ZA Car

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Alright peeps we’ll kick the week in the teeth with brand new Jeep to make Otto Diesel proud. Stepping out from the crowd is most certainly allowed in the new Peugeot 508 while you’ll not be late in the great Nissan that the GTR badge ate. We round this bad rhyme up with a review of the new BMW (640i) and give a shout out to the dudes at Su-bar-u. Yup it’s true, you might find that the Outback Diesel and Forester Diesel might just be the cars for you.

Bad rhyming aside, we must abide to bring you some great pictures and fun, so go ahead, take a listen to what craziness you might have been missin’

Quite a handsome little tyke

Trevor van de Ven is weak at the knees just looking at this picture. The chances of it being released in South Africa are slim, though, but for a full gallery of the very pretty sedan, click on the image. It will redirect this page to another website, so consider right clicking on the image and selecting 'open in new tab.'

It's not handsome, but it's not exactly pretty either. The 640i has the 3.0 Twinpower Turbo engine too which leaves the team with some mixed opinions. Take a listen to find out why.

Episode 140 hi-fi download (18MB) 
Episode 140 lo-fi download (9MB)

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This week the team of Christo van Gemert, Trevor van de Ven, John Beale and Patrick Gearing (who is now on Twitter) is back in full force and so is the news that every BMW fan has been waiting for, the announcement of the new BMW 3-Series.

Take a look at the various galleries of these cars by clicking on the images below and if you’re eagle eyed, you will even see the first pictures of BMW’s 3-Series M-Sport which we’ve managed to sneak into the gallery without many people noticing yet. But, BMW is not the be all and end all as you’ll find out in our review of the 2011 Lexus IS-F, the quintessential gentleman’s sledgehammer in a Handy Manny toolbox. We also review a green car, quite literally, in the form of the Volvo C30 D2 and the review might just surprise you.

Agressive, bold, purposeful, what do you think of the new BMW 3-Series unveiled on 14 October? Click on the picture to se a comprehensive 82 image gallery of the various trim lines and vehicles including the ActiveHybrid.

The Toyota that will contest races in the LMP1 series next year including a return to LeMans, this time running hybrid technology.

This is a digital rendering straight out of Forza Motorsport 4 of Christo van Gemert's very own car, a Renault Twingo RS. Can you believe that games have come this far. Click on the image to see some more renderings from the game that Christo has been taking for us. Stand back and be amazed.

The gentleman's super performance saloon. You might not have considered it, but this car can hold it's own amongst the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG but for all the other reasons, reasons that the other two long forgot were actually the key attractors to those specific models. Hail the new king of Q-car-dom. Click on the image to see a gallery of images.

Green motoring at its finest in more ways than one. Oft-overlooked take a listen to the review to hear why this is such is a cool car.

Episode 137 hi-fi download 
Episode 137 lo-fi download

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Jessica Beale’s cousin joins the ZA Car Show team to discuss all things airbags and things with a firm chassis and killer looks. From very fast Bimmers to strange Land Rovers masquerading as footballer’s wives cars the team including Christo, Trevor and Patrick take you through what you need to know in the world of motoring, both local and international.

If you have not tried it yet, click on the images below and you will be taken to some of the most comprehensive photo libraries available to you online on our Facebook page. If you’re not a fan, go ahead and ‘like’ the page you wont be sorry and you’ll also get the inside scoop and be able to share a lot of other news with us on the wall.

Go on, have a listen. If you always use the audio streamer, did you know there are MP3 files at the bottom of this post that you can right click and ‘save as’ to save and share on your computer hard drive? Also subscribe using iTunes and you will find the new episode on your iPhone/iPod/iPad every week without having to do anything. Links are also at the bottom of this post.

One of the coolest BMWs to come out of Munich in some time. There have been a lot of good BMWs but none quite as cool as the 1 Series M Coupe. Click on the image to be directed to a full image library of this car.

Changes are subtle. Click on the image to view a complete gallery and see if you can spot the changes

Another facelift but a lot less subtle. Like a little bit of cosmetic surgery on Monica Bellucci we're not going to complain with such a fresh face. Click on the image to view the gallery, what do you think?

The Range Rover the South Africans can't wait long enough for. Prices are revealed in this episode but what do you think of the car. Click on the image to see the full gallery.

It's the all new Kia Picanto and finally there is a very good looking car in this segment. Let us know what you think after you've had a look at the gallery. Click on the image to see it.

Finally a replacement to the Zafira and it looks like a good concept. Part crossover, part MPV. Click on the image to see the full gallery.

While it was busy, Chevrolet South Africa thought it would share that the Sonic will be headed to South Africa. Considering it replaces the Aveo, this is one very good looking car. Click on the picture to view the gallery.

Finally we review the 2011 Audi A1 1.2 TSI and the 2011 Toyota Prius

Pretty neat technology apart from the hybrid systems in this car. Click on the image to see some of it in the gallery.

Episode 126 hi-fi download (21MB)
Episode 126 lo-fi download (11MB)

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Episode 103 of ZA Car Show brings you the three [sometimes not so] wise men, and a number of cool news stories in addition to a review of the VW Touareg 3.0TDI Bluemotion.

The team also discusses:

• BMW’s partnership with Peugeot for hybrid development [Via: Automotivenews]
• Mercedes-Benz’s C63 facelift
• MINI Cooper S Diesel [Via: Car Magazine UK]
• BMW M Cars
• VW CC Engine revisions including diesel and petrol variants for the South African market (more specs and info here)
• Review: VW Touareg 3.0TDI Bluemotion (Specs and manufacturer info here)

Episode 103 hi-fi download (21MB)
Episode 103 lo-fi download (11MB)

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Back in full swing is not only the full team at ZA Car Show, but also the pre-launch unveilings for the Paris Motor Show which seems set to be a cracker this year. First on the list is the new 2012 Ford Focus ST, which has a more important brother in the form of the regualr Focus – something the reswt of the media seems to be ignoring. Also set for launch within the year is the Hyundai ix20 and MINI Cooper S Diesel which we discuss.

Locally, the media has been busy with its launch of its Peugeot RCZ which, we assume, featured more celebrity guests than motoring media as this seems to be its publicity strategy if @PeugeotZA on Twitter is anything to go by. This coupe features a TT-like profile and some efficient turbo engines.Its also R140 000 less dear than the Renault Laguna Coupe. Sure they’re different types of cars, but we see a flaw in Renault’s strategy. ZA Car also reveals the rpicing of the Alfa Giulietta (click for a cool car configurator), while Tuck laments why it’s wrong for an Alfa. Finally we wrap it up with the Total Economy run and Christo’s comparative review of the Suzuki Swift Sport and his very own RenaultSport Twingo. The results will surpise and delight.

Head to head against a RenaultSport Twingo, which would you choose?

Photo credits: Quickpic (Ford Focus, Peugeot RCZ) and Motorpics (Suzuki Sport)

Episode 92 hi-fi download (32MB)
Episode 92 lo-fi download (17MB)

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