The “new” Nissan Patrol has been around for a while now, receiving its first facelift in 2014 since its launch in 2010. You may be familiar with the new look, having seen it up close on your rear-view mirror.
There are very few cars that generate the kind of hype that the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has. The hype is warranted, judging by its initial photos and specs-sheet alone. But what is it like in real life?
Salalah really is an eye-opener. Having spent an entire day there driving around in the all-new 2015 Nissan X-Trail, apparently we were witnessing the tail-end of rainy “khareef” season, which is when the desert sprouts enough greenery to rival European forests.
Jeep is an absolutely amazing brand that earned its heritage the hard way. It wasn’t by becoming popular as the ride of choice for dictators or royalty. It wasn’t by taking part in racing events that entertained a niche crowd. And it wasn’t by building cheap reliable transportation. Oh no, the “hard way” meant winning World War 2. Times have changed though, but current-owners Fiat-Chrysler seem to have strived hard to make sure some of that legendary heritage has rubbed off on the all-new Jeep Renegade.
One little-known fact about us is that our first officially-provided test car was the 2005 Cadillac CTS 3.6. It was a very nice car, but after the initial euphoria died down, we realised it wasn’t particularly well-built and nowhere near as good as the BMW 3-Series we drove after that. Two generations later, the 2014 edition is quite something else.
It’s easy to criticize a carmaker for creating niche after niche, even though nobody asked for them. But the difference is how they go about it. There’s BMW with their 5-Series GT, an absolute disaster. And then there is the Audi A7, an interesting take on the ubiquitous sedan. To top it off, there’s the hotted-up RS7 version, which is on another plane altogether.
The Tahoe is a major bread-and-butter model for General Motors. Starting life in the 1990s, it forms the basis for a few other similar models from GMC and Cadillac, although the original bowtie version remains the best-seller in the GCC region. And the new 2015 model is on track to continue the nameplate’s local legacy, as an alternative for those who can’t afford a Toyota Land Cruiser.
There was a time when the Mercedes-Benz S-Class was the gold standard for luxury cars, by which every other was measured. It held that distinction for decades, until about the turn of the millenium, when rivals stepped up their game at the same time that Mercedes quality took a dump. The kind of flagships peddled by everyone from Audi to Hyundai nowadays are nothing short of outstanding, each in their own way, so much so that we couldn’t imagine how luxury cars could evolve further. So it’s amazing that Mercedes-Benz has actually managed to step it up further with the newly-redesigned S-Class.
The Escalade is a huge seller for Cadillac. Popularised over the past decade as the vehicle of choice for rappers, it started life as just a warmed-over Chevy Tahoe, but has progressed over the years to become a fairly clear-cut model. At first glance, the all-new 2015 Escalade looks a lot like its plebeian cousin, but a closer look reveals that many of its exterior panels, and indeed most of the interior elements, are unique.
Positioned as a “lifestyle vehicle” rather than a work-truck, the Chevrolet Silverado has garnered a following in the UAE among a certain subset of the population, more so than all its rivals in the full-size truck segment. There’s a new version in town, launched late last year, and while it may look underwhelming in terms of visual changes, it’s actually better than ever.