Mashfique Hussain Chowdhury

First drive: 2016 Honda Pilot in the UAE

First drive: 2016 Honda Pilot in the UAE

Honda is better known as a maker of Civics and Accords nowadays, and anyone other than Honda salesmen will have a tough time trying to remember if they sell anything else. However, they do offer a midsize 4×4 called the Pilot, a model that had been chugging along virtually unchanged since the last recession. It wasn’t particularly good at anything either, so we were keen to see how Honda has gone about bringing the all-new 2016 Pilot bang up to date in our all-too-brief time with the car.

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First drive: 2016 Nissan Patrol Desert Edition in Liwa UAE

First drive: 2016 Nissan Patrol Desert Edition in Liwa UAE

The Nissan Patrol is probably the first proper car in the history of the world to be designed specifically for the Gulf, right from the design stage. How else would you explain its massive size, its V8-only engine choices, its ample space and its overkill of a/c vents all the way to the third-row seats. We’ve already reviewed the regular Nissan Patrol, so we’ll jump straight into what makes this latest version unique — the Nissan Patrol Desert Edition, brought to you by local rally legend Mohammed Ben Sulayem.

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Long-term update: Jaguar XK service and parts costs

Long-term update: Jaguar XK service and parts costs

Our Jaguar XK went in for its annual service the other day. We generally take our car in only once a year because we do maybe 4,000 km per year with this car, and modern synthetic oils can last that long without any ill effects, despite what your dealer or your great-granddad told you. Here’s an idea of what the regular cost of running a Jaguar XK looks like.

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David Brown Automotive brings Speedback GT to the UAE

David Brown Automotive brings Speedback GT to the UAE

On his visit down to the UAE for the Dubai Motor Show, British serial-entrepreneur David Brown told us during a private dinner that he once went on a classic car road rally using a borrowed 1960s Ferrari Daytona. While that car was stunning to look at, he came to realise how uncomfortable and unreliable cars that old can be, and actually enjoyed driving a new Peugeot rental car more because of its modern conveniences. We tend to agree with his line of thinking. Classic-car ownership is not as glamourous as the media makes it out to be, although what David came up with as an alternative is much more agreeable in all but one aspect —

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The clock on the Bentley Bentayga costs as much as the car

The clock on the Bentley Bentayga costs as much as the car

The Bentley Bentayga is the British uber-luxury carmaker’s first official 4×4, and when it was unveiled, reactions were mixed at best, if only because of its exterior styling. One thing is for sure though — it’s going to sell well, and it is likely to become the brand’s most popular model, if Porsche’s history tells us anything. Bentley also claims that the Bentayga will be the world’s fastest SUV, although we found a single item on the options list to be more fascinating than that — the optional Breitling clock on the dash costs almost as much as the base Bentayga.

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Dubai International Motor Show 2015: Photo coverage

Dubai International Motor Show 2015: Photo coverage

The Dubai Motor Show, held every two years at the Dubai World Trade Centre, is back for 2015 larger than ever, with a whole host of regional debuts for new models. Some of the more interesting launches included the Ford GT and Ford Mustang GT350R, VW Golf GTI Clubsport and Passat, Peugeot 308 GTI, W Motors Fenyr Supersport, Lamborghini Huracan Spyder and Aventador SV, Toyota Prius, Lexus RX, Bentley Bentayga, Chrysler 200, Audi RS3 Sportback and Lotus Evora 400. The Chinese contingent is larger than ever, mainly catering to the entry-level segment, while smaller sections have been dedicated to bikes,

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