The Toyota Crown is an executive Japanese saloon that is built to rival the world’s best luxury cars. It has a high degree of refinement not common in Japanese cars and it obviously targets an upscale clientele. It competes with the Lexus LS, Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5 Series, Audi A6, Jaguar XF and Nissan Fuga. In Kenya, the Toyota Crown has historically not been as popular as the Mercedes and BMW but in recent years, it’s popularity has been on the rise.
The Mitsubishi RVR is a compact SUV that boasts of good safety ratings and a spacious interior. Its steadily gaining popularity in Kenya and is now among the most popular small sized SUVs to buy in this market. It comes with a 1.8L engine that is sufficiently powerful and reliable. It competes with the Subaru XV, Nissan Juke, Nissan Dualis/Qashqai and Honda Vezel.
The Toyota Prius is the world’s first mass produced hybrid and for a long time, it has been the yardstick with which hybrid compacts have been measured. It’s commonplace for new entrants to be compared and contrasted against the Prius. We finally found ourselves behind the wheel of this storied compact and we well intended to put it through its paces. It competes with the Honda Insight, Nissan Note Hybrid and Honda Fit Hybrid which are all formidable competitors
In the field of automotive engineering, Mercedes Benz has been dominant in many aspects such as design, comfort, performance, safety and technology. Most innovations we see in cars today trace their roots to Mercedes Benz. The C-Class is particularly quintessential because it combines affordability and luxury in one package which appeals to the global masses. It competes with the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, Toyota Lexus lS, VW Passat, Subaru Legacy and Toyota Mark X.
The Nissan Serena is a mixed bag of things. On paper, it ticks all the right boxes such as space, economy, utility and affordability but in reality it underwhelms in power delivery and heavy lifting. People who buy it usually intend to put it through hard work and less of leisure but it appears the Serena excels in the latter. Additionally, it plays in a neighborhood dominated by proven workhorses such as the Toyota Noah, Toyota Voxy, Mitsubishi Delica D:5 and Mazda Biante. However, not all is lost, the Nissan Serena hides a clever punch in its class leading fuel efficiency which can drive long term benefits for the owner.
The Toyota Aqua is full hybrid hatchback that is capable of returning an outstanding 35.4Km per Litre and offers decent onboard amenities that are at per with the best of hatchbacks. It’s simply a game changer poised to take the Kenyan market by storm given the growing appetite for economy cars. We spent a considerable amount of time in this storied car and we were utterly amazed at its capabilities. It competes with the Nissan Note, Honda Fit, Mazda Demio and Mitsubishi Mirage.
The Toyota Estima is a large MPV that is produced and sold predominantly in the Japanese market. It’s sold as the Toyota Previa in Asian markets and the Toyota Tarago in the Australian market. It’s the second largest minivan in the Toyota lineup after the Toyota Alphard and the Toyota Vellfire. Directly below it is the Toyota Noah and the Toyota Voxy. Its popularity in the Kenyan market is average thanks to the dominance of its aforementioned siblings.
The Subaru Outback has been an all time favorite amongst Kenyans ever since it was introduced to this market back in 2004. In essence the Subaru Outback is the same as the Subaru Legacy save for suspension and engine variations. The Subaru Outback is a very capable off-road vehicle, a fact that is sometimes lost on a casual observer. On the tarmac, there are few station wagons that can keep pace with the Subaru Outback and off the tarmac, it can go toe-to-toe with the best 4x4s. It competes with the Audi Allroad and The Volvo XC70.