My friends look at my work and the cars I get to drive and they are generally jealous. Sure, it is a privilege to drive so many cars from so many manufacturers and never have to worry about fuel or insurance or tyres or any of that bothersome nonsense that comes with car ownership. Typically, everybody remembers that time when I had the brand new Audi R8 for a week, but nobody remembers when I had to drive a bog-standard Chevy Spark for 9 days. Yeesh.

Anyway, this job has it’s downsides. I have lost countless sunglasses. Does anybody do sunglass insurance? Seriously, drop me a line. Additionally, my personality changes every week. You try climb out of a diesel Volvo station wagon, into a VW bakkie and then a Honda Jazz. I’m sure I’m developing multiple personality disorder. But I digress.

I’d like to take you, the 2OceansViber, through the cars I’ve driven over the last while. This is a quick, highlights package, which I’ll do once a month. A sort of wrap up of the previous month’s car tests and reviews. If you’re lucky there might even be some images, and even prices.

Volvo V60 D3 R Design

Of all the cars I’ve driven this year, this one has surprised me the most. Let’s start with the obvious, the exterior. A young Belgian has taken over design at Volvo, and my goodness has he done some great work. Starting off with the C30 hatchback, he’s literally reinvented the brand in my opinion. They’re so radically different from the bread-bin, boxy hearses of old, that people aren’t sure what they are. I’ve had to answer the question “What is that?” about 20 times this week. And with the R Design sports kit, with those superb wheels, the car looks like a soccer mom’s car for moms who used to date Hugh Hefner and still model lingerie.

They haven’t stopped there, the engine is phenomenal. At 1.6 litres of displacement, with presumably the largest turbocharger ever built strapped to the side, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were driving a 3.0 litre V6. Power is just on the right side of “Whoooaaah” and of course it sips fuel like a shrew at a watering hole. It sounds a bit clunky to be honest, but luckily they have fitted an enormous sound system to help you forget about that.

At R346 000, I can wholeheartedly recommend the Swede, especially if you’re a bit bored of the German contingent. That does happen sometimes.

Hyundai Sonata

This is an interesting offering from the Korean manufacturer that seems to be growing by the minute. Hyundai-Kia, now one company, sells more cars in the USA than every maker from Europe – combined. You know you’re doing something right when the CEO of Toyota tells reporters that Hyundai is his biggest concern. And in SA, they had two car of the year finalists, namely the Sonata and the very popular iX35 SUV.

So what is on offer then? Well essentially you have a car which rivals cars like the Merc E Class, BMW 5 Series and Audi A6 for size and space, but you only have to pay 3-Series, A4 or C-Class money. It is very immediately comfortable car, and the dashboard and electronics certainly look the part. The leather is top notch and there really is acres of space. But there is a bit of smoke and mirrors at work.

The aircon controls take the shape of a reclining person, with what looks like a button for your head, torso and legs. Ah, very clever I thought, hitting one of those will direct air to the desired region. But no, it’s one big button, and it just cycles through the different modes. Really? Really, Hyundai? Would it have killed you to wire three separate buttons? It would have added maybe five bucks to the selling price. And I wouldn’t be annoyed, and I wouldn’t be writing about it now.

Regardless, the Sonata is a massive leap for the brand. This is bold new waters for them outside of the US, and I reckon they’ve pulled it off. The engine is superb, smooth and powerful, and the suspension is biased for comfort, and it works. This is a very effortless, comfortable car. But there is something very strange about the steering. It is over-assisted, and at cruising speeds this means the car is as vague as a Pieter De Villiers press conference. You can tell something’s happening but you’re not quite sure what’s really going on. I’ve read much noise about dealers in the states not willing to deal with the issue, and owners over there assume it is an engineering issue. Its not a dealbreaker for me, but you cant help but notice it.

Prices for the Exec spec kick off at R299 000, and it is pretty well loaded at that price.

Audi A6 3.0TDI S-Line

Does anybody remember the last Audi A6? Or the one before that? I think I remember the last time I ate Lays Caramelized Onion and Balsamic flavoured crisps more than I remember those cars. Audi had to do something drastic and I’m pleased to say I have the result outside. And it’s bloody marvelous.

Drawing on the popular lines of the A4, and the granddaddy A8, the A6 now looks better than ever, which wasn’t difficult. But it is striking, especially in S-Line form, with those giant 10-spoke wheels and angry front chin. The Xenon lights are stunning too, we’re getting closer to the cars in movies like I, Robot.

The big, hearty diesel powerplant we’ve been driving is all the engine you could ever want. Power is comparable to a big petrol V8 of not-so-long-ago; diesel has certainly come a long way. With Quattro drive, this car positively jumps off the line, and overtaking is a doddle. It will rocket from 80 – 120, or 120 – 140, generally regarded as standard overtaking speeds. I think I actually gave a poor old dear a heart attack the other day, shooting past her on High Level road. It’s just too easy.

You’re thinking bugger that, why should I buy a sporty German sedan with massive wheels and an angry chin and ruin it with a diesel engine. Well you’d be wrong. And a bit weird for thinking that anyway. This is by far and away the quietest diesel engine I have ever encountered. Its impossibly quiet. No one would know you had bought a diesel, and your wallet will thank you. A car of comparable size and power, running a petrol engine, would bother anyone with its drinking habit. With the TDI, you get the best of both worlds. I can’t praise it enough.

I think I like the 530d more, which one this year’s SA Car of the Year honours, but honestly I think its mostly because I prefer rear-wheel drive to Quattro, in terms of driver enjoyment. There’s not much to split between the two rivals but the Beemer has it for me on driving dynamics.

Starting at R655 000, our test model came with nearly R300 000 worth of extras. All vital of course. So this is not a cheap exercise by any means.

Other cars

We’ve also driven the Mercedes CLS 63 AMG, the Alfa Romeo Giulietta and the Honda Accord this month. If you have any queries or would just like to know what we thought of them, all of our details are on OverdriveTV.