I was never a massive car guy. But I like going fast. 

And I’m also a fairly lazy journalist and have discovered over the decades that it is easier to write about an object than to interview another human or understand an issue.

Add to that a certain timidity of getting a story wrong, and reviewing stuff is my natural journalistic home.

So, when we at BusinessDesk were planning The Life section and needed a car reviewer, I put myself forward. And I’ve loved every minute of it.

It has been quite amazing that carmakers have given me a chance to test-drive their very expensive creations. The big boost (and second review) was the Rolls-Royce Phantom, a $970,000 door-opener for most of the rest of the industry. 

So, as the year comes to a close, here are my exceptional vehicles of the year that are not the Rolls-Royce. 


The Jaguar F-Type R
Jaguar’s performance-focused F-Type R has a five-litre supercharged V8 engine that can power it from nought to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds.

Its four exhausts produce the kind of exclamation that would make pop singer Katy Perry proud: “Louder, louder than a lion. ’Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!”

But the F-Type is more than roar power. It corners beautifully and has heaps of personality. It drives like a pup wanting to keep playing ball. More, more, more. Faster, faster, faster. Read the full review. 


The Mercedes EQC
“If you do that again, I’ll shove this bacon-and-egg bap right into your face.”

In sport mode, the Mercedes EQC has more acceleration power than is best for long-lasting marriages. It’s certainly not advisable to use its serious G force just as your wife is about to take a bite of the sarnie she bought at the local farmers’ market. Putting your foot down then can lead to shouting, abuse and, potentially, divorce.

 This is the first Merc I’ve driven since I sold (to a wrecker) my prized 1973 Mercedes 230. They’ve come a long way.

The electric EQC is Mercedes’ answer to Tesla, the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace. They’re rightly proud of it and have billboards up all over the country promoting it — “Electric now has a Mercedes”.

So, what’s it like? In short, fairly faultless. Read the full review.


VW Golf GTI TCR
You don’t so much drive this VW Golf as strap yourself in and brace. It really is the sort of car you just want to get in and take off. It doesn’t really matter where you go. It is great just to get behind the wheel. Driving from Auckland to Paparoa in Northland, I found myself taking winding back roads because the TCR makes it worthwhile to get off the highway and tackle some corners.

VW is selling just 40 GTI TCRs in New Zealand and I’d grab one if I could. It’s powered by a two-litre inline turbo generating 213kW of power and 350Nm of torque. 

It is on the hills that the Golf is gold. The car corners like it is glued to the tarmac. 

It achieves that rarest of attributes – a car that makes the driver feel young and fun. Read the full review.


Range Rover Velar
Back when I was a smart-arsed 13-year-old at Newlands College in Wellington, I had a big, scary friend who made sure none of the other kids ever laid a finger on me. 

Whenever he was around, I was safe. I could be sarcastic and generally awful, but my mate Richard would make sure nothing happened to me.

The Range Rover Velar P250 R-Dynamic S is Richard. It made me feel safe, while being a little dangerous.

The $115,000 Velar has the same undercarriage as a Jaguar F-Pace but looks much bigger.

On State Highway 16 to Wellsford, we followed a Hyundai Santa Fe and a Suzuki Swift. Given the drought-stricken condition of the road, there was movement in the tarseal all over the place, but we only knew that by seeing the people in front being gently thrown around. The Velar’s electronic air suspension smoothed the highway for us. Read the full review.


Audi RS7 Sportback
Is this a car or is it Satan incarnate? 

Cruising on the highway, pulling away from traffic lights, putting your foot on the gas at any stage, the Audi RS7 Sportback tempts and teases you to go a little faster.

“Is that all you’ve got?” it whispers at me. “Are you a man or are you a muppet?”

“No,” I reply. “The speed limit is a serious thing.”

“A little faster won’t hurt anyone. I’ve looked, there are no cops for miles.”

“Maybe a little faster, then. But you scare me.”

“Muppet.”

This conversation is repeated ad nauseam every time I drive this brutal, wonderful machine.

The Audi RS7 is an apex predator. Its savannah is the super-fast highways of Europe, where it will purr along at 200km/h or more and shred anything in its path. But on New Zealand’s third-rate roads, it is terrifying. Read the full review.

Choosing a car of the year is a silly idea. A car is built for a specific market segment and unless you really understand every market segment, you cannot put a VW Golf, say, against the new Land Rover Defender and declare one is better than the other. At this level, all of these cars are generally excellent at what they are built to do. 

But if I could buy one of these cars, it’d be the Jaguar F-Type R. That’s my midlife-crisis car right there. Just perfect.

We’ll resume publishing reviews in January with the Tesla Model 3 first up, followed by the MG ZS EV and the Mercedes GLE 53. Two of these cars are likely to be in the exceptional-cars list of 2021. 

I also aim to expand the range of vehicles we test. The criteria are pretty simple – they need to be worth more than $70,000, or be electric, or be just really interesting, like the Golf above. 

My aim for next year is to strongarm a few more carmakers into letting me behind the wheel. I’m coming for you, BMW and Maserati. 

Follow Matt @mattmartel