Road Tests | Car And Bike

Exciting to drive, confident and responsive. Does the new Micra have it all?

We have the fifth generation Nissan’s iconic Micra on test and we’ve decided to stack it up to the sixth generation Volkswagen Polo In a head to head the polo is the bestselling car in the upper B hatchback segment by a considerable amount with the Polo Vivo right on its heels. So how does the all new Micra rival the sixth generation Polo? Besides the R9,400 price point gap. Design The new Nissan Micra has dynamic hatchback proportions and with an overall length of 3,999 mm, it’s placed…

The global launch of the all new Alfa Romeo Giulia isn’t just a big deal, it’s quite possibly a make or break moment for the century-old Italian car manufacturer. None of Alfa’s top-line executives were prepared to put a precise figure on the investment in the model, suffice to say that billions have been invested in a completely new modular architecture dubbed ‘Giorgio’, which not only underpins the rear-wheel drive Giulia, but an entire Alfa Romeo family including a raft of new sedans, coupes, and SUVs that will soon follow.…

We put the new Volvo S90 executive saloon through its paces, but should BMW, Audi and Mercedes be worried? Volvo is right to deny SA buyers the T6, because a four-cylinder turbocharged petrol executive saloon of this size would sell in tiny numbers. However, there’s plenty of promise in the S90 package as a whole, and we’re not about to revise the view, gleaned from that winter drive a few months back, that you should give Volvo’s new flagship saloon serious consideration if you’re in the market for a 5…

There’s nothing new about pint-sized SUVs. The Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Mini Countryman all offer cute looks, compact dimensions and a slightly raised driving position. But if you want a proper premium badge, the Audi Q2 is your smallest and cheapest option. It’s roughly the same size as a Captur, at just under 4.2 metres long, and it significantly undercuts larger premium-badged models such as the BMW X1, Mercedes GLA, and Audi’s own Q3, although for the same money you could also be looking at something much larger, like…

This strange snowmo-roader gets a new engine. First Drive Review Four-wheelers and two-wheelers have been waiting for decades for a suitable place to meet in the middle. Perhaps the lovably antiquated Morgan 3 Wheeler comes closest to making all parties smile, but in general, three-wheeled vehicles have struggled; these are dynamically dissatisfying mutants, and it’s hard to convince either car people, who appreciate stability, or bike people, who favor lean angles, to cross into the middle. New Three-Cylinder Engine, Substantially More Torque The last time we checked in on Bombardier…