Marwa, the new Toyota/Honda PR lady, has been doing a great job keeping us in the loop for test drives of their latest cars. No one else actually calls us first to fix us up with their most recent models. Thanks to her, we were probably the first ones to publicly post the review for the GCC-spec FJ Cruiser. We are a bit late with the Legend, considering others have reviewed it a month ago, but the timing is still good. The return of the Legend has been a long time coming. Read more… »
November is going to be an exciting month for car enthusiasts in Dubai, as the Dubai Motor Show is going to kick off during November 14th to 18th, bringing with it the debut of many new cars to the region. Also to be held during that time frame, on the 16th and 17th, will be the Dubai Motorsport Festival, featuring two days of various racing cars. Read more… »
This rusty video puts to rest the age-old question of which 4WD is “better.” The Land Cruiser or the Patrol? Or, judging by the people who conducted the “test,” maybe not.
The international PrivatDrive Supercar show will be held in Abu Dhabi for the first time from the 2nd till the 4th of February 2008. To be held at the Emirates Palace hotel, it is only open to VIPs and industry people. And we are one of their media partners. Read more… »
This is great news. For the first time ever, Mazda has contacted us for a press conference. It seems Mazda has finally taken the initiative and is launching the MX-5 roadster, also known as Miata in USA, in the GCC on October 22. The MX-5 is the best sports car in its class. Available abroad as a ragtop convertible or a folding-hardtop convertible, it remains to be seen what engines and body-styles are offered in this region. Read more… »
We just received a list of 2008 models from General Motors Middle East, and hidden in this list is a “CSV CR8″ with “400+ horsepower” and what not. This is confirmation that Chevrolet will finally release the Australian HSV Commodore supersedans in the Middle East with Chevy badging, but dropping the Lumina name. There are even photos of the Chevy-badged car in the GCC. Read more… »
Seen here is the first ever unmasked photo of the 2008 Nissan Skyline GT-R. American Motor Trend magazine prematurely put the car on their cover too. We don’t have the magazine, but they revealed a handful of performance specs. Read more… »
I took the BMW X5 off-road because BMW kept pounding the public with evidence that it could, showing it as doing dunes and climbing man-made hills. I got it stuck and had to tow it out. On the other hand, the GMC Acadia was never advertised as being anything more than a road-going vehicle. But Diego, our not-so-bright PR guy, took it off-road anyway when I wasn’t looking. Read more… »
The TV show and the movie were bad enough, but here is a reenactment of one of the jumps that made The Dukes of Hazzard popular back in the 1970s. Needless to say, it didn’t go exactly as planned.
The Middle East is forced to feel content with the 360 hp Chevy-badged Lumina SS, but its Australian maker is really having some fun with it for the domestic market. The 400 hp HSV versions of the Commodore (aka Lumina) sedan were released a year ago in Australia, but this is the first time they have unveiled the HSV version of this Holden Ute pickup derivative, named the HSV Maloo R8. Read more… »
Yep, Dubai Police has taken delivery of 101 BMW 5-Series cars, half of which will be used as patrol cars. They are a good step up from the Mercedes-Benz C-classes, Toyota Fortuners and Nissan Pathfinders the cops keep trolling around in already. Read more… »
The Jaguar X-Type was always considered a joke since the day it was released. It drives well enough, it looks great, and it even improved its reliability record over the years. But its price combined with the fact that it is simply a reworked Ford Mondeo was enough to spell disaster for what was supposed to be Jag’s volume model. Unlike the S-Type-to-XF transformation, the X-Type gets a minor refresh to keep it going until it is killed eventually. Read more… »
To give our lumbering Infiniti QX56 some company this Eid, we also got a brand new GMC Acadia as a little brother. Except that the “little one” is also pretty big and likes to park in the adult parking lot. It’s a good thing and a bad thing that parking is free during the holidays. Good because I don’t have to shell out more money to the RTA. Bad because every cheap nincompoop will now come out of the woodwork and fill up the limited spaces. Read more… »
We were supposed to pick up an Infiniti FX for this Eid-Al-Fitr, so it was a surprise when we were handed the keys to the QX56. Confusing letters aside, we never drove it before, and it is going to be an interesting exercise driving what it possibly the largest passenger vehicle that isn’t a bus. Less obnoxious than the Hummer H2, but still quite a bit longer, it is at least easy to drive. Read more… »
Shelby Supercars (SSC), manufacturer of the exotic Ultimate Aero Twin Turbo which recently blazed its way into the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘World’s Fastest Production Car’, will be present at the 2007 Dubai Motor Show. Read more… »
Subaru has unveiled the new STI version of the redesigned Impreza WRX. It is powered by a 2.0-litre boxer-four with a twin-scroll turbo mated to a 6-speed manual. SI-DRIVE, multi-mode Drivers Control Center Differential (DCCD) and Vehicle Dynamics Control (VDC) are also standard. Read more… »
Whoever handles the marketing for Peugeot in this country is doing a really good job of keeping secrets. We went about town to look at a used 206 GTI (for use as a benchmark car), and the owner told us he had already ordered a 207 RC last month. So we go to Peugeot’s UAE dealer website and, amazingly enough, the whole 207 model range and prices are posted. Read more… »
Lexus has released the high-performance 2008 IS F in Japan. The IS F’s 5.0-litre V8 engine is derived from the Lexus LS600h engine, and makes 417 hp at 6600 rpm and 504 Nm of torque at 5200 rpm. It also has the 8-speed automatic transmission from the LS, but programmed to shift quicker, taking as little as 100 ms to shift gears using the paddle shifters. Read more… »
Already revealed as a coupe, the BMW M3 was known to have a sedan and convertible bodystyle in the works too. And now, the 414 hp M3 sedan has just been unveiled. Read more… »
The DriveArabia News & Views weblog is a distinct part of the DriveArabia.com website, serving as a source of up-to-the-minute automotive news and updates, while providing a platform of communication for enthusiasts. To contact the editor, drop off an email.
