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I googled the number 147 to find out what the number meant in numerology terms. I didn’t understand a thing, but there were two tarot cards one with ‘love’ and the other with ‘devil’ on them. That pretty much sums up the Alfa Romeo 147, then. It also, hopefully, shows how much we love ZA Car Show and with our news and reviews, stop you buying the devils cars regardless of how many times Trevor says buys a SAAB. Whatever the meaning,  listen to the show now, because having told you this, you’re either about to fall in love if you share ZACS with all of your friends or will turn into a devil if you don’t. It’s your choice.

This week with the start of the WRC, Citroen driver, Sebastian Loeb has kicked off the WRC Sebastien Loeb Invitational Season. Will he be as unstoppable as the other Sebastian, Mr Vettel? With the WRC starting we’re glad that the Dakar has ended. Have you considered a Mazda 3? Yeah, we didn’t think so, so you might like the debate that breaks out as Christo tries to tell us about its new update. The Jeep Wrangler has also had an update and it appears to be quite significant while we swoon over the Fiat 500 1.2 Cabrio Audi R8 GT Spyder and Review the MINI One — the one car you should not overlook at if you are already looking at things like the Ford Fiesta, Mazda 2, Volkswagen Polo and Toyota Yaris — we’re willing to bet you’ll be very surprised.

Your hosts this week are Christo van Gemert, Trevor van de Ven, John Beale and Patrick Gearing.

As always, click on the image to view full galleries of the cars featured. You will be directed away from the page, so right click and select “Open Link in New Tab/Window” to avoid this.

MINI Bayswater. Apart from the riduculous colour, these special editions seem to sell out before they're made available. We cant fault MINI on its style. Click on the image to view a full gallery.

Yes it's a Mazda. It has a new engine in the range - 2.5 litres in capacity now and some other tweaks. Click on the image to see a gallery.

Jeep can pull of khaki better than a farmer from Limpopo. Click on the image to see a full gallery (not from the local local launch).

The Fiat 500C 1.2 has become South Africa's cheapest convertible. Oh we do like this little thing.

You can now order one of these in South Africa. You'd better have a fat wallet and not drive past Porsche on your way to Audi.

This is the basic Mini One. It looks pretty much the same as every other MINI, but offers far better value than most competitors. Find out what we think in the show.

Episode 147 hi-fi download (22MB) 

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We’re two-up so there is just enough space for this week’s ZA Car Show crew of Christo and Trevor in the new MINI Roadster. It’s the sixth model in the MINI range and and looks better than the Coupe at least. Christo, however, disagrees.

It's actually quite a nice looking car, sleek and sporty. Some say it's there to lay the smack down to the Mazda MX5 brigade, but the reality lies firmly in the positioning of this car. A quick look at the press shots (which you can see by clicking on this image - right click and select open in new window/tab for best results) show it very much as an urban hipster runabout, which is not quite the same market that the MX5 attracts.

In Episode 139, we also get feedback on the local launch of the Nissan Juke, introduce ourselves to a facelifted friend, the Volkswagen Tiguan, and talk about one of the most significant models to be launched this year and it’s a pick-up truck, the Ford Ranger. Want to hear more about the Chevrolet Sonic? Well that’s in this episode too.

Handsome: check. Tastefully styled: check. Decent equipment levels: check. This Chevrolet Sonic seems to be a decent car entering into the Hyundai i20/Ford Fiesta/Mazda 2/Volkswagen Polo battle and it looks like a good alternative. Take a listen to find out what more. Click on the image for a full gallery.

The show is rounded off by two car reviews that surprise – good or bad – and delight. You’ll have to take a listen to find which and hear more about the Mazda 5 people mover and Renault’s Megane CC 1.4 tCe.

One of the best Mazdas bar none. No questions, no debate. To find out why take a listen to the show. Click on the image to view a full gallery.

Christo gives you the low-down on the local launch of the Nissan Juke. Click on the image to see a full comprehensive gallery of this car.

It seems to be a prevailing trend, but two-tone hard tops look quite daft. Have a listen to the review of the Megane CC in this episode to find out what we have to say or click on the image for a full gallery of images for this car.

Episode 139 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 139 lo-fi download (9MB)

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Back are the days of the cool cars. We have speed, speed and more speed. It seems after the world got over its hybrid and electric hiccup, manufacturers are back on track to deliver proper drivers’ cars. Trevor van de Ven and Christo van Gemert discuss them in this episode and also review two small sedans with huge boots to fill both metaphorically and literally.

If you haven’t already seen it, check out our LeMans-themed wallpaper gallery that was posted on Wallpaper Wednesday last week — we talk about the race in this episode show.

Click on the pic to be teleported to the LeMans-themed wallpapers we have collected for you.

 

 

The F10 always was a pretty car, this just got better with power to boot…Click on the picture to view the complete gallery.

 

This thing just blitzed the Nurburgring; it's a front wheel drive; it might even come to South Africa... Click on the picture for a link to the gallery (you will be redirected away from this page)

Renault’s Sandero underwent an update and we have a (very) brief chat about it.

Finally, the ZA Car Show team reviews two close competitors in their segment, the Ford Fiesta sedan and the Mazda 2 sedan. Can either of them offer a compelling alternative to the VW Polo sedan; how do they shape up against their hatchback siblings. Listen to the review to find out.

Episode 121 hi-fi download (bigger – less than 17MB)
Episode 121 lo-fi download (smaller – less than 6MB)

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Twenty years ago, Johnny Herbert drove the Renown Mazda 787B to victory at the 24 hours of Le Mans. This year, at the pre-race festivities, he and the car returned to the track for a bit of a reunion. This is the outcome…

More info on the 787, if you’re interested!

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We’re about the kick of the Grand Prix season with the opening race in Melbourne Australia on Sunday 27 March. Right about this time the ZACS team likes to go back and hear whether F1-guru Sasha Martinengo’s tips are on the mark. To listen to that episode for yourself, click here for Episode 108. In other news, the team discusses the F1 engine changes to turbo-charged four cylinder engines for 2013  (A source close to ZACS has confirmed that he’s seen one for a pretty successful team on the test-bench already). And finally after some news from abroad and the local shores, we round up the show with a review of one of the show’s most special shows to-date, the Audi R8 V10 Spyder.

In Episode 110 the team discusses:

• The start of the F1 season in Australia
• New engines for F1 2013 season: Ecclestone and Todt battle it out verbally (via F1fanatic )
• MotoGP’s start with a Stoner on a Honda and an Italian on a Duke
• Mazda’s raw MX5 street racer (via CarScoop — gallery inside)
• Mercedes-Benz’s new SLK – you can read our initial news on it here – and the new C-class coupe
• Renault has produced the 1000th RenaultSport Clio Gordini and Christo suddenly gets bad thoughts about cars again
• Lexus says yay — and so do it’s customers — to towing with its hybrid SUV, the Lexus RX450h (via Lexus)
• ZACS Review: Audi R8 v10 Spyder

Episode 110 hi-fi download (20MB)
Episode 110 lo-fi download (10MB)

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