If you spotted an odd-plated “Jeep” roaming around the UAE, it is none other than two brothers who shipped their Mahindra Thar from India to the Middle East. They are beginning a roadtrip from Kerala which will take close to a year, covering around 50 countries by road.
The McLaren GT is the British brand’s most luxurious model in its extensive SUV-free lineup. While most McLarens are usually supercars with loud exhausts and small boots, this one is supposed to be — as the name suggests — their luxury grand touring model.
Ineos set out to build a no-nonsense vehicle for hardcore off-road enthusiasts that mainstream carmakers claim isn’t feasible any more. The result is the Ineos Grenadier, which caught an unexpected amount of attention when it was revealed. We were recently invited by the British company to experience a ride in the Grenadier prototype, right here in the UAE.
If you are a fan of all things revving, you must know that there is a new Honda Civic that debuted earlier this year. While the UAE and wider GCC still hasn’t received the new model, it is all over the place in Canada, where we are chilling this winter. One of our relatives picked up a brand new 2022 Honda Civic Touring model, and we got a quick spin in it.
In the past decade, we have seen a lot of improvements in technologies on passenger cars and SUVs. It is no different with heavy trucks with improvements in creature comforts and safety. In the Middle East, it is very easy to spot commercial vehicles with a manual transmission but there are many brands introducing automatic transmissions and demand is rising for them. Mercedes-Benz recently gave us a demonstration on the latest technology in their heavy trucks.
Ford has brought the iconic Bronco name back from the dead. One of the most anticipated cars of the century after a concept was teased way back in 2004, we finally have a new one hit the streets, and got our grubby hands on one.
What you are about to read are our first impressions of the 2022 Toyota Land Cruiser, based on a quick lunch-break visit to the showroom as well as a very short spin of a private car on city streets. We weren’t invited to the media launch event held in the UAE, which was seemingly attended only by “agreeable” scribes and influencers, but taking a closer look at one of the most hyped new cars to be launched in the Middle East in 2021 (after the latest Nissan Patrol Nismo earlier this year) gives us some insight on why Toyota is trying to control the messaging so tightly.
There have been several high-profile post-lockdown car launches that set the internet on fire. The Nissan Patrol Nismo, the Chevy Tahoe and the upcoming Ford Bronco featured prominently among them, but those were all SUVs. The only small car to “trend” is the Volkswagen Golf GTI, which shows that cars might be giving way to SUVs, but the legendary O.G. hot hatch is always going to be around.
The Volkswagen Teramont didn’t make sense on the surface when it debuted a few years ago, considering the Touareg was still around. But it made perfect sense when you delved deeper into the specs sheet — compared to the 2-row Touareg, the Teramont had a third row of seating, and was actually larger and cheaper. While the latest Touareg moved even further upscale, the Teramont is holding the fort in the meat of the mid-size SUV market, going up against Ford Explorers and Nissan Pathfinders. And it has just received a nip-and-tuck for the 2021 model year.
We were invited to check out Carzaty, the Middle East’s hottest digital-focused car dealership that operates in Oman and the UAE. Carzaty sells pre-owned cars with a warranty and puts a priority on the customer experience. Their “showroom” is called the Car Hub and we went to the one in Dubai. You can find all their cars and book a test-drive at www.carzaty.com