Author: Charles Boffard

Ah, the Highveld. The good news is that these days when you test drive a new BMW in Gauteng you don’t worry so much about trucks and taxis trying to wipe you off the road. That’s because the road itself is trying to kill you. From Midrand to the Cradle of Humankind to Bronkhorstspruit and back, your eyes are glued to the road surface in front of you, hoping for a few seconds’ warning of the gaping craters that will destroy the front end of a shiny new R880 000 3 Series faster than you can blink. Which would be…

BMW’s crossover X1 has been a huge seller even though it has needed updating to keep abreast of its competitors. What’s a crossover? They’re smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient than full-size SUVs. More agile, also easier to manoeuvre and park, and nicer to drive – which is what we were looking forward to with the new X1. The launch line-up comprises two models: the X1 sDrive18i (claimed fuel consumption combined: 6.5 l/100 km) powered by a 115 kW three-cylinder engine, and the BMW X1 sDrive18d (claimed fuel consumption combined: 5.0 l/100 km), whose four-cylinder diesel unit generates 110 kW.…

The metaverse is predicted to be worth up to $ 13 trillion by 2030, and the gold rush is on. Meta, Google, and Microsoft are pouring money and talent into creating virtual worlds in their own image. In South Africa, entrepreneurs are building an African metaverse, filmmakers and visual artists are using Immersive Technology (IT) to tell South African stories, and educators are designing virtual laboratories. They all have the same message: Africa must grab this future today, with both hands. There’s a rapidly growing number of Immersive Technology producers in South Africa. They report that SA companies are more…