO2 n/a g/km CO2
Weight: 1468kg Weight: 1215kg

Thanks to: www.superformance.com and Hillbank Motor Corp Arizona (www.hillbankusa.com)

MAY 2019 91
 TopGear’s monthly wheels tested & verified in the real world

094 Audi RS 5

095 BMW M5 096 Mercedes-Benz C43 AMG 097 Renault Duster

Triple test for BMW’s super saloon. The formula has Engine might not be built by one man, but it’s built by The BIC lighter of 4x4s is nearly sporty too.
changed irrevocably six angels Specification for the purist

MAY 2019 93
 MAY I 2019

Ring of fire
Audi RS 5 Sportback
R R1 312 000 OTR / R1 429 002 (as tested)
DAMON SINCLAIR

udi’s latest Sportback in Misano far from coming coming up through the

A Red with massive 20-inch wheels

doesn’t half turn heads as it
plunders passed, let me tell you.
Despite two extra doors and a bigger footprint
on the road, the MLB Evo platform featuring
clever aluminium/steel construction is only
40kg heavier than the coupe; weighing in at a
portly but agreeable 1,695kg. By chucking out
the much-loved - but let’s admit it dinosaurish
– nat-asp V8, the 331kW, 600Nm twin-turbo
2.9-litre V6 saves 30kg from the nose, boasts
40% more torque and ensures you’ll go 25%
further before having to refuel. A win-win-win
scenario.
Climb inside and it’s got its rivals beat for
interior fit, finish and connectivity. The garden
variety A5 is neat and tidy but a bit
underwhelming. RSed up as our test unit is with
swathes of alcantara leather, buttocks-pinching
sports bucket seats and the trimmings of a R75
000 gloss-black carbon styling package, the
chintzy bright work of the regular A5 is long
gone. In the same vein on the outside, Audi
design chief, Marc Lichte, wanted more
through, because
beneath the rakish
steering; and yet the
car still handles
A-pillar, it seats four naturally, brazenly
full-size adults and resisting under- or
there’s an enormous oversteer. With the R95
1300 litres of stowage 000 Dynamic Steering
space with the rear seats and Sports Differential
folded flat (480 litres in package optioned, around
regular configuration). It’s solid, long-radius bends especially, it
refined and when driven with a modicum of turns beautifully with an easy rear-axle
decorum it’s as quiet as a Sunday church rotation at the apex and so much traction on the
service. way out the corner that you’re left wondering if
That’s until you hit the button marked you didn’t leave a dent in the tarmac just then.
Dynamic; then all of a sudden it sounds like a
car that’s powered by antimatter. The whiffled
V6 suddenly finds its voice and turns rich and
melodic, with sumptuous booms emanating
from the quad exhausts as each cog from the
eight-speed gearbox hits home. Of course,
all-wheel drive keeps it unerringly surefooted,
not to mention quick off the line – 0–100kph in
3.9secs is neck-stretchingly fast – but the
cocooning cabin always keeps the drama of the
SPECIFICATION
2894cc, 6cyl, twin-turbo petrol,
speed at arm’s length and your heartrate under AWD, 331kW, 600Nm

emphasis on style. So it incorporates the best control. This was a concern in the ever-so- 9.1l/100km, 206g/km CO2

bits of his 2014 Prologue concept – like the
3D-effect grille, bulging power dome bonnet
and chiselled contours of Audi’s ‘tornado’ line.
However, that rational German side is never
joyless Coupe; not so in the more pragmatic
Sportback.
It’s almost an Audi cliché, but you don’t get
much in the way of texture from the road
0-100kph in 3.9secs, 280kph
1695kg
TESTER’S NOTES: Not since the heady days of 1994
and the original RS2 Avant, have the lines between
Porsche and Audi been so blurred.

94 MAY 2019
 Five Stars
BMW M5 Competition
R R1 747 500 OTR / R2 443 033 (as tested)
AVON MIDDLETON
s far as sports saloons go, the M5
A has always been the one by which
others are measured. The BMW
M5 Competition is quite literally
the most advanced and dynamically capable
M5 one can buy. It’s lower, stiffer, faster and
finished in more carbon fibre bodywork than
any other 5-er all in the pursuit of that
reputation that so many manufacturers work
to achieve: performance saloon honours.
A common question around this subject is,
well is it all that necessary? Here’s a Needs-
based analysis from a busy family of five.
Needs Test # 1: The Airport Run. Granny is
packed and ready for an 8-week trip overseas.
Bags are packed to within a hair under the max
limit and there’s four of them excluding the
hand luggage and paraphernalia that goes with
these sorts of trips. BMW M5 in Comfort
mode plays luxury carriage, cossetting and
plush. As far as luxury appointments and
comfort go, Gran is none the wiser to the
460kW and 750Nm lurking beneath the hood.
No, not even the exhaust note is a telltale sign.
Gran signs off on this one.
Needs Test # 2: The Roadtrip. Dullstroom is
Photography: Justin Jacobs
214km away from my garage. It’s not exactly a
leisurely drive for a Saturday lunch but we’re
not in your average family saloon nor are we
your average family. Roadtrips are what we do.
So an early morning dash to the scenic town is
quickly accepted as the running order for the
day and here the M5 proves its mettle as the
perfect tourer to reel in the miles. The
suspension is stiffer than your average
premium saloon and stiffer than your normal
M5, but it isn’t jarring or skittish except at
higher speeds on bumpy surfaces. For the most
part, it’s composed and luxurious, inspiring
confidence even on an incredibly wet surface
thanks to a monstrous storm lighting up the
horizon. A cabin crafted in full leather
including the thick rimmed multi-function
M-sport steering wheel, rear-seat
entertainment and a stellar suite of Bowers &
Wilkins audio is testament to the M5 way –
luxury and tech in equal measure to
performance. And my word, what prolific
performance it is. Wife and kids sign off here.
Needs Test #3: The Performance Drive. It’s
here where the vaunted numbers are tested.
The M5 is a complex marvel of engineering. It
may just be the last petrol-only M5 we’ll see
and you get the sense that it’s been built to
become a legend of this era. 460kW is a mighty
power output and how you use it, is entirely up
to you through a programmable M xDrive
all-wheel drive system. You can set these up as
you’d like but be warned, that 2WD turns most
electronic aids off. Where drift modes and tyre
shredding antics have become focal points of
reporting on these cars, it’s the incredible
ability to gain speed at an unbelievable rate
that I’m most excited about. It accelerates
faster than just about anything this side of R2
Million. Fitted with the optional M-Driver’s
Package, the 300kph mark is a fast-made
acquaintance.
The jury is back in on this one. If you’re
playing trumps, you’re winning. It may not be
as loud and wild as its Affalterbach nemesis
and perhaps not as sharp as a Panamera Turbo
but if you’re looking for the absolute last word
in performance saloons, then here it is.
SPECIFICATION
4395cc, V8 twin-turbo petrol, AWD,
460kW, 750Nm
10.6l/100km,246g/km CO2
0-100kph in 3.3secs, 305kph
1865kg
TESTER’S NOTES: The business saloon that means
serious business.
MAY 2019 95
 MAY I 2019

Benz’s Balance
of Power
Mercedes-Benz C43 4Matic sedan
R R960 265 OTR / R1 007 365 (as tested)
LANCE BRANQUINHO

f you owe somebody money, or which look less ridiculous than the previous deliver a delightful V8 burble but paying 50%

I earn interest, you’ll know that

6.2% might not sound like a lot –
but, it is.
This is the number which defines AMGs
upgraded C43. Thanks to typically obsessive
German engineering, slightly larger diameter
turbochargers boost the 3-litre V6’s power from
270- to 287kW. That’s a gain of 6.2%. But what
does it really mean?
Statistically the 287kW C43 is no faster from
0-100kph than AMG’s 270kW version was: 4.7
seconds for both. After a week driving around in
the updated and slightly more powerful C43, I
was none the wiser to what those 17 additional
kilowatts yielded.
I’m sure in an ideal overtaking acceleration
scenario, the new car is a bit more potent, but
overall the C43 remains unchanged from the
attributes which make it everyone’s favourite
AMG of the moment. For the world’s biggest
performance car brand, with its huge and
diverse range of vehicles, C43 sedan is a
charmingly authentic representation of what
AMG does best: a stylish sedan with storming
car’s angular design elements – but it does
remain a disappointing feature, when you kneel
more to only go 14% faster does show up the
reality of diminishing returns when it is
down to scrutinise and discover the real, much compared to the latest C43.
thinner, exhaust ends recessed and hidden The balance of power, by persuasion of
away. harmonised performance, appears to be shifting
AMG’s C43’s is in no way held hostage by its from eight- to six-cylinders, for AMG’s C-Class.
pseudo autobahn hot rod design. What appeals
about this AMG is its outstanding adaptability.
In traffic and at low-speeds the nine-speed
automatic transmission is smooth and shifts
untemperamental – very much unlike a
V8-powered C63. When there is a scenario
change and you require all 287kW, throttle
response is immediate and C43 delivers a surge
of acceleration which subdues any chatty
passengers into respectful and startled silence.
For the better part of a decade, since 2007,
V8 engines have dominated AMG’s C-Class
cars. It was Mercedes-Benz’s interpretation of
the proven ‘small-car-huge-engine’ theme. But
there is an argument to be made that the C63
has now perhaps become too powerful. There’s
nowhere outside of a racing circuit or closed
SPECIFICATION
2996cc, 6cyl turbo petrol, AWD,
airfield where its immense power delivery can 287kW, 520Nm

performance. be fully experienced. 9.3l/100km, 213g/km CO2

The AMG specific front-bumper, now with
DTM-inspired flics, give new C43 plenty of
rear-view mirror presence. C43’s functional rear
diffuser now also homes round exhaust ducts,
With C43 you can access most of its
potential more often. In a C63 public road
journeys inevitably become a burden on the
stability control software. The new C63 might
0-100kph in 4.7secs, 250kph
1734kg
TESTER’S NOTES: As a car of percentages, is AMG’s
C-Class six better value than an eight?

96 MAY 2019
Dakar Duster
Renault Duster 4x4
R R327 900
ANDREW LEOPOLD

rankly all Dusters look as if they are rung of the pricing seats force you to

F 4x4s. Ample ground clearance,

ruff-and-tufty body cladding,
rubbery rubber, a paint mix that
has the least sparkle of any metallic paint.
Combined, these lend the modest 2WD versions
a positive dose of off-road belief. Generally this
chest out attitude is enough muscle for the
market it’s aimed at – 4x4 versions make up a tiny
percentage which is why so few competitors even
bother with the complication.
But the Duster 4x4 isn’t about serious,
arduous off-road duty. Confused? Take a look at
the spec sheet; this is a bona fide hot hatch of the
gravel persuasion. Hot hatch confetti in the way
of manual handbrake, 6-speed manual gearbox,
hydraulic steering, selectable all-wheel drive
modes (ala BMW M5), the max kilowatt engine
on offer, lean interior and very few driving
distractions. In plain terms, a fun car to bash
around like a shopping trolley that’s nowhere
near as scary as a Suzuki Jimny once you’re over
100kph.
Industry trends normally position the 4x4 as
the flagship model simply because the initial cost
ladder.
With pricing
take a rest on the
side of the road.
squeezed from A niche model
top and bottom, that has no trouble
it’s amazing how fitting in the mould
much equipment created ahead of it.
Renault has managed to Duster 4x4 brings some
hoard. Ok so they’ve genuinely good features to
chucked the EDC gearbox to the range, while it’s worth
pour some rands and cents back into pointing out that it’s the only manual
the right column on the spreadsheet and model in the range to come with the beefier
balanced that sum with multi-view camera, blind 80kW turbo diesel. Just another sporty nod to
spot monitoring, hill descent control plus these emulate this year’s Duster Dakar.
off-road digital dials that measure pitch and roll
angles – much like on an old Nissan Sani. How
great would a nudge bar look – but I presume
pedestrian safety thought otherwise.
The engine is the 1.5-litre turbo diesel: the
antithesis of cutting-edge technology when you
consider that Ford’s EcoSport thrums around
innocently with a 1.0-litre turbo 3-cylinder. Yet
it’s the resilient diesel I want because real-world
consumption trumps carbon emissions every
SPECIFICATION
1461cc, 4cyl turbo diesel, 4x4,
single time in my book, and under our once-off 80kW, 260Nm

of the heavily padded drivetrain. Renault’s done carbon tax. By not sending drive to both axles 5.2l/100km, 138g/km CO2

so with the Koleos and almost did the same with
the Duster. It’s an experiment, yet I’m sure the
Jimny’s pricing tugged the decision in that
direction, positioning Duster 4x4 on the second
until it’s required, the 4x4 Duster will 0-100kph in 12.5secs, 168kph
economically sip six litres of unrefined diesel for 1320kg
every 100 kilometres. Which is about the
distance you’ll last before the uncomfortable TESTER’S NOTES: Few kilowatts shy of being a
Duster R.S. Trophy.

MAY 2019 97
 LAST UPDATED ON 16 APRIL 2019

TG SPEAKS
Our verdict on the brand

SOME WORDS...
...about the car. These may or may not
find favour with you.

FUEL ECONOMY
Less is, um, more. Same applies to
0-100km/h, too.

MODEL CHOICE
You won’t find every car here. Just the ones
that count.

Lexus UX Pg 106
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Lexus UX 250h SE R699000 107 180 8,5 177 4,5 103 6/10

Subaru Forester Pg 110

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Renault Koleos 2.5 Dynamique 4x4 R 479900 126 233 9,8 199 8,3 192 7/10
 DB11 7',TXDWWURVSRUW%ODFN(GLWLRQ 787 974 140 400 7.9 218 4.9 129
ABARTH Twin-turbochared engine powers the most
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V8 coupé POA 375 675 4.0 300 9.9 230 9/10
500 595 V8 Volante POA 375 675 4.0 300 9.9 230 8/10 Q7
Comparatively senseless. But when a car’s this V12 coupé POA 447 700 3.9 322 11.4 265 8/10 About time too. New Q7 smaller on the outside,
pretty, light and engaging, you just want one. ELJJHUZKHUHLWPDWWHUV0DUJLQDOO\OHVVRIIHQVLYH
DBS Superleggera too. Maybe.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 7KH'%6LVEDFNWKLVWLPHZLWKDQ,WDOLDQVXI¿[ PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
500 595 1.4T 327 900 107 206 7.8 210 6.0 139 5/10 )UDQNO\DEVXUGVKRYHLVPDWFKHGE\EHWWHUG\QDPLFV 7',TXDWWUR 1 094 000 183 600 6.9 225 6.3 164 8/10
500 595 1.4T auto 353 200 107 206 8.0 210 5.8 134 5/10
500C 595 1.4T 368 900 107 206 7.8 210 6.0 139 5/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
500C 595 1.4T auto 394 200 107 206 8.0 210 5.8 134 5/10 DBS Superleggera POA 534 900 3 /1 R8
500 595 turismo 1.4T 398 900 121 230 7.3 218 6.0 139 5/10 9QRPDQXDORQO\DIDLQWUHVW\OH"+DV$XGL
500 595 turismo 1.4T auto 424 200 121 230 7.4 218 5.8 134 6/10 SSHGDGLI¿FXOWVHFRQGDOEXPFKDUJHU"
500C 595 turismo 1.4T 438 900 121 230 7.3 218 6.0 139 6/10 pe, not at all.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

AUDI
500C 595 turismo 1.4T auto 464 200 121 230 7.4 218 5.8 134 6/10
500 595 competizione 1.4T 472 900 132 250 6.7 225 6.0 139 8/10 6S\GHUTXDWWUR 3 047 000 397 540 3.6 318 11.7 277 9/10
500 595 competizione 1.4T auto 498 200 132 250 6.9 225 5.8 134 7/10 SOXVTXDWWUR 3 240 000 449 560 3.2 330 12.3 287 8/10
500C 595 competizione 1.4T 512 900 132 250 6.7 225 6.0 139 6/10 TopGear on Audi:
500C 595 competizione 1.4T auto 538 200 132 250 6.9 225 5.8 134 6/10 Bauhaus styling influence makes its cars appear a
the cabins are flawless. R8 symbolic of Ingolstadt’
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124 spider beam rear suspension. D20
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PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING gives this Chinese brand a positive start. ABS and airbags
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
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TopGear on Alfa Romeo:

Gorgeous styling cloaks average mechanical bits. Petrolhead creden- PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
X25
tials invalidated if you haven’t owned one once. 4C rather special. European styling overtones melded with sensible proportions.
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deviate on brand loyalty.
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2.0T Super 686 900 147 330 6.6 235 5.9 138 7/10 (YRTXH2KGHDU$KLJKULVH*ROIZLWKDQLQIHULRULW\ design with lush tech, the very best GT is back.
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James Bond’s car company defines the term cool Britannia.
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toying unnecessarily with the basics. A car company run by engineers prioritising drivers, not passengers.
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120d 518 500 140 400 7.1 228 4.1 108 7/10 sDrive20i 759 442 145 320 6.6 240 6.1 148 7/10
120d auto 539 500 140 400 7.0 228 3.9 103 7/10 M40i 1 036 699 250 500 4.5 250 7.4 169 7/10 Go
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at that. 530d 1 038 371 195 620 5.7 250 5.1 134 8/10 TopGear on Ferrari:
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330i 652 416 190 400 5.8 250 6.4 147 9/10 xDrive40d 1 360 740 230 630 5.8 240 6.2 163 6/10
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440i convertible 1 057 334 240 450 5.4 250 6.8 159 7/10
M4 coupé 1 325 061 317 550 4.1 250 8.3 194 8/10
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199
HAVAL
sedan 1.6 Easy auto 290 900 81 152 11.2 192 6.3 146 5/10 +L5LGHU;/7 542 600 147 470 n/a n/a 7.5 196 7/10 TopGear on Haval: GWM’s attempt at branching into
hatch 1.4 Pop 260 900 70 127 11.5 185 5.7 132 6/10 +L5LGHU;/7DXWR 571 400 147 470 n/a n/a 8.2 216 7/10 premium passenger car market. But really, it’s still
hatch 1.4 Easy 280 900 70 127 11.5 185 5.7 132 6/10 3.2 4x4 XLT 604 800 147 470 n/a n/a 8.6 225 GWM.
hatch 1.4 Lounge 300 900 70 127 11.5 185 5.7 132 6/10 3.2 4x4 XLT auto 617 300 147 470 n/a n/a 8.8 231 7/10
hatch 1.6 Easy auto 310 900 81 152 11.2 192 6.3 146 6/10 +L5LGHU:LOGWUDNDXWR 609 800 147 470 n/a n/a 8.2 216 7/10 +    
%L7XUER+L5LGHU:LOGWUDNDXWR 632 300 157 500 n/a n/a 7.8 207 GWM’s attempt at branching into premium passenger car
2.0 Bi-Turbo 4x4 Wildtrak auto 678 200 157 500 n/a n/a 8.1 215 market. But really, it’s still GWM.
500X
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1RWDEDGFURVVRYHUEXWLQ6RXWK$IULFDPRVWZLOO Kuga 1.5
PRICE
179 900
kW
69 130
Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
10.0 170 7.2 170 4/10
SUREDEO\SUHIHUWRJR5HQHJDGH +DVWKHXQHQYLDEOHMRERIUHVWRULQJSXEOLF¶VIDLWKVR)RUG
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PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING &RPPHQWVDERXWFDWFKLQJ¿UHOLWWHUHGWKHODXQFK
1.6 Pop 298 900 81 152 11.5 180 6.4 147 6/10 +    
1.4T Pop Star 336 900 103 230 9.8 190 6.0 139 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Operating as a premium GWM but that does not guarantee a
1.4T Pop Star auto 356 900 103 230 9.8 190 5.7 133 7/10 1.5T Ambiente 391 900 110 240 9.7 195 6.2 143 7/10 clean slate in a brand-conscious SA where even established
1.4T Cross 362 900 103 230 9.8 190 6.0 139 6/10 1.5T Ambiente auto 405 700 132 240 10.1 200 6.9 159 7/10 brands are struggling.
1.5TDCi Ambiente 429 200 88 270 12.7 173 4.4 115 6/10
1.4T Cross auto 381 900 103 230 9.8 190 5.7 133 8/10 1.5T Trend auto 452 200 132 240 10.1 200 6.9 159 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5TDCi Trend 459 400 88 270 12.7 173 4.4 115 7/10
2.0T AWD ST Line 552 400 177 240 7.8 212 8.6 197 7/10 1.5T City 259 900 105 202 n/a 190 8.2 194 5/10
)XOOEDFN     2.0TDCi AWD ST Line 570 900 132 400 10.4 196 5.4 140 7/10 1.5T City auto 294 900 105 202 n/a 180 9.0 214 5/10
,W¶VD0LWVXELVKL7ULWRQZLWKD)LDWEDGJHDQG 1.5T Luxury 284 900 105 202 n/a 190 8.2 194 6/10
branding support. Could you imagine anything 1.5T Luxury auto 319 900 105 202 n/a 180 9.0 214 6/10
VWUDQJHUWRD6RXWK$IULFDQEDNNLHEX\HU" Tourneo Custom
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING It’s like a posh Transit, only less panel-vanny.
2.4 de-spec 227 900 97 202 n/a 169 10.3 246 +
2.4 286 900 97 202 n/a 169 10.3 246 5/10 3XVKLQWRSUHPLXPVHFWRULVUHÀHFWHGE\LWVSULFLQJ8QOLNHO\
2.5Di-D de-spec 265 900 100 324 n/a 167 7.8 204 WRWXUQWKHWLGHDZD\IURPPDLQVWUHDPPRGHOV
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.5Di-D 323 900 100 324 n/a 167 7.8 204 6/10 2.2TDCi LWB Ambiente 556 400 74 310 n/a 157 6.5 172 6/10
2.5Di-D double cab SX 461 900 100 324 n/a 167 7.9 207 6/10 2.2TDCi LWB Trend 578 600 92 350 n/a 157 6.5 172 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.5Di-D double cab 4x4 LX 528 900 131 400 n/a 167 7.7 206 6/10 2.2TDCi SWB Limited 623 500 114 385 n/a 157 6.5 172 1.5T City 244 900 105 210 n/a 180 8.5 200 5/10
2.4Di-D double cab 4x4 LX auto 573 900 133 430 11.8 177 7.8 207 6/10 1.5T Premium 264 900 105 210 n/a 180 8.5 200 7/10

Everest +&    
)LYHGRRUYHUVLRQRIFUXVKLQJO\VXFFHVVIXO5DQJHU
FORD bakkie. Toyota doesn’t like it, which means you will. ,I\RXZDQWWRLPLWDWHWKHFRPSHWLWLRQ\RXQHHGDFRXSHLVK
6891H[WZH¶OOKDYHD+DYDO*UDQG7RXUHUFRXSH
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
TopGear on Ford: 2.2 XLS 467 100 118 385 n/a n/a 6.9 182 9/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
American alternative to VW, with a range of very tidily engineered 2.2 XLS auto 485 300 118 385 n/a n/a 7.3 193 9/10
cars. Ranger has become Hilux’s most credible rival in, well, forever. 2.2 XLT 502 400 118 385 n/a n/a 6.9 182 9/10 2.0T City 329 900 140 310 9.0 190 9.7 223 5/10
2.2 XLT auto 522 700 118 385 n/a n/a 7.3 193 9/10 2.0T City auto 359 900 140 310 9.0 190 9.8 225 5/10
)LJR 2.2 4WD XLS 552 800 118 385 n/a n/a 7.1 186 8/10 2.0T Premium 349 900 140 310 9.0 190 9.7 223 5/10
1RWDSUHYLRXVJHQHUDWLRQ)LHVWDDQ\PRUH9HU\ 3.2 XLT 607 900 147 470 n/a n/a 8.2 217 8/10 2.0T Premium auto 379 900 140 310 9.0 190 9.8 225 5/10
PXFKLWVRZQHPHUJLQJPDUNHWSODWIRUP&UHGLEOH 3.2 4WD XLT 696 900 147 470 11.6 n/a 8.2 217 8/10 2.0T Luxury 369 900 140 310 9.0 190 9.7 223 6/10
VRPHZKDWDIIRUGDEOHIDPLO\PRWRULQJ 3.2 4WD Limited 751 900 147 470 11.6 n/a 8.2 217 8/10 2.0T Luxury auto 399 900 140 310 9.0 190 9.8 225 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
hatch 1.5 Ambiente
sedan 1.5 Ambiente
185 600
191 700
88
88
150
150
n/a
n/a
175
175
5.7
5.7
132
132
3/10
6/10 Mustang +    
At last, a muscle car to call our own. Mustang now Seven-seater with 4x4 drivetrain lands this in a niche market.
hatch 1.5 Trend 195 800 88 150 n/a 175 5.7 132 5/10 3RZHUGHVLJQDQGIHDWXUHVDUHFDWFKLQJXS
hatch 1.5 Trend auto 213 800 88 150 n/a 175 6.5 150 5/10 KHUHLQULJKWKDQGGULYHVWLOOIHHOVYHU\$PHULFDQ
sedan 1.5 Trend 200 900 88 150 n/a 175 5.7 132 5/10 Also large.
hatch 1.5 Titanium 219 100 88 150 n/a 175 5.7 132 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
*7IDVWEDFN 872 200 306 530 4.8 263 13.5 308 6/10 2.0T 4WD Luxury 599 900 180 350 n/a n/a 10.9 254 6/10
*7IDVWEDFNDXWR 893 200 306 530 4.8 263 12.0 287 6/10
)LHVWD     5.0 GT convertible auto 955 800 306 530 4.8 263 12.8 294 6/10
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TopGear on Honda:
1.0T Trend
PRICE
273 700 74
kW Nm
170
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
10.5 183 4.3 97 8/10 GWM World’s greatest engine company assembles very reliable cars,
which you’ll have no desire to buy.
1.0T Trend auto 289 500 74 170 12.2 180 5.2 118 8/10
1.5TDCi Trend 305 100 63 175 12.5 175 3.3 84 7/10 TopGear on GWM: Brio
1.0T Titanium 309 100 92 170 9.9 195 4.3 97 8/10 Best of the Chinese isn’t really saying much. Was stupendous value. 7KLQNRILWDVDVPDOOHU-D]]ZLWKRXWWKHFOHYHUELWV
1.0T Titanium auto 324 400 74 170 12.2 180 5.2 118 8/10 Now comically on par with Korean and Japanese pricing. Silly. %RPESURRIPHFKDQLFDOEXLOGTXDOLW\
M4
_. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
EcoSport 1.2 Trend 164 200 65 109 11.9 n/a 5.6 133 5/10
A myriad very welcome interior updates and brilliant &RPIRUW 180 100 65 109 12.1 n/a 5.6 133 5/10
engines but no AWD version and small boot &RPIRUWDXWR 194 900 65 109 14.6 n/a 6.3 150 5/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5 172 400 77 138 10.0 170 7.2 172
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5 Ambiente 258 200 91 150 n/a n/a 6.4 147 Steed 5 Amaze
1.5TDCi Ambiente 271 000 74 205 14.5 160 4.6 121 6/10 -DSDQHVHPDUNHWLQJHQWKXVLDVPEXWLQWKHEDWWOHRIWKH
/RZWHFKPHHWVKLJKYDOXH2IIHUVLPSUHVVLYHYDOXH EXGJHW8EHUFDUVWKLVFRXOGEHWKHZLQQHU
1.0T Trend 298 500 92 170 12.7 181 5.4 123 6/10 DVDZRUNKRUVHEXWZRQ¶WHYHUZLQWKHZDONRII
1.0T Trend auto 312 100 92 170 12.7 181 6.3 143 7/10
1.0T Titanium 340 200 92 170 12.7 181 5.4 123 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.0T Titanium auto 352 800 92 170 12.7 181 6.3 143 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Amaze 1.2 Trend 179 900 66 110 12.3 160 5.6 133 7/10
2.2MPi Workhorse 159 900 73 180 n/a n/a 9.9 251 5/10 $PD]H&RPIRUW 193 900 66 110 12.3 160 5.6 133 7/10
2.0WGT Workhorse 189 900 78 225 n/a n/a 8.1 214 5/10 $PD]H&RPIRUWDXWR 208 900 66 110 13.5 160 5.7 135 6/10
Ranger :*7:RUNKRUVHVDIHW\ 209 900 78 225 n/a n/a 8.1 214
6RPXFKPRUHEDNNLHWKDQEHIRUHSOXVLW¶VELJJHU 2.0WGT 4x4 Workhorse 219 900 78 225 n/a n/a 8.1 214 5/10
*RWWDOLNHWKHELJEUR)JHQHV 2.2MPi double cab
2.2MPi double cab SX
179 900
204 900
73
73
180
180
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
9.8
9.8
251
251
5/10
5/10
Jazz
Individual and ingenious, the Jazz deserves to be
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.0VGT double cab SX 239 900 105 305 n/a n/a 8.3 220 5/10 bought by more people under ninety than it is.
2.2 287 100 88 285 n/a n/a 6.5 172 6/10 2.0VGT double cab 4x4 SX 269 900 105 305 n/a n/a 8.3 220 5/10
+L5LGHU;/ 359 800 118 385 n/a n/a 6.5 172 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
+L5LGHU;/DXWR 372 300 118 385 n/a n/a 7.6 199 7/10 1.2 Trend 222 700 66 110 13.5 175 5.6 135 6/10
+L5LGHU;/6 390 900 118 385 n/a n/a 6.5 172 Steed 5E &RPIRUW 253 400 66 110 13.6 175 5.6 135 6/10
2.2 4x4 XL 411 400 118 385 n/a n/a 7.2 190 6/10 +DVWRXFKVFUHHQDXGLRSLDQREODFNFDELQ¿QLVKHV
DQGSRZHUHGE\DQRVWHQVLEO\VHOIGHYHORSHGOLWUH &RPIRUWDXWR 272 900 66 110 14.3 174 5.6 136 6/10
2.2 4x4 XLS auto 449 200 118 385 n/a n/a 8.2 214 7/10 turbodiesel. Chinese+luxury+bakkie=oxymoronic. 1.5 Elegance 290 700 88 145 9.9 180 6.0 143 7/10
+L5LGHU;/6 401 800 147 470 n/a n/a 7.5 196 1.5 Elegance auto 307 400 88 145 10.6 180 5.8 140 7/10
3.2 4x4 XLS 460 100 147 470 n/a n/a 8.8 231 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5 Sport 325 600 97 155 9.8 180 5.6 133 5/10
SuperCab 2.4 SX 219 900 93 200 n/a 150 10.7 251 4/10
+L5LGHU 336 500 88 285 n/a n/a 6.5 172 6/10 2.4 Xscape 239 900 93 200 n/a 150 10.7 251 4/10
+L5LGHU;/
+L5LGHU;/DXWR
381 400
393 800
118
118
385
385
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
6.5
7.6
172
199
6/10
7/10
2.0VGT SX
2.0VGT Xscape
259 900
279 900
105
105
305
305
n/a
n/a
150
150
8.3
8.3
220
220
5/10
5/10
Ballade
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+L5LGHU;/6DXWR 426 400 118 385 n/a n/a 7.6 199 %DOODGHIURPEXGJHWWREHDUDEOH
2.2 4x4 XL 429 300 118 385 n/a n/a 7.2 190 7/10
2.2 4x4 XLS auto 472 400 118 385 n/a n/a 8.2 214 7/10 Steed 6 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
+L5LGHU;/6 424 900 147 470 n/a n/a 7.5 196 *:0¶VLQWHUSUHWDWLRQRI$PHULFDQVXSHUVL]HGEDNNLH
3.2 4x4 XLS 480 900 147 470 n/a n/a 8.6 225 design, hence ginormous grille and oversized 1.5 Trend 258 500 88 145 9.6 185 5.9 140 6/10
3.2 4x4 XLT auto 568 600 147 470 n/a n/a 8.8 231 7/10 headlamps. Six airbags and ESP. Needs more power. 1.5 Trend auto 275 000 88 145 11.1 190 5.8 137 5/10
double cab 1.5 Elegance 290 000 88 145 9.6 185 5.9 140 5/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
+L5LGHU 350 000 88 285 n/a n/a 6.5 172 6/10 1.5 Elegance auto 306 400 88 145 11.1 190 5.8 137 6/10
2.0VGT SX 284 900 105 305 n/a 150 8.8 233 6/10 1.5 Executive auto 332 400 88 145 11.1 190 5.8 137 5/10
+L5LGHU;/ 409 400 118 385 n/a n/a 6.5 172 6/10 2.0VGT Xscape 314 900 105 310 n/a 150 8.8 233 6/10
+L5LGHU;/DXWR 428 800 118 385 n/a n/a 7.6 199 7/10
2.2 4x4 XL 455 300 118 385 n/a n/a 7.2 190 6/10
2.2 4x4 XL auto 474 700 118 385 n/a n/a 8.2 214 7/10
+L5LGHU;/6 455 100 118 385 n/a n/a 6.5 172

MAY 2019 101

 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
BR-V PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
D150 AWD 629 216 110 380 10.5 193 5.6 147 7/10
+DVVRPHJURXQGFOHDUDQFH$QGVHYHQVHDWV 1.6 Executive 354 900 90 150 11.9 168 7.9 164 6/10 D150 AWD S 693 016 110 380 10.5 193 5.6 147 7/10
0RELOLRKLJKULGHU)RU.DODKDULEDVHG8EHUGULYHUV 1.6 Executive auto 379 900 90 150 12.1 169 8.4 175 6/10 D150 AWD SE 733 516 110 380 10.5 193 5.6 147 7/10
1.6D Executive 420 900 94 260 11.9 179 7.4 154 7/10 '$:'+6( 770 916 110 380 10.5 193 5.6 147 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING D180 AWD 651 016 132 430 9.3 205 5.6 147 7/10
1.5 Trend 258 800 88 145 n/a n/a 6.3 151 5/10 D180 AWD S 714 916 132 430 9.3 205 5.6 147 7/10
&RPIRUW 273 900 88 145 n/a n/a 6.3 151 5/10 Kona D180 AWD SE 755 416 132 430 9.3 205 5.6 147 7/10
&RPIRUWDXWR 290 400 88 145 n/a n/a 6.2 148 5/10 )LUVWEDVKDWDF\OWXUERDQGLW¶VDJDPHFKDQJHUIRU+\XQGDL
Stands out That’s a in a crowded market. '$:'+6( 792 716 132 430 9.3 205 5.6 147 7/10
1.5 Elegance 295 500 88 145 n/a n/a 6.3 151 5/10 P200 AWD 675 731 147 320 8.2 216 7.7 174 6/10
1.5 Elegance auto 312 100 88 145 n/a n/a 6.2 148 5/10 P200 AWD S 739 631 147 320 8.2 216 7.7 174 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING P200 AWD SE 780 131 147 320 8.2 216 7.7 174 6/10
1.0T Executive 384 900 88 175 12.0 181 6.8 138 9/10 3$:'+6( 817 531 147 320 8.2 216 7.7 174 6/10
Civic sedan 2.0 Executive 404 900 110 180 10.0 194 7.2 166 8/10 P250 AWD 704 631 183 365 7.0 230 7.7 174 7/10
What was once the Japanese compact sedan to P250 AWD S 768 431 183 365 7.0 230 7.7 174 7/10
KDYHLVQRZDIRUJRWWHQWKLQJDPLGVWDOOWKH P250 AWD SE 808 931 183 365 7.0 230 7.7 174 7/10
FURVVRYHUPDQLD+DVHIIHFWLYHO\UHSODFHG$FFRUG Tucson 3$:'+6( 846 331 183 365 7.0 230 7.7 174 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
-XVWZKDWWKHZRUOGQHHGHGDQRWKHU6896LOO\QDPHEXW D240 AWD S 773 013 177 500 7.4 224 6.2 162 8/10
RWKHUZLVHTXLWHJRRG D240 AWD SE 813 613 177 500 7.4 224 6.2 162 8/10
&RPIRUW 357 300 104 174 10.4 200 6.3 150 6/10
1.8 Elegance 400 400 104 174 10.4 200 6.3 150 6/10 '$:'+6( 851 013 177 500 7.4 224 6.2 162 8/10
1.5T Sport 465 300 127 220 8.2 200 5.9 140 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING P300 AWD S 825 717 221 400 6.4 243 8.0 181 7/10
1.5T Executive 497 600 127 220 8.2 200 5.9 140 6/10 2.0 Premium 419 900 115 196 10.6 186 8.9 189 6/10 P300 AWD SE 866 217 221 400 6.4 243 8.0 181 7/10
2.0 Premium auto 439 900 115 196 11.1 181 9.0 185 6/10 3$:'+6( 903 517 221 400 6.4 243 8.0 181 7/10
2.0 Executive 481 900 115 196 11.1 181 9.0 185 6/10
Civic hatch 2.0 Elite 522 900 115 196 11.1 181 9.0 185 6/10
7RS*HDU¶V&DURIWKH<HDUDQG3HUIRUPDQFH&DURIWKH<HDU 2.0D Executive
1.6T Elite
554 900
589 900
131
130
400
265
9.3 201
8.9 201
7.9
8.5
164
186
6/10
8/10
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talented hatch. 2.0D Elite 599 900 131 400 9.3 201 7.9 164 7/10 LPSRUWDQW-DJXDURIWKHODVWGHFDGH([FKDQJHUDWH
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
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Type R 661 300 228 400 5.8 272 8.4 200 9/10 +     25t Prestige
PRICE
717 536
kW
184
Nm
365
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
6.3 250 6.3 144 6/10
Surprisingly good van that should be issued as
VWDQGDUGVSHFWR-=¶VZLYHV/RWVRIVSDFHSOHQW\ 25t Landmark Edition 768 736 184 365 6.3 250 6.3 144
+59     to like. W3RUWIROLR 789 736 184 365 6.3 250 6.3 144 6/10
+RQGD-D]]ZLWKDELWPRUHFKXQN\HWVPDOOIRUFODVV 30t Prestige 755 475 221 400 5.7 250 6.7 153 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
)HHOVDQWLTXDWHGGXOOHQJLQHDQG&97ER[ 300 Sport 823 275 221 400 5.7 250 6.7 153
2.4 bus Executive 527 900 126 224 17.1 178 10.2 241 5/10 W3RUWIROLR 834 175 221 400 5.7 250 6.7 153 6/10
2.5CRDi bus Elite 654 900 125 441 14.4 180 9.8 238 6/10 S 1 057 761 280 450 5.0 250 8.1 194 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.5CRDi bus Elite 12-seat 664 900 125 441 14.4 180 9.8 238
&RPIRUW 362 000 88 145 12.0 179 6.3 151 5/10
1.8 Elegance 428 300 105 172 10.1 188 6.8 162 5/10
6DQWD)H     ;)    
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Jaguar values, but, nobody will notice until it has a
proper high-power diesel and petrol engine.
$FDUHQJLQHHUHGIRUDFFRXQWDQWV*UHDWDOOURXQGHUEXW
deeply boring. New turbo engine does try hard to liven it up. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
20d Prestige 808 700 132 430 8.1 229 4.3 114 6/10
2.2D Premium 599 900 142 440 n/a n/a 7.8 200 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 25t Prestige 851 001 184 365 6.6 244 6.8 154 6/10
2.2D Executive 659 900 142 440 n/a n/a 7.8 200 8/10
&RPIRUW 444 700 113 189 7.3 192 7.3 173 6/10 W3RUWIROLR 972 401 184 365 6.6 244 6.8 154 6/10
2.2D 4WD Elite 749 900 142 440 n/a n/a 8.2 200 8/10
2.0 Elegance 502 400 113 189 7.3 192 7.3 173 6/10 30t R-Sport 962 875 221 400 5.9 250 6.8 153 7/10
1.5T Executive AWD 614 600 140 240 7.0 200 7.0 167 7/10 300 Sport 1 022 475 221 400 5.9 250 6.8 153 7/10
S 1 355 167 280 450 5.3 250 8.3 198 7/10
ISUZU
1.5T Exclusive AWD 658 700 140 240 7.0 200 7.0 167 7/10

TopGear on Isuzu: )3DFH    

Coventry’s crossover cat not as rewarding to drive
HYUNDAI The quintessential bakkie brand – it does nothing else – has fallen
behind the technology curve. Reliable, but rivals are better. as Macan and priced a bit dearly due to Rand
depreciation.
TopGear on Hyundai: D-Max PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Korean behemoth perhaps the greatest threat of all to Toyota’s pas- $QHZQDPHEXWPRVWO\VDPHROG.%%XOOHWSURRIHQJLQHV 20d AWD Pure 828 804 132 430 8.7 208 5.3 139 7/10
senger-car business. Needs a bakkie for true world domination. FKRSS\ULGHDQGJHQHUDOO\ODFNLQJLQUH¿QHPHQWFRPSDUHG 25t Pure 896 540 184 365 6.8 217 7.1 163 7/10
to the others. 25t AWD Pure 926 325 184 365 6.8 217 7.4 170 7/10
Grand i10 25d AWD Pure 916 975 177 500 7.2 217 5.8 153 8/10
/DFNVWKHFKDULVPDRIWKH)LDW3DQGDDQGWKHVKHHU PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
SROLVKRIWKH9RONVZDJHQXSEXWDFWXDOO\LI\RXGRQ¶WFDUH 2.5C TD 260 000 58 176 n/a n/a 7.9 208 6/10 30t AWD Pure 941 731 221 400 6.0 233 7.7 174 8/10
about cars, then buy this one. &7')OHHWVLGH 284 200 58 176 n/a n/a 7.9 208 6/10 30d AWD Pure 998 034 221 700 6.2 241 6.0 159 7/10
7')OHHWVLGH 304 400 100 320 n/a n/a 7.6 199 6/10 30d AWD S 1 154 934 221 700 6.2 241 6.0 159 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 35t AWD S 1 259 659 280 450 5.5 250 8.9 209 7/10
1.0 Motion 167 900 48 94 14.9 155 5.4 132 8/10 7')OHHWVLGHVDIHW\ 315 200 100 320 n/a n/a 7.6 199 6/10
2.5 TD LE 358 900 100 320 n/a n/a 7.6 199 6/10 SVR 1 517 828 405 680 4.3 283 11.9 272
1.0 Motion auto 189 900 48 94 16.9 146 5.9 143 7/10
)OXLG 189 900 48 94 14.9 155 5.4 132 8/10 7'[+L5LGHU 405 600 100 320 n/a n/a 8.2 217 7/10
)OXLG 204 900 64 120 12.2 168 5.9 133 8/10 3.0 TD LX
3.0 TD 4x4 LX
420 100
485 100
130
130
380
380
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
7.7
8.2
203
215
7/10
7/10
)7\SH    
)OXLGDXWR 227 900 64 120 14.1 161 6.9 147 7/10 Could be an over-priced Cayman/Boxster rival. Or bargain
1.2 Glide 223 900 64 120 12.2 168 5.9 133 8/10 Extended Cab
DOWHUQDWLYH,QUHDOLW\DVLPSO\IDQWDVWLFFDU
7'+L5LGHU 363 400 100 320 n/a n/a 7.6 199 6/10
2.5 TD X-Rider 400 500 100 320 n/a n/a 7.6 199
i20 3.0 TD LX
3.0 TD LX auto
457 500
472 200
130
130
380
380
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
7.8
7.5
202
198
7/10
7/10 coupé P300 R-Dynamic
PRICE
1 102 640
kW
221
Nm
400
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
5.7 250 7.2 163 6/10
,W¶VWKHODVW+\XQGDLL,W¶VQRSDUDGLJPFUXVKHUEXW
WKDW¶VRN,W¶VWKHEHVWNLQGRIQRUPDO\RXFRXOGKRSHIRUDQG 3.0 TD 4x4 LX 521 500 130 380 n/a n/a 8.0 211 6/10 FRXSp3&KHTXHUHG)ODJ 1 220 740 221 400 5.7 250 7.2 163
should always be considered double cab coupé P340 1 141 421 250 450 5.7 260 9.8 234 7/10
2.5 TD 337 500 100 320 n/a n/a 7.7 203 coupé P340 auto 1 154 894 250 450 5.3 260 8.4 199 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 7'+L5LGHU 393 700 100 320 n/a n/a 7.7 203 6/10 FRXSp3&KHTXHUHG)ODJ 1 356 994 250 450 5.3 260 8.4 199
1.2 Motion 241 900 61 115 13.3 165 5.9 140 6/10 2.5 TD X-Rider 430 800 100 320 n/a n/a 7.7 203 6/10 coupé P380 1 263 421 280 460 5.5 275 9.8 234 7/10
)OXLG 253 900 61 115 13.3 165 5.9 140 6/10 7'[+L5LGHU 442 100 100 320 n/a n/a 7.9 208 7/10 coupé P380 auto 1 277 400 280 460 4.9 275 8.6 203 7/10
1.4 Motion auto 266 900 74 133 13.2 163 7.5 160 6/10 2.5 TD 4x4 X-Rider 479 600 100 320 n/a n/a 7.9 208 7/10 FRXSp3&KHTXHUHG)ODJ 1 457 000 280 460 4.9 275 8.6 203
)OXLG 279 900 74 133 11.4 182 6.5 147 7/10 2.5 TD LE 443 800 100 320 n/a n/a 7.7 203 6/10 coupé P380 AWD 1 297 412 280 460 5.1 275 8.9 211 8/10
)OXLGDXWR 297 900 74 133 13.2 163 7.5 160 6/10 3.0 TD LX 530 000 130 380 n/a n/a 7.7 203 7/10 FRXSp3$:'&KHTXHUHG)ODJ 1 477 120 280 460 5.1 275 8.9 211
1.4 Active 292 900 74 133 11.4 182 6.7 155 6/10 3.0 TD LX auto 545 200 130 380 n/a n/a 7.5 198 7/10 convertible P300 1 120 740 221 400 5.7 250 7.2 163 8/10
3.0 TD 4x4 LX 600 700 130 380 n/a n/a 8.0 211 7/10 FRQYHUWLEOH3&KHTXHUHG)ODJ 1 230 540 221 400 5.7 250 7.2 163
3.0 TD 4x4 LX auto 615 500 130 380 n/a n/a 7.8 206 7/10 convertible P340 1 159 521 250 450 5.7 260 9.8 234 7/10
Accent 3.0 TD 4x4 LX Arctic AT 35 785 000 130 380 n/a n/a n/a n/a convertible P340 auto 1 172 994 250 450 5.3 260 8.4 199 7/10
Plastic hubcaps complete sleeper looks, with a FRQYHUWLEOH3&KHTXHUHG)ODJ 1 366 894 250 450 5.3 260 8.4 199
UHYKDSS\VFUHDPHURIDQHQJLQH convertible P380 1 281 621 280 460 5.5 275 9.8 234 7/10
convertible P380 auto 1 295 500 280 460 4.9 275 8.6 203 7/10

1.6 Motion
PRICE
259 900 91
kW Nm
156
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
10.2 190 6.1 145 7/10
mu-X FRQYHUWLEOH3&KHTXHUHG)ODJ
convertible P380 AWD
1 466 900
1 315 412
280
280
460
460
4.9
5.1
275
275
8.6
8.9
203
211 7/10
$ZRUWKLHUDGYHUVDU\WRWKH)RUWXQHUDQG(YHUHVWWKDQWKH
)OXLG 287 900 91 156 10.2 190 6.1 145 7/10 null and void Chevrolet Trailblazer. Proper brand cachet, our FRQYHUWLEOH3$:'&KHTUG)ODJ 1 487 012 280 460 5.1 275 8.9 211
)OXLGDXWR 302 900 91 156 11.4 184 6.4 151 7/10 PLQGMRJVEDFNWR)URQWLHU¶VVXFFHVV R coupé AWD 2 191 049 405 680 4.1 300 11.3 269 8/10
R convertible AWD 2 209 449 405 680 4.1 300 11.3 269 8/10
3.0 576 600 130 380 n/a n/a 7.3 194 7/10 SVR coupé AWD 2 477 249 423 700 3.7 322 11.3 269 8/10
Elantra 3.0 4WD 638 600 130 380 n/a n/a 7.9 208 7/10 SVR convertible AWD 2 495 549 423 700 3.7 314 11.3 269 8/10
Revamped drivetrain includes turbo mill and dual clutch box.
+DVSUHWHQWLRQVRIVSRUWLQHVV
I-Pace
-DJXDU¶V3RZHUZD\LQIUDVWUXFWXUHIRUORQJGLVWDQFH(9WUDYHO
1.6 Executive
PRICE
328 900
kW
93
Nm
155
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
10.1 200 6.5 155 6/10 JAGUAR LVWKHUHDOGUDZFDUGKHUH$EUDQGFRPPLWWHGWRDQ(9IXWXUH
in our market.
1.6 Execute auto 348 900 93 155 11.6 195 6.9 161 6/10
2.0 Elite 383 900 115 195 9.9 202 8.3 174 6/10
TopGear on Jaguar: PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.6 Turbo Elite Sport 429 900 150 265 7.7 210 7.9 164 6/10 Indian cash finally delivered Jaguar’s E-Type rival, only a few decades EV400 S 1 687 200 294e 696e 4.8 200 0.0 0 8/10
late. Characterful British alternative to the Germans. EV400 SE 1 745 400 294e 696e 4.8 200 0.0 0 8/10

Creta E-Pace (9+6(

(9+6()LUVW(GLWLRQ
1 820 900
1 920 700
294e
294e
696e
696e
4.8
4.8
200
200
0.0
0.0
0
0
8/10
7/10
-DJ¶VFURVVRYHUVWLOORIIHUV,DQ&DOOXPVW\OLQJ,QJHQLXP
$ERXWDVFORVHWRPLOLWDU\JUDGHVSHFDV+\XQGDLJHWV engines and the ability to say, “Let’s take the Jaaaag.” Lovely.
Boring but worth a look.
XJ
<RZ]HUV7KH;-LVUDSLGUH¿QHGDQGMXVWSODLQ

1 02 MAY 2019
EHDXWLIXO7KHLQWHULRULVVRVSHFLDOZHKDGWRLQYHQW 1.0 Style auto 182 995 49 95 n/a 155 5.3 126 6/10 Pure TD4 733 304 132 430 8.9 188 5.3 139 8/10
DQDZDUGIRULW 1.0 Smart 191 995 49 95 n/a 155 5.0 118 7/10 SE Si4 759 743 177 340 7.9 200 8.0 182 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 1.2 Start 162 995 61 122 n/a 170 5.0 116 7/10 SE TD4 791 504 132 430 8.9 188 5.3 139 8/10
1.2 Start auto 176 995 61 122 n/a 170 5.9 138 6/10 SE TD4 Landmark Edition 827 404 132 430 8.9 188 5.3 139 7/10
XJ 3.0D Luxury 1 621 996 221 700 6.2 250 7.0 184 8/10 SE Si4 213kW 816 143 213 400 7.1 218 8.2 186 7/10
XJ 3.0D Premium Luxury 1 774 296 221 700 6.2 250 7.0 184 8/10 1.2 Street 174 995 61 122 n/a 170 5.0 116 7/10
1.2 Style 184 995 61 122 n/a 170 5.0 116 8/10 SE Sd4 847 404 177 500 7.6 216 6.5 169 8/10
XJ 3.0D XJ50 1 823 096 221 700 6.2 250 7.0 184 8/10 +6(6L 828 043 177 340 7.9 200 8.0 182 7/10
XJ L 3.0D Premium Luxury 1 885 696 221 700 6.2 250 7.0 184 8/10 1.2 Style auto 198 995 61 122 n/a 170 5.9 138 8/10
1.2 Smart 208 995 61 122 n/a 170 5.0 116 8/10 +6(7' 861 904 132 430 8.9 188 5.3 139 8/10
XJ L 3.0D XJ50 1 929 996 221 700 6.2 250 7.0 184 8/10 +6(6LN: 881 143 213 400 7.1 218 8.2 186 8/10
XJ 3.0 Supercharged R-Sport 2 017 112 250 450 5.9 250 9.1 211 8/10 1.2 Smart auto 222 995 61 122 n/a 170 5.9 138 8/10 +6(6G 917 704 177 500 7.6 216 6.5 169 8/10
;-/6XSHUFKDUJHG3RUWIROLR 2 092 212 250 450 5.9 250 9.1 211 8/10 +6(/X[XU\6L 880 543 177 340 7.9 200 8.0 182 9/10
XJR575 2 749 716 423 700 4.4 300 11.1 264 9/10 +6(/X[XU\7' 915 904 132 430 8.9 188 5.3 139 8/10
XJ L 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography 3 027 116 375 625 4.9 250 11.1 264 8/10 Rio +6(/X[XU\6LN: 921 543 213 400 7.1 218 8.2 186 8/10
Once a gamechanger hobbled by bland engines and +6(/X[XU\6G 971 704 177 500 7.6 216 6.5 169 8/10
dozy automatics.

JEEP 1.2 LS
PRICE
233 995
kW
62
Nm
120
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
12.9 170 5.7 135 6/10
5DQJH5RYHU(YRTXH
Slicker body, more space and some surprising new
TopGear on Jeep: 1.4 LX 252 995 74 135 11.5 176 5.8 137 6/10 technology. Range Rover’s baby is all grown up....
Some very capable 4x4s; but you’ve already bought that Land-Rover 1.4 LX auto 269 995 74 135 13.2 166 6.0 142 6/10
or ’Cruiser, haven’t you? 1.4 EX 267 995 74 135 11.5 176 5.8 137 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.4 EX auto 284 995 74 135 13.2 166 6.0 142 6/10
Renegade 1.4 Tec 294 995 74 135 11.5 176 5.8 137 7/10
D180
D180 S
738 475
788 475
132
132
430
430
9.3
9.3
205
205
5.8
5.8
153
153
)LDW;¶V$PHULFDQFRXVLQ,IUHDO-HHSVKDYH 1.4 Tec auto 311 995 74 135 13.2 166 6.0 142 6/10 D180 SE 847 975 132 430 9.3 205 5.8 153
URXQGKHDGOLJKWVWKHQWKLVLVVXUHO\RQH5LJKW" P250 782 499 183 365 7.5 230 7.4 169
P250 S 832 499 183 365 7.5 230 7.4 169
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Sportage P250 SE 891 999 183 365 7.5 230 7.4 169
1.4L T Limited 451 900 103 230 10.9 181 6.0 140 6/10 .,$VDUHJHQHUDOO\JRRGORRNLQJ7KLVRQHLVQ¶WHYHQDIWHU '5'\QDPLF+6( 924 375 132 430 9.3 205 5.8 153
1.4L T Limited auto 483 900 103 230 11.0 181 5.9 137 6/10 WKHIDFHOLIW9HU\JRRGWKRXJKVRGRQ¶WGLVFRXQWLW 35'\QDPLF+6( 968 499 183 365 7.5 230 7.4 169
1.6L Multijet Limited 468 900 88 320 10.2 178 4.6 120 6/10 '5'\QDPLF+6()LUVW(GLWLRQ 950 075 132 430 9.3 205 5.8 153
2.4L 4x4 Trailhawk 535 900 137 232 9.8 180 7.5 175 5/10 35'\QDPLF+6()LUVW(GLWLRQ 994 099 183 365 7.5 230 7.4 169
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.4L T 4x4 Limited 541 900 125 250 8.8 196 6.9 160 6/10 1.6GDI Ignite 386 995 97 161 12.1 170 7.7 175 6/10
2.0 Ignite Plus
2.0 Ignite Plus auto
396 995
410 995
115
115
196
196
10.5 186
11.1 181
8.1
8.1
183
184
6/10
6/10
Range Rover Velar
Compass 0RVWFDUOLNHRIDOO5DQJH5RYHUVZLWKDVOHHNQHVVZH¶YH
2.0CRDi Ignite Plus 461 995 131 400 9.3 201 6.3 164 7/10 QHYHUVHHQEHIRUH'HEXWVUHYROXWLRQDU\7RXFK3UR'XR
_. 2.0 EX 467 995 115 196 11.1 181 8.1 184 6/10 interior.
2.0CRDi EX 518 995 131 400 9.3 201 6.3 164 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.0CRDi EX AWD 546 995 131 400 9.5 201 6.3 164 6/10
2.4 4x4 Trailhawk 599 990 129 229 n/a 185 9.5 230 D180 1 011 083 132 430 8.9 201 5.4 142 7/10
2.0 EX Plus 508 995 115 196 11.1 181 8.1 184 6/10
2.0CRDi EX Plus 559 995 131 400 9.3 201 6.3 164 D180 S 1 096 883 132 430 8.9 201 5.4 142 7/10
D180 SE 1 149 083 132 430 8.9 201 5.4 142 7/10
Wrangler '+6( 1 249 283 132 430 8.9 201 5.4 142 7/10
<HHDQGLQGHHGKD7KH:UDQJOHULVVWLOOEDVLFEXW
KDVEHHQDURXQGIRUVRORQJLWLVQRZUHWUR Sorento P250
P250 S
1 015 005
1 100 805
184
184
365
365
6.7
6.7
217
217
7.6
7.6
173
173
7/10
7/10
)LYHGRRULVUXJJHGLQWKH'HIHQGHUYHLQ *UHDWHUPRGHOSUROLIHUDWLRQDQGDIHZFKRLFHVEHWZHHQ
WZRURZVRIVHDWVDQGWKUHH7KHOHDVWLQWHUHVWLQJ.,$ P250 SE 1 153 005 184 365 6.7 217 7.6 173 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING on sale. 3+6( 1 253 205 184 365 6.7 217 7.6 173 7/10
3.6L Sahara 658 900 209 347 8.1 180 11.3 263 5/10 D240 1 079 101 177 500 7.3 217 5.8 154 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
3.6L Rubicon 688 900 209 347 8.1 180 11.6 270 6/10 2.2CRDi LX 579 995 147 440 9.4 203 6.3 164 6/10 D240 S 1 164 901 177 500 7.3 217 5.8 154 7/10
8QOLPLWHG/6DKDUD 710 900 209 347 8.9 180 11.7 273 6/10 2.2CRDi AWD LX 619 995 147 440 9.4 203 6.5 170 6/10 D240 SE 1 217 101 177 500 7.3 217 5.8 154 7/10
8QOLPLWHG/5XELFRQ 744 900 209 347 8.9 180 11.9 276 7/10 2.2CRDi EX 609 995 147 440 9.4 203 6.3 164 6/10 '+6( 1 317 201 177 500 7.3 217 5.8 154 7/10
8QOLPLWHG&5'6DKDUD 789 900 147 460 10.7 172 8.3 217 6/10 2.2CRDi AWD EX 649 995 147 440 9.4 203 6.5 170 6/10 P300 1 071 037 221 400 6.0 234 7.8 178 7/10
P300 S 1 156 737 221 400 6.0 234 7.8 178 7/10
P300 SE 1 209 037 221 400 6.0 234 7.8 178 8/10
Cherokee Grand Sedona 3+6( 1 309 137 221 400 6.0 234 7.8 178 8/10
$IWHUDOHDYHRIDEVHQFHWKH&KHURNHHLVEDFNWRGR 7KHEHVWFRPI\SHRSOHPRYHURQVDOH3HULRG/RWVRIWR\V D275 1 144 401 202 625 7.0 218 6.6 173 8/10
battle with the Discovery Sport. It’s priced well and and some pretty decent engines to pull the load. D275 S 1 230 001 202 625 7.0 218 6.6 173 7/10
looks... interesting. D275 SE 1 282 301 202 625 7.0 218 6.6 173 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
'+6( 1 382 501 202 625 7.0 218 6.6 173 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING P340 1 152 191 250 450 6.4 250 9.4 214 8/10
2.4L Longitude 636 900 130 229 10.5 196 8.3 193 6/10 2.2CRDi EX 610 995 147 440 13.6 190 8.0 208 9/10 P340 S 1 237 891 250 450 6.4 250 9.4 214 8/10
3.2L Limited 702 900 200 315 8.1 209 9.5 221 6/10 2.2CRDi EX+ 639 995 147 440 13.6 190 8.0 208 9/10 P340 SE 1 290 191 250 450 6.4 250 9.4 214 8/10
3.2L 4x4 Limited 763 900 200 315 8.1 209 10.0 232 7/10 2.2CRDi SXL 792 995 147 440 13.6 190 8.0 208 9/10 3+6( 1 390 291 250 450 6.4 250 9.4 214 8/10
3.2L 4x4 Trailhawk 798 900 200 315 8.4 180 10.0 232 7/10 D300 1 164 046 221 700 6.5 241 6.4 167 8/10
D300 S 1 249 646 221 700 6.5 241 6.4 167 8/10

LAMBORGHINI
D300 SE 1 301 946 221 700 6.5 241 6.4 167 8/10
Grand Cherokee '+6( 1 402 146 221 700 6.5 241 6.4 167 7/10
-HHSPD\EHXQGHU)LDW¶VFRQWUROEXWQRRQH P380 1 180 991 280 450 5.7 250 9.4 214 7/10
appears to have told the Grand Cherokee. TopGear on Lamborghini: P380 S 1 266 691 280 450 5.7 250 9.4 214 7/10
All-wheel drive because it’s owned by Audi. Preposterous cars the P380 SE 1 318 991 280 450 5.7 250 9.4 214 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING world would be a poorer place without. 3+6( 1 419 091 280 450 5.7 250 9.4 214 7/10
3.6L Limited 891 900 210 347 8.3 206 10.4 244 6/10 SVAutobiography Dynamic Edition 1 725 891 405 680 4.5 274 11.8 270
3.6L Overland 955 900 210 347 8.3 206 10.4 244 6/10 8UXV    
/DPERUJKLQLELWHV689EDLWDQGE\VFDYHQJLQJELWVIURP
3.6L Summit 1 091 900 210 347 8.3 206 10.4 244 6/10
5.7L Overland 1 053 900 259 520 7.3 225 13.0 304 5/10
4PDQDJHVWRSURGXFHDUH¿QHG689¿UVWWLPHRXW Discovery
3.0CRD Limited 1 047 900 179 569 8.2 202 7.5 198 7/10 2QHRIWKHIHZSUHPLXPVHDWHUVZLWKJHQXLQH
3.0CRD Overland 1 101 900 179 569 8.2 202 7.5 198 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING RIIURDGDELOLW\
3.0CRD Summit 1 256 900 179 569 8.2 202 7.5 198 6/10 8UXV 3 495 000 478 850 3.6 305 12.6 292 9/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 NG
SRT 1 348 900 344 624 5.0 257 14.0 327 7/10 S Sd4 991 772 177 430 8.7 207 6.5 168
Trackhawk 2 199 900 522 875 3.5 290 16.8 385
+XUDFiQ     S Si4
S Td6
998 224
1 067 606
221
221
400
400
7.7
7.7
201
201
9.4
9.4
219
219
7/10
7/10
Lambo’s riposte to the 488 and 570S/650S. Smoother
and slicker but ultimately remains Gallardo v2.0. S Si6 1 115 490 250 450 7.1 209 11.5 263 7/10
SE Sd4 1 148 172 177 430 8.7 207 6.5 168 8/10
JMC LP580-2 coupé
PRICE
4 595 000
kW
426
Nm
540
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
3.4 320 14.5 335 9/10
SE Si4
SE Td6
1 148 524
1 216 906
221
190
400
600
7.7
8.1
201
209
9.4
7.8
219
207
7/10
7/10
Landwind LP580-2 Spyder 4 995 000 426 540 3.6 319 14.8 342 8/10 SE Si6
+6(6G
1 242 490
1 284 772
250
177
450
430
7.1
8.7
209
207
11.5
6.5
263
168
7/10
7/10
(UJRQRPLFIRLEOHVDQGHQJLQHVGUDJJHGLQWRDFWLRQIURPD Evo coupé 5 695 000 470 600 2.9 325+ 13.9 332
GHFDGHDJR6W\OLQJFRS\FDWVDGGVWRIDLUSURGXFWXQRULJLQDOLW\ Evo Spyder TBA 470 600 3.1 325 14.1 338 +6(6L 1 285 224 221 400 7.7 201 9.4 219 8/10
/33HUIRUPDQWHFRXSp 6 095 000 470 600 2.9 325+ 14.8 342 9/10 +6(7G 1 356 006 190 600 8.1 209 7.8 207 7/10
/33HUIRUPDQWH6S\GHU 6 795 000 470 600 3.1 325 15.0 348 +6(6L 1 381 690 250 450 7.1 209 11.5 263 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING +6(/X[XU\6G 1 381 472 177 430 8.7 207 6.5 168 7/10
2.0T Lux 241 990 140 250 11.0 185 8.5 201 5/10 +6(/X[XU\6L 1 381 824 221 400 7.7 201 9.4 219 7/10
2.0T Lux auto 272 880 140 250 12.7 170 8.5 201 5/10 Aventador +6(/X[XU\7G 1 455 506 190 600 8.1 209 7.8 207 7/10
7)ODJVKLS 309 880 14 25 12 17 8. 2 5/10 Murciélago replacement doesn’t disappoint. A hint +6(/X[XU\6L 1 481 290 250 450 7.1 209 11.5 263 8/10
RI$XGLKDVFUHSWLQEXWWKH$YHQWDGRULVVWLOORQH
bonkers supercar.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Range Rover Sport
KIA LP740-4 S coupé 7 895 000 544 690 2.9 350 16.9 394 9/10 A prettier Range Rover Sport would have been a
FRQWUDGLFWLRQLQWHUPVEXWWKHQHZRQHGH¿QLWHO\
LP740-4 S Roadster 8 695 000 544 690 3.0 350 16.9 394 9/10 comes with less thuggishness.
TopGear on Kia: PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
For people who need a better-styled Hyundai.
LAND ROVER
S Si4 1 129 212 221 400 7.3 201 9.2 211 8/10
S SCV6 1 215 257 250 450 7.2 209 10.5 243 8/10
Picanto TopGear on Land Rover:
S TDV6
SE Si4
1 243 806
1 185 512
190
221
600
400
7.6
7.3
209
201
7.8
9.2
207
211
8/10
8/10
A little cracker to the max. Picanto looks good, drives well
ZLWKEXLOGTXDOLW\DEOHWRULYDODQ\RQH No longer a symbol of British hard-line foreign policy. Range Rover SE TDV6 1 254 906 190 600 7.6 209 7.8 207 8/10
once again the stately SUV brand it once was. SE SCV6 1 273 257 250 450 7.2 209 10.5 243 8/10
SE SDV6 1 368 523 225 700 7.2 209 7.0 185 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Discovery Sport +6(7'9 1 397 406 190 600 7.6 209 7.8 207 8/10
1.0 Start 150 995 49 95 n/a 155 5.0 118 7/10 7KH)UHHODQGHUJHWVDQHZQDPHWZRPRUHVHDWV
DQGPXFKPRUH3ULFH\EXWLI\RX¶UHD\XPP\ +6(6L 1 398 112 221 400 7.3 201 9.2 211 8/10
1.0 Start auto 164 995 49 95 n/a 155 5.3 126 7/10 +6(6&9 1 492 257 250 450 7.2 209 10.5 243 8/10
mummy, you’ll want this.
1.0 Street 158 995 49 95 n/a 155 5.0 118 7/10 +6(6'9 1 622 223 225 700 7.2 209 7.0 185 9/10
1.0 Style 168 995 49 95 n/a 155 5.0 118 8/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING +6(3H 1 639 300 297e 640e 6.7 220 2.8 64 9/10
Pure Si4 703 143 177 340 7.9 200 8.0 182 7/10 +6('\QDPLF3H 1 683 800 297e 640e 6.7 220 2.8 64 9/10

MAY 2019 1 03
+6('\QDPLF6XSHUFKDUJHG 1 790 435 386 625 5.3 225 12.8 294 9/10
+6('\QDPLF6'9
Autobiography Dynamic SCV6
1 803 089
1 694 157
250
280
740
450
6.9
7.1
225
210
8.7
10.5
229
243
9/10
8/10
LC
A proper Grand Tourer muscled along by charismatic V8.
MASERATI
Autobiography Dynamic P400e 1 816 200 297e 640e 6.7 220 2.8 64 9/10 $VHQVHRIFUDIWVPDQVKLSLQFOXGHVDOOWKHEHOOVDQGZKLVWOHV TopGear on Maserati:
Autobiography Dynamic Superchgd 2 050 935 386 625 5.3 225 12.8 294 9/10 Cheap, somewhat less sophisticated Ferraris which are a lot more
Autobiography Dynamic SDV8 1 998 989 250 740 6.9 225 8.7 229 9/10 palatable to non-car people. Who wants a cheap Ferrari? Quite.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
SVR 2 351 535 423 700 4.5 280 12.8 294 9/10
500 1 892 500 351 540 4.7 270 11.6 267 9/10 Ghibli
Maserati builds a BMW 5 Series. It’s available
Range Rover LS
with a diesel engine. And, well, they think that’s a
good idea.
7KLVLVQRWDQ6897KDW¶VIDUWRRFRPPRQDEDGJH
Instead, think go-anywhere luxury car. Or GALC. :HOFRPHWROHIW¿HOGOX[XU\DV/H[XVGLVWDQFHVLWVHOIIURP
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
+PPFDWFK\ SOD\LWVDIH7R\RWD1HHGVPRUHWRUTXHDQGDEHWWHU¶ER[
350 POA 258 500 5.5 267 8.9 207 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Diesel POA 202 600 6.3 250 5.9 158 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING S POA 301 550 5.0 285 9.6 223 7/10
Vogue TDV6 2 009 506 190 600 7.9 209 7.8 182 8/10
)6SRUW 1 975 900 310 600 5.0 250 9.5 217
Vogue P400e 2 207 300 297e 640e 6.8 220 2.8 64 9/10
500 2 151 100 310 600 5.0 250 9.5 217 6/10
Vogue SE SDV8 2 472 289 250 740 6.9 218 8.7 219 8/10
L Vogue SE SDV8 2 577 189 250 740 6.9 218 8.7 219 8/10 Levante
Vogue SE P400e 2 401 000 297e 640e 6.8 220 2.8 64 9/10 This Italian Cayenne is a very well sorted oddity,
L Vogue SE P400e
Vogue SE Supercharged
2 502 800
2 540 611
297e
375
640e
625
6.9
5.4
220
225
2.8
12.8
64
294
9/10
8/10
MAHINDRA EXWWKH*HUPDQVGRLWVRPXFKEHWWHU,I\RXGHVLUH
exclusivity, well…
L Vogue SE Supercharged 2 633 311 386 625 5.5 225 12.8 294 8/10 TopGear on Mahindra: PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Autobiography SDV8 2 819 689 250 740 6.9 218 8.7 219 8/10 Truly awful Indian products. Will make you consider something Diesel POA 202 600 6.9 230 7.2 189 7/10
L Autobiography SDV8 2 932 389 250 740 6.9 218 8.7 219 8/10 Chinese. Yes: that bad. S POA 316 580 5.2 264 8.5 199 8/10
Autobiography P400e 2 738 200 297e 640e 6.8 220 2.8 64 8/10
L Autobiography P400e 2 847 600 297e 640e 6.9 220 2.8 64 8/10 .891[W    
Autobiography Supercharged 2 887 911 386 625 5.4 225 12.8 294 8/10 6W\OLQJORRNVOLNHDVKUXQNHQ/DQG5RYHU(YRTXH Quattroporte
L Autobiography Supercharged 3 000 611 386 625 5.5 225 12.8 294 8/10 FRS\JRQHZURQJIURPWKHIURQWDQGGULYHVLQPXFK 1RRR±ZKDWKDYHWKH\GRQH"7KHROGRQHZDVVRXO
SVAutobiography Dynamic Suprchd 3 584 011 416 700 5.1 225 12.8 294 8/10 the same manner too. SHUVRQL¿HG7KLVORRNVDELWPHKEXWGULYHVEHWWHU
L SVAutobiography SDV8 4 099 889 250 740 6.9 218 8.7 219 8/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
than the last one.
L SVAutobiography P400e 3 981 200 297e 640e 6.9 220 2.8 64 8/10 1.2 G80 K2+ 137 999 61 115 n/a n/a 5.9 141 4/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
L SVAutobiography Supercharged 4 294 111 416 700 5.4 225 12.8 294 8/10 1.2 G80 K6+ 191 999 61 115 n/a n/a 5.9 141 4/10 Diesel POA 202 600 6.4 252 6.2 163 7/10
1.2 D75 K6+ 208 999 57 190 n/a n/a 4.3 115 4/10 S POA 302 550 5.1 286 9.6 223 8/10
1.2 G80 K8 204 999 61 115 n/a n/a 5.9 141 4/10 GTS GranLusso POA 390 710 4.7 310 10.7 250 8/10
1.2 D75 K8 224 999 57 190 n/a n/a 4.3 115 4/10

LEXUS GranTurismo / GranCabrio

TopGear on Lexus:
Bolero Muscular but pretty coupé that is more GT than
)DYRXULWHRIIDUPHUVDQGIRXUZKHHOHUVRQDYHU\ sports car.
Luxury Toyotas offering remarkable value, but no diesel engines. tight budget.
We don’t understand why either. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
8;     PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING GranTurismo Sport
GranTurismo MC
POA
POA
338
338
520
520
4.8
4.7
299
301
14.3
14.3
331
331
7/10
7/10
7KH863VKRXOGEHWKHK\EULGSRZHUWUDLQEXWPHFKDQLFDO 2.5Di Maxitruck Plus 156 999 46 195 n/a 115 7.0 n/a 4/10
OD\RXWLVMXVWWRRIUDJPHQWHGWREHIXQ$OVRVPDOOLQWKHEDFN 2.5TD Loader 176 999 74 238 n/a n/a 9.5 251 4/10 GranCabrio Sport POA 338 520 5.0 288 14.5 337 7/10
2.5TD 187 999 74 238 n/a n/a 9.5 251 4/10 GranCabrio MC POA 338 520 4.9 291 14.5 337 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.5TD 4x4 218 999 74 238 n/a n/a 9.5 251 4/10
200 EX 599 000 126 205 9.2 190 6.1 142 5/10 2.5TD double cab 221 999 74 235 n/a n/a 9.5 251 4/10
250h SE 699 000 107+e180+e 8.5 177 4.5 103 6/10 2.5TD double cab 4x4 250 999 74 235 n/a n/a 9.5 251 4/10
)6SRUW 726 200 126 205 9.2 190 6.1 142 6/10
Thar
MAZDA
TopGear on Mazda:
ES &ODVVLF-HHSORRNDOLNH,QGLDQRIIURDGHU&DSDEOHLQ
EURNHQWHUUDLQEXWZLOOEUHDN\RXUVSLULWRIEHLQJ The only Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans no longer has a
Luxury isn’t about horsepower, according to Lexus.
%LJLPSURYHGG\QDPLFVEDIÀLQJLQWHULRU driving it everywhere else. signature rotary car.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Mazda2
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.5CRDe 4x4 232 999 79 247 n/a n/a 7.5 199 4/10 7KHODVWZDVDVOHHSHU±LWQHYHUVHWRXWWREH
250 EX 593 300 152 243 9.1 210 6.6 150 7/10 2.5CRDe 4x4 Adventure 297 999 79 247 n/a n/a 7.5 199 sparky, yet somehow achieved it. Same again,
300h SE 843 800 160e 221+e 8.9 180 4.6 104 6/10 just with a hint more polish.
789 1.5 Active
PRICE
226 600
kW
82 145
Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
9.6 188 5.5 130 7/10
NX Not on many aspiring motoring lists. Below average
on everything. 1.5 Dynamic 242 700 82 145 9.6 188 5.5 130 7/10
(GJ\UDGLFDOQRWDOZD\VORJLFDOEXWIRUWXQDWHO\QHYHUWKDWGXOO 1.5 Dynamic auto 256 200 82 145 10.4 184 5.7 134 6/10
HLWKHU%HWWHU¿QLVKHGWKDQVRPHULYDOV
1.5 Individual 256 500 82 145 9.6 188 5.5 130 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5 Individual auto 270 800 82 145 10.4 184 5.7 134 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 1.5CRDe 244 999 74 240 n/a n/a 5.4 n/a 4/10 1.5 Individual Plus auto 301 500 82 145 10.4 184 5.7 134 7/10
300 E 665 200 175 350 7.1 200 7.9 184 6/10 '(+D]XPLDXWR 349 200 77 220 10.9 179 4.4 115 7/10
300 EX 719 600 175 350 7.1 200 7.9 184 6/10
300h EX 792 200 150e 210+e 9.2 180 6.0 140 6/10 3LN8S    
0DKLQGUDFRQWLQXHVWRJURZLQ6$DIWHUQHDUO\DGHFDGHDV
)6SRUW 823 500 175 350 7.1 200 7.9 184 7/10
RWKHUVOHDYH8QDPELJXRXVO\QDPHG3LN8SKDV[RSWLRQ Mazda3
and carries over 900kg. Not pretty, not complex but that’s The 6’s design language moves to the 3. So does
the appeal. the handling verve. Besides that we’re less sure why
IS \RX¶GKDYHRQHRYHUD*ROI
$6HULHVGULYHWRRZHOOIRU\RX"7KHQEX\WKLV PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
it’s worse. In other areas, the IS gives the Germans 2.2CRDe S4 199 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.7 210 6/10
a much tougher time. 2.2CRDe S4 4x4 239 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.7 210 hatch 1.6 Original 274 700 77 144 13.0 n/a 6.2 147 6/10
2.2CRDe S6 249 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.7 210 6/10 hatch 1.6 Active 288 500 77 144 13.0 n/a 6.2 147 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING hatch 1.6 Dynamic 302 300 77 144 13.0 n/a 6.2 147 6/10
300 EX 715 700 180 350 7.0 230 7.5 175 7/10 2.2CRDe 4x4 S6 292 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.9 215 6/10
double cab hatch 1.6 Dynamic auto 314 300 77 144 13.6 n/a 6.9 164 6/10
300h SE 753 800 164e 221+e 8.5 200 5.0 117 6/10 hatch 2.0 Individual 352 200 121 210 8.3 198 6.2 146 6/10
2.2CRDe S6 304 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.9 215
)6SRUW 806 400 233 378 5.9 225 9.7 225 7/10 2.2CRDe S6 Karoo 309 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.9 215 hatch 2.0 Individual auto 364 800 121 210 9.0 198 5.9 140 6/10
2.2CRDe 4x4 S6 335 999 103 320 n/a n/a 8.1 221 hatch 2.0 Astina 401 600 121 210 9.0 198 5.9 140 6/10
2.2CRDe 4x4 S6 Karoo 341 999 103 320 n/a n/a 8.1 221 hatch 2.0 Astina Plus 432 800 121 210 9.0 198 5.9 140 6/10
RC 2.2CRDe S10 338 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.9 215 6/10 sedan 1.6 Original 269 000 77 144 12.8 n/a 6.0 142 6/10
A bit heavy with no roaring V8 to be a driver’s car so the 2.2CRDe S10 Karoo 343 999 103 320 n/a n/a 7.9 215 sedan 1.6 Active 282 700 77 144 12.8 n/a 6.0 142 6/10
5&VHWWOHVIRUEHLQJDJRRGGLVWDQFHPRRFKHUDQG 2.2CRDe 4x4 S10 369 999 103 320 n/a n/a 8.1 221 6/10 sedan 1.6 Dynamic 296 600 77 144 12.8 n/a 6.0 142 6/10
sharply sculpted. And that’s ok. 2.2CRDe 4x4 S10 Karoo 374 999 103 320 n/a n/a 8.1 221 sedan 1.6 Dynamic auto 308 700 77 144 13.5 n/a 6.7 159 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING sedan 2.0 Individual 346 500 121 210 8.2 195 6.1 145 6/10
)6SRUW 939 100 232 380 6.3 230 9.1 212 7/10 sedan 2.0 Individual auto 359 200 121 210 8.9 195 5.8 139 6/10
Scorpio sedan 2.0 Astina 395 800 121 210 8.9 195 5.8 139 6/10
689YHUVLRQRIWKHDERYH&RXOGQ¶WLPDJLQHDQ\WKLQJ sedan 2.0 Astina Plus 427 000 121 210 8.9 195 5.8 139 6/10
RX worse to go vacationing in the bush with.
/H[XVWDNHV1;DQGVFDOHVLWXS+RZHYHUJRRG
the RX is, it will almost certainly be better than
the old one.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING CX-3
2.2CRDe S11 309 999 88 280 n/a n/a 7.3 193 4/10 Because the Nissan Juke doesn’t have enough rivals already.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.2CRDe S11 4x4 329 999 88 280 n/a n/a 7.3 193 4/10 CX-3 is pretty and drives well, though.
350 EX 959 000 221 370 8.0 200 9.6 223 7/10
350L EX 993 300 216 358 n/a 200 10.2 234 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
450h SE 1 258 100 230e 335+e 7.7 200 5.7 131 7/10 ;89        2.0 Active 299 400 115 206 9.3 202 7.1 165 7/10
Mahindra enters the 21st Century. Not that it’s 2.0 Active auto 316 900 115 206 9.5 197 6.7 155 7/10
worth noticing. 2.0 Dynamic 326 300 115 206 9.0 202 7.0 163 7/10
LX 2.0 Dynamic auto 338 500 115 206 9.5 197 6.7 155 7/10
*UHDWLI\RXRZQDQRLO¿HOG)DYRXULWHRIGLFWDWRUV PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.0 Individual 389 400 115 206 9.5 197 6.7 155 7/10
and global warming sceptics. Makes all the 2.2CRDe W4 306 499 103 330 n/a n/a 6.5 171 5/10 2.0 Individual Plus 404 200 115 206 9.5 197 6.7 155 7/10
environmentalists melt.
2.2CRDe W6 367 499 103 330 n/a n/a 7.4 196 5/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.2CRDe W8 383 499 103 330 n/a n/a 6.5 171 5/10
450d 1 732 400 195 650 8.6 210 10.2 270 7/10 2.2CRDe W8 auto 412 499 103 330 n/a n/a 7.4 196 5/10 BT-50
570 1 795 800 270 530 7.7 210 14.5 336 7/10 2.2CRDe W10 428 499 103 330 n/a n/a 7.4 196 )RUG5DQJHU¶VKLGHRXVORRNLQJPHFKDQLFDOVLEOLQJ
A good bakkie you’ll never grow to love.

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

2.2 SLX 452 800 110 375 n/a n/a 7.7 202 6/10

1 04 MAY 2019
2.2 SLE
2.2 SLE auto
489 700
510 200
110
110
375
375
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
7.7
7.7
202
202
6/10
6/10
C-Class sedan E-Class sedan
)UHVKO\XSGDWHGZLWKDQHZIDFHQHZWHFKDQGPRUH 0HUF¶VPHGLXPH[HFKDVJRWLWVPRMREDFN6HOIFRQ¿GHQW
3.2 4x4 SLE 555 400 147 470 n/a n/a 9.8 258 6/10 SRZHUIXOHQJLQHV&LVEHWWHUWKDQHYHU UHOD[HGDQGUH¿QHG
3.2 4x4 SLE auto 569 700 147 470 n/a n/a 9.7 255 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

CX-5 C180 612 669 115 250 8.3 225 6.5 149 8/10 E200 781 769 135 300 7.7 240 6.5 149 7/10
Better looking than rivals but SkyActiv petrol engines are l C200 640 136 145e 280 7.7 239 6.3 144 8/10 E220d 835 300 143 400 7.3 240 4.3 112 7/10
ethargic compared to the diesels. C220d 684 059 143 400 6.9 240 4.8 126 8/10 E250 838 083 155 350 6.9 250 6.3 142 7/10
C300 756 407 190 370 5.9 250 6.9 158 7/10 E350d 1 057 410 210 640 5.7 250 5.4 143 8/10
AMG C43 4Matic 1 007 365 287 520 4.7 250 9.3 213 9/10 AMG E53 4Matic+ 1 305 620 336e 520 4.5 250 8.7 200 9/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING AMG E63 S 4Matic+ 2 051 413 450 850 3.4 250 9.1 207 10/10
AMG C63 S 1 560 136 375 700 4.0 290 9.9 227
2.0 Active 398 300 121 210 10.9 201 6.8 159 7/10
2.0 Active auto 410 500 121 210 10.4 n/a 6.9 160 7/10
2.0 Dynamic 423 900 121 210 10.9 201 6.8 159 7/10 C-Class coupé / cabriolet E-Class coupé / cabriolet
2.0 Dynamic auto 436 100 121 210 10.4 n/a 6.9 160 7/10 6WLOOKDVWKHPRXWKZDWHULQJORRNVZLWKDSODWIRUPWKDWJLYHV
2.0 Individual 493 700 121 210 10.4 n/a 6.9 160 /10 it semi E-Class practicality.
2.2DE Active 482 600 140 450 9.1 n/a 5.3 140 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.5 AWD Individual 557 900 143 257 8.8 n/a 7.3 169 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING E200 coupé 798 122 135 300 7.8 240 6.7 151 7/10
2.2DE AWD Akera 586 100 140 450 9.5 n/a 5.7 148 8/10 C200 coupé 702 136 145e 280 7.9 239 6.3 144 7/10 E220d coupé 849 000 143 400 7.4 242 4.6 119 7/10
C220d coupé 738 665 143 400 7.0 240 4.9 130 7/10 E300 coupé 891 960 180 370 6.4 250 7.0 160 7/10
C300 coupé 808 048 190 370 6.0 250 6.7 152 7/10
MX-5 C200 cabriolet 836 695 145e 280 8.5 235 6.6 150 7/10
E220d cabriolet
E300 cabriolet
968 659
1 011 746
143
180
400
370
7.7
6.6
237
250
4.9
7.2
126
167
8/10
8/10
2QFHD¿QHURDGVWHUEXWQRZOXPEHUHGZLWKDXWRDQGKHDY\ C220d cabriolet 907 924 143 400 7.5 233 5.1 136 7/10
URRI0D]GD¶VVXFNHGDOOWKHIXQIURPLW E53 coupé 4Matic+ 1 322 200 336e 520 4.4 250 8.8 203 9/10
C300 cabriolet 932 707 190 370 6.2 250 6.9 158 7/10 E53 cabriolet 4Matic+ 1 441 226 336e 520 4.5 250 8.9 204 9/10
AMG C43 coupé 4Matic 1 044 571 287 520 4.7 250 9.5 217 9/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING AMG C43 cabriolet 4Matic 1 167 630 287 520 4.8 250 9.7 223 7/10
5)DXWR 538 200 118 200 8.6 194 6.7 156 5/10 AMG C63 S coupé
AMG C63 S cabriolet
1 623 015
1 743 374
375
375
700
700
3.9
4.1
290
290
10.1
10.4
230
236
9/10
9/10
CLS
The new one is here and is predictably good, and can be
considerably cheaper than the AMG GT 4-dr we actually want.
Vito
McLAREN &RPPHUFLDOYHKLFOHIURP0HUF
*HWVDORWRIVWXIIGRQHZKLOVWPDNLQJLWVEOXHFROODU CLS400d 4Matic
PRICE
1 194 834
kW
250
Nm
700
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
5.0 250 6.0 159 7/10
TopGear on McLaren: GULYHUIHHOTXLWHERXUJHRLV CLS400d 4Matic Edition 1 1 433 934 250 700 5.0 250 6.0 159
Superior engineering exercise compared to Ferrari, if a tad soulless. AMG CLS53 4Matic+ 1 502 100 336e 520 4.5 250 8.9 203 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING AMG CLS53 4Matic+ AMG Edition 1 1 706 600 336e 520 4.5 250 8.9 203
111 CDI Tourer Pro 646 063 84 270 15.1 169 6.3 163 6/10
570 114 CDI Tourer Pro 676 526 100 330 12.8 184 6.4 164 6/10
Entry level McLaren ownership starts here. 114 CDI Tourer Pro auto 710 074 100 330 n/a n/a 6.0 158 6/10 GLE
6OLJKWO\R[\PRURQLF<RX¶OOKDWH\RXUVHOIIRUEHLQJ 116 CDI Tourer Pro 739 460 120 380 n/a n/a 5.8 153 7/10 )ULHQGOLHUWKDQD5DQJH5RYHU6SRUWRU;1RWWKHPRVW
too poor to go 720S. 116 CDI Tourer Select 882 372 120 380 n/a n/a 5.8 153 7/10 REYLRXVSRVK689EXWVKRXOGEHDJHPWROLYHZLWK
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
119 CDI Tourer Select 940 587 140 440 n/a n/a 5.8 153 7/10
570S coupé POA 419 600 3.2 328 10.7 249 9/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
570GT POA 419 600 3.4 328 10.7 249 9/10 GLE300d 1 216 699 180 500 7.2 225 6.4 169 7/10
570S Spider POA 419 600 3.2 328 10.7 249
X-Class GLE450 1 338 761 286e 500 5.7 250 9.4 214 8/10
3UHPLXPEDGJHUHÀHFWHGLQWKHSULFHEXWLI\RXZDQW GLE400d 1 360 055 243 700 5.7 245 7.5 199 7/10
EHVSRNHHQJLQHHULQJJRIRUWKH97KHSRWVDUHPHK
720S GLE coupé
Proves that science isn’t everything. Larger engine creams PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
SRZHUWRZHLJKWZLWKSUDFWLFDOLW\OHDUQHGIURPWKH6 X220d Progressive 642 103 120 403 12.4 184 7.5 198 6/10 Mercedes makes a BMW X6. Stupid. Pointless.
X250d Progressive auto 694 025 140 450 11.3 179 7.8 205 5/10 7KH\¶OOVHOOPLOOLRQVRIWKHVWXII
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
X250d 4Matic Progressive 695 751 140 450 11.0 180 7.7 203 6/10
720S coupé POA 527 770 2.9 341 10.7 249 9/10 X250d 4Matic Progressive auto 723 811 140 450 11.8 175 7.9 209 5/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
X250d 4Matic Power 790 281 140 450 11.0 180 7.7 203 5/10 GLE350d coupé 1 325 776 190 620 7.0 226 7.2 187 6/10
X250d 4Matic Power auto 818 341 140 450 11.8 175 7.9 209 5/10 AMG GLE43 coupé 1 460 924 270 520 4.9 250 9.4 219 6/10
Senna X350d 4Matic Progressive
X350d 4Matic Power
904 188
973 188
190
190
550
550
7.9 205
7.9 205
9.0
9.0
236
236
4/10
4/10
GLE500 coupé
AMG GLE63 S coupé
1 597 551
2 423 287
335
430
700
760
4.9
4.2
250
250
10.9
11.9
254
278
6/10
7/10
/LNHWKHPDQLWZDVQDPHGDIWHULW¶VUHVROXWHO\IRFXVHGDQG
exceptionally talented. Less Brazilian, though.

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

GLC GLS
7DNHRQH0HUF&&ODVV(VWDWHDGGDELWRIOHQJWK The GLS is basically the bigger, seven-seat version
Senna POA 597 800 2.8 335 12.4 280 10/10 VRPHKHLJKWDQGDSLQFKRIRIIURDGDELOLW\ RIWKH*/(
(WYRLOD±WKH*/&

MERCEDES-BENZ / -AMG / -MAYBACH

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
GLC220d 724 810 125 400 8.3 210 5.5 143 7/10 GLS350d 1 468 964 190 620 7.8 222 7.1 179 6/10
GLC250 733 619 155 350 7.3 223 7.1 166 7/10 GLS500 1 661 151 335 700 5.3 250 10.9 254 7/10
TopGear on Mercedes-Benz: GLC250d 749 410 150 500 7.6 223 5.5 143 8/10 AMG GLS63 2 578 852 430 760 4.6 250 12.3 288 7/10
Smaller ones a tad disappointing. Limousines peerless. AMGs GLC300 795 411 180 370 6.5 235 7.6 177 8/10
charmingly unhinged. The original car company is in fine form. GLC350d 917 499 190 620 6.2 238 6.2 169 8/10
AMG GLC43 1 038 494 270 520 4.9 250 8.7 199 9/10 G-Class
A-Class AMG GLC63 S 4Matic+ 1 619 986 375 700 3.8 250 10.7 244 9/10 The big G returns with completely new underpinnings so
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GLC coupé PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
7DNHRQH0HUF&&ODVV(VWDWHDGGDELWRIOHQJWK AMG G63 2 786 653 430 850 4.5 220 13.1 299 9/10
A200 hatch 500 012 120 250 8.0 225 5.6 128 VRPHKHLJKWDQGDSLQFKRIRIIURDGDELOLW\
A200 sedan 533 906 120 250 8.1 230 5.4 124 AMG G63 Edition 1 3 086 653 430 850 4.5 220 13.1 299 9/10
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A200d hatch 536 000 110 320 8.1 220 4.3 113
A250 hatch 596 969 165 350 6.2 250 6.5 149 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
A250 sedan 608 469 165 350 6.3 250 6.3 143 GLC220d coupé 877 610 125 400 8.3 210 5.4 143 6/10 AMG GT
GLC250 coupé 879 425 155 350 7.3 222 7.3 170 6/10 AMG gets serious about hammering Porsche.
GLC250d coupé 897 610 150 500 7.6 222 5.4 143 7/10 'RHVQ¶WTXLWHKDYHD¶V¿QHVVHEXWER\GRHVLW
B-Class GLC300 coupé 946 811 180 370 6.5 236 7.6 177 7/10 PDNH\RXIHHOJRRG
__. GLC350d coupé 1 066 299 190 620 6.2 238 6.2 169 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
AMG GLC43 coupé 1 229 700 270 520 4.9 250 8.9 203 7/10 AMG GT53 4Matic+ 4-Door Coupé 1 961 718 320+e 520 4.5 285 9.1 209
AMG GLC63 S coupé 4Matic+ 1 835 486 375 700 3.8 250 10.7 244 8/10 AMG GT S coupé 2 504 863 375 650 3.8 310 9.6 224 9/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING AMG GT C roadster 2 949 446 410 680 3.7 316 11.4 259 8/10
B200 526 900 120 250 8.2 223 5.6 129 AMG GT63 S 4Matic+ 4-Door Coupé 2 922 531 470 900 3.2 315 11.3 257
B200d 559 100 110 320 8.3 219 4.5 119 SLC AMG GT R coupé 3 051 846 430 700 3.6 318 11.4 259 10/10
The compact roadster exchanges its 55-series
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CLA better: 43. SL
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A-Class. A mini CLS then. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
SLC200 788 901 135 300 7.0 240 6.6 154 6/10 FRQYHUWLEOHRQVDOHWRGD\3UDFWLFDOIDVWH[FHOOHQW
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SLC200 auto 810 409 135 300 6.9 237 6.1 143 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
SLC300 871 636 180 370 5.8 250 6.2 144 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
CLA200 526 245 115 250 8.2 230 5.7 133 5/10 AMG SLC43 1 146 337 270 520 4.7 250 7.8 178 7/10 SL400 1 640 658 270 500 4.9 250 7.7 175 6/10
CLA200 auto 548 511 115 250 7.9 230 5.6 128 5/10 SL500 2 023 153 335 700 4.3 250 9.0 205 6/10
CLA250 4Matic 741 860 160 350 6.4 250 6.8 160 6/10 AMG SL63 2 808 221 430 900 4.1 250 10.1 234 7/10
AMG CLA45 4Matic 977 452 280 475 4.2 250 7.3 171 7/10 V-Class
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GLA with premiumness and given the correct badge at S-Class
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Mercedes-Benz busts out another gravel-bound OX[XU\FODVVIURPWKH689LQFXUVLRQ6LVIRUVXEOLPH
niche, this time by placing its A-Class hatch on stilts. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
V200d 886 251 100 330 13.6 181 6.1 159 6/10
V220d 926 342 120 380 11.5 195 5.9 154 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING S350d L 1 723 304 210 600 6.0 250 5.4 139 9/10
V250d 996 535 140 440 9.1 206 6.0 158 7/10
GLA200 530 677 115 250 8.9 215 5.9 139 6/10 V220d Avantgarde 1 209 427 120 380 11.5 195 5.9 154 7/10 S450 L 1 725 581 286 500 5.1 250 6.9 157 9/10
GLA200 auto 553 197 115 250 8.8 215 5.9 138 6/10 V250d Avantgarde 1 253 627 140 440 9.1 206 6.0 158 7/10 S400d L 1 797 604 250 700 5.4 250 5.4 139 9/10
GLA250 4Matic 717 028 155 350 7.1 230 6.6 154 6/10 S560 L 2 175 349 345 700 4.7 250 8.2 186 9/10
AMG GLA45 4Matic 939 078 280 475 4.4 250 7.4 172 7/10

MAY 2019 1 05
S600 L 2 780 875 390 830 4.6 250 11.6 270 9/10 Triton ZHOOORRNVOLNHQRWKLQJHOVHZHFDQWKLQNRI9HU\
AMG S63 L 2 942 300 450 900 4.3 250 8.9 203 10/10 &RQVHUYDWLYHHTXLSPHQWIRUSULFHDQGOLPLWHGUDQJH QLFHLIDOLWWOHRGG
AMG S65 L 3 642 414 463 1000 4.2 250 11.9 279 9/10 IRUQRZ PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.2T Acenta 321 900 85 190 10.8 178 5.6 129 7/10
1.2T Acenta+ 343 900 85 190 10.8 178 5.6 129 7/10
S-Class coupé / cabriolet 2.4DI-D
PRICE
509 995
kW
133
Nm
430
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
n/a 179 7.5 196 5/10 1.5dCi Acenta+ 359 500 81 260 11.2 175 4.2 109 5/10
The S-Class Coupé is Mercedes’ spiked gauntlet in a velvet
glove. All the power. All the glory. Those sexy lines. 2.4DI-D auto 529 995 133 430 n/a n/a 7.6 199 5/10 1.6T Tekna 389 900 140 240 7.8 215 6.0 159 7/10
2.4DI-D 4x4 569 995 133 430 n/a 179 8.2 215 5/10 1.6T 4WD Tekna 432 500 140 240 8.2 200 6.5 169 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.4DI-D 4x4 auto 589 995 133 430 n/a n/a 8.3 218 5/10
S560 coupé 2 452 915 345 700 4.6 250 10.1 230 9/10 NV200
S560 cabriolet 2 692 948 345 700 4.6 250 10.3 235 9/10 Outlander 'HOLYHU\YDQDQGVKXWWOHIURP1LVVDQ1LFHLI\RX
AMG S63 coupé 3 163 742 450 900 4.2 250 10.1 231 9/10 It’s back, and it’s better than ever. It couldn’t have KDYHDJXHVWKRXVHRUNLWFKHQRXW¿WWLQJEXVLQHVV
AMG S63 cabriolet 4Matic 3 360 145 450 900 4.2 250 10.9 250 9/10 been much worse really.
AMG S65 coupé 3 877 733 463 1000 4.1 250 14.2 325 9/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
AMG S65 cabriolet 4 044 633 463 1000 4.1 250 14.2 325 9/10 Combi 1.6i Visia 378 900 81 153 n/a n/a 7.3 169 5/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.4 GLS Exceed 559 995 123 222 n/a n/a 8.2 192 6/10 Combi 1.5dCi Visia 406 500 66 200 n/a n/a 5.1 134 5/10
Mercedes-Maybach S-Class
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Pajero Sport 4DVKTDL
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PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING IXQFWLRQDODQGKXJHO\VSDFLRXV IDPLO\VWXII
Mercedes-Maybach S560 2 664 467 345 700 4.9 250 8.8 198 9/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Mercedes-Maybach S650 3 499 379 463 1000 4.7 250 12.7 289 9/10 1.2T Visia 351 900 85 190 10.9 185 6.2 144 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.4 D4 579 995 133 430 n/a n/a 8.0 210 6/10 1.2T Acenta 385 900 85 190 10.9 185 6.2 144 6/10
2.4 D4 4x4 629 995 133 430 n/a n/a 8.1 214 6/10 1.2T Acenta auto 404 900 85 165 12.9 173 6.2 144 6/10
2.4 D4 4x4 Shogun 649 995 133 430 n/a n/a 8.1 214 1.2T Acenta Plus auto 418 900 85 165 12.9 173 6.2 144 6/10
MINI 1.5dCi Acenta
1.5dCi Acenta Plus
418 900
432 500
81
81
260
260
11.9 182
11.9 182
4.2
4.2
109
109
6/10
7/10
TopGear on MINI:
Pajero 1.5dCi Tekna 460 900 81 260 11.9 182 4.2 109 7/10
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BMW’s British hatchback a delightful driver’s car with appeal diluted YHU\G\QDPLFEORFNRIÀDWV
by having spawned way too many derivatives for its own good. X-Trail
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bit last-gen both in design, tech and materials. Remains a
<HVLW¶VELJJHUDQGQRWKDWLVQ¶WQHFHVVDULO\DJRRGWKLQJ 3-door 3.2DI-D GLS 699 995 140 441 12.0 180 10.1 245 6/10
$SDUWIURPWKDWWKHQHZ0LQLLVSUHGLFWDEO\H[FHOOHQW 5-door 3.2DI-D GLS Exceed 799 995 140 441 12.3 175 10.1 245 6/10 VHULRXVYHUVDWLOH689DVULYDOVEHFRPHGRXJK\
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.0 Visia 397 900 106 200 11.1 183 8.3 197 6/10
2QH+DWFKGRRU 313 000 75 190 10.1 195 4.9 111 6/10 1.6dCi Visia 423 500 96 320 10.5 188 5.1 134 6/10
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334 000
382 000
75
100
190
220
10.2 195
7.9 210
4.8
4.7
109
110
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7/10 NISSAN 2.5 4x4 Acenta
2.5 4x4 Acenta+
460 900
478 900
126
126
233
233
10.5 190
10.5 190
8.3
8.3
197
197
7/10
7/10
&RRSHU+DWFKGRRUDXWR 403 000 100 220 7.8 210 4.9 115 7/10 2.5 4x4 Tekna 513 500 126 233 10.5 190 8.3 197 6/10
TopGear on Nissan: 1.6dCi 4x4 Tekna 501 500 96 320 11.0 186 5.3 139 6/10
&RRSHU6+DWFKGRRU 463 886 141 300 6.7 233 5.5 127 7/10 Bizarre Addams family of geriatric hatches, cash-cow crossovers
2QH+DWFKGRRU 323 000 75 190 10.3 192 4.9 112 6/10 and the mind-scrambling GT-R freak show.
2QH+DWFKGRRUDXWR 344 000 75 190 10.5 192 4.8 110 6/10
&RRSHU+DWFKGRRU 392 000 100 230 8.2 207 5.1 116 8/10 Micra Active Navara
&RRSHU+DWFKGRRUDXWR 413 000 100 230 8.1 207 4.8 110 8/10 ,I\RXGLVWLOEODQGQHVVLQWRVXSHUPLQLIRUP\RX )LUVWEDNNLHWREULQJUHDUFRLOVSULQJV([FHOOHQWJUDYHO
get the latest generation Micra. It does great FRPIRUW
&RRSHU6+DWFKGRRU 473 380 141 300 6.8 232 5.4 123 8/10
-RKQ&RRSHU:RUNV+DWFKGRRU 532 565 170 320 6.1 246 5.7 130 8/10 WKUHHSRLQWWXUQV<DZQ
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.2 Visia 177 900 56 104 13.2 166 5.2 124 4/10 2.3D SE 484 900 140 450 n/a n/a 6.3 166 6/10
Clubman 2.3D SE auto 510 900 140 450 n/a n/a 6.8 179 6/10
/RQJHVW0LQLRQVDOHQRZKDVFRQYHQWLRQDOIURQW 2.3D LE 569 500 140 450 n/a n/a 6.3 166 6/10
hinged rear doors. Essentially the cooler 2 Series
Active Tourer.
NP200 2.3D LE auto
2.3D 4x4 SE
587 900
567 900
140
140
450
450
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
6.8
6.5
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172
6/10
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Tough Pretoria-built bakkie with class-leading space.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.3D 4x4 LE 626 500 140 450 n/a n/a 6.5 172 8/10
Cooper Clubman 414 833 100 230 9.1 205 5.4 125 7/10 2.3D 4x4 LE auto 647 500 140 450 n/a n/a 7.0 186 8/10
Cooper S Clubman 497 977 141 300 7.1 228 5.9 138 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
John Cooper Works ALL4 Clubman 618 366 170 350 6.3 238 7.2 164 6/10 1.6i 173 500 64 128 n/a n/a 8.1 192 6/10
LVDIHW\SDFN 194 500 64 128 n/a n/a 8.1 192 6/10
370Z
Roguish Z still looks great and responds like a throwback to
1.6 16v mid 203 900 77 148 n/a n/a 8.0 189 7/10
Convertible 1.6 16v high 237 500 77 148 n/a n/a 8.0 189 7/10
all motoring’s essential ingredients. Modest changes, same
power but with rev-match s.
7DNH0,1,DQGORSLWVURRIRII4XLQWHVVHQWLDOO\IXQDQG G&LVDIHW\SDFN 242 500 63 200 n/a n/a 5.3 140 6/10
DODUPLQJO\LPSUDFWLFDO)RQGPHPRULHVRIDSURPLVFXRXV 1.5dCi high 260 500 63 200 n/a n/a 5.3 140 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
time. coupé 705 700 245 363 5.3 250 10.5 248 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING coupé auto 726 800 245 363 5.6 250 10.4 245 7/10
Cooper Convertible 457 000 100 230 8.7 207 5.3 124 7/10 Almera
Cooper S Convertible 530 759 141 300 7.1 228 5.8 126 7/10 Nissan’s Tiida replacement has arrived. Big on space,
QRQH[LVWHQWRQVW\OHRUIXQ Patrol pick-up
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Countryman PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
and you’ll make all your money back and more.
7KH\¶YHPDGHLWELJJHUVWLOOIRUQRUPDOVL]HGIDPLOLHV 1.5 Acenta 221 900 73 134 n/a 183 6.3 149 5/10
Tacky interior though. 1.5 Acenta auto 235 500 73 134 n/a 183 7.2 171 5/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
3.0TD pick-up 645 500 110 371 n/a n/a 10.9 289 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Cooper Countryman 476 477 100 230 9.6 200 6.0 138 7/10 Micra Patrol
Cooper D Countryman 506 959 110 330 8.8 208 4.7 126 8/10 0LFUDLVSULFLHUWKDQEHIRUHZKLOHWXUERHQJLQHLVÀDWDURXQG
Cooper S Countryman 553 369 141 300 7.4 225 6.5 149 7/10 town and looks are divisive. 8QFRPSOLFDWHGVHDWHUZLWKJUXQW\9QRUPDOO\DVSLUDWHG
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John Cooper Works ALL4 Countryman 684 872 170 350 6.5 234 7.4 168 7/10 Land Cruiser 200 market.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
66kW turbo Visia 242 900 66 140 12.1 170 5.1 115 5/10

MITSUBISHI 66kW turbo Acenta 268 500 66 140 12.1 170 5.1 115 5/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
66kW turbo Acenta Plus 283 900 66 140 12.1 170 5.1 115 5/10 5.6 V8 LE Premium 1 421 200 298 560 n/a 210 14.4 334 7/10
66kW turbo Acenta Plus Tech 299 900 66 140 12.1 170 5.1 115 5/10
TopGear on Mitsubishi:
Once dominant Dakar racing and WRC brand trading on past glories. GT-R
Pajero Sport’s a rather convincing Fortuner rival, though. 13+DUGERG\     Cheap at twice the price, the GT-R is an uber-techy,
violently capable, ruthlessly rapid speed machine.
Rugged die-hard workhorse that’s getting a bit long
ASX in the tooth. Just drive one.
Another me-too crossover but with revised pricing so it PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
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and uses the same drivetrain. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Premium Edition 2 235 300 408 632 2.9 315 11.7 275 9/10
2.0 229 900 84 169 n/a n/a 10.0 237 5/10 Black Edition 2 338 400 408 632 2.9 315 11.7 275 9/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.0 mid 247 500 84 169 n/a n/a 10.0 237 5/10
2.0 ES 359 995 110 197 9.6 194 7.5 175 6/10 2.5TDi 263 900 98 304 n/a n/a 6.8 211 5/10
2.0 ES auto 379 995 110 197 11.5 190 7.4 172 6/10 2.5TDi mid 296 900 98 304 n/a n/a 6.8 211 5/10
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2.4 4x4
351 500
343 900
98
105
304
205
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n/a
n/a
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Eclipse Cross 2.5TDi 4x4 377 500 98 304 n/a n/a 8.9 247 6/10 TopGear on Opel:
1RQRWWKH(FOLSVHRIROGWXQHGDQGEH¿WWHGZLWKJDUJDQWXDQ double cab
body kits. This one’s a crossover. React how you choose. Regarded (alongside Ford) as perennial alternatives to Volkswagen
+LULGHU 377 639 105 205 n/a n/a 11.0 259 6/10 and Toyota offerings, with excitement levels somewhere in between.
7'L+LULGHU 400 869 98 304 n/a n/a 8.4 233 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.5TDi 4x4 438 239 98 304 n/a n/a 8.9 247 6/10 Adam
2.0 399 995 110 198 12.1 188 7.9 184 2.4 4x4 457 025 105 205 n/a n/a 11.7 274 6/10 They called it the Adam. They should have called it
2.0 AWD 449 995 110 198 13.0 188 8.1 192 WKH&KHU\O&XWHEXWVKRUWRISDQDFKH
Blame its upbringing.
Juke PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
&OHYHUOLWWOH689FURVVRHYHUWKDWORRNVOLNH 1.0T Jam 271 721 85 170 9.9 196 5.1 119 6/10

1 06 MAY 2019
Corsa '\QDPLTXHDXWR 154 900 50 91 n/a 152 4.4 104 6/10
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improved all around. Maybe it’s time to get into an
PORSCHE 1.0 Climber 154 900 50 91 n/a 152 4.7 112 6/10

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Irritatingly great to drive, even when it’s a 4x4. There’s a reason Sandero
every sports car is dubbed “911-fighter”… )DUSUHWWLHUWKDQEHIRUH6WLOOVSDFLRXVLQGHVWUXFWLEOH
1.0T 240 690 66 170 11.9 180 4.6 107 6/10 and sold at a cheap price.
1.0T Enjoy 249 900 66 170 11.9 180 4.6 107 6/10 718 Cayman
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1.4 Enjoy auto 254 582 66 130 13.9 171 6.0 139 5/10 IRXUKHQFHWKHFODVVLFUDFHUQDPH%X\HU¶VUHPRUVHDQ
GSi 365 900 110 220 8.9 207 5.8 133 66kW turbo Expression 179 900 66 135 11.1 169 5.2 119 6/10
unknown concept with these.
Stepway 66kW turbo Expression 193 900 66 135 11.1 168 5.4 124 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Stepway 66kW turbo Plus 213 900 66 135 11.1 168 5.4 124 7/10
Crossland X 718 Cayman
718 Cayman S
870 000 220 380
950 000 257 420
4.9 275 6.9 158 7/10
4.4 285 7.3 167 8/10
Co-developed with the more exciting Peugeot 2008, this is
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and drives well.
1.2 Essentia
PRICE
274 900 60
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118
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14.0 170 5.1 115 6/10
718 Boxster
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1.2 Turbo Cosmo 400 537 81 205 11.8 187 5.4 123 6/10 UHIHUHQFHGQDPHFKDQJHWR 66kW turbo Expression 241 900 70 150 12.9 178 5.5 105 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING N:WXUER'\QDPLTXH 259 900 70 150 12.9 178 5.5 105 7/10
Astra 718 Boxster 884 000 220 380 4.9 275 6.9 158 9/10 88kW turbo Expression auto
56)
283 900
459 900
88
162
190
280
9.4 199
6.6 235
5.2
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120
135
6/10
8/10
Superb onboard connectivity and comprehensively 718 Boxster S 965 000 257 420 4.4 285 7.3 167 9/10
engineered as only Germans can. Problem is: no diesels. 718 Boxster GTS 1 137 000 269 430 4.3 290 8.2 186 9/10
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301 049
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Macan Renault has accurately honed this product with wise
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New engine lowers the price making it the entry-point to
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1.4T Enjoy 391 589 110 245 8.9 210 5.5 127 6/10 Cayenne received. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.4T Sport 433 326 110 245 8.9 210 5.5 127 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 66kW turbo Blaze 246 900 66 135 12.9 171 5.4 125 7/10
1.6T Sport 508 000 147 300 7.8 235 6.1 138 7/10
Macan 849 000 185 370 6.7 227 8.9 204 8/10 N:WXUER'\QDPLTXH 293 900 66 135 12.9 171 5.4 125 6/10
S 1 099 000 260 480 5.3 254 9.6 219 N:G&L'\QDPLTXH 320 900 66 220 13.1 171 3.6 95 6/10
Mokka X N:WXUER'\QDPLTXH 320 900 88 205 9.9 182 5.5 125 7/10
1LFHHQJLQHEXWQRWTXLWHWKH&RUVDFURVVRYHU N:WXUER'\QDPLTXHDXWR 336 900 88 190 10.9 192 5.4 125 6/10
ZHKRSHGIRU1RLV\DVDEHHKLYHRYHULPSHUIHFW Cayenne
VXUIDFHV 6SRUWLQJ689WKDW¶VYHU\FDSDEOHDQGQRZEHWWHUWRORRNDW
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
3RVKLQWHULRUZLWKGULYHUDVVLVWDQFHSOXFNHGIURP3DQDPHUD Duster
2XUEXGJHWDSRFDO\SWLFVXUYLYDOWRRO$IHZUH¿QHPHQWVLQ
1.4 Turbo Enjoy 360 980 103 200 9.8 195 6.0 139 5/10 TXDOLW\DQGVSHFDQGPRUHURRP\WKDQDQ(FR6SRUW
1.4 Turbo Enjoy auto 373 181 103 200 10.7 191 6.6 154 5/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.4 Turbo Cosmo auto 421 786 103 200 10.7 191 6.6 154 5/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Cayenne 1 142 000 250 450 6.2 245 9.2 209 8/10
S 1 296 000 324 550 5.2 265 9.4 213 9/10 1.6 Expression 255 900 84 156 11.0 167 7.0 162 8/10
G&L'\QDPLTXH 288 900 66 210 14.8 155 5.1 135 8/10
Grandland X e-hybrid
turbo
1 690 000
2 158 000
340e
404
700e
770
5.0
4.1
253
286
3.4
11.9
78
272
9/10
9/10
G&L'\QDPLTXHDXWR 322 900 80 250 11.9 169 4.8 126 7/10
2SHO¶V689XVHVWKH3HXJHRWSODWIRUPWROHVVHUHIIHFW G&L'\QDPLTXH:' 327 900 80 260 12.5 168 5.2 138 9/10
&RPI\VDIHDQGSDFNHGZLWKWHFKEXWVRYHU\GXOO 1.5dCi Prestige 340 900 80 250 11.9 169 4.8 126 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Cayenne coupé
__.
1.6 Turbo 441 870 121 240 n/a n/a 7.0 156 5/10 Mégane
1.6 Turbo Enjoy 478 950 121 240 n/a n/a 7.0 156 5/10 %H\RQGWKH&GHVLJQOLJKWVWKHUH¶VDYHU\FRPI\
1.6 Turbo Cosmo 565 000 121 240 n/a n/a 7.0 156 5/10 FDELQDQGSDUWLFXODUFOHYHU¿UVWLQFODVVIRXUZKHHO
steer system too.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

PEUGEOT
coupé 1 303 000 250 450 6.0 243 9.4 215
turbo coupé 2 277 000 404 770 3.9 286 11.4 261 84kW Expression 279 900 84 156 12.2 191 6.4 144 6/10
N:'\QDPLTXH 323 900 97 205 10.6 197 5.3 119 7/10
TopGear on Peugeot: N:'\QDPLTXHDXWR 354 900 97 205 10.3 199 5.4 122 7/10
Chassis-makers have rediscovered their mojo with 208 GTi and RCZ Panamera RS 280 Lux
RS 280 Cup
569 900
569 900
205
205
390
390
5.8 250
5.8 255
7.0
7.2
158
163
R, and the 308 is a sober revelation. Now do the Onyx, please. )UHVKSODWIRUPELWXUERHQJLQHVVSHFWDFXODUFDELQ
DQGPXFKOHVVDZIXOORRNLQJ*HUPDQDXWREDKQ
208 VWRUPHUVFRPHQR¿QHU
Koleos
Congratulations Peugeot, it’s only taken you PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
25 years to reimagine the 205. 208 is light, likeable 5HSODFHPHQWIRUWKH.DGMDUWKH.ROHRVGRHVVSHFSULFHDQG
DQG)UHQFK,QDJRRGZD\ Panamera 1 361 000 243 450 5.7 264 7.5 171 8/10 optional 4WD very well without blowing the budget. Best CVT
4 1 390 000 243 450 5.5 262 7.7 175 9/10 box in segment but we’d love a turbo engine..
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 4 executive 1 498 000 243 450 5.6 262 7.8 178 9/10
1.2 Active 204 900 60 118 12.2 175 4.3 99 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
4S 1 588 000 324 550 4.4 289 8.2 186 8/10
1.2 Allure 235 900 60 118 12.2 175 4.5 103 7/10 2.5 Expression 399 900 126 233 9.5 185 8.1 188 7/10
4S executive 1 823 000 324 550 4.5 289 8.2 187 9/10
1.2T GT Line 276 900 81 205 9.6 190 4.5 104 6/10 '\QDPLTXH 439 900 126 233 9.5 185 8.1 188 7/10
4 e-hybrid 1 755 000 340e 700e 4.6 278 2.5 56 7/10
1.2T GT Line auto 286 900 81 205 9.8 190 4.5 104 6/10 '\QDPLTXH:' 479 900 126 233 9.8 199 8.3 192 7/10
4 e-hybrid executive 1 879 000 340e 700e 4.7 278 2.5 56 7/10
GTS 2 055 000 338 620 4.1 292 10.3 235 8/10
turbo 2 481 000 404 770 3.8 306 9.4 214 9/10
2008 turbo executive 2 684 000 404 770 3.9 306 9.4 215 9/10
+LJKULVHVXSHUPLQLWKDW¶VLQFUHDVLQJO\SRSXODULQ
WKHZDNHRIWKH-XNH$OLWWOHPDVKXSZKLFKMXVW
turbo S e-hybrid
turbo S e-hybrid executive
2 931 000
3 134 000
500e
500e
850e
850e
3.4
3.5
310
310
2.9
2.9
66
66
10/10
10/10
ROLLS-ROYCE
about works.
Sport Turismo TopGear on Rolls-Royce:
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 4 Sport Turismo 1 467 160 243 450 5.5 259 7.8 178 9/10 Wheeled pleasure-yachts that’ve seen off the challenge of Maybach,
+'L$FWLYH 291 900 68 230 11.5 181 4.0 103 7/10 4S Sport Turismo 1 703 160 324 550 4.4 286 8.2 187 9/10 and offer more charm than Bentley.
+'L$OOXUH 322 900 68 230 11.5 181 4.0 103 8/10 4 e-hybrid Sport Turismo 1 832 160 340e 700e 4.6 275 2.6 59 9/10
1.2T Active 307 900 81 205 10.3 188 5.2 124 7/10 GTS Sport Turismo 2 134 160 338 620 4.1 289 10.6 242 10/10 Ghost
1.2T Allure 333 900 81 205 10.3 188 5.2 124 turbo Sport Turismo 2 558 160 404 770 3.8 304 9.4 215 9/10 $FXWSULFH5ROOV"1RWUHDOO\/X[XU\VWLOOKHUHE\WKH
1.2T Allure auto 343 900 81 205 10.1 188 5.2 124 8/10 turbo S e-hybrid Sport Turismo 3 009 160 500e 850e 3.4 310 3.0 69 9/10 GHFDQWHUORDG$QGGRQ¶WWKLQNLW¶VµVPDOO¶±SDUNLQJ
1.2T GT Line auto 358 900 81 205 10.1 188 5.2 124 7/10 will still be a skilled process.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
911 Ghost POA 420 780 4.9 250 14.0 327 8/10
308 Styling is evolutionary and cabin shared with Black Badge POA 450 840 4.8 250 14.6 333 8/10
Despite some pet peeves, the 308 has outstanding ride Panamera, but this is Porsche proving it’s the Extended Wheelbase POA 420 780 5.0 250 14.1 329 8/10
control and insulation but limited range. world’s best sports car builder.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Carrera S coupé 1 708 000 331 530 3.7 308 8.9 205 10/10 Wraith
1.2T Allure 334 900 96 230 10.3 206 4.8 110 7/10 Carrera 4S coupé 1 797 000 331 530 3.6 306 9.0 206 9/10 ,IWKH*UDQG7RXUHUVWLOOH[LVWHGWKLVLVKRZWKH
1.2T Allure auto 369 900 96 230 9.8 206 5.2 119 7/10 Carrera S cabriolet 1 874 000 331 530 3.9 306 9.0 207 9/10 aristocracy would get to Vienna. A majestic
Carrera 4S cabriolet 1 964 000 331 530 3.8 304 9.1 208 9/10 V\PERORI%ULWDLQ

3008 Wraith
PRICE
POA
kW
465 800
Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
4.6 250 14.0 327 9/10
Cabin is a genuine Audi-beater and probably the car that
DOORZV3HXJHRW6$WRUHEXLOGIURPUXLQV Black Badge POA 465 870 4.5 250 14.6 333 8/10
RENAULT
1.2T Active Limited Edition
PRICE
378 900
kW
96
Nm
230
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
10.6 188 5.5 124 TopGear on Renault: Dawn
5RRÀHVV:UDLWKZLWKQHZVXUIDFHFRPSRQHQWU\
1.6T Active 424 900 121 240 8.9 201 7.0 156 7/10 Still a pervading sense of flimsiness about Renaults. We hope the +DVPRUHSUHVHQFHE\LWVHOIWKDQDQHQWLUHPRWRUFDGH
1.6T Allure 470 900 121 240 8.9 201 7.0 156 8/10 ageing RS Mégane isn’t the end of an era.
+'L$FWLYH 439 900 110 370 8.9 201 5.0 136 7/10
+'L$OOXUH 491 900 110 370 8.9 201 5.0 136 7/10 Kwid PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.6T GT Line 532 900 121 240 8.9 201 7.0 156 8/10 7XUQVDEOLQGH\HWRVDIHW\DQGIRFXVHVRQ%OXHWRRWK Dawn POA 420 780 4.9 250 14.2 330 8/10
space and peppy engine. Black Badge POA 442 840 4.9 250 14.7 337 8/10

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

1.0 Expression 134 900 50 91 n/a 152 4.7 112 5/10 Cullinan
'\QDPLTXH 144 900 50 91 n/a 152 4.7 112 6/10 %HWWHUORRNLQJLQWKHPHWDO+RQHVW,I\RX¶UHORRNLQJIRU D
statement car, this is it.

MAY 2019 1 07
Cullinan
PRICE
POA
kW
420 850
Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
5.2 250 15.0 341 10/10 SUZUKI
TopGear on Suzuki: TATA
Phantom Jimny and Swift Sport the only character highlights from a brand
desperately in need of turbocharging. TopGear on Tata:
)DVWHUTXLHWHUDQGPRUHRSXOHQWWKDQHYHUQHZ3KDQWRPLVD
luxury land-yacht that drives as well as it soothes. Conceived in a country where the traffic is designed to kill you, for
Celerio people who have only recently upgraded from scooters.
Avoid the AMT version because this bigger bumpered,
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING newer looking Celerio exceeds those budget blues. Bolt
Phantom POA 420 900 5.3 250 13.9 318 9/10 $PELWLRXVWKRXJKLURQLFQDPHIRUDN:KDWFK
Extended Wheelbase POA 420 900 5.4 250 13.9 319 9/10 3DUWRI7DWD¶V)DOFRQGHYHORSPHQWSURJUDPPH
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
%HVWZDLWIRUWKH(DJOHYHUVLRQ
1.0 GA 139 900 50 90 14.0 155 4.7 110 6/10
1.0 GL 156 900 50 90 14.0 155 4.7 110 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

SMART 1.0 GL auto 170 900 50 90 14.0 155 4.6 108 6/10 hatch 1.2T XMS 159 995 66 140 n/a n/a 6.5 154 3/10
hatch 1.2T XT 169 995 66 140 n/a n/a 6.5 154 3/10
sedan 1.2T XMS 169 995 66 140 n/a n/a 6.5 154 3/10
TopGear on Smart: 6ZLIW     sedan 1.2T XT 179 995 66 140 n/a n/a 6.5 154 3/10
Best-yet execution of a flawed idea. We’ll have the cheaper, By not trying too hard, this no-nonsense supermini
mechanically identical Twingo, thanks. succeeds in being really rather good.
IRUWZR   
A doddle to park, a delight around town, but what
 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING TOYOTA
RQHDUWKZDV6PDUWWKLQNLQJZKHQLWVLJQHGRII 1.2 GA 160 900 61 113 12.0 170 4.9 116 7/10 TopGear on Toyota:
WKHGHVLJQ" 1.2 GL 177 900 61 113 12.0 170 4.9 116 8/10
1.2 GL auto 191 900 61 113 13.5 165 4.9 116 6/10 Maker of many boring things. And the 86. Which is so good, it almost
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING makes up for the rest of the range.
coupé 52kW base 176 434 52 91 14.4 151 4.1 93 5/10
coupé 52kW passion 196 105 52 91 14.4 151 4.1 93 5/10
DZire Aygo
coupé 52kW prime 205 184 52 91 14.4 151 4.1 93 5/10 )DFHOLIWHGFLW\FDUVWLOOORRNVOLNHLW¶VWU\LQJWREHRQH
Now a standalone model which doesn’t actually change RIWKH;0HQ6WLOOFKHDSVWLOOJRRGDURXQGWRZQ
coupé 66kW passion 206 698 66 135 n/a n/a 4.2 98 PXFKVLQFHLW¶VVWLOODQXJOLHU6ZLIWZLWKDELJJHUERRW
coupé 66kW prime 216 885 66 135 n/a n/a 4.2 98
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 1.0 171 900 53 93 13.8 160 4.3 97 8/10
IRUIRXU     1.2 GA 161 900 61 113 11.7 175 4.9 116 7/10 1.0 X-Clusiv 174 800 53 93 13.8 160 4.3 97 8/10
6DPHIURQWHQGDVWKHFDUDERYH&RQFHUQLQJ 1.2 GL 178 900 61 113 11.7 175 4.9 116 8/10 1.0 X-Cite 198 900 53 93 13.8 160 4.3 97 8/10
Otherwise, it’s a decent city car. But your eyes hurt. 1.2 GL auto 192 900 61 113 13.2 170 4.9 116 6/10

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

Ignis Etios
52kW base 181 478 52 91 15.9 151 4.2 97 5/10 An Indian-built, reincarnated Tazz, with a willing,
52kW passion 201 149 52 91 15.9 151 4.2 97 5/10 Oh look, another small Suzuki that cloaks usual unsophisticated and unbreakable engine.
underpinnings in a retro look. They’ve botched the steering. +RUULGGHVLJQ
52kW prime 212 750 52 91 15.9 151 4.2 97 5/10
66kW base 212 246 66 135 11.9 165 4.2 98 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
66kW passion 231 917 66 135 11.9 165 4.2 98 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING hatch 1.5 Xi 179 500 66 132 11.3 165 6.0 138 3/10
66kW prime 243 518 66 135 11.9 165 4.2 98 6/10 1.2 GL 176 900 61 113 11.6 165 5.1 119 6/10 hatch 1.5 Sprint 185 000 66 132 11.3 165 6.0 138 5/10
1.2 GLX 199 900 61 113 11.6 165 5.1 119 6/10 sedan 1.5 Xi 188 300 66 132 11.3 165 5.9 136 3/10
1.2 GLX auto 214 900 61 113 13.0 155 4.9 114 6/10 sedan 1.5 Sprint 193 300 66 132 11.3 165 5.9 136 5/10
Cross 1.5 Xs 207 800 66 132 11.3 165 6.0 138 4/10
SUBARU Ertiga
TopGear on Subaru:
%LJJHUOLJKWHUPRUHSRZHUIXOZLWKH[DFWO\WKHVDPHORZ
NHUEDSSHDO)XQFWLRQDOEXWWZRDLUEDJVIRUDVHDWHU
Corolla Quest
+HUHLVODVW\HDU¶V&RUROODIRU%VHJPHQWPRQH\
Ex-WRC legend rebuilding its brand with chunky, rugged 4x4s. PHDQV\RXVKRXOGVLWLQIURQW Smart.
Rally heritage lives on in old-skool WRX. PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5 GA 214 900 77 138 n/a 175 6.2 146
Impreza 1.5 GL 239 900 77 138 n/a 175 6.2 146
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
+DVDOOZKHHOGULYHDVDVDIHW\863EXWWKDWKDVLWVRZQ 1.6 222 900 90 154 10.5 195 6.6 157 4/10
1.5 GL auto 254 900 77 138 n/a 170 6.2 147
drawbacks in weight and cost. Rejoice in a modern 1.6 auto 239 700 90 154 11.1 185 6.3 150 4/10
touchscreen. 1.6 Plus 240 200 90 154 10.5 195 6.6 157 4/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING Ciaz
2.0i 380 500 115 196 9.8 208 7.2 165 5/10 ,W¶VDELWELJJHUWKDQD6ZLIWVHGDQEXWWKHQWKDW¶V
2.0i-S ES 442 000 115 196 9.8 208 7.2 165 5/10 not saying much. And then there’s the silly name. <DULV    
Move along. We’re surprised it’s still around and latest changes don’t
VDOYDJHPXFKH[FLWHPHQWIURPROGIDVKLRQHGFRPSRQHQWV
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
XV 1.5 GL 214 900 77 138 n/a n/a 5.5 130 5/10
6XEDUX¶VKDORPRGHO5LGHVRQQHZJOREDOSODWIRUPZKLOH;9¶V 1.5 GL auto 229 900 77 138 n/a n/a 5.6 132 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
(\HVLJKWEULQJVVDIHW\DLGVEXWQRWTXLWHUHYROXWLRQDU\RQHV 1.5 GLX 244 900 77 138 n/a n/a 5.5 130 5/10 1.5 Xi 240 100 79 140 n/a 180 5.9 136 5/10
1.5 GLX auto 259 900 77 138 n/a n/a 5.6 132 5/10 1.5 Xs 263 600 79 140 n/a 180 5.9 136 5/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5 Xs auto 279 400 79 140 n/a 170 5.8 134 4/10
2.0i 405 000 115 196 10.4 194 7.3 168 6/10 Cross 1.5 279 300 79 140 n/a 180 5.9 136 5/10
2.0i-S ES 464 000 115 196 10.4 194 7.3 168 6/10 Baleno 1.5 S 297 400 79 140 n/a 180 5.9 136 4/10
Not much imagination was used here but deathly sensible.

)RUHVWHU     Avanza
/DFNVWKHSXQFKDQGWKHSL]D]]:LOOFOLPERXWRID Seven-seat cardboard box on wheels. Like an East
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING *HUPDQZHLJKWOLIWHU±QRWSUHWW\EXWHIIHFWLYH
bigger-than-average hole on the way to school. 1.4 GL 207 900 68 130 10.9 175 5.1 120 5/10
1.4 GLX 242 900 68 130 10.9 175 5.1 120 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 1.4 GLX auto 257 900 68 130 11.6 160 5.4 128 6/10 1.3 S 234 100 70 121 n/a n/a 6.1 145 3/10
2.0i 438 000 115 196 10.3 n/a 7.6 176 6/10
1.3 SX 252 000 70 121 n/a n/a 6.1 145 3/10
2.0i-L ES 476 000 115 196 10.3 n/a 7.6 176 6/10
2.0i-S ES 509 000 115 196 10.3 n/a 7.6 176 6/10 Jimny 1.5 SX
1.5 SX auto
259 700
279 600
77
77
137
137
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
6.3
6.7
150
160
3/10
3/10
5HWURGRQHULJKW7KHORZVDIHW\VFRUHLVDFRQFHUQEXW
\RX¶UHXQOLNHO\WRJRIDVWHQRXJKWRKXUWDQ\WKLQJ 1.5 TX 296 000 77 137 n/a n/a 6.3 150 3/10
Outback
0RUHRIWKHXQIDVKLRQDEOHVDPHIURP6XEDUXEXWWKDW¶V
what the owners love. New one is handily sized. Very capable. 1.5 GA AllGrip
PRICE
269 900
kW
75
Nm
130
0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
12.0 145 6.3 146 9/10
Corolla
1HZ&RUROODLVDUHWXUQWRIRUPIRU7R\RWD)XQQLVK
1.5 GLX AllGrip 305 900 75 130 12.0 145 6.3 146 8/10 &DSDEOH7KHUHWXUQRIWKHZKLWHFROODUNLQJ
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 1.5 GLX AllGrip auto 325 900 75 130 12.0 145 6.8 158 7/10
2.5i-S ES Premium 605 000 129 235 10.2 n/a 7.3 167 5/10
3.6 R-S ES Premium 675 000 191 350 7.6 n/a 9.9 230 5/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
Vitara 1.3 Esteem
1.3 Prestige
280 100
301 500
73
73
128
128
12.6 180
12.6 180
6.0
6.0
139
139
5/10
5/10
This one caught us rather by surprise. Vitara is a
Legacy SHUIHFWO\JRRGDOWHUQDWLYHWR4DVKTDLRU-XNH 1.6 Esteem 300 500 90 154 10.5 195 6.6 157 5/10
+HURLFDOO\SRLQWOHVV1DWXUDOO\DVSLUDWHGOLWUH Well done, Suzuki. 1.6 Prestige 321 600 90 154 10.5 195 6.6 157 5/10
ÀDWVL[KDVQRYHOW\DSSHDOIRUWKRVHWRRSRRUWR 1.6 Prestige auto 330 000 90 154 11.1 185 6.3 150 5/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
DIIRUGDQ\RIWKHV 1.6 Prestige+ auto 339 700 90 154 11.1 185 6.7 158 5/10
1.6 GL 284 900 86 151 11.5 180 5.8 136 7/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 1.6 GL+ 322 900 86 151 11.5 180 5.8 136 7/10 1.4D-4D Esteem 315 100 66 205 12.5 180 4.5 119 6/10
3.6 R-S ES Premium 645 000 191 350 7.2 n/a 9.9 230 5/10 1.6 GL+ auto 342 900 86 151 n/a n/a 6.0 139 7/10 1.4D-4D Prestige 329 400 66 205 12.5 180 4.5 119 6/10
1.6 GLX 369 900 86 151 n/a n/a 6.0 139 7/10 1.8 Prestige 336 200 103 173 n/a n/a 7.0 165 6/10
1.6 GLX AllGrip 379 900 86 151 12.0 180 6.2 145 7/10 1.8 Exclusive 360 800 103 173 n/a n/a 7.0 165 6/10
WRX 1.8 Exclusive auto 374 400 103 173 10.2 195 6.4 152 6/10
Now that the Evo is dead, the WRX grows up and
becomes a lot easier to live with. Boy racers
everywhere throw a tantrum.
Grand Vitara Corolla hatch
/RRNVOLNHDQRIIURDGHUEXWGRHVQ¶WJROLNHRQHRU
IHHODVZHOOEXLOWDVLWVKRXOG:RXOGUDUHO\WRS\RXU $QRWKHUJRRGGHVLJQIURP7R\RWDZKLFKVKRXOGORZHUWKH
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
shopping list. Low range helps, though. DYHUDJHDJHRID&RUROODGULYHU$FRPSOHWHSDUDGLJPVKLIW
WRX Premium 588 000 197 350 6.0 240 9.2 213 6/10 in the way it drives and looks.
WRX ES Premium 638 000 197 350 6.3 240 8.6 199 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
WRX STi Premium 778 000 221 407 5.2 255 10.4 242 7/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.4 Dune 391 900 122 225 11.7 180 8.9 212 3/10
1.2T XS 336 800 85 185 9.5 200 6.1 141
2.4 Summit 465 900 122 225 11.7 180 8.9 212 3/10 1.2T XS auto 347 400 85 185 10.4 190 6.1 140
2.4 Summit auto 485 900 122 225 12.0 170 9.9 234 4/10 1.2T XR 367 100 85 185 10.4 190 6.1 140

Rush
1 08 MAY 2019
$NQRFNGRZQHQWU\SRLQWWR689RZQHUVKLS0HFKDQLFDOO\ 79 4.5D-4D LX V8 697 800 151 430 n/a 160 11.6 306 8/10 Caddy
YDQLOODDQGWKHDQWLWKHVLVRIFRROEXWWHUUL¿FYDOXH 79 4.0 V6 double cab 651 300 170 360 12.6 165 13.6 320 7/10 6LQFHWKH*ROI69IDLOHGWKH&DGG\LVWKHFORVHVWWKLQJWR
79 4.2D double cab 682 400 96 285 18.0 140 13.0 343 7/10 D;/*ROI'ULYHVEULOOLDQWO\EXWKDVDZKLIIRIFRPPHUFLDO
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 79 4.5D-4D LX V8 double cab 765 600 151 430 n/a 160 11.6 306 8/10 UDWKHUWKDQIDPLO\
1.5 S 312 000 77 136 n/a 165 6.6 156 6/10 76 4.5D-4D LX V8 station wagon 783 900 151 430 n/a 160 11.6 306 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.5 S auto 326 200 77 136 n/a 160 6.7 158 6/10 1.0TSI Trendline 313 200 75 175 n/a n/a 5.6 128 8/10
)-&UXLVHU     2.0TDI Trendline 424 900 81 250 12.4 170 5.7 149 8/10
+LOX[     Old school meets new world in a retro-modern
remake. Pity about the zero-option engine and
Alltrack 2.0TDI
Alltrack 2.0TDI auto
436 200
471 000
81
103
250
320
12.4 170
10.6 186
5.7
6.2
149
166
8/10
8/10
/LWWOHELWRIEODFNEXPSHUJDUQLVKJLYHV+LOX[WKHWRXJKHU
look to go with new derivatives. Not that sales needed transmission. Maxi 2.0TDI Trendline 446 700 81 250 12.8 170 5.8 152 8/10
any help. Maxi 2.0TDI Trendline auto 480 400 103 320 10.9 186 6.3 166 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING )-&UXLVHU 655 800 200 380 7.6 175 11.4 267 6/10
2.0
2.4GD
259 600
294 500
102
110
183
343
12.0 170
12.4 175
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
7/10
7/10
Transporter
The ‘other’ VW bakkie range.
2.4GD-6 SR 370 000 110 400 13.2 170 n/a n/a 8/10 Land Cruiser Prado
2.4GD-6 4x4 SR 432 900 110 400 13.2 170 n/a n/a 8/10 1HZFDUZLWKDQWLTXDWHGHQJLQHDQGJHDUER[FRPER
2.4GD-6 SRX 384 900 110 400 13.2 175 n/a n/a 8/10 %X\HUVKDYHDSKRELDRIQHZQHVVDQGVWLFNZLWKZKDWWKH\
2.4GD-6 SRX auto 401 700 110 400 13.2 175 n/a n/a 8/10 NQRZ,W¶VEXOOHWSURRIDQGUXQVRQORZJUDGHIXHO PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.0TDI 367 700 75 250 15.2 141 7.9 208 5/10
2.4GD-6 4x4 SRX 452 700 110 400 13.2 170 n/a n/a 8/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.0TDI double cab 399 300 75 250 15.9 144 7.9 208 5/10
2.4GD-6 4x4 SRX auto 471 300 110 400 13.2 170 n/a n/a 9/10 3.0DT TX 855 500 120 400 11.7 175 8.5 226 7/10
2.0BiTDI double cab auto 489 000 132 400 10.2 175 8.4 221 5/10
2.8GD-6 Raider 454 500 130 420 11.2 180 n/a n/a 8/10 4.0 VX 968 600 202 381 10.9 180 11.5 266 6/10
2.8GD-6 Raider auto 473 200 130 420 13.2 170 n/a n/a 8/10 3.0DT VX 970 500 120 400 11.7 175 8.5 226 7/10
2.8GD-6 4x4 Raider
2.8GD-6 4x4 Raider auto
520 000
539 000
130
130
420
420
11.2 175
11.2 175
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
8/10
9;10
4.0 VX-L
3.0DT VX-L
1 007 400
1 009 200
202
120
381
400
10.9 180
11.7 175
11.5
8.5
266
226
7/10
6/10
Amarok
0RYHIURPFRPPHUFLDOWRSDVVHQJHUIRFXVPRWLYDWHV
Xtra cab DKLJKHUFODVVRIFRPIRUW1HZ9KDVDQVZHUHGWKHFULWLFV
2.4GD-6 SRX 396 400 110 400 13.2 175 n/a n/a 8/10
2.4GD-6 SRX auto 413 100 110 400 13.2 175 n/a n/a Land Cruiser 200 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.8GD-6 Raider 482 700 130 420 11.2 180 n/a n/a 8/10 7KLVLVWKH6RXWK$IULFDQIDUPHU¶V6&ODVV
2.8GD-6 Raider auto 501 500 130 420 11.2 180 n/a n/a 7',&RPIRUWOLQH 534 200 103 340 13.3 169 7.7 202 7/10
2.8GD-6 4x4 Raider 550 200 130 420 11.2 180 n/a n/a 8/10 7',&RPIRUWOLQH0RWLRQ 596 300 103 340 13.5 167 7.8 205 8/10
2.8GD-6 4x4 Raider auto 569 300 130 420 11.2 180 n/a n/a 8/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
%L7',+LJKOLQH 571 200 132 400 10.7 184 7.9 208 7/10
double cab 4.5D-4D V8 GX-R 1 042 300 195 650 8.6 210 10.2 270 7/10 %L7',+LJKOLQHDXWR 590 300 132 420 11.0 180 8.4 221 7/10
2.7 S 394 700 122 245 12.1 180 10.7 253 8/10 4.5D-4D V8 VX-R 1 433 700 195 650 8.6 210 10.2 270 7/10 %L7',+LJKOLQH3OXV 647 400 132 420 11.0 180 8.4 221 7/10
2.4GD-6 S 418 000 110 400 13.2 175 7.1 187 9/10 %L7',+LJKOLQH0RWLRQ 627 000 132 400 11.0 183 8.0 211 7/10
2.4GD-6 SR 428 000 110 400 13.2 170 7.1 187 9/10 %L7',+LJKOLQH0RWLRQDXWR 646 000 132 420 11.3 179 8.5 224 7/10
2.4GD-6 4x4 SR 495 500 110 400 13.2 170 7.3 190 8/10 2.0BiTDI Dark Label 4Motion 681 300 132 420 11.3 179 8.5 224
%L7',+LJKOLQH3OXV0RWLRQ 703 300 132 420 11.3 179 8.5 224 7/10
VOLKSWAGEN
2.4GD-6 SRX 442 900 110 400 13.2 175 7.1 187 8/10
2.4GD-6 SRX auto 457 600 110 400 13.2 175 7.9 208 9/10 2.0BiTDI Extreme 4Motion auto 736 400 132 420 11.3 179 8.5 224 7/10
2.4GD-6 4x4 SRX 516 100 110 400 13.2 170 7.3 190 8/10 97',+LJKOLQH0RWLRQ 727 800 165 550 8.0 193 9.0 236 8/10
2.4GD-6 4x4 SRX auto 540 100 110 400 13.2 170 8.2 217 9/10 TopGear on Volkswagen: 97',+LJKOLQH3OXV0RWLRQ 783 200 165 550 8.0 193 9.0 236 8/10
2.8GD-6 Raider 548 400 130 420 11.2 180 7.6 198 8/10 Quietly brilliant, thoroughly deserving of every accolade chucked 3.0 V6 TDI Extreme 4Motion 818 200 165 550 8.0 193 9.0 236 8/10
2.8GD-6 Raider auto 567 500 130 450 10.8 175 8.0 210 8/10 its way. The up! and Golf are particular highlights.
2.8GD-6 4x4 Raider
2.8GD-6 4x4 Raider auto
616 600
637 500
130
130
420
450
11.2 180
10.8 175
7.6
8.5
199
224
8/10
8/10
XS     Tiguan
)LQDOO\D9:FLW\FDU\RXZDQWWRRZQ1HDWVW\OLQJ ,W¶V*ROIZLWKJURXQGFOHDUDQFHPRUHVSDFHDQG
4.0 V6 4x4 Raider 680 400 175 376 9.4 180 11.7 279 7/10 DQGSDFNDJLQJWRVKDPH,NHD¶V¿QHVWZHOLNHWKHXS better styling. VW will need a separate shipping lane
A lot. WRLPSRUWHQRXJKRIWKHVH
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PRICE
175 600
kW
55 95
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13.5 173 4.6 106 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
7R\RWD¶V¿UVWWXUERSHWUROHQJLQHEXWFRXSHVW\OLQJ 1.4TSI Trendline 442 900 110 250 9.2 200 6.8 162
causes claustrophobic rear seating. PRYHXS 190 700 55 95 13.5 173 4.6 106 8/10 76,&RPIRUWOLQH 505 800 110 250 9.2 200 6.8 162 8/10
XSEHDWV 207 100 55 95 13.5 173 4.6 106 8/10 7',&RPIRUWOLQH 505 800 81 280 11.2 183 5.2 136 8/10
FURVVXS 207 100 55 95 13.5 173 4.7 108 8/10 7',0RWLRQ&RPIRUWOLQH 566 000 105 340 9.5 197 6.1 159 8/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
1.2T 346 200 85 185 10.9 190 6.3 141 7/10 7',0RWLRQ+LJKOLQH 592 200 130 380 8.3 207 6.4 166 8/10
76,0RWLRQ+LJKOLQH 592 100 162 350 6.5 220 7.8 180 8/10
1.2T Plus
1.2T Plus auto
376 600
388 400
85
85
185
185
10.9 190
11.1 183
6.3
5.9
141 8/10
135 7/10
Polo Vivo
7KHEHVWVHOOLQJFDULQ6RXWK$IULFD$ÀDZOHVVSURGXFW
1.2T Luxury auto 434 800 85 185 11.1 185 6.4 144 DVLWLQKHULWVDOORIODVWJHQ¶V3ROR Tiguan Allspace
,IWKH&DGG\LVWRRFRPPHUFLDOIRU\RXUWDVWHVWKHVHDWHU
RAV4 1.4 Trendline
PRICE
191 400
kW
55 130
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n/a 171 5.7 134 9/10
Allspace is the brightly-packaged Tiguan on steroids.
=HURIXQEXWWKDW¶VQRWZKDWDQ\RQHERXJKWWKHPIRUVLQFH
WKHWZRGRRUWRRNWKHDFLGZDVKHGMHDQVDQGOHIW &RPIRUWOLQH 202 600 63 132 n/a 177 5.9 140 9/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
&RPIRUWOLQHDXWR 234 200 77 153 n/a 188 6.1 144 9/10 1.4TSI Trendline 466 300 110 250 9.5 200 7.1 161 7/10
+LJKOLQH 228 900 77 153 n/a 188 6.2 147 9/10 76,&RPIRUWOLQH 535 400 110 250 9.5 200 7.1 161
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2.0 GX 416 400 127 203 n/a n/a 6.8 155 1.0TSI GT 262 000 81 200 n/a 196 4.6 109 8/10 7',0RWLRQ&RPIRUWOLQH 597 000 110 340 9.9 198 6.6 173 8/10
2.0 GX auto 427 600 127 203 n/a n/a 6.5 147
2.0 GX-R AWD 508 100 127 203 n/a n/a 6.7 153 76,0RWLRQ+LJKOLQH 625 600 162 350 6.8 223 8.1 185 9/10
2.0 VX
2.5 VX AWD
505 400
577 900
127
152
203
243
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
6.5
7.3
147
166
Polo sedan
At this rate it will usurp VW’s Jetta, which was good.
<RXUQH[W8EHU
Arteon
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Prius VWLOOZRQ¶WVHW\RXUWURXVHUVRQ¿UH%XWGR\RXZDQWWKDW"
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
It looks totally bizarre, but the weird styling conceals
a well-resolved hybrid. Note the economy: who 1.4 Trendline 216 300 63 132 12.8 178 5.9 139 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
QHHGVDGLHVHO" &RPIRUWOLQH 236 100 63 132 12.8 178 5.9 139 6/10
2.0TDI Elegance 614 800 130 350 8.7 220 5.6 145 8/10
1.6 Trendline 236 400 77 155 11.1 190 6.0 143 6/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.0TSI 4Motion R-Line 717 100 206 350 5.6 250 7.3 164 9/10
&RPIRUWOLQH 256 300 77 155 11.1 190 6.0 143 6/10
+\EULG 490 200 90e 142+e 10.6 180 3.7 87 5/10 &RPIRUWOLQHDXWR 272 300 77 155 12.3 187 6.5 154 6/10
7',&RPIRUWOLQH 284 000 81 250 11.2 186 4.9 128 6/10 Kombi
)RUWXQHU     7KHSRSXODUSHRSOHFDUULHURI\RUHKDVEHFRPHD
WRXFKH[SHQVLYHDQGVXIIHUVIRUWUDFWLRQXSLQFOLQHV
+LOX[EDVHG¿YHGRRUZDJRQQRZZLWKPXOWLOLQNUHDU
suspension and modern drivetrain bits. Odd inside
Polo hatch IXOO\ODGHQEHLQJ):'RQO\XQOLNHLWV5:'9LWRULYDO
$FRPSUHKHQVLYHOLWWOHVXSHUPLQLWKDWIHHOVOLNHDVPDOOHU
but remains crushingly capable. *ROI±DQGWKHUH¶VQRWKLQJZURQJZLWKWKDW PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 2.0TDI SWB Trendline 562 700 75 250 17.9 157 7.3 193 5/10
2.7 477 600 122 245 12.4 175 10.5 247 6/10 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
2.0TDI LWB Trendline 570 700 75 250 17.9 157 7.3 193 5/10
2.4GD-6 496 200 110 400 13.2 175 7.0 184 7/10 2.0TDI SWB Trendline auto 596 200 103 340 14.7 172 8.0 211 5/10
1.0TSI Trendline 249 900 70 175 10.8 187 4.5 103 9/10 2.0TDI SWB Trendline Plus 612 900 103 340 14.7 172 8.0 211 6/10
2.4GD-6 auto 515 600 110 400 12.7 170 7.9 208 7/10 76,&RPIRUWOLQH 281 100 70 175 10.8 187 4.5 103 9/10
2.4GD-6 4x4 auto 542 400 110 400 12.7 170 8.2 217 8/10 2.0BiTDI SWB Trendline Plus 651 500 132 400 10.2 191 8.1 214
76,&RPIRUWOLQHDXWR 297 100 70 175 10.8 187 4.7 107 9/10 7',/:%&RPIRUWOLQH 702 200 103 340 14.7 172 8.0 211 5/10
2.8GD-6 592 500 130 420 11.2 180 7.5 196 7/10 76,&RPIRUWOLQHEHDWV 294 350 70 175 10.8 187 4.5 103 9/10 %L7',6:%&RPIRUWOLQH 726 700 132 400 10.2 191 8.1 214 5/10
2.8GD-6 auto 612 600 130 450 10.8 180 8.0 212 7/10 76,&RPIRUWOLQHEHDWVDXWR 310 350 70 175 10.8 187 4.7 107 9/10
2.8GD-6 4x4 657 800 130 420 11.2 180 7.8 204 8/10 76,+LJKOLQH 303 900 85 200 9.5 200 4.7 107 8/10
2.8GD-6 4x4 auto
4.0 V6 4x4
678 200
715 400
130
175
450
376
10.8 180
9.4 180
8.5
12.0
224
277
8/10
6/10
76,+LJKOLQHDXWR 319 900 85 200 9.5 200 4.8 109 8/10 &DUDYHOOH&DOLIRUQLD   
GTI 394 500 147 320 6.7 237 5.9 134 Properly expensive, but hugely liveable modern
LQFDUQDWLRQRI9:¶VSHRSOHFDUULHU:LWK0RWLRQYHU\
PXFKDWKRPHJHWWLQJPRVWSODFHVLQ6RXWK$IULFD
GT86 *ROI    
$JREELHUIDFHVPDOOHUVWHHULQJZKHHODQGQHZPHGLD )ODZOHVVHYROXWLRQRIWKHLQGRPLWDEOHKDWFK1HZDVVLVWDQFH PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
V\VWHPEXWHYHU\WKLQJHOVHLVZRQGHUIXOO\ROGVFKRRO systems and clean engines will give the competition Caravelle
nightmares. 2.0BiTDI PanAmericana 4Motion 955 400 132 400 12.1 188 n/a 219
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
%L7',+LJKOLQH 987 600 132 400 11.3 191 7.9 208 6/10
GT86 593 100 147 205 7.6 226 7.8 181 9/10
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING %L7',+LJKOLQH0RWLRQ 1 020 100 132 400 12.1 188 8.8 232 6/10
1.0TSI Trendline 320 800 81 200 9.9 196 4.8 109 8/10 California
76,&RPIRUWOLQH 341 900 81 200 9.9 196 4.8 109 8/10 Beach 2.0TDI 4Motion 917 000 110 340 n/a n/a 6.6 172
Coast 2.0BiTDI 4Motion 1 061 100 150 450 n/a n/a 7.1 185
Land Cruiser 70 Series 76,&RPIRUWOLQH
GTD
394 600
529 200
92
130
200
350
9.1
7.4
204
230
5.2
5.3
120
139
8/10
8/10
It’s a tank in every conceivable way, and that’s why
we love it. Truly capable and indestructible. GTI 565 800 169 350 6.4 248 6.4 149 9/10
R 676 500 228 400 4.6 250 7.2 165 10/10 Touareg
8QGHUSLQQHGE\QHZFKDVVLVVWXIIHGIXOORIWHFK
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING 7RXDUHJGLWFKHVRIIURDGFUHGIRUOX[XU\
79 4.0 V6 573 200 170 360 12.6 165 n/a n/a 6/10
79 4.2D 609 800 96 285 18.0 140 n/a n/a 7/10

MAY 2019 1 09
 PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
V6 TDI Luxury 1 067 400 190 600 6.1 235 7.1 188 8/10
V6 TDI Executive R-Line 1 221 500 190 600 6.1 235 7.1 188 8/10

VOLVO
TopGear on Volvo:
Far removed from Volvos of old, and far more than just boxes on
wheels. Even though they are boxy.
V40
9ROYR¿QDOO\SXOOVLWV¿QJHURXWDQGJHWVVHULRXV
about the premium hatchback. We actually want
RQHRIWKHVH
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
T2 Kinetic 403 900 90 220 9.8 190 5.6 131
D2 Kinetic 424 100 88 280 10.5 190 4.1 107
T3 Kinetic 430 400 112 250 8.3 210 5.6 129 7/10
T4 Momentum 487 800 140 300 6.9 210 5.5 128 8/10
D3 Momentum 500 900 110 320 8.4 210 4.0 104 7/10
D4 Momentum 512 500 140 400 7.2 230 4.2 109 8/10
T5 Momentum 534 700 180 350 6.3 240 5.9 137 8/10

V40 Cross Country

The Scandinavian hatch gets the rubber and stilts
treatment. We approve.

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

T4 Momentum 497 600 140 300 7.1 210 5.6 129 6/10
D3 Momentum 519 400 110 320 8.5 210 4.0 105 7/10
D4 Momentum 538 600 140 400 7.5 210 4.3 112 7/10
T5 AWD Momentum 582 500 180 350 6.1 210 6.4 149 7/10

XC40
9ROYR¶VOLWWOHFURVVRYHUPDMRUVLQZKDW\RXZDQWIURPRQH±
VDIHW\SUDFWLFDOLW\DQGIXQNLQHVV-REGRQH

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

T3 Momentum 514 200 115 265 9.4 200 6.2 144 8/10
D4 AWD Momentum 630 700 140 400 7.9 210 5.0 131 9/10
T5 AWD Momentum 641 500 185 350 6.4 230 7.7 164 9/10

S60
At last, a BMW 3 Series rival that’s actually a 3 Series size.
Good engines, nice interior, but no 3 Series to drive.

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

polestar 815 500 270 470 4.9 250 7.8 179 6/10

XC60
New mini-XC90 will be Volvo’s bread and butter in SA.
$FDOPLQJFRVVHWLQJ689

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

D4 AWD Momentum 687 100 140 400 8.4 205 5.2 136 7/10
T5 AWD Momentum 714 100 187 350 6.8 220 7.3 167 8/10
D5 AWD Momentum 757 900 173 480 7.2 220 5.5 144 9/10
T6 AWD Momentum 767 700 228 400 5.9 230 7.8 177 9/10

S90
,PSRVVLEO\VW\OLVKDQGEHDXWLIXOODUJH6ZHGLVKVHGDQ
<RX¶OOORYHLWXQWLODSHUIRUPDQFHFRPSDULVRQZLWK
DQ\*HUPDQULYDODULVHVDWDWUDI¿FOLJKW
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
T5 Momentum 741 200 187 350 6.8 230 6.5 149 7/10
D4 Momentum 763 000 140 400 8.2 230 4.4 116 7/10
D5 AWD Momentum 850 400 173 480 7.0 240 4.8 127 7/10
T6 AWD Momentum 910 600 235 400 5.9 250 7.2 165 7/10

V90 Cross Country

Volvo has taken a chance bringing the V90 CC to SA
but it’s one decision we’re very glad they made.
Bigger, cooler…an S90 on outdoor steroids.

PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING

T5 AWD Momentum 839 800 187 350 7.4 230 7.4 169 8/10
D4 AWD Momentum 861 800 140 400 8.8 210 5.2 138 8/10
D5 AWD Momentum 910 400 173 480 7.5 230 5.3 139 8/10
T6 AWD Momentum 970 600 235 400 6.3 230 7.7 176 9/10

XC90
It’s everything we hoped it would be, and
PRUH6XSHUEVDIHW\V\VWHPVIDQWDVWLFWHFK
and practicality.
PRICE kW Nm 0-100 km/h L/100km CO2 RATING
T5 AWD Momentum 1 013 700 187 350 8.2 215 7.6 176 8/10
D5 AWD Momentum 1 057 600 173 480 7.8 220 5.7 149 9/10
T6 AWD Momentum 1 060 700 235 400 6.5 230 8.0 186 8/10
T8 Twin Engine AWD Momentum 1 208 700 300e 640e 5.6 230 2.1 49 9/10
T8 Twin Engine AWD Excellence 1 646 500 300e 640e 5.9 230 2.5 59 9/10

1 10 MAY 2019
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 BARGAIN
H E RO E S
#05
MAZDA RX8
Wh e n wa s t h e l a st t i m e yo u saw o n e of t h ese?
Seeing a Mazda RX-7 in SA is rare enough; spotting one that hasn’t been
adorned with a bodykit and had its horsepower doubled is a tale few can
tell.
The RX-7 was produced from 1978 to 2002; the car we’re focusing on
here is the MkIII, from 1991 onwards, and known better by the code ‘FD’.
Like its predecessors, power came from a twin-turbo, twin-rotor Wankel
powertrain of just 1.3 litres. But its unconventional power delivery
ensures it punches harder than its size suggests; peak outputs are 177kW
and 295Nm. Enough, when a car weighs just 1,310kg, for a 5.1-sec
0–100kph and 250kph top speed.
Get to your favourite piece of road and it initially feels like a bit of a
softy. There’s body roll when you start to push, the car leaning this way
and that as the steering weights up. Rather like a modern-day MX-5 in that
regard, then. These are helpful warning signs in an older car, though, one
without any modern electronic helpers. Push beyond its inherent softness
1 12 MAY 2019
It’s hard to find a
standard RX-7 like
this, but that’s not
necessarily a bad
thing
WO R DS: ST E PH E N D O B I E
and the RX-7 can get a little spiky, mainly when it’s wet. But with such
modest torque, you’re unlikely to be doing anything wild unless you’re
using the throttle with considerable vigour.
Thus it’s easy to pinpoint why there’s such a big tuning scene. More
top-end response would be something I’d look for, as well as sharper focus
to the suspension. Not night-and-day changes; I don’t crave a 400kW Fast
and Furious extra. Just an RX-7 that’s more sports car than tourer would
be spot on.
You can achieve 300kW without affecting reliability, poor
maintenance having a far more detrimental impact on their R150 000
- R200 000 asking price. Like any rotary engine, it will drink oil, and while
Mazda reckons on 500ml every 1500 kilometres, twice that isn’t unusual.
Frequent short journeys aren’t ideal, and if an owner never takes the
car above 4,000rpm, the second of the sequential turbochargers can have
issues. Find out the previous keeper’s behaviour, and be sure to use all of
the power if you buy one. Some genuine TopGear consumer advice, that.
 The Breitling Surfer Squad
Sally Fitzgibbons
Kelly Slater
Stephanie Gilmore

LAND

#SQUADONAMISSION