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Your March issue of SA’s most exciting, free online motoring publication is here, and as usual it’s chock-full of the breed of content motoring enthusiasts crave. Simply click on the page-flip magazine above to go full-screen for the best read, or download the current issue from the link above or any of the links on the page footers. Whichever way you read it, enjoy!

This month we’ve finally got behind the wheels of Porsche’s most controversial new model since the Cayenne, read all about our impressions of the 4-door Panamera here. We’ve also samples Citroen’s new C3 hatch, and Steve has ridden the new BMW S1000RR superbike until the wheels came off, or at least until they closed down the track and booted him out!

This month we introduce a new regular contributor in the form of the well-known Steve Wicks - read his first piece for Drive Magazine on using a bike to commute daily right here. While Bob Allison gets stuck into his customary, detailed research to find out just what’s going on behind the new emissions tax we’re facing this year.

As for road tests, there’s the Renault Clio RS being put through its paces this month, Russell swans about in a real ugly duckling, Chrysler’s Sebring Convertible, our last test of an old friend in the VW Golf Mk1 as well as VW’s strangely compelling CC 2.0 TDI DSG, and the very cute, very sexy little Nissan Qashqai n-tec in all it’s glory. Meanwhile Steve gets his leg over Yamaha’s baby YZF-R6 (the big girl), and then has to man up again to take control of the raging Suzuki GSX-R 1000.

Finally, our showdown for the month sees the two rally giants from the 90s, Subaru and Mitsubishi, facing off on SA soil at least. Except it isn’t what you’re thinking. See how the new Mitsubishi Outlander fares head to head against the Subaru Outback right here.

Bahrain Predictions

Vettel has a good chance in Bahrain

We are now painfully close to the opening round of the 2010 F1 season, the wait has been long and anticipation sky high. I’ve so been looking forward to this one, and now that we’re this close I think it’s safe to make some predictions for the Bahrain GP. In truth it’s always been safe to make predictions, I’ve got access to the backend of our site so if I get it hopelessly wrong I can easily just edit this column after the race and proclaim innocence. That’s what our government would do, so I’d only be following the example set by our illustrious leaders, but I digress.

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In 2002, Nissan’s X-Trail entered the market right when the craze for small SUVs started, subsequently becoming one of the most popular examples of these vehicles that, at the peak of its lifespan, owned a third of the local market. Sporting attractive, purposeful looks, good engines, outstanding practicality and sufficiently credible off-road capabilities, it appealed to a wide spectrum of buyers, with more than 18 000 units finding a home locally.

It came as no surprise then that Nissan didn’t want to change the winning recipe too dramatically when then the time came to release a new X-Trail, especially on the outside. New X-Trail looked just about identical to its predecessor, albeit with larger proportions all around. I recall wondering whether Nissan took a clay model of the previous X-Trail and simply stretched it at the front, rear and top, in the process also pressing the whole body down.

As with most car designs, though, X-Trail’s odd proportions softened over the years and (to me, at least) became better looking with age. Yes, I still think it’s too low and that the front and rear overhangs are too long, but in general it’s become a design that doesn’t make me sigh every time I see one drive past.

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Red Hot!

Drive Magazine, December ‘09

Alfa Romeo as a brand can hardly be classed as a volume seller in South Africa. An Alfa has always been seen as a car that you buy with your heart not your head. Alfa is the defacto Italian car that puts style ahead of practicality, driving experience ahead of outright performance figures.

The Mito is no exception in terms of styling – love it or hate it, you have to admit that it has character. You certainly won’t be driving through a city without being noticed. So many cars these days look as though they were carved from a cube of butter and the butter has started to melt so that you can’t tell one from another. Not so with the Mito

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These signs were erected last week at the Pomona Road ramp onto the R21 Airport highway. Notice what’s different, compared to the old signs?

We know everyone is aware of what the “glorious new, more broken” roads currently destroying our business lives in Gauteng (I know, all over the country really, but trust me, it’s particularly piss-poor up here) are going to become, but there doesn’t seem to have been too much of an uproar as yet.

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In the past year I have had to make peace with the fact that the Chinese are coming to SA with even more vehicles. Not just Nissan/Isuzu rip-off bakkie combinations, but passenger cars as well. Some are blatant design rip-offs, which the Chinese are famous for, but then there are others that actually show a spattering of originality – like Chery’s J1.

I’ll be honest: I think it’s very cute in a city car way. The styling fits in with other supermini-type vehicles, the alloy wheels bringing some class to the package and the roof rails adding an inkling of practicality to the mix. From the outside, everything looks in place and I was surprised, skeptic that I often am, at the seemingly good build quality and finishing. Our test unit was a dark gray metallic that worked very well, unlike the paprika-orange type colour also on offer.

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Some Friday afternoon video fun is almost becoming a tradition here at Drive. Here’s this weeks interesting little clip, about the hottest hybrid at Geneva, and typically for Porsche videography it’s a nice, evocative little story. What makes it really worth watching though, are the absolutey stunning lines of this 918 concept. Seriously, regular readers may have picked up something of a disliking for hybrid vehicles -- well spotted. We aren’t the technology’s biggest fan…

But this one we just love. Largely because of the jaw-dropping looks of the thing, but also thanks to the race-bred V8 which actually powers it, with some little electric doodads providing some push now and then as well.

Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche's latest hybrid

One of Porsche’s Geneva reveals is yet another hybrid, and whilst we’ve been forced to accept that this is the way the industry is heading, this Porsche really makes me sad. It is one thing for hybrid systems to flood the market with boring cars that we wouldn’t have been all that interested in even if they did just burn petrol, but it is quite another issue when an otherwise gorgeous and monstrously powerful Porsche goes down the hybrid road. And gorgeous the 918 most certainly is, its Carrera GT undertones and almost Ferrari like sleekness had me sold almost immediately. The 918 also has some 917 inspirations it seems.

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SLS F1 Safety Car

AMG SLS wings down

When the 2010 F1 season kicks off in Bahrain early March some of the worlds most impressive cars will be on display, but threatening to steal the show is AMG’s all-new halo car, the SLS gullwing. The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Official F1™ Safety Car replaces the already very special SL 63 AMG.

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Lotus Evora 414E Hybrid

Not even Lotus can escape the hybrid craze

The Lotus Evora has won accolades left, right and centre all over the world, and whilst it was only launched in South Africa recently the reception has been equally positive. So despite the Evora then proving to be a successful concept and design, Lotus seem intent on changing the very foundation of the Evora. The Geneva Motor Show will witness the unveiling of an Evora hybrid high performance technology demonstrator, along with a Proton car that it seems will feature the same concept of hybrid technology.

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