DieselDrive Magazine

Blue paint. Two off-set white stripes. Signature detailing. Three characteristics which, since as far back as the 1950s, have defined the Gordini name for a handful of very special Renaults. If we fast forward more than 50 years to 2011, two new Gordini products have revived a name that South Africans could, until now, only [...]

South Africa has always been one of very few countries where sedans remain popular, even down in the B- and C-segments. In Europe, the C-segment hatchbacks outsell their sedan counterparts with massive margins, but not in SA – at least not with every model. The Toyota Corolla, for example, has been one of the country’s [...]

My favourite hot hatch has always been the Honda Civic Type-R. Yes, I know, up here in Joburg it’s a lot slower than all its rivals due to its lack of forced induction, but if you look past that problem, it’s an incredible machine. The suspension is bang on the money, the engine and exhaust [...]

Renault’s previous Mégane CC was massively popular in South Africa, a popularity that interestingly stretched across all genders and races. I say ‘interestingly’ because such an all-encompassing popularity can’t be attributed to all convertibles, a type of car that is usually considered either butch and sporty and, subsequently, fitting for men (think BMW M3 Convertible) [...]

Renault has been on roll the past few years with a bevy of new models making its way to local shores. From the toned-down Mégane to the svelte Laguna Coupe, the company has not only renewed its entire model composition over the past two years, but have even entered segments where it had before not [...]

Whether it’s because I’m getting older or whether there’s still a slight bit of conservatism left in my being, I’ve never been a fan of cars with loud colours, chromed wheels and racing stripes. It could very well also because I’ve seen too many semi-sane youngsters with backyard workshops applying pimp-jobs to Nissan 1400 bakkies. [...]