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About a month ago I attended an exclusive MINIyournight event where we were given a Mini to drive around for the evening, it was absolutely awesome and from that grew something more – MINI Cape Town provided me with a stunning 2012 Mini Cooper Roadster S Softtop to drive around for a week and that’s what I’ve been doing!

I’d like to share my opinion with you on the car, but before I do that, let’s have a look at this gorgeous little beast:

Photographs by: Andre in Africa – Cape Town Photography

So, what’s my opinion on this car?

• The look: It’s a sexy little car, the rear spoiler, the big takkies, the low front grill and the exhaust setup at the back of the car allow it to look more aggressive. That being said, I still feel (as do most) that it’s a women’s car more so than a man’s car, but I certainly didn’t feel strange driving it around nor did the people who stopped me to ask me about it! It looks fun, and it is fun!
• Inside: The interior is comfortable, leather heated seats are perfect for night time roof down driving and the storage isn’t too shabby. I’m still not convinced that the setup for storage is the best, but there’s a great new area behind the seats that fits a macbook, jacket and lunch, perfect for the business man or woman. Lots and lots and lots of controls, choose how hot you want your seats, choose what colour the interior lights should be, connect to your mobile device and stream Twitter, Facebook or Web Radio, the aircon is fantastic, the drink holders work a charm, the center arm rest is incredibly useful, the seats are comfortable and bucketed, locking and unlocking of doors is great, the time, fuel level, vehicle information and all of that is in easy sight. All in all, the interior has been really well thought out. Oh yes, rear park assist with visual display is awesome too, and parking the MINI – haha, you’ll never fear over parallel parking again, piece of cake.
• The drive: Ok, so this is where the real fun begins, I was given an Automatic Sport, which I frowned at at first, but let me tell you.. WOW! Click the sport button, put your foot down and use the gear pedals on the steering wheel to boost your way forwards! The power in this little fire cracker is incredible, jumping between first, second and third is an experience everyone deserves. I’ve driven a lot of cars and I can honestly say that I’ve had the most fun in this car than any other. The car moves its way to 100km/h in just seconds and doesn’t stop, up, up, up the speed goes and the car handles comfortably. I pushed the car right up to 210km/hour (in a controlled environment) and it sat in sixth gear just purring! If you’re totally against gears, click it out of pedal mode, sit back and enjoy an incredibly easy drive. If you have a chance, go down to MINI and take one for a test drive, but mark my words, you’ll be tempted to buy it, trust me!

There are a couple of things that bugged me though:

• The soft-top is manual, so you have to get in and out the car to move it up and down, although pulling it up can be done from inside, it’s not comfortable.
• The silver bars behind the seats are annoying, at night they reflect car lights and it feels like there’s always a car close by in your left-back blindspot, but 90% of the time there isn’t.

I’m no car reviewer, so I hope I’ve got my points across decently and that I’ve given you all a good understanding of what the car’s like, if not, please just pop in a comment below and I’ll happily answer.

I must say a huge thanks to MINI and the parties involved that made this happen and thank you to Andre for taking some incredibly photographs at the last minute with not the best weather and a make-do setting – cheers mate!

Audi’s Q3 is expected to appear in showrooms this month. The urban SUV has been highly anticipated and many consumers are waiting for the official launch.

The Q3 is the newest addition to the Q SUV range. It fits in right under the established Q5, which has been a huge success in the SUV market due to its safety, practicality and performance. The Audi Q7 range still maintains its place as the flagship of the Q SUV line up.

All models will sport a 2.0 engine, whether it’s Audi’s award winning TDi diesel or the petrol driven TFSi. There is an entry level model which will be a 103kW 2.0 TDi model equipped with a manual gearbox and front wheel drive. The other engines in the range include a 130kW TDi engine, a 125kW TFSi engine, and the flagship model, which comes with a powerful 155kW TFSi engine.

The styling is fresh too. While maintaining Audi’s iconic single frame grille, the Q3 styling has clearly been influenced by the A1, which is evident in the styling of the rear lights and tailgate. The rear drops quite sharply, giving it a very sporty appearance.

The wedge shaped headlights come with halogen as standard and xenon lights with LED daytime running lights are an optional extra. With the xenon headlights as an option, the tail lights also come equipped with LED lights.

As with all Audis, one can come to expect the superior build of the interior of the Q3. While cloth seating comes standard, leather is an optional extra, but comes standard in the 2.0T 155kW flagship. Most models will, however be fitted with leather as an option due to the high demand in South Africa. All models will come standard with the Driver’s Information Screen that all Audi drivers have become accustomed to.

The Q3 offers plenty car for your money and while pricing has not been released as yet, Audi aims to price their urban SUV very aggressively against its competitors in the market place.

Cars mean different things to different people. For some, it’s simply a means of transport, to get you from point A to point B. I’m lucky enough to work for a company that allows me to sell people their dream cars. Audi has emerged as a progressive luxury brand and thus have been the cars that many people aspire to drive.

However, buying an Audi, or any car for that matter, takes some planning. The majority of car owners finance their cars and pay them off over a couple of years, with the maximum term being six years. Most people do not want to keep their cars for that long, and the majority of the clients that I have come across want to trade their cars in around the three year mark.

While the ideal scenario would be to trade your car in at a stage where the trade-in value is more than the settlement amount, the very least you should aim for is to have your car settled. Audi and many other manufacturers now offer trade assist whereby they offer to help customers settle their shortfall with amounts varying between R5,000 and R35,000.

There are a few reasons why people would want to trade their cars in. The most common probably being that the car’s mileage is getting high and the car’s maintenance plan expires at 100,000km after which the car can become expensive to maintain. Another reason is that the car a person is currently driving has a high monthly installment and they cannot afford it as easily as they could when they first bought the car.

Here is where you should be careful when buying a car, whether it’s your first one, or your fourth one. Buy what you can comfortably afford, with a deposit, without a residual, and over a period of five years or less.

That way, if your situation changes, you can still afford your car, much easier than if you were stretching yourself to make payments every month. Secondly, with a deposit, and without a residual, chances are you will be able to trade your car in under ideal conditions much sooner than if you opted for a deposit.

So what if you can’t afford the car of your dreams without a residual? It gives you something to work towards. Would you rather drive a fancy car and scrape through every month or would you drive a decent car and easily make it through the month? It’s a no-brainer.

Imagine BMW actually came out with a vehicle that looks like this concept i-FD, that thing would look so futuristic on the roads! The designer Feliciano Ruy-Diaz was inspired by Santiago Calatrava, and came up with this concept piece, the aim, to create an aggressive design with shark-like lines, but remain somewhat realistic and potentially what BMWs might actually look like.

Feast your eyes on the future:

The new Mercedes-Benz A-Class has been announced and you’re already able to place an order for this gorgeous vehicle (if you’re overseas of course). Mercedes-Benz have announced that they’ll be launching a new website for the vehicle, and the minute I have that link I’ll update this post, but for now, let’s just soak in the beauty:

Hot or not?

It all started back in 1972, when Audi unveiled the Audi 80. It was the first car that Audi had created independently of the VW brand. The name stuck for 22 more years, until Audi used a new naming strategy across their entire range. The Audi A4 was born.

The A4 is Audi’s most important and most widely recognised model. The A4 range alone accounted for 28% of Audi’s global sales. It is by far their most popular model, appealing to a wide range of consumers.

In its latest guise, the new A4 offers a new appearance, more efficient engines and more innovation than before. The new Audi A4 has the option of Audi Connect, which enables owners to insert a SIM card into the car and create a wireless hotspot. That’s not where it ends. The navigation system with Audi Connect integrates Google Earth and Google Street View as navigation tools as opposed to the preloaded contact in previous vehicles.

The previous trim lines of Attraction, Ambition and Ambiente now make way for the S, SE and quattro trim lines.

Audi have changed the appearance very subtly, but upon closer inspection, you cannot miss the changes. The characteristic Audi single frame grille has been given a more aggressive appearance with bevelled upper corners.

The headlights have also been redesigned. Complementing the single frame grille, they have a more horizontal appearance which emphasises the car’s width. When the daytime running lights are activated, it gives the A4 an unmistakable touch of Audi class. The fog lights have also been redesigned, having changed from the elliptical shape to a more rectangular configuration. The front and rear bumpers have also been reimagined, shaped like an athlete’s muscle, further conveying the car’s width, sportiness and aggression.

The interior has been given small but significant changes give the car a laid back classy feel. Cloth upholstery has been discontinued as an upholstery option, with twin leather or Milano leather being the only options.

Oh my word! Check this beast out, the 2013 Audi RS 5.. listen to that engine growl:

The Audi RS 5 features a high-revving 4.2-liter V8 with 450 horsepower and a seven-speed S tronic transmission with launch control program. An innovative crown-gear center differential in the quattro drivetrain transmits power to all four wheels, providing exceptional traction and grip for increased performance.

Car salespeople have gotten a bad reputation. Especially used car salespeople. While not all salespeople are created equal, not all of them are there to swindle you out of a buck. The auto industry has changed quite a bit, and along with the Consumer Protection Act, there is no cutting of corners, and car dealers have to be transparent about the cars they sell.

On the flip side of the coin, however, they’ve also become very thorough in the evaluations they do for the cars they are going to buy. Car dealers know that they won’t be able to sell sub-standard cars and therefore will not accept any as stock on their showroom floors.

What should you look for in a car salesperson though? I’ve outlined a few pointers below.

Enthusiasm plays a big role. If the salesperson you are dealing with is enthusiastic and passionate about the product that he is selling, and the service he is providing, there is no way that he will offer you second rate service or vehicle. This salesperson takes too much pride in what they do and what they sell.

The salesperson’s appearance is also very important. Is the salesperson well groomed and neat? Do they take pride in their appearance? If the salesperson’s appearance is not important to them, they don’t take their job very seriously.

Honesty is vital. Honest salespeople keep their clients involved and informed every step of the way, from the signing of the Offer To Purchase, right through to the delivery stage and beyond. If something goes wrong with your car before delivery, you need to be kept informed about it. You also need to know what’s being done about it and when it will be solved.

Is the salesperson taking the time to get to know you? You are entering a relationship based on trust. You are spending a small fortune on a vehicle and you want to know that you’re being taken care of. Great salespeople build relationships and guide their customers to make the right buying decision. You may want to buy a sports car impulsively, but a sedan would meet your needs better. A great salesperson will analyse your needs and help you decide on the car that best meets those needs.

At the end of the day, you also have to trust your gut and be able to be honest with a salesperson. You have to have a set budget in place and talk about your concerns and needs, however long it may take.

I’ve included a video of the newly released Audi A4. The last bit is in German, but still a pleasure to watch.

Don’t forget to read about the new Audi A5!