The Nissan Armada has been dragging on unchanged for more than a decade. While it is nowhere near as legendary as its long shelf-life suggests, the Armada is finally getting a change for the better, as the 2017 model has just been unveiled for the U.S. market at the 2016 Chicago Auto Show — and it’s just become a rebadged Patrol.
Maxus, the commercial-vehicles brand from China’s SAIC MOTOR, revealed a number of models at the Dubai International Motor Show and the recent Qatar Motor Show. The Flagship G10 model made its GCC market debut in the UAE, alongside the all-electric wide-body light bus EV80 and the V80 minibus.
| The Good: – Excellent turbo engine – Cabin trim and features – Ride and handling |
The Bad: – Expensive for its segment – Average rear legroom – Not as spacious as you think |
| The Good: – Amazing fuel economy – Cabin design and trim – Ride and handling |
The Bad: – Pretty expensive – Average rear space – Battery takes up boot space |
When we went on a VW-sponsored trip to the 2016 Qatar Motor Show last week, we sat down with Thomas Milz, head of Volkswagen Middle East, for a casual chat on how the company is doing in the Middle East. We were there to witness the VW Tiguan‘s regional launch and, having seen it before in Frankfurt and Detroit already, we continue to be impressed by just looking at it. Milz expects the Tiguan to become a huge success in the GCC, but we asked him what model was currently their biggest seller in the Middle East.
When we went on a Ford-sponsored trip to the 2016 Detroit Auto Show a couple of weeks ago, we took a detour at some point for a guided tour of the formerly-secret design studio for the upcoming Ford GT supercar.
Downsizing is rampant nowadays, and the same goes for premium cars. We’re not talking about job losses, but the size of cars. The Audi A3 started life as a lacklustre hatchback about a decade ago, and we called it out as such back then. However, it’s changed over the years, and the new sedan version of the latest A3 has been getting some attention lately. And with good reason, from what we saw.
The Delorean was never a good car, garnering cult status only by appearing the 1980s Back to the Future movie franchise. However, the DMC-12 will re-enter production next year, and will be sold as a new car with some much-needed upgrades.
Porsche is going to rebadge their Boxster and Cayman as “718” models this year, complete with 4-cylinder turbo engines, the first of which have just been revealed. However, the GTS models will get a stay of execution from the turbo era for now. We drove the last of these naturally-aspirated mid-engined Porsches late last year in Stuttgart, Germany.
The Jaguar F-Type Project 7 made its debut at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed on 26 June as a concept car, but it has now become the first Jaguar performance vehicle from Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Operations team, produced in a limited-edition run of “up to” 250 units. It apparently pays tribute to the three-time Le Mans-winning D-type, which in 2014 celebrated its 60th anniversary year. The Project 7’s name pays homage to Jaguar’s seven outright Le Mans wins. The car is now on sale in the GCC.