New vehicles that rival used ones on price

I waited in vain for a brand new car from friends as a gift to celebrate my birthday this week. Their excuse was the car I desire, the Chevrolet Camaro, does not come in right hand drive. What about all the other great cars in the market today?

I promised myself that by my next birthday I shall be driving a brand new car. One that only engineers have driven.

Buying a brand new car from the showroom brings a great feeling of achievement. Such cars are prohibitively expensive.

That not withstanding, we see lots of expensive previously owned ‘new’ cars on the road.

Ranging from the ‘tender-prenuer’ Range Rover Sport to the basic Toyota Probox. I cannot understand why anyone would spend more than Sh5m to Sh6 million on an old car while you can get an equivalent new vehicle at near same price.

Did you know you may have to spend hundreds of thousands of shillings repairing the turbo or super charging system of a used SUV because our fuel is not suitable? Does that offer you value for money? Hardly.

It helps to consider what else is available before making the big buy.

Here are some examples. For starters, you will be able to get a new Jeep Grand Cherokee for Sh6.8 million or a Subaru Outback for Sh6.2 million.

For a little more, you could also get the Volkswagen Touareg, BMW X5/X6 or new 2012 Mercedes ML for between Sh7 and Sh10 million, depending specs.

Down the food chain, we have some new entrants in the crossover segment that might interest you.

The new and good looking Renault Koleos sold by DT Dobie was introduced a couple of months ago as was the even more odd-looking Subaru XV.

You get even more value when you consider the Hyundai and KIA brands. These look beautiful and affordable. All these for under Sh4.5 million.

I drove the XV last week and was pleasantly surprised by its handling. Look out for the review next week.

In the executive lounge, not much is happening. The Mercedes C Class continues to rule as we await the new gorgeous BMW 3 Series that should be make a grand appearance after getting a much needed radical cosmetic surgery.

You could consider the new VW Passat; it will sit at the same dinner table with the Mercedes and Bavarian and its sibling the Audi A4.