So our modified Toyota Supra Twin Turbo is in the hands of a capable new owner now. Its duties as a benchmark sports car have now been taken over by our BMW M Roadster.
A full review for the Supra was in order, so we finally wrote about it, and we gave an account of what it’s like to own a really old and heavily modified car for very little money. But some of you might be wondering what a “benchmark” means.
I believe the borrowed car I am driving right now is the only new XKR I’ve ever seen on local roads. This was our ride to the Supercar Show in Abu Dhabi, although we went on the last day of the show simply because Jaguar postponed our date with the car. It’s interesting how this car made us feel invincible. Power to excite. Handling to break backs. And looks that make pedestrians stare at us like we are celebrities.
The latest edition of our cruddy videos, showing off our pathetic driving skills and even worse testing procedures. Yep, that’s Fast Cars for you.
Yep, after an extensive search for a used rocket, our new benchmark sports car is a 2000 BMW M Roadster. In buying it, we broke all the sensible rules of buying a used car and took the plunge into high-maintenance exotic car ownership. With 321 hp calling, who can resist?
Yes, we were saving up for a benchmark used “hot” hatchback, but as we went around for a few months looking for a decent deal, we realised we had saved up enough for a real sports car. So we switched gears and started looking for a used sports car that could best our rocketship 1987 Toyota Supra Twin Turbo, which we have sold off. The Supra still runs like the wind, but it is in rather poor overall shape, and a pain to drive due to its modified underpinings. We estimate the Supra has 300+ hp now after mods,
I briefly wanted to get a cheap so-called “hot hatch” so I could have some fun driving around town while I saved up enough money for a true sports car (since I refuse to take a bank loan). After selling off the Supra, I didn’t want to lose touch with a manual car. The ideal temporary-replacement used car I wanted had to be small, have decent power for its weight, have a manual gearbox, and be really cheap. This pretty much removed most reliable-but-slow-and-sloppy Japanese commuter compacts from my list sadly. So what I came across in my search were four Europeans and one Japanese.
I hate Land Cruisers simply because most of them seem to be driven by morons. So as much as I’d like to hate our goofy-looking 2008 Toyota Land Cruiser tester, it has impressed me enough to think about adding it to my list of recommended cars after the review is done. It really is that good. But more on that later. Here are the latest updates in the new car buyer guide, although prices (and some of the specs) will be corrected and updated accurately later:
You must’ve read all the reviews about this big lump already, but I’ll probably be able give some new insights into this long-awaited new model, given the sad nature of journalism in this region. It certainly isn’t the rocket that everyone was hoping for, given that it gets a 4.7 V8 instead of the 5.7 in the GCC. But it is a very luxurious vehicle that packs some interesting new technology.
Being a slow month for anything related to cars, due to the long holidays, I went about reviewing my own 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.7 Limited. Having had it for only 3 months, this is my longest review ever, but it is important to fight back some of the negative commentary I received for buying it instead of just another anonymous Toyota or Nissan cramming the roads.
So I just saw my parents off at the airport for their Hajj flight. I had half a mind to go too, but I have too much work both online and offline to take any trips right now. I am going to start a massive new project for this website that should help out a lot of car-buying people. But I wanted your input on what additional features you’d also like to see on DriveArabia.