FIRST WORD

Ihave a running joke with family and friends when they – often listing a couple of newcar options to choose from – ask me to recommend a motor vehicle. Whatever their choices may be, my go-to (tongue-in-cheek) answer has become, “Second-hand Porsche Boxster”. Needless to say, none of them has followed this recommendation… yet. And the conversation is quickly redirected to the initial cars and objective analysis of the pros and cons of each. The operative word here is ‘objective’.

As motoring journalists, we must remain objective when reviewing cars, even if those vehicles illicit an intense feeling of emotion, much like the one on this issue’s cover, the Ferrari Daytona SP3 (p. 36) and, celebrating the 50th anniversary of BMW M, the several M cars featured in the following pages. For example, driving the 530 MLE (p. 132), arguably the spiritual ancestor to all M cars, was a near-spiritual experience.

In journalism school, I learnt objectivity isn’t clear-cut; we are human and it is something we can only strive for. This, of course, also applies to buying a car. So, when a motoring journalist does respond with advice on which car to buy, some follow the advice and some don’t. As clichéd as it may sound, they follow their heart. Again, we’re human; there is plenty of emotion involved when having to spend your hard-earned money. How a car makes someone feel is something we, as automotive journalists, often disregard in our pursuit of objectivity.

I realised this recently when I was in the market for a new car. For the first time, I had to give myself the objective advice I had given to family and friends. I read excellent (and objective) reviews written by our talented contributors and tried to set emotion aside. But to no avail.

Ultimately, I bought a low-mileage, second-hand vehicle with two doors, a manual transmission and a naturally aspirated engine. No, it’s not the German drop-top sports car mentioned above. It’s a new-generation Suzuki Jimny.

Yes, the Jimny has its drawbacks. It has its pros, too. Most importantly, though, the compact o -roader makes me smile whenever I look at it or am behind the wheel.

Enjoy the issue Marius

mariusboonzaier

MB

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THE TEAM Publisher: Vann van Staden Editor: Marius Boonzaier Art Director: Bianca-Leigh Nagel Lifestyle editor: Lauren Zuidema

Contributors: Andrew Frankel, Brett Hamilton, Gautam Sharma, Ian McLaren, Jennifer Campbell, Kelly Fisher, Kumbirai Mtshakazi, Mark Smyth, Mat Watson, Niyaaz Isaacs, Richard Lane, Shane O’Donoghue, Simon Fox, Vann van Staden Proofreader: Margy Beves-Gibson

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