MOTOR vehicle distributors have introduced a bevy of new models, at virtually all levels and at some remarkable prices.
First to come was the inexpensive Mazda Astina NU which, at $119,000, undercuts almost all its competitors. In styling, it resembles Audi's three-door coupe, the A3, yet is endowed with five doors and costs half the price.
It represents a bargain and surely one of Mazda's most tempting offerings since the Ford takeover last year.
At the top of the price range, when it was unleashed in September on a world which regarded the two-door Bentley line-up as all but complete, came the exciting Continental SC.
Featuring twin removable, glass roof panels, the SC offers the best of open-air motoring with the option of converting within seconds to a fully-enclosed coupe. The toughened glass panels, which slide out sideways, are stored beneath the boot floor on dedicated rubber platforms. Simple but effective.
Powered by Bentley's 6.75-litre V8 engine, the Continental SC will reach 100 km/h from rest in a little over six seconds and power on to an amazing, electronically-limited 250 km/h.
And this is a car which tips the scales at 2610 kg. Despite the weight (heavier than its stablemates, the Continental R and Continental T, because of increased structural support), stopping the huge machine from speed is equally without drama thanks to twin calipers on hefty ventilated discs at the front and solid discs at the rear.