Maserati, the brand best known for building cars that Ferrari didn’t want, has finally dipped their toes in the hugely-profitable SUV segment. While you may never see a Ferrari SUV, Maserati’s new Levante is as close to that as you may get, assuming you ignore the lack of a V8 option. We got our hands on one during a recent trip to Oman, as they seem oddly hard to come by in Dubai.
Honda has launched a base variant of the 2017 Civic with an all-new 1.6L engine. To be offered in the GCC, Lebanon and Jordan, the 1.6-litre Honda Civic comes in two grades, namely DX and LX, and clearly aims to grab some market share from significantly-cheaper rivals. The 2016 Civic which was launched in April this year in 2.0-litre n/a and 1.5-litre turbo forms, leading to an 86% increase in yearly Civic sales at a time when every other compact sedan has seen crashing sales due to the economic slowdown.
Hyundai has launched the all-new 2018 Azera large sedan on its home turf, Korea, under the Grandeur moniker. With the subsidiary Genesis brand acting as a luxury marque, Hyundai now has more room at the top of their portfolio to move up their flagships even further.
If you like going against the grain and actually prefer the new ill-received BMW 5-Series as well as plug-in hybrid cars, the increasingly mass-market German carmaker has a solution for you. BMW has introduced a plug-in hybrid version of the new 5-series sedan called the 530e. The hybrid 5-series has a lot in common to the 330e hybrid released a few months ago.
Recently, the LoadME Racing Team contacted us to experience the Radical race-car at the Dubai Autodrome. The team are taking part at the ongoing Radical Middle East Cup (RMEC) series which started around October and ends in April next year.