You probably are already aware of the humble Hilux pickup truck offered by Toyota. It is pretty much everywhere in the Gulf, and is trusted by working-class businesses who are just interested to go about their daily routine without much hassles. But as the news goes, Toyota seems to have wrapped up an Antarctic expedition, over a span of four months, after traversing over 70,000 km.
Mercedes-Benz has released details on the 2013 Mercedes-Benz G-Class, and the changes remain expectedly limited. The models on offer in the GCC include the G 500 and the new G 63 AMG and G 65 AMG models.
When we were hanging out at the 2012 Nissan Micra’s GCC launch in the UAE, we heard that almost every British expat has had seat-time in its predecessors dating back to the 1980s, sort of like how everyone here has some experience with the Toyota Yaris. It is interesting then, that Nissan chose to finally launch the fourth generation in the Middle East to do battle with, what else, the Toyota Yaris.
BMW Group Middle East has reported its best first quarter ever with a sales increase of 6% in the first three months of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011.
The 12th Harley Owners Group MENA rally, hosted in Qatar this year, ran through 22nd to 24th of March, 2012. The event had hundreds of H.O.G members coming from all over the Middle East and other locations to flaunt their motorcycles.
The Nurburgring racetrack in Germany may be overhyped, but anyone can actually pay the minimal entry fee and drive on that track, apparently with any kind of car. Someone thought it was a good idea to take their old Honda CR-V to drive on the legendary piece of tarmac. But he does more than just cruise casually.
The Volkswagen Passat CC V6 long-termer is no more with us, having gone back to VW Middle East. Unlike any of our previous borrowed long-term cars, this one will actually be missed. It was easily among the best all-round midsize sedans we’ve ever driven, if not the best.
The Ferrari 599XX Evoluzione has made its track debut at the Ferrari Racing Days held in Suzuka, Japan, an event which include track sessions for the Ferrari clients who are involved in the Ferrari XX and F1 programmes, whereby the participating clients blessed with deep pockets, shell out big bucks to test the latest of performance and other enhancements from Ferrari, before they are implemented on Ferrari’s future models.
According to the Abu Dhabi Police, owners of modified vehicles, even including those who’ve changed only their exhaust system, have been put on notice as part of a new “awareness campaign” that will crack down on aftermarket-tuned cars.
You might remember this car. It is the white 2012 Lexus IS 300 C convertible we picked up for testing last year on Eid Al-Adha. Back then it only had 20 km on the clock. Now it has 4640 km, properly run in, and it is our new long-termer for the next two months.