If you remember, we had gone to Italy last month to drive a couple of cars, including the Fiat 500L and the Alfa Romeo 4C. We also drove the latest version of the Fiat 500 Cult, a new trim level with a new engine and a manual gearbox, before it was even revealed at the Geneva Motor Show last week. We’d never driven a 500 before that, but damn is it good with the Euro-spec hardware.
A few of our car-enthusiast friends, all of whom we’d met via the legendary DriveArabia meets, asked us if we wanted to join them in a trip down to the ubiquitous Rainbow Sheikh’s car museum in Abu Dhabi, an hour-and-a-half drive from the better side of downtown Dubai. We’re generally averse to long drives, but figured we’d join them if we didn’t have to do all the driving. I also dropped Chrysler an email in the off-chance that they could provide a Dodge Durango R/T for the trip, and they confirmed a ride for us within 5 minutes. When the weekend came,
Several photos and full details of the all-new 2015 Jeep Renegade sub-compact crossover have been leaked ahead of its official debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, and it looks like there will also be a “Trail-Rated” off-road version with red tow-hooks and everything.
We’ve had our Range Rover for nearly 18 months now. When we bought it, it had some minor cosmetic flaws that we elected to leave as-is at the time, because they didn’t hinder the operation of the car. But we recently decided to keep it for longer than we initially anticipated, so we figured we’ll dress it up and restore its new-car vibe.
Don’t get too excited. If you were pining for a hybrid version of the Toyota Camry, you’re still not going to be able to buy one. The brand’s UAE dealer has just sold less than 50 of these hybrid sedans for service as Dubai taxis, and being a passenger in one of these rarities will be as close as you can come to experiencing it. But we got a chance to take the 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid for a spin.
UAE Toyota dealer Al-Futtaim Motors has entered a deal with Dubai RTA-franchisee Cars Taxi to supply them with a fleet of Toyota Camry Hybrid sedans for use as taxis.
The 2015 Ford Focus is getting a mid-life facelift, as seen in these supposedly-leaked photos of the hatchback and wagon.
Overseas media trips usually follow a strict regimen — you eat, sleep and drive whatever’s on “The Plan” and you do not deviate from it. So while the original plan was to drive a couple of Fiats, a Wheels scribe from our little Middle Eastern group requested to drive an Alfa Romeo 4C in the free time before we flew back to Dubai. And our Italian handlers obliged. What came next was a drive that shattered expectations.
Toyota Middle East recently announced a solid 10% growth in 2013 sales at a press conference in Dubai, at the same time there is unrelated news that they’re shutting down their Australian production operation.
As a tie-in with the 2014 Dodge Durango launch, we are giving away 3 pairs of Anchorman 2 premiere tickets. That’s right, three UAE-based readers will each win a pair of tickets to the movie’s premiere in the UAE. Here’s how you enter. Update: The winners are Samer Hassan, Praveen Haridas and Ahmad Shumayal.