Zooming with DRIVEN

Zooming with DRIVEN Car Guide is back for a limited-run series thanks to our sponsor, Winger Motors! If you're not up to date, check out the first episode here , the second episode here, the third episode here and the fourth episode here! This is the big one: today we announce the overall winner of the 2023 AA DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year, as well as all the individual category winners. This week Sam, Dean and Damien are in the studio to run through each of those category winners before the big reveal of the overall winner! Not only that, but we also reveal the lucky winner of the Peoples Choice award who will take away $5000 fuel or charge credit. Of course, this week's print issue of DRIVEN Car Guide out tomorrow will have deeper coverage of the COTY winners, so make sure to check that out too. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zooming with DRIVEN Car Guide is back for a limited-run series! If you're not up to date, check out the first episode here , the second episode here and the third episode here. Our 2023 AA DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year programme, this year sponsored by Winger Motors, is now reaching the really exciting bits. Just one week to go until all is revealed! This week Sam, Dean and David are in the studio to look at the finalists for the LCV, Luxury and Safest Car categories, as well as the Peoples Choice award that gives our readers (that's you!) a chance to have your say and go in the draw to win $5000 fuel or charge credit. As always, we also take a look at this Saturday's print issue, which showcases Cadillac's return to NZ with the very grand Lyriq electric SUV. And look out for Zooming next Friday, December 1: it's the grand final, with class victors revealed and announcement of the overall winner. And if you're keen on winning $5000 of fuel or EV charge, vote in our Peoples Choice award. You can do that using the voting form here - but be quick, because voting closes at 10am on Monday November 27. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zooming with DRIVEN Car Guide is back for a limited-run series! If you're not up to date, check out the first episode here and the second episode here. Our 2023 AA DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year programme, this year sponsored by Winger Motors, is now well under way. This week Sam, David and fellow COTY judge Avon Bailey from the AA are in the studio to look at the finalists for the Sports/Performance and Passenger categories, as well as the Peoples Choice award that gives our readers (that's you!) a chance to have your say and go in the draw to win $5000 fuel or charge credit. We also take a look at this Saturday's print issue, which is a RIDDEN motorbike special and also features a road test of one of our COTY finalists, the BYD Dolphin. Look out for more Zooming each Friday as we count down the COTY finalists - all the way to the grand final and announcement of the overall winner on December 1. And if you're keen on winning $5000 of fuel or EV charge, vote in our Peoples Choice award. You can do that using the voting form here. Good luck and keep listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Zooming with DRIVEN Car Guide is back for a limited-run series! If you're not up to date, check out the first episode here. Our 2023 AA DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year programme, this year sponsored by Winger Motors, is now well under way. This week Sam, Damien and fellow COTY judge Allister Wade from the AA are in the studio to look at the finalists for our three Clean Car categories: Small SUV, Medium SUV and Large SUV. We also take a look at this Saturday's print issue, which features the supremely silly-fast MG4 XPower. Look out for more Zooming each Friday as we count down the COTY finalists - all the way to the grand final and announcement of the overall winner on December 1. And if you're keen on winning $5000 of fuel or EV charge, vote in our Peoples Choice award. You can do that using the voting form here. Good luck and keep listening! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yes, we're back! Zooming with DRIVEN (now DRIVEN Car Guide, of course) has returned for a limited-run series - as is the fashion in the streaming age - as we kick off our 2023 AA DRIVEN Car Guide New Zealand Car of the Year programme, this year sponsored by Winger Motors. This week Sam, Dean and David are in the studio to look at the finalists for our first three categories: Small SUV, Medium SUV and Large SUV. We also take a look at this Saturday's print issue, which features the Porsche Rennsport Reunion. If you'd like a bit less talking and a few more written words, please check out our online stories for those first three COTY categories. You'll find Small SUV here, Medium SUV here and Large SUV here. Look out for more Zooming each Friday as we count down the COTY finalists - all the way to the grand final and announcement of the overall winner on December 1. And if you're keen on winning $5000 of fuel or EV charge, vote in our Peoples Choice award. You can do that using the voting form here. Good luck and keep watching! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam's away, but Zooming with DRIVEN carries on! But, somehow, with no less talk of Sam's muscles... Anyway, in Episode 121 David and Damien tell us of their trip to Hamilton to check out the new ride of Police dogs around the country - the Skoda Superb Police Dog Unit. The Superb is rolling out around the country to replace the old Holdens (currently a mix of VF Commodore utes and Equinox SUVs) and is a very high-tech replacement indeed, with full temperature monitoring and automated systems to keep the doggos cool and comfortable, as well as a very clever feature that lets the handler remotely release the hounds. Sorry, but you knew we were ALWAYS going to slip that one in somewhere... Anyway, moving on from the bad jokes and Good Boys, Dean tells us about how there are now 50 more awesome Honda Civic Type Rs available after it initially sold out in record time, and that the latest ballot for the next wave of 50 equally-awesome Toyota GR Corollas has opened as well! David then segues smoothly into his visit to the recent Toyota Festival held at Highlands Motorsport Park in Cromwell, where he got to revisit the GR Corolla (we were lucky enough to already have played with it on track, which you can read about here) and see the GR Sport Hilux for the first time (which, incidentally, Toyota has just revealed pricing for). Damien then takes us into the virtual world with a spin around the block (well, many, many times around a wide selection of race tracks, at least...) in Gran Turismo 7 using Sony's new PlayStation VR2 - which is utterly spectacular - and news that Skoda New Zealand has become the first territory outside Europe to adopt the company's virtual reality showroom that allows customers to check out different colours, options and even body styles on cars they are interested in, but that a dealer may not have on hand. It's being trialed with the new Enyaq iV all-electric SUV and you can head to your nearest Skoda dealer to try it out for yourself. We then round things out with a rant from Dean about Formula One tracks and a confusing game of "Easter Rebate Road Trip" where all three had to choose a car that would get a rebate under the Clean Car scheme to go on an Easter road trip in, using the rebate money to fund the holiday. Of course not everyone took it seriously... Don't forget to check out more DRIVEN videos on our YouTube channel or subscribe to the Zooming with DRIVEN podcast, if you aren't into the whole moving pictures thing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week's episode of Zooming with DRIVEN, Dean regales us with tales of his MX-5 racing exploits from the last-ever motorsport event at Pukekohe Park Raceway, Damien tells us why the 34th series of Top Gear has been cancelled and Sam wonders how many whale penises it take to upholster a car interior. Really. Dean tells us how David was down at the Toyota Festival at Highlands Park to see the freshly-revealed Hilux GR Sport, a more off-road focused Hilux that, unlike other GR Sport cars, gets a slight bump in power as well as some trick off-road suspension and lots of visual upgrades. And that Ford coincidentally revealed a similarly- tweaked Wildtrak X version of the new Ranger on EXACTLY THE SAME DAY. What are the odds? Damien then tells us the reason why the 34th season of Top Gear was cancelled, before getting Sam excited about the Kia EV5 concept reveal, which packs the same weird steering wheel and impractical doors that got him so excited over the EV9 concept (and heart broken when they didn't make it to the production version...), as well as the very cool new Hyundai Sonata that we won't actually be getting here... Dean then digs deep into his victorious weekend at Pukekohe in the DRIVEN Mazda MX-5 before we finish things off with a special April Fool's Day game of True of False, where Damien tests Sam and Dean's knowledge of car features that were either April Fool's jokes or actual real features - including one company that offered the option of leather made from whale penises. Or was that an April Fool's joke? Find out in this episode of Zooming with DRIVEN! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the latest episode of Zooming with DRIVEN, David tells us about the Kia EV9 all-electric large SUV that the Korean manufacturer just revealed the production version of, and it actually looks a lot like the brilliantly angular concept! Although Sam is disappointed that the more impractical features of the original concept - like the weird doors and square steering wheel - haven't made it onto the final version... We then discuss the news that France, Germany and several other European countries are banding together to fight back against the European Union's plans to ban the sale of ICE vehicles in 2035. Why? Well, it seems that they are big fans of carbon neutral eFuel, with Porsche in particular getting into it - David explains the details. Then moving to the opposite end of the scale from EVs and carbon neutral fuels, Damien tells us about his first drive of the awesome Chevrolet Silverado ZR2, the newest member of the GMSV family to be "remanufactured" into right-hand drive form for sale in New Zealand. It's even more off-road oriented than the Trail Boss it replaces and still utterly huge... Damien then slips straight back into EV-mode with the news that pricing for the Cupra Born hot hatch has been revealed. Spoiler alert: it will sneak in under the $80K Clean Car rebate cutoff, but not if you want a blue one. Why? Watch this week's episode to find out... Then we crank things up a notch with a game of our old favourite: Keep/Drive/Destroy, in which we are presented with three cars and have to decide which one we would keep, which one we would drive and which one we would destroy... this week: the hypercar Holy Trinity, hardcore 4X4 off-roaders and weird little Kei cars. That last one caused David and Damien to make some very hard choices... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on Zooming with DRIVEN Dean tells us about his trip to the Fully Charged Show in Sydney to see the new MG4 EV before its release here later this year, but also the new long-range version of the popular MG ZS EV that will be here shortly as well. The Fully Charged Show is a roadshow of electric vehicles that is a spin off of the popular YouTube channel of the same name that was started by actor, writer and broadcaster Robert Llewellyn, better know by cultured and intelligent people as Kryten from the British comedy series Red Dwarf, who was present at the show. David makes us all feel just that bit older with the news that the mighty McLaren P1 is actually ten years old, and that the man who designed the iconic hypercar - Frank Stephenson - has just revealed his latest design - a baby seat! Dean then covers off the news out of the USA about a classic Datsun 240Z selling for some seriously big money, while David tells us about the sexy Hyundai Ioniq 6 arriving in New Zealand and the global reveal of the new Hyundai Kona, as well as the fact that you can now buy a brand new classic Defender from Land Rover, by way of Bowler. But it costs $150,000 and there is only one of them. Confused? Watch the video... Finally Dean fills us in on the last-ever race meeting at the Pukekohe race track, where he will be racing in the DRIVEN Mazda MX-5 in the Mazda race series. We also put out the call for you - yes, you! - to review your car for our upcoming new regular feature: Reader's Reviews. Review your car and let our other readers know the good, the bad and the ugly things about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the latest episode of Zooming with DRIVEN Sam and Dean talk to country music star Miranda Easten about her music and - more importantly (well, to us at least!) - her DMC DeLorean. Miranda fell in love with the DeLorean when she first saw one in - you guessed it - Back to the Future and has gone on to own three in the years since! But it's not just a friendly chat - Dean also tests Miranda and Sam on their DeLorean knowledge with a quiz (spoiler alert: Miranda destroys Sam...) on the iconic car. Then there is also the usual newsy stuff as Dean talks about the first round of the new Formula One season, the Ford SuperVan heading to Pikes Peak and the Australian woman who had an unusual excuse after being pinged by a traffic camera holding a mobile phone, which wasn't actually a phone. Well, not a real one, at least. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're back for 2023! In the first episode of Zooming with DRIVEN for the year (Sam had a loooong holiday...) we take a look back at what has happened (and what we have driven) since the last episode. Dean tells us about his recent trip to Japan for a drive of the all-new Mazda CX-60 (and also about some gross things he ate while he was there...), while Damien headed off to Scotland to drive the fantastic Ineos Grenadier in the wintry Highlands. David tells us about the local launch of the new all-electric Skoda Enyaq and takes a look at GWM's future plans in this part of the world (and also drove the Tank 300 and Ora Sport), while Dean got a first taste of the deeply impressive BMW i7, as well as the first hybrid AMG - the Mercedes-AMG C43. Then there's also MX-5 racing, another Car of the Year award AND we get to have a play in some legendary hot Hondas from Honda New Zealand's Heritage Collection, including the awesome NSX! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the final episode of Zooming with DRIVEN for 2022 we finish off our countdown of the twenty most popular stories on DRIVEN for the year, covering off the top ten - you can watch last week's episode where we look at #20 to #11 here. What was the most read story of the year? You'll just have to watch the episode to find out, but it surprised us... Also in this episode, Dean talks about the Hyundai N Festival he recently attended in Australia where he got to drive the RN22e, which is a very fast experimental version of the forthcoming Ioniq 6, while Damien talks about the Praga Bohema, a new hypercar powered by a worked version of the Nissan GT-R's engine, which you can read more about here. David runs through the refreshed Mazda MX-5 with its new 'Kinematic Posture Control' and Dean also manages to bring up Waze - his favourite navigation app - again, this time previewing his interview with the company's New Zealand social media manager, Hayden O'Brien, which you can watch right here. Don't forget you can also check out more DRIVEN videos on our YouTube channel! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the penultimate episode for 2022 Dean, David, Damien and Sam kick off our countdown of the twenty most popular stories on DRIVEN for 2022, covering off #20 to #11 this week, while David also tells us of the all-electric MG4's recent success in NCAP crash testing, where it scored a full five stars. It was also confirmed that the small BEV will definitely be coming to New Zealand next year as well - you can read more about that right here. In more BEV news, Damien runs through the recent news that Hyundai will be supplying the NZ Police with its first round of electric vehicles, with more than 30 cars (a mix of Ioniq 5s and Kona Electrics) being dispatched to 15 locations around the country for use by support staff. And this is only the beginning, because the police plan to have an emission-free fleet within the next five years. Read more about it all here. Dean then gets very excited by Travis Pastrana's latest entry into the long-running (and iconic) 'Gymkhana' series of videos, with an even more elaborate set of amazing car stunts than his illustrious predecessor in the series, Ken Block. And it really is worth getting excited about, as it is utterly spectacular! You can watch all the action right here. Don't forget to tune in next week for the top ten stories of 2022 on the last Zooming with DRIVEN for the year, but you can also check out more DRIVEN videos on our YouTube channel! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Zooming with DRIVEN EP113, David tells us about his first experience with the all-new Range Rover Sport in the South Island - it's a big deal for Land Rover New Zealand, while being smaller than the full-size Range Rover, that is. And bigger than a Velar, but about the same size as a Land Rover Discovery... it's confusing, but you can read more about the newest member of the Land Rover family right here. David then warns of a new and improved email scam that pretends to be from the NZTA and we all snigger like children over Volkswagen Italy's social media blunder, before fantasizing about a new Auckland apartment complex with parking specially designed for supercars. Yes, really - you can read all about that one here! We then play a new game we are calling "Guess What" where the poor contestants have to guess the car from a movie or TV show from an on-screen description of the car. It sounds easy, but Sam's face will tell you otherwise. I mean, do you know what the car described like this is: "The very latest in interception countermeasures. Titanium armor, a multi-tasking heads-up display AND six beverage cup holders. All in all, rather stocked." Spoiler alert: David did, but he is a MASSIVE movie car nerd... See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the biggest and best Zooming with DRIVEN show of the year, where we announce the winner of the 2022 AA DRIVEN New Zealand Car of the Year. As well as the overall winner of AA DRIVEN Car of the Year, we announce the winners of each class. Cars eligible for the AA DRIVEN NZ COTY include any vehicle currently on sale and that the AA and DRIVEN judges have all had a chance to experience, which means last year’s winners are also in with a chance for a repeat. Last year, the Toyota GR Yaris took out the award, but in a year where supply issues, the move the cleaner cars and the rise of EVs and hybrids have changed the landscape, the popularity of SUVs and the resilience of utes have both remained. 2022 AA DRIVEN NZ COTY CLASSES 1. Small SUV 2. Medium SUV\ 3. Large SUV 4. Clean Cars i. HEV ii. PHEV iii. BEV 5. Passenger (sedan, hatch, wagon) 6. Sports & Performance 7. LCV (van & ute) 8. Luxury (above $100k) 9. AA Safest Car 10. People’s Choice Overall 2022 AA DRIVEN NZ COTY See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Zooming with DRIVEN EP111, Toyota has made the Prius fast and sexy, but it's too late for NZ. David chats about a Ford Ranger Raptor, largely showroom-standard, that won the Mid Size Stock class in the Score International Baja 1000 last week. Damien checks out the cars up for grabs in Webb's classic car auction, and we talk about our top picks. More finalists for AA DRIVEN Car of the Year are announced, this week it's the best luxury, the safest vehicles, and the best light commercial vehicles (utes and vans) of 2022. It's your last chance to go in the draw to win $5000 for either petrol, thanks to AA SmartFuel/BP, or $5000 worth of EV charge credit, thanks to ChargeNet, just by voting for your favourite car in the Peoples Choice category. Entries close at 5:00pm, Saturday 26th November! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Zooming with DRIVEN EP110, Damien chats about weird off-road sports cars, the Porsche 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracan Steratto. David mentions that from December, all new and used-vehicle importers in New Zealand will have to operate a Government "CO2 account". And more finalists are revealed for AA DRIVEN Car of the Year, this time it's the finalists for the Passenger and Sports and Performance categories. Remember, you can go in the draw to win $5000 for either petrol, thanks to AA SmartFuel/BP, or $5000 worth of EV charge credit, thanks to ChargeNet, just by voting for your favourite car in the Peoples Choice category. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On Zooming with DRIVEN episode 109, Opel launches in New Zealand. David was at the launch, and gives us insight into the automaker's first NZ cars. It's Damien's first week on Zooming with Driven, and he chats about Formula One NFTs. Dean checks out Countdown's Brick toys, and takes us through more AA DRIVEN Car of the Year finalists. Remember, you can go in the draw to win $5000 for either petrol, thanks to AA SmartFuel/BP, or $5000 worth of EV charge credit, thanks to ChargeNet, just by voting for your favourite car in the Peoples Choice category. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Zooming with DRIVEN, we drive the Honda Civic Type R! David checks out the Ford Ranger XLT and Wildtrak, and Dean shows us a NASCAR wallride video. Dean shares his thoughts on the Mercedes-AMG EQS 53, and chats about the upcoming Opel open day. AA DRIVEN NZ Car of the Year is kicking off, you can check out more info on the categories and People's Choice voting here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On episode 107 of Zooming with DRIVEN, Dean drives a Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7. David chats about the Honda Civic Type R, Polestar 3, and Rolls Royce Spectre. Dean talks about the record-breaking price that a Nissan Pulsar GTI-R Nismo sold for at auction and announces that AA DRIVEN Car of the Year is kicking off this weekend. Voting for People's choice is opening soon, so keep an eye out for it, and vote for your chance to win $5k of fuel, either petrol or EV charge credit. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.