It’s been more than a decade since a Toyota coupe has set foot (or tyre even) in a Dubai showroom. But Toyota has been churning out 2-door cars elsewhere for years, and one of them has finally made it to the shores of the UAE. Whether the Toyota Zelas will make Honda fanboys jealous remains to be seen.
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the all-new 2012 SLK-Class. Now entering its third generation, the SLK takes styling cues from the SLS AMG and now has a glass folding hard-top.
Roush unveiled their 5XR tuner sports car, based on the 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0, back in October in the United States. And according to Ford’s dealer website in Dubai, the Roush Mustang is already officially on sale in the UAE alongside the regular Mustang GT and the Shelby GT500. The 5XR package, which includes “RoushCharger” engine upgrade components, is seemingly being called the “The Shamal” 500R kit in the GCC.
The Rio is one of the few cars still carrying the old Kia baggage. But despite Kia only releasing these simple sketches of the next-generaiton 2012 Rio, the car is more ready than you’d think. It is set to debut in March at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.
This here is the 2012 Honda Civic “concept” which debuted at the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Our frequent photographer, Faisal “Chunky” Khatib, caught this Dubai-registered camouflaged prototype on the streets of the UAE. The design cues suggest it is the 2012 Hyundai Elantra that has already been unveiled elsewhere, but is still undergoing hot-weather testing in the Middle East, even though it’s now winter.
Due for public debut at the current 2011 Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen has officially announced that their “New Midsize Sedan” project will still be known as the Passat in North America. That means there are now two variations of the Passat, one a facelifted version of the old one in Europe, and the other is this up-sized one. Word is this larger one will come to the GCC.
Here is our exclusive video of the 2011 Volvo S60 in a demonstration of its City Safety features, at the launch event in Dubai a few months ago. The camerawork is by our photographer Faisal Khatib, with narration and driving by Volvo representatives.
| The Good: – Fairly handsome styling – Cabin space and features – Decent handling |
The Bad: – Expensive with options – Dash cluttered with buttons – Road noise on some surfaces |
Considering all the hype that the offroad-ready Ford F-150 Raptor is getting, Chrysler decided to sort of get in on the action by offering aftermarket parts from their own Mopar division for the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup truck. The result is the Mopar Ram Runner.