Aston Martin Rapide S Video Review by Ciro De Siena

Aston Martin is a brand synonymous with sports cars. The iconic brand has produced some of the most famous cars in history, and was even used by the legendary James Bond.

What then are they doing playing in the four door space? Ciro De Siena from Cars.co.za took a drive in the latest four-door Aston Martin Rapide S to find out.

About the Rapide S

The luxury Rapide S is the latest creation from Aston Martin, with a 6 litre V12 engine... every bit a sports car. 0-100 will be achieved in 4.9 seconds and the car produces 620Nm of torque. 

Click here for full information on the Aston Martin Rapide S

Source: Cars.co.za

South African Range Rover Autobiography video review

The Range Rover Autobiography is the "corner office of motoring" according to South African motoring journalist and TV personality Ciro De Siena. Costing almost the same as a family home, I should hope so!

But is the car really worth the money (and hype)? Watch Cars.co.za's latest video review on the Range Rover Autobiography to find out.

http://www.cars.co.za/motoring_news/range-rover-autobiography-reviewed/9804/

July motoring report - South Africa

Cars.co.za has released their July motoring report infographic.

Headlined by the release of the Jaguar F-Type, which apparently has an exhaust which mimics the sounds of a warzone, the infographic takes a look at the major players in the South African new and used car markets.

Full motoring report infographic

The rise and rise of the petrol price in South Africa

It's no secret, the price of petrol is constantly on the rise, but just how much has fuel spiked in the last 10 years? The answer is a lot, in fact over 339% in South African according to an infographic released by Cars.co.za earlier this month.

The graphic plots the South African price of both petrol and diesel over the last 10 years, from humble beginnings around the R3.00 mark in 2003, up to their astronomic recent figures of over R12.00 per litre.

Petrol price infographic

Full story source: Cars.co.za fuel infographic:

Ford Focus ST 2.0 Reviewed

Ford’s ST range has become an icon in the hot hatch segment, and the new range continues to build on this legacy. I recently drove the 2013 Ford Focus ST.

Exterior - unmistakably Ford Focus

The new 4-door Ford Focus has a bulky, chiseled chassis, and though a hatch, is by no means a small car. This gives the car a very powerful look and instills a feeling of invincibility while driving. My test car came in Tangerine Scream, the newest addition to Ford’s rather ostentatious orange-palette. This is arguably the most unique and eye catching colour on the road and, coupled with the tank-like chassis and the letters “ST” scrawled across the rear of the car, mean that you are guaranteed to be noticed.

An enigmatic interior

The interior space of the Focus is still a conundrum to me, managing to create a somewhat intimate and almost claustrophobic feeling for the driver in what is rather a large space; on attempt, I struggled to place both elbows comfortably on the armrests simultaneously… they were simply too far away. This tight feeling is created by the acute angle of the sloping windscreen and snug bucket seats.

The back seat has ample space, seating three average sized adults comfortably, and the boot can only be described as cavernous. There is then, no shortage of space in the Focus.

Focus on technology

The new Focus ST comes with plenty of gadgetry to enhance the driving experience. The keyless entry and driving system is rather nifty, and is especially helpful when carrying items to and from the car. The interior dashboard is full of buttons and dials, resembling the cock-pit of a fighter plane, and it appears as if there is nothing you cannot do in the car. For the most part I ignored the dash as it felt like there was simply too much on it, which was rather intimidating and ironically, as touched on above, it also felt too far away. There are shortcut buttons on the steering-wheel to access the onboard computer, but these were oddly placed and difficult to use while driving.

Unleashing the Focus ST

The new Ford Focus ST is a beast. With a 2.0 litre engine, 184Kw and a six speed gear box, putting your foot down results in the car jerking forward with such unbridled enthusiasm, that keeping the gears ticking over becomes a challenge. Gear-up too slowly, a rather common occurrence, and the car feels wobbly and uncontrollable. Accelerating in the ST can be likened to taking an excitable Rottweiler for a run, it simply wrenches you along. This feeling passes as you get into the higher gears, and the Focus ST begins to glide.

It’s no secret, the Focus ST is built for speed, and this it handles wonderfully. The braking on this Ford is also phenomenally sharp, and takes a lot of getting used to. On my initial drives, anything left on my leather seats invariably ended up on the floor due to my rather ambitious use of the brake pedal.

All in all, the new Focus is immensely fun to drive, and being an ST, the biggest challenge is trying to stay within the local speed limit.  

Ford Focus ST Conclusion

The Ford Focus ST speaks volumes about its owner and thus targets a very niche market. If you want a big, bold car with immense power and all the latest technology, the new Focus ST is definitely worth considering.

Quickspecs: Ford Focus ST vs Notable Competitors

	Ford Focus ST	VW Golf 7 GTI	Opel OPC
Price	R363,300	R368,300	R435,000
Engine size	2.0 Petrol	2.0 Petrol	2.0 Petrol
Power max	184Kw	162Kw	206Kw
Torque	360Nm	350Nm	400Nm
Acceleration (0-100km)	6.5s	6.5s	6.2s
Top speed	248Km/h	246Km/h	250Km/h
Fuel consumption	7.2l / 100km	6.0l / 100km	8.1l / 100km
Safety rating	5	5	5

Focus ST Rating

Performance - 5

Style - 3

Drive comfort - 4

Running Costs - 3

First VW Golf GTI crashed in South Africa

The first crash of the new VW Golf 7 GTi has been recorded. The incident happened on a launch in South Africa, where local website editor Ciro De Siena (@CiroDS) was an unfortunate passenger. The journalist produced the following story depicting his ordeal and how the safety features of the new car saved his life.

Closing on him with I'd say less than 80m to go, he just U-turns. No indicator. We didn't stand a chance. My driver moved further right to get around the front of the bakkie, but our options very rapidly narrowed to either running into a big ditch or hitting the vehicle. If we were on anchors for 20m it was a lot.

For the full story: Saved by a car

Win a VW Golf 7 with Cars.co.za and Justplay.co.za

Cars.co.za and Justplay.co.za are giving away a new Volkswagen Golf 7. The Golf 7, which was released earlier this year to much acclaim, is one of the most sought after cars in South Africa and retails for R265,000.

Entering this car giveaway is easy and its free!
To enter simply sign up for an account of Justplay.co.za and complete the entry form!

Enter Now!

Most popular cars in South Africa for June 2013

Cars.co.za has compiled and released an infographic depicting the most popular cars in South Africa for the month of June. The infographic focuses on the following sections and presents information is an easy to digest format.:

• Top 5 motoring brands according to new car sales & used car views
• Used car popularity based on vehicle type
• New car market share
• Most popular new cars in SA
• Most popular used cars in SA
• Hot new car release for June

Click here to view the full Motoring report infographic
Source: Cars.co.za

Cars.co.za creates Apple iPhone and iPad App

Johannesburg, South Africa. Local car sales website Cars.co.za released their new App for iPhone and iPad today. Incorporated in the App are many of the same tools available on the full website. The App enables users to browse used cars, new cars and new car specials. There are also a number of other useful tools packaged within the App - motoring news, finance calculators and insurance quote generators.

Full press release 
Download the App

Golf 7 coming to South Africa

The new Volkswagen Golf 7 is coming to South Africa! Received with mixed feelings in the country, many people feel that it is "more of the same", while others are desperately looking forward to its arrival. The VW Golf is somewhat of an icon in South Africa, so regardless of the hot and cold initial reactions, I am certain that the product will be another hit for the German manufacturer.

Full article: The new VW Golf now in South Africa

Cars.co.za launches new mobile site

Yesterday Cars.co.za launched their new mobile website. The site has a completely new design and has plenty of added features. The site feels clean and easy to navigate.

According to the press release "...our goal was to create a lightning fast mobile website, which looked good and enabled users to find their next car easily. The site underwent a complete redesign as we identified key features that the new mobile site needed to include."

Enhanced mobile site features

• Improved design and layout
• Improved navigation
• Improved used car browsing interface
• Powerful refine search feature
• Multiple car images supported
• Simplified enquiry process
• Complete database of new cars available in South Africa
• Browse for new cars on your mobile phone
• Book a test drive / Enquire on new cars
• Browse monthly new car specials
• View the latest motoring news

Quicklinks

Cars.co.za mobile site

Cars.co.za mobile site launch press release

A visit to Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart, Germany

Visiting Germany was always going to result in a brush with a motoring giant. Today I took the time to travel to Neckerpark in Stuttgart, a place synonymous with Mercedes-Benz, literally - the train station is called Neckarpark (Mercedes-Benz).

Mercedes Benz Museum

Upon alighting from the train, I was confronted with a myriad of options - Mercedez Benz arena, Porsce arena or Merc museum. I headed straight for the Mercedez-Benz museum to familiarise myself with the history of the motoring brand. This was easy enough to find, as there are signposts from the train station right the way to the museum. 

Mercedez-Benz museum in Stuttgart Germany

Unfortunately, the museum is closed on Mondays, the very day I had chosen for my visit. The friendly lady who informed me of this gave my a brochure with some Mercedes facts and pointed me in the direction of the adjacent dealership. Here I would be able to view all the latest Mercedes-Benz cars for sale. 

Mercedes Benz fact timeline

1. In June 1967, Hans Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher founded the company AMG.
2. The first major motor sports success - 1971: Hans Heyer and Clemens Schickentanz piloted the AMG 300 SEL 6.8 to a class victory at the 24 hour race in Spa
3. In 1986 the AMG 300 E 5.6 - affectionately known as "The Hammer" became the fastest production four-door saloon car in the world
4. In 1988 AMG and Mercedes-Benz join forces in the DTM racing series. Two years later, the collaboration would be extended to road vehicles.
5. In 1993 the first vehicles of the official co-operation, the Mercedes Benz C 36 AMG is introducted to the market and becomes a top seller.
6. AMG wins the 1997/98 FIA GT World Championship with the CLK-GTR. The team achieves even greater success in 1998 winning all the races in the series.
7. Success on the racetrack and in the showroom is undeniable. In 1999, Mercedes takes a controlling stake and AMG becomes Mercedes-AMG GmbH.
8. The first vehicle devised, designed and developed independently by AMG: the SLS AMG 'Gullwing' sees the light of day in 2009.
9. In 2011, the C 63 AMG Coupe Black Series - pushing road-legal performance to extremes with the latest in the line of super-exclusive Black series models.

Mercedes Benz showroom

With not much else to do, I headed down to the rather impressive Mercedes showroom. The showroom spans 3 floors and has just about everything one could possible need - plenty of the latest Mercedes cars to view, an exclusive coffee shop, a cinema, a kids playground... and did I mention the cars? Everything from the A-Class to the exclusive S-Class. Stationwagons and sports cars. This was certainly the most impressive car showroom I have ever entered.

 Mercedes Benz cars inside the showroom

 Here are some of the photos of the cars / stands within the Mercedes-Benz showroom in Stuttgart.

The impressive new BMW Zagato Roadster

BMW have once more teamed up with Zagato to create the all new BMW Zagato Roadster. The car was on display at the 20120 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in the United States last week.

“This car is not designed only as an elegant convertible, but also as a masculine and extremely dynamic sports car which evokes a powerful driving experience” says Norihiko Harado, the chief designer.

I think the car looks brilliant, like an upgraded BMW Z4. How the car drivers will remain to be seen.

For full information read Cars.co.za article on the BMW Zagato Roadster

Toyota 86 causing a buzz in South Africa

The all new Toyota 86 has been the cause of a major stir in South Africa. The new sports car has been the talk of the town with its stylish looks, great performance, and the fact that it is very well priced for the market. Whether you are taken in by this new release from Toyota or just want more information on the vehicle, here are two great articles featured on Cars.co.za:

Toyota 86 articles

Toyota 86 price revealed for South Africa
New Toyota 86 now in South Africa

The Toyota 86 is currently for sale in South Africa.

Snow in South Africa - Cars.co.za advert

History was made in South Africa today as for the first time in recorded history it snowed in all 9 provinces. In parts of the country, snow has forced many major roads to be closed and many motorists were trapped in their cars waiting for assistance.

Other parts, including the greater Gauteng region, were in high spirits at the rare sighting of snow. The snow storm covered the majority of the region in a white blanket and social media channels have been going berzerk with posts and photos.

The cold weather has kept many South African's indoors, and lead to this Cars.co.za advert, targeted at house or office-bound people who are looking to buy cars. 

Feeling snowed-in? Luckily you can search for your next car online.

Cars.co.za launches awesome new car website

Cars.co.za has released a new state of the art website for the South African car buying and selling community.

"Our goal was to keep the site as simple as possible for users to use, while adding new functionality and aesthetics" said a Cars.co.za spokesperson. The site combines colour and white space effectively to create a very clean look.

New website functionality

• New car section 
• Advanced new wishlist
• Enhanced "Browse used cars" functionality
• Social media integration 
• Car information articles

Raising the bar for Car websites

Cars.co.za believe that they have taken a huge leap forward, and that the new Cars website will set the standard for the motoring industry in South Africa. 

What do you think of the new site? http://www.cars.co.za

The Ford Mustang! What a beauty

Ford Mustang

There is something special about old school muscle cars. They exude both beauty and power. They represent freedom. Oh, and that's just looking at them. Driving one is another experience altogether, something that I hope everyone may experience in their lifetime.

I stumbled upon this article the other day: a tribute to muscle cars, and for a while I reminisced as I scanned the ample pictures of the Ford Mustangs of old. The final question was posed... Do you like old or new Ford Mustang? I think for me its a no brainer, old school is cool! Muscle cars for me will always be represented by the old school beauties, and while the new cars are lovely in their own regard, they do not hold the same nostalgic power over me.

I cant wait for the next muscle car day in South Africa, so that I can once more delight in the sights and sounds of good old school muscle cars, especially the Ford Mustang.

The effects of car depreciation

Car depreciation

Car depreciation is a nasty reality, one which we as South Africans would much rather not talk about, but alas we cannot ignore it. Depreciation can cost us a lot of money over time and is something that needs to be addressed very seriously. While there is nothing one can do to stop one's car from decreasing in value over time, there are definitely ways to control the effects. 

Controlling car depreciation

Cars.co.za has put together a comprehensive article on the effects of car depreciation. This article looks at car depreciation as a whole, the factors affecting depreciation and what one can do as a car buyer to control the effects of car depreciation. It is a great read for anyone planning on buying a car in the near future.

More reading on car depreciation

Here are some other helpful resources on Car depreciation:

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/auto/20011226a.asp - discusses car depreciation from an international perspective.

http://www.free-online-calculator-use.com/car-depreciation-calculator.html - online car depreciation calculator

http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=435652  - 10 best and worst cars for car depreciation.

Conclusion

Car Depreciation is here to stay, hopefully with the aid of the above mentioned resources, we can get the best car value going forward.

Korean cars making waves

Korean car manufacturers Hyundai and Kia have been steadily making waves in the South African Car Market. The motoring giants have all but dominated the budget section with the Hyundai i10 and Kia Picanto respectively. While these two models shuffle between first and second positions on various ranking or best buy list I have seen, they are always up there.

This is not the only segment of the car market under attack from the Korea. Both Hyundai and Kia are having great success in other sections, including the SUV market with the Hyundai Ix35 and the Kia Sportage. Hyundai have also taken the sedan market by storm with their new Elantra, which met with raving reviews.

It will be interesting to see how the new car and used car landscapes in South Africa change in the future, but I will not be surprised if we continue to see these top Korean brands growing in leaps and bounds.

Over 17500 used cars for sale

South African used car advertising portal Cars.co.za has reached another vehicle stock milestone. The website, which services clients from all over South Africa, has now got over 17 500 used cars for sale listed on it. This means more choice for car buyers, and variety comes with its own host of advantages - getting the exact car what you want, negotiating power on car prices, ability to get a car closer to your home town - though sometimes secondary in their benefits ... every little bit helps.

If you are looking for a used car in South Africa, take a little gander at www.cars.co.za