The 2026 Haval H9 arrives in the UAE as a completely fresh proposition, with a bold, boxy aesthetic that feels tailor-made for the region’s love of rugged SUVs. With no predecessor sold officially in the local market, this all-new model lands with a clean slate, aiming to disrupt the dominance of established Japanese family haulers by offering serious off-road hardware and a premium cabin at a price point that makes you look twice.
If the Tank 300 is the fun-loving rebel and the Tank 500 is the sensible family hauler, the 2026 GWM Tank 700 is the villain’s lair on wheels. It is Great Wall Motor’s most ambitious, most expensive creation to date. While the Chinese giant has been chipping away at the establishment with value-for-money offerings, the Tank 700 kicks the door down, demanding to be seated at the same table as other premium established brands in the market.
Chery Group recently launched its dedicated electric-led sub-brand, iCaur, with the flagship of this new lineup, the 2026 iCaur V27, making its global debut here in the UAE. It is a mid-size SUV that combines the boxy aesthetic everyone currently wants with a Range-Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) powertrain that promises to kill range anxiety dead.
The Porsche Cayenne Coupe Turbo GT sits at the sharp end of the performance SUV spectrum, and in many ways, it is the most extreme SUV Porsche has ever built. While the standard Cayenne remains a benchmark luxury SUV, the Turbo GT is an unapologetic exercise in engineering excess, designed to out-accelerate supercars while still carrying the family in relative comfort.
The Voyah Free is one of the latest entrants into the UAE’s growing premium electric SUV segment, bringing with it a mix of Chinese engineering, European design influences, and advanced tech features aimed at standing toe-to-toe with established luxury brands.
Topping 300kph at the twisty, undulating Circuito Estoril is something I’d never imagined would be possible in a road car.
The last time I was at this track was for the launch of the ultra-rapid McLaren 750S, and the Woking missile briefly squeaked past “only” 280kph down the main straight before having to stamp on the anchors hard for the tight second-gear Turn 1.
Yet here we are in the all-new Lamborghini Temerario, comfortably exceeding the triple-ton for lap after lap. It’s a mind-boggling feat, and so is the car’s ability to rev past 10,000rpm, especially given that it’s a twin-turbo V8 that runs up to 2.5 bar of boost pressure.
Soueast may not be a household name just yet, but the Chinese brand is making a confident entry into the Middle East market, starting with the Soueast S06 DM, a plug-in hybrid SUV that offers impressive range, high-end features, and strong value for money. Making its global debut in the UAE, the S06 DM is positioned as a smart, stylish alternative in the competitive compact hybrid SUV segment — and priced at just AED 119,000, it’s already turning heads.
The Suzuki Dzire may not make headlines often, but it has steadily earned a loyal fan base in the UAE, especially among budget-conscious drivers. For 2025, Suzuki sticks to the winning formula — affordability, efficiency, and compact practicality — while giving the Dzire a fresh new look and updated cabin tech. Suzuki hasn’t reinvented the wheel for the new model, and that’s not a bad thing.
| The Good: – Still handsome inside and out – Practicality and comfort – Good power and driving dynamics |
The Bad: – Fiddly multimedia system – Average third-row space – Limited offroad ability |
| The Good: – Looks more interesting than Wrangler – More civil onroad than Wrangler – Faster offroad than base Wrangler |
The Bad: – More power would’ve been fun – Still kind of rough onroad – Expensive compared to indirect rivals |
