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Tracks of passion
The latest iteration of Volkswagen's double cab pick-up was revealed worldwide in June 2016, marking a step change in the model's history. With a refreshed external look, the new Amarok is now available with the much-anticipated new 3.0-litre V6 165kW TDI engine. Additional new features include an all-new interior and the latest in in-car infotainment systems as well as additional safety and technology elements.
Remember how excited we were last year, when Volkswagen finally released the Golf GTI Performance Pack on local shores? Here we had a GTI with all the easy-driving user-friendliness of the normal version, but with the added dynamic abilities afforded by the standard inclusion of adaptive dampers, upgraded brakes and a brilliant electronically-controlled limited-slip differential to help the car around corners with awe-inspiring confidence.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is introducing a special edition Amarok Ultimate which is the first bakkie in the local market with Bi-xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights as a standard feature. Amarok Ultimate is based on the top of the range derivative, 2.0 BiTDI 132kW 4Motion Highline with 8-speed Automatic transmission.
Small petrol three-cylinder wins the VW Polo match
There are few thrills to be found in studying a log book with impressive fuel consumption figures, so it stands to reason that high-efficiency derivatives of popular cars are seldom well-received among motoring enthusiasts.
So, polo or golf… Which one for you? We’re talking sports, right? Well, not necessarily, if the ongoing debate around Volkswagen’s naming protocol is anything to go by.
At the time of writing this, more than 100 000 people have seen the video of our drag race between the 2.0-litre bi-turbo Volkswagen Amarok 4x4 DC and the 3.2-litre turbo Ford Ranger, also a double-cab with 4x4 auto transmission.
OK, now that I have your attention, here’s the story of how Vee-dub’s latest small car, newly released in South Africa, got its interesting and different (some call it silly) name.
Apparently the name was not even up for consideration (pun intended) initially, and according to Petra Hoffmann, VWSA’s director of sales and marketing, it all happened by chance.
Hoffmann, who at the time was part of the team in Germany developing the small car successor to the Lupo, says sometime in 2012 an early version of the newly developed but still nameless model was shown to top management.
It's fair to say that economists all over the world are in awe of China's sustained economic growth. In the space of a few decades, this country has become a leader as far as manufacturing, exporting and purchasing goes, and with massive infrastructure developments taking place all over this vast region, there's clearly no sign of this growth spurt ending any time soon.
Following the successful introduction of the all-new KIA Sportage to the South African market late in 2016, KIA Motors South Africa is now expanding the local Sportage model range with seven new and or enhanced derivatives.
The Navara landed in South Africa in March this year and is currently available exclusively with a 4x4 drive train, an SE or LE specification level and the choice of a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearbox. All models are powered by Nissan’s new twin-turbo 2.3 turbo diesel engine with 140 kW and 450 Nm.
