The Lexus line-up is going to expand for the 2011 model year. After sitting out the GCC market for many years, two new variants of the Lexus IS compact sports sedan will join the range, namely the IS 250 and the IS-F, alongside the existing IS 300. Also new will be the Lexus LFA supercar.
Honda is recalling certain 2010 Accord Crosstour models to inspect and replace the front passenger airbag if needed. The North American recall will cover about 3,340 units in total, some 700 of those in Canada. We assume the GCC region is included too.
The hot new 2011 Hyundai Sonata is third in the midsize car category in terms of sales in the high-volume U.S. market, displacing the Nissan Altima while gunning for the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord. But such quick growth comes at a cost, as the Sonata has now been recalled for the second time.
We had been holding off on an update for our 2010 Chevrolet Cruze long-termer because we were trying to find time first to do another round of performance testing, as requested by a reader who wanted to buy one. But it turns out there is no discernible change in performance since our last test, so we’ll go ahead and do a story about the interior instead.
We already revealed that the 2011 Toyota Corolla is in UAE and Omani showrooms, but for some reason official details remain scarce, even as the new model can be seen on the streets of Dubai. We’ve finally tracked down official photos of the facelifted model, as it first came out in Europe a couple of months ago.
The 2011 Mitsubishi ASX, also known as the RVR or the Outlander Sport in other countries, has been officially launched in the UAE. The sub-compact crossover fits in a limited market segment which is currently occupied by only a handful of direct competitors.
While the Rover-derived Chinese Roewe models, rebadged as MG, are still undergoing testing in the UAE before its imminent launch, the MG 550 as well as the MG 750 are already on sale in Oman via an official dealer.
Hyundai has revealed three new models at separate venues around the world within the space of a week. They are i10 mini-hatchback, the ix20 hatchback-MPV and the Solaris sub-compact sedan that will become the next Accent.
Normally we don’t put up reviews from other sources, but we came across this ancient Top Gear video from 1997 that tests a Toyota Corolla hatchback from that era. They even pit it against a Volkswagen Golf GTI, and the results are satisfying. Interesting to note how many awards that car apparently won back then. We also own a 1997 Corolla that we bought new, but we had no idea how class-leading it really was at the time. I was just a high-school kid with no internet back then.
While we were trolling around in Dubai looking for a midsize sedan to buy, we came across this attractive compact car, fully registered, and driven by staff from Arabian Automobiles, who happen to be the local dealers for Nissan, Infiniti and Renault here. On closer inspection, “SAIC” badges revealed its Chinese origins. It was also badged as an MG 550 1.8T. Those who keep track of such things will know that Chinese carmaker SAIC now owns the MG brand as well as some bits of Rover. On further pestering, the “owner” told us that Arabian Automobiles has handed out a bunch of these cars to staff members a couple of months ago,