Depending on your views, Porsche either keeps launching a lot of new models, or they rarely launch new models. That’s based on whether you think every single variant of the 911 debuting like clockwork every few months is a new model, or whether you consider an entirely new vehicle line to be a new model. We are in the latter camp, and we were interested to see what Porsche had cooked up for the compact crossover segment, with the all-new Macan.
The first-generation Genesis sedan was supposed to be Hyundai’s game-changer. A valiant effort at building a contemporary luxury sedan with a sporting streak, it was a hit everywhere else except the Middle East. Now Hyundai has gone in a slightly different direction with the Genesis, not just improving it for the 2015 model year, but also choosing a more controversial approach to the styling.
Well? What do you think of its looks? Before you answer that and run back to your boring old econoboxes, be advised that we had the same opinion as you before. The 2014 Jeep Cherokee’s front-end smacks you in the face like a torpedo, but we had slightly warmed up to it when the Trailhawk offroad-ready version was revealed. It looks kind of cool in an unconventional concept moon-buggy sort of way, turning heads wherever it pops up, which is probably the effect Jeep was going for, rather than just make a mini-Grand Cherokee. But beyond the styling lies a car that’s better than many of its direct competitors.
Italian carmaker Maserati is eager to take a bigger share of the luxury car market, especially with the addition of several new models in just the last two years. Recently Maserati held a media drive event in Dubai to highlight their latest addition, the midsize Ghibli sedan. But they also brought along some of their other models as well, so we got our first look at the Maserati GranCabrio MC and the Quattroporte GTS as well.
Mercedes-Benz built its reputation on luxury cars over the course of a century. Then there was that one time in the early 70s when they dabbled with a 4×4 for a military contract. That was the G-Wagen, which quickly went civilian later, but it wasn’t until the 90s that it evolved into the form it is today. Mercedes-Benz got the hint that the world is ready for a mainstream three-pointed-star SUV, and came up with the M-Class by the late 90s. And the rest, as they say, is history. Today, aside from the patriarch G-Class, the midsize M-Class and the compact GLK-Class,
Privately-owned midsize pickups are a legitimate market segment in several Asian and even Western countries. Here, they are almost exclusively used as commercial vehicles, driven by sweaty hard-working men who quietly laugh at moisturiser-toting management types trundling to office in oversized American pickup trucks. However, Isuzu feels there is a gap in the market for a good-sized “lifestyle” pickup, and hence, we have the Isuzu D-Max GT.
Most arm-chair car enthusiasts who’ve never driven legendary American powerhouses such as the constantly-cloned Shelby Cobra or the overblown Vin Diesel-spec Dodge Charger have an idealised view of such cars and lament their demise. However, a car exists today that harks back to those brutal larger-than-life super-muscle cars. It’s built by Chrysler and it’s so out-of-sync with their usual offerings that they gave it a whole separate brand now — the SRT Viper. The Viper itself has a similarly-celebrated reputation, and we found out what it’s like on the streets of Dubai.
If you remember, we had gone to Italy last month to drive a couple of cars, including the Fiat 500L and the Alfa Romeo 4C. We also drove the latest version of the Fiat 500 Cult, a new trim level with a new engine and a manual gearbox, before it was even revealed at the Geneva Motor Show last week. We’d never driven a 500 before that, but damn is it good with the Euro-spec hardware.
Don’t get too excited. If you were pining for a hybrid version of the Toyota Camry, you’re still not going to be able to buy one. The brand’s UAE dealer has just sold less than 50 of these hybrid sedans for service as Dubai taxis, and being a passenger in one of these rarities will be as close as you can come to experiencing it. But we got a chance to take the 2014 Toyota Camry Hybrid for a spin.
Overseas media trips usually follow a strict regimen — you eat, sleep and drive whatever’s on “The Plan” and you do not deviate from it. So while the original plan was to drive a couple of Fiats, a Wheels scribe from our little Middle Eastern group requested to drive an Alfa Romeo 4C in the free time before we flew back to Dubai. And our Italian handlers obliged. What came next was a drive that shattered expectations.