The Nissan Note has been undergoing steady improvements over the years and it’s now one of most decent hatchbacks you can buy in Kenya. It competes with the Toyota Ractis, Subaru Trezia, Honda Fit and Mazda Demio. It boasts of a spacious interior that is at par with the best hatchbacks and it can comfortably seat 5 adults.
The impact of the Toyota Vitz in Kenya has been tremendous and it’s not a far stretch to credit it with the widespread acceptance of sub-compacts in the past decade. There were others before such as the VW Polo and the Toyota Starlet but they never gained the same success as the Vitz. It’s comfortable, affordable to buy and fuel efficient which are factors that greatly influenced people’s perceptions of the small car. It competes with the Honda Fit, Mazda Demio, Nissan March, VW Polo and Suzuki Swift.
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.