Dear Baraza, The President has conspicuously changed the ceremonial vehicle from the traditional Land Rover to the Toyota Land Cruiser VX. Apart from the bullet-proof glass, how do the two vehicles compare for such a noble task, or was the president literally driving home a turn-East point? –King’ori Wangechi. Hello Sir, I believe His Excellency … Read more
Hi Baraza, I am in the process of importing a BMW 3 series E90 (320i). My query is: Why does it have rave reviews in Europe, yet it hardly features on our roads? Is there something about the car that I may have overlooked? Second, I am told it is a rear-wheel-drive. How does that … Read more
Hello Baraza, I own a Toyota Premio, year 2000 model, and would like to upgrade to a Camry or Mark X. I do not do a lot of out-of-town driving — maybe three times a year to western Kenya and five times to Nakuru — so I need the cars mostly for town service. I … Read more
There is a sudden spurt in the number of 190E Mercs on Nairobi roads. Kindly offer your thoughts on why this is so and review the car for safety, reliability, performance and maintenance. Pete The car is obsolete, very much so, seeing how it pre-dates and precedes the current line of C-Class Mercs. As such, … Read more
Hi Baraza, I want to upgrade my current vehicle to either a Toyota Mark X, 2499cc or Volkswagen Passat CC, 1799cc. Both being second-hand, auto and petrol engine. Kindly advise me on the pros and cons of running these two vehicles in the Kenyan environment. Bethi ———————— The pros and cons of running these two … Read more
Hi JM, I have owned a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Cedia wagon 1800cc GDI for more than three years with no problem other than the usual wear and tear, brakes, shocks, etc. And so I fail to understand the Kenyan phobia for any car with an engine other than a VVT-i or stone-aged engines, minus some … Read more
It is not the first time that the comic genius of one Jeremy Clarkson from the BBC has driven my motoring thoughts in a particular direction. Several months ago, I watched as he and his colleague tried to come up with a TV ad for the then recently released Volkswagen Scirocco diesel. The brief was: … Read more