First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Mercedes-Benz GLC

The luxury vehicle segment in New Zealand has always been a two-way fight between BMW and Audi — but not this year. In 2015 Mercedes has stormed to the top of the sales charts, leaping over both the other Germans. Why? While the magnificent new C-Class sedan will have made up a significant part of […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: BMW X1

Redesigned to look far more like a member of the X family, the smallest BMW SUV is now sitting on a new platform. It is the same platform that sits under the 2 Series Active Tourer and the new Mini three- and five-door models. In other words, the X1 is now also front-wheel drive. Well, […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Mercedes-Benz GLE

For a while now Mercedes-Benz has lagged behind obvious rivals BMW and Audi in one key area — SUVs, particularly those in the fast-growing small and medium segments. But Mercedes are determined to fix that particular weak spot in the most German way possible — to jam as many different variants into as many segments […]

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First Drives

FIRST DRIVE: Hyundai Tucson

Someone at Hyundai must like cowboys. Nothing wrong with that, cowboys are cool. But, seriously, someone at Hyundai must really like them. Why else would they have chosen to name their SUVs Santa Fe and Tucson after towns in the cowboy states Arizona and New Mexico? From this naming convention, we can assume that if […]

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First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Volvo XC90

“I don’t think there has ever been a more important vehicle in Volvo’s history,” That is how Volvo’s New Zealand boss, Steve Kenchington, described the XC90 at its recent media launch. In fact, he thinks the big SUV is so important to Volvo in New Zealand that he saw the launch as not just a […]

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New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Mazda CX-3 GSX

The recent explosion in popularity of the baby SUV has seen a number of manufacturers caught short and now lacking what has quickly become an important part of the range. But not Mazda. The Japanese manufacturer has been on a blinding roll recently, with remarkably good product pouring from its factories; the Mazda6, Mazda3 and […]

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