Land Rover has officially announced the 2015 Range Rover LWB, a long-wheelbase model specifically designed for chauffeur-loving markets such as China, and apparently the GCC as well, because the stretched offroader is going to be launched at the 2013 Dubai Motor Show.
The Alfa Romeo 4C recently set a new record at the Nurburgring for under-250 hp cars, with a time of 8 minutes 4 seconds. It just adds to the allure of a car that will soon debut in the GCC.
We knew the new front-wheel-drive 2014 Chevrolet Impala wouldn’t cut it in the Saudi market, where the love of big rear-wheel-drive sedans runs strong, even after the demise of the Ford Crown Victoria. So it came as no surprise when a reader dropped us a note saying the long-running Caprice is back in Saudi Arabian showrooms as a 2014 model, with a few changes.
Replacing the awkward 1-Series Coupe, the BMW 2-Series has been revealed, ahead of its appearance at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in January. Initial variants include the 220i, the 228i and the M235i, alongside a few Europe-specific diesel variants.
| The Good: – Very, very fast – Timeless styling inside and out – Ride and handling |
The Bad: – Very, very expensive – Rear-seat space – Fuel economy |
This is our very first encounter with the Maserati brand. The closest we’d come before that was a tour of their shared pre-owned showroom. Then there was the time we had the sudden urge to pick up a used Quattroporte, but it wasn’t a compelling-enough car to make us follow through on that urge. And now here we are, trying out the redesigned Quattroporte, and wondering how compelling the new model is.
The refreshed 2014 Toyota Prado has been launched in Saudi Arabia. The best-selling midsize 4×4 continues to be offered with two engine options as well as a variety of trim levels.
The all-new 2015 Ford Mustang is, according to rumours, going to be revealed by the end of this year. It has been caught on camera numerous times under heavy camouflage, but certain details are becoming apparent. Someone took those details and guesstimated how the car will look, and it should be pretty close to this.
The Honda S2000 is one of the greatest cars ever built, and it’s funny that we say this, because we never took it seriously when it was actually still in showrooms. Honda never seemed to have a media test car, and we figured it wouldn’t be much of a runner anyway, based on its measly horsepower and torque specs. We did shop for one back in 2008, among other options, but couldn’t afford even a used one due to sky-high resale values. Eventually, we did buy one last year of course, paying a premium for a good example, not because we were specifically looking for one,
The current Jaguar XJ is one car that we’ve always been interested in trying out, but had been delaying for one reason or another. We did drive one briefly a year ago, but it was a 240 hp 3.0-litre V6 version that was somewhat underwhelming. However, the entire range underwent an engine upgrade for 2013, so a “V6” badge on the fenders now means there’s a 340 hp 3.0-litre supercharged motor under that long bonnet. As we found out, that makes a huge difference.