As we experienced on our trip to Hatta, the 2011 Infiniti QX56 comes standard with a built-in living-room, complete with leather sofas and LCD televisions. The cabin is nothing like the one in the older Armada-based model that we tested a couple of years ago.
The Toyota unintended-acceleration recall scandal is famous around the world now, although it seems as if the Americans actually did anything about it. The U.S. Department of Transportation enlisted the help of NASA scientists, the same ones responsible for the American space programme, to have a look at the issues and software within Toyota and Lexus cars to see if the excessive unintended-acceleration claims had any electronic basis, as claimed by some. The engineers could not find anything pointing to an electronic problem.
The “all-new” 2012 Honda Civic has been unveiled, at least in U.S. guise. It remains a good car, but it is not as ground-breaking as the outgoing version was back in 2006, and in fact looks like a facelift rather than a full redesign.
Hyundai has released first photos of the European-market 2012 Hyundai i40, an all-new station-wagon that looks oddly familiar.
The 2011 Ford Mustang GT, the 2010 Dodge Challenger and the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS all have three things in common. All three are retro-styled Americans, all three are V8-powered muscle cars, and all three have more than 400 horses. Each. This comparo has been a long time coming. Everyone else has already done their armchair evaluations, simply comparing manufacturer figures, snapping a few photos and calling it a day. It took us a spread of six months to be able to drive all three of these direct competitors. We have neither the time nor the resources to pull in all three cars together.
| The Good: – Very powerful engine – Cabin trim and features – Ride and handling |
The Bad: – Very expensive – Steering lacks feel – Average rear legroom |
Al-Futtaim Motors, the exclusive distributor for Lexus in the UAE, has announced that the Lexus LFA supercar will be displayed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from the 9th to the 19th of February this year. The “most powerful road-legal Lexus ever” is being put on show to give the poor masses a chance to see the LFA from a bit closer, but without touching, as the car will be sold by invitation only.
Our long-term 2011 Infiniti QX56 is getting easier to manage every day. It takes a while to get comfortable with a vehicle this size. It is, of course, made easier by a myriad of cameras and sensors making sure you don’t hit anything. We took the truck to Hatta this weekend, not for off-roading, but to use it as it was intended — as an all-terrain luxury picnic bus.
If you were in the market for a compact European yuppy-mobile, you might want to wait until the 2012 Kia Rio hits the road by winter. Because it is, as with recent Kia products, a stunner, at least in hatchback form anyway.
The 2011 Gulf Bike Week is underway at the Dubai Festival City. Set to run from February 10th to the 12th, it is running alongside a big pop concert. Featured are exhibition halls displaying hundreds of motorcycles from various manufacturers, a bike stunt show, and a gathering spot for local bikers to display their personal motorcycles. Harley-Davidson also used the opportunity to announce that they’ve opened a Middle East office in the UAE. We’ve already done a round of the show and scoped out the most interesting bikes that you might like to see.