Motorists will be spoilt for choice in 2015! Alan Cooper takes another look at the cars that will be turning heads on our roads this year.
AUDI S1
Uninformed boy racers may be taken in by the S1’s dinky car dimensions and decide to take it on in the clichéd, but all-too-common traffic light drag race. With the S1 boasting a claimed 0-100kph time of 5.8 seconds, their re-education will be swift and, almost certainly, humiliating. The source of their downfall? A scorching combination of a 2-litre TFSI turbo-petrol motor, six-speed manual gearbox, and – should they foolishly opt to take the tussle into the twists – quattro all-wheel drive, ESC stability control and an almost completely revamped suspension. A first class education doesn’t come cheap. But if you’ve got R442 000 to spare, you’ll probably consider it cheap at the price.
BMW i3
Come September, SA’s only fully electric-powered car, the Nissan Leaf, will get some long overdue competition in the form of the appealingly quirky-looking BMW i3. Critics will point out that this Beemer will only carry you a maximum of 160km on a single charge before you need to plug it back into its wall socket to rejuice. But with running costs amounting to just a third of its petrol-engined counterparts, it should justify it’s yet to-be-confirmed R480 000 price tag pretty quickly, even given Eskom’s outrageous tariffs. Those same cynics will also complain – with some justification – that it’s ultimately coal powered. So prove them wrong and start blanketing your roof with solar panels.
HONDA JAZZ HYBRID
With its surprisingly capacious interior for this compact car, the Honda Jazz has always been a really practical car for a small family. Now, with the introduction of the more edgily styled Hybrid model, it’s also better looking and a lot more fuel efficient, thanks to the high-tech marrying of 1.3-litre petrol and electric motors into a single drive train. At R289 700 it costs R15 000 more than its new top-of-the-range petrol-only sibling, and you’ll sacrifice a bit of boot space to the batteries. But don’t worry, there’s still plenty roomy and you’ll save close to 2.8-litres of fuel per 100km.
OPEL ADAM
If you’re after the “Ag shame, it’s so cute” factor of the Mini or Fiat 500, but you’re not a fan of retro-chic, you’ll definitely want to take the new Opel Adam for a test drive. With its low-slung grille, Porsche-like headlights and distinctive chrome-accented “floating roof”, the Opel Adam is unmistakably a boutique hatch, but it’s also unashamedly modern. Prices start at R189 900 and climb to R232 900. *