The popular Renault Duster underwent a facelift a year ago in its home market of Europe, but its launch was delayed in the GCC for whatever reason. A facelifted version has now officially been launched at an event in Abu Dhabi, with some minor but important features, as well as a different grille.
The only electric cars you’ll ever see in the GCC are at golf clubs, with little wheels and no doors. Sure, there are the unloved Lexus hybrids, there was that pricey Fisker Karma with the backup petrol engine, and some Chevy Volts were spotted testing in Dubai before disappearing for obvious reasons, but there are big things happening this week on the electric front. Dubai’s DEWA utility company has just announced the first dedicated charging station here for electric cars, in what is to become a network all over Dubai soon. And Renault is hoping to bank on that with the Zoe hatchback and the Twizy runabout.
Renault have released some details of their latest crossover, the Kadjar, which will be the brand’s first C-segment crossover. It is set to officially debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show.
Last month, Renault released their Captur crossover for the UAE and GCC market.
Yep, the RenaultSport Clio is back in the UAE for 2015, and we managed to exclusively take one out for a spin around Dubai. It’s not quite what it used to be.
So we had settled ourselves with a used Ford Mondeo for over a year now, since selling our Mitsubishi Pajero. However, when the situation dictated the need of a second car primarily for my wife, we went on the hunt for one. After a couple of months of visiting several dealerships and test-driving a lot of cars, we settled on the 2014 Renault Megane 2.0 hatchback, of all things.
Renault launched the Twizy, a full electric car, at the 2014 Qatar Motor Show. Renault will be the first car manufacturer to sell a 100% electric vehicle in the Middle East.
Having recently completed our 9th year of operation, we’ve grown our GCC visitor count by 20% compared to a year ago. We’ve also bought a Jaguar XK, to get a taste of how much it costs to live like the upper crust of society, bringing up the number of cool cars in our current personal long-term fleet to three. But that’s just the numbers game. We’ve had some fun along the way, immortalised in articles on this site. Here’s our top ten memorable moments for 2013.
Renault showcased a concept version of the Renault Duster in Johannesburg, South Africa. Aside from the fact that the concept is named Détour, the vehicle pretty much only receives a few cosmetic touches. But what’s surprising is the lack of publicity the vehicle received.
It’s pretty normal to see car manufacturers unveil one-off concepts to grab the attention of media and viewers at auto shows. And the Initiale Paris Concept is surely Renault’s attempt at it. We’ve got to say, it is a pretty nice addition to Renault’s lineup of concepts, and we wouldn’t mind if it came into production anytime soon.