ZA Car

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Welcome to the 49th recording of the ZA Car Show. This is a very full week packed with international and, of  course, breaking local news news. We suspect if manufacturers actually launched cars at auto shows instead of  leaking pictures on the ‘net, half of the sparkle will not be lost at the actual events.

Jeep kindly gave ZACS a Jeep J8 for a bit of a comparative test…with a Suzuki Jimny, we’re still trying to work out of we are surprised about the Jimny or the Jeep  both of which equally thrilled when thrown into ridiculous off-road situations.

Jeep J8 and some of its siblings.

For more show notes, pictures of the Suzuki and Jeep excursion and other interesting news  clickerize ‘more’ under this post.

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The regular crew of Christo, Patrick and the Trevors squared are back to talk about Renault and Mercedes-Benz mostly. In this show we explore everything from the best Merc to the Smart brand.

We also have a look at:

• The Twingo RenaultSport – a silly name for a great car, apparently. It’s another small, performance-orientated car announced for South Africa.
• Tuck displays his love for the Renault F1 Team and his favourite driver Fernando Alonso. Not! He is also one of the two people in the world whose actually driven a Spider RenaultSport.
• What is up with Renault?
• Face lifted Nissan Murano looks like its slashed by a samurai rather than styled on one. Is this Renault’s influence coming through?
• Fiat. Great cars, crap service – we rate Fiat’s dealer service using the JD Power survey papers.
• Tuck has a weird fetishes and this week he admits he really wanted a Land Rover Discovery.
• What is the best Mercedes-Benz? Listen to us debate, you will be surprised…
• We also talk about the most desirable old Mercs, the 190E Cosworth 2.3 and Tuck’s Alfa 155.
• The Merc-fest continues and we talk about engine choice and AMG styling packs that cost the price of a second hand Smart car.
• The brand-dilution that manufacturers seem to encourage by offering sport packs; Audi, Alfa and BMW are not exempt.
• The practicality of Mercedes Benz’s Smart brand and how a seemingly decent car brand became a sales flop.
• Student commuters, what cars can you buy for someone going to varsity? Trevor gives his opinions and everyone disagrees.

And more…

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