New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Subaru Outback diesel

  The current Subaru Outback diesel was a thoroughly brilliant car that was really only let down in one way: it was too expensive. Now, at a recent launch of the MY14 line up on a beautifully sunny Waiheke Island, Subaru have fixed that particular issue by gouging $5K out of the Outback diesel’s asking […]

Continue Reading...

New Cars Quick Drives

QUICK DRIVE: BMW 320d Touring xDrive

The 320d Touring xDrive is every bit as brilliant a car as the more powerful 330d variant we tested previously. Just in a different way. Where the 330d is all power and aggression channeled through a beautifully balanced chassis and a formidably good AWD system, the 320d is more of a finely-honed, precision tool that […]

Continue Reading...

First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Peugeot 2008

So what makes a vehicle a “Crossover”? Well, apparently “because we say it is” is enough these days. Traditionally accepted thinking on the subject would suggest that a “Crossover” would generally be based on a car platform, with attributes that put a foot in the SUV and People mover camps, such as a high ride […]

Continue Reading...

First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Skoda Octavia

We here at OVERSTEER have always been quite fond of all things Skoda-ish. The Superb is just that, the Fabia is a wonderfully unpretentious supermini, the Roomster was just brilliantly quirky, the Yeti just plain cool and anything with a RS badge on it was just awesome. And the previous Octavia was just one of […]

Continue Reading...

First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Mercedes-Benz E 63S AMG

When it comes to truly world-class performance machinery derived from lesser, but still brilliant, cars there are really only two names that count. Or, rather, four letters: “M” and “AMG”. The Germans know how to squeeze utterly mental power out of otherwise “standard” cars better than anyone else on the planet. I mean, take the […]

Continue Reading...

First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Mercedes-Benz CLA

Small sedans; we don’t really get what they are all about here and they avoid them like Ben Affleck movies in Asian countries (except for China). However, they are VERY popular in the USA and they would seem poised to be The Next Big Thing in Europe. So does that mean the Mercedes-Benz CLA is […]

Continue Reading...

New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Ford Fiesta ST

Hot Hatches are back in force this year, with a remarkable array of small FWD road rockets scampering out of the showrooms this last year. The mental Renault Megane RS265, the awesome Ford Focus ST, the utterly brilliant VW Golf GTI – all of those have been out favourite at one stage or another over […]

Continue Reading...

First Drives New Cars

FIRST DRIVE: Skoda Rapid

The Rapid name is an old one in Skoda’s history, debuting in 1935 alongside the Superb. But unless you are old, or are paying particular attention to Skodas, you probably wouldn’t know that, as the last time it appeared on a Skoda was between 1984 and 1990 on a rear-engined coupe. But now the name […]

Continue Reading...

New Cars Road Tests

ROAD TEST: Nissan Pulsar SSS

For many years having a SSS badge on you Nissan meant exciting things. Then it didn’t. Now Nissan are having a crack at putting some sizzle back into the SSS badge again with a hot version of the deadly-dull Pulsar hatch. Have they got it right? Well, sort of… only sort of… Outside Likes: Subtle […]

Continue Reading...