DieselDrive Magazine

With global Qashqai sales having passed the million mark in January 2011, the seemingly relentless demand for Nissan’s C-segment crossover shows how the brand’s forward thinking and risky business, so to speak, have paid off. I enjoyed the Qashqai 2.0 n-tec I drove last year, much as Christo enjoyed the 2.0 dCi model, but what [...]

At the ever-competitive entry level of our market, finding a new and technologically advanced diesel-powered car is quite like finding a needle in a haystack. For a long time, those sensible enough to want a small diesel car was limited to one of two options: and old car with a new name and new face, [...]

Rewind about six years and you would’ve had quite a predicament if you wanted a vehicle with the practicality and space of small SUV and the ride and handling characteristics of a family-sized hatchback. Five years into the new millennium, such a car simply didn’t exist. But then Nissan introduced the Qashqai in 2007 to [...]

I love a road trip. In fact I just love driving, hence I do the job that I do. But a good, long, interesting road trip is something I will drop almost anything for and, when you live in a country as beautiful as ours, it doesn’t really matter where you go because you are [...]

With such a large variety of SUVs available on the market, finding one that suits your lifestyle and requirements is not as excruciating as one would think. However, things get tricky if you want the perfect balance between power, practicality, fuel economy and pricing. Throw proven off-road credentials in the mix and you have what [...]

Less than a year ago, the motoring world – for a change – shifted its gaze from small, efficient city cars and striking performance models to the double-cab bakkie market as Volkswagen launched its much-awaited Amarok. As fantastic as the Amarok was (and still is), it had its shortcomings, leaving many of us digging around [...]

I have always had a bit of a soft spot for Nissan’s Pathfinder, not only because of its squared-off, macho, go-anywhere appearance, but also because it was the first test car I ever drove and reviewed. Even then – back in 2007 – it wasn’t new anymore, which means that the Pathfinder is now, four [...]

We have on numerous occasions discussed how competitive the market is for double-cab bakkies, especially since they offer such unique versatility for its owners. It’s also truly surprising just how loyal and outspoken bakkie owners are, and as such there is always a genuinely heated debate whenever a new model is released. Most of the [...]

Double-cab bakkies have become a firm favorite for many South Africans, marrying the practicality of a family car with the utility of a bakkie. While SUVs and crossovers have taken its place as the must-have status symbol, there are still many people who prefer a good double-cab’s go-anywhere-do-anything attitude, a fact that hasn’t escaped the [...]

Every country has a car or three that becomes so popular that it keeps on selling regardless of its age or its lack of modern technology. Nissan’s 1400 bakkie is one such legend in the South African motoring landscape, but like VW’s Citi Golf, it reached a point where it simply couldn’t be produced anymore. [...]