There’s something oddly incongruous about sitting up this high in something with a leaping cat logo on the steering wheel. That’s the first thought that comes to mind on sliding into the cabin of the all-new Jaguar F-Pace and motoring a few kilometres down the road in Montenegro.
Volkswagen has done well with the Tiguan -– sales of more than 2.8 million examples globally since its 2007 launch is reflective of that –- but there’s no denying it was getting long in the tooth against a horde of fresher rivals. Consider this: there are now three times as many contenders in the compact crossover segment as there were when the first Tiguan debuted. It was clearly time for a change, and the second-gen Tiguan, which goes on sale in our market from September onwards, represents exactly that. It genuinely is an ‘all-new’ vehicle, using as its basis the hugely-flexible MQB architecture that underpins everything from the latest VW Golf to the third-gen Audi TT.
Al Futtaim Motors recently launched the all-new 2016 Toyota Fortuner in the UAE. Featuring completely new exterior and interior designs, the second generation Fortuner was destined to be a hit before it even arrived on our shores. We had a chance to drive the new Fortuner in both road and off-road conditions during the UAE’s mega-storm earlier this month.
Ford is one of the few carmakers that generally treats us with a bit of respect. It’s something that’s hard to come by in this industry when you’re too honest for your own good. So when they asked us to run this 2016 Ford Figo Hatchback, we begrudgingly accepted. We can’t be fooling around in Mustangs every week. Our reluctance may have been so obvious that even the Ford spokesperson who delivered the car to us may have noticed. When we sat in the car, the first things that hit us were the hard plastics and the cheap headliner,
Lincoln is not a brand that registers in anyone’s minds when shopping for a luxury car. Generally regarded as just better-trimmed versions of Fords, a proper effort has been made on the newer models to actually differentiate them from their Ford platform-mates. Take this 2016 Lincoln MKX for instance. It’s pretty darn good.
The Ford Ranger WildTrak has been around for a while, although it has gone under the radar largely due to the fact that it only came with a diesel engine. Despite the visual modifications, its strong resemblance to the commercial variant never helped either. Just as diesel prices dropped significantly, Ford decided to update the Ranger WildTrak for 2016, trying to make it more appealing to people who desire a pickup truck that is too big to fit in the average parking space.
The other day we were reminiscing about the first time we drove the Bentley Continental GT. It was the Speed variant, and the year was 2008. The GT had already been around for four years at that point, and the Speed was recently launched as a flagship model to keep the line fresh. We took it straight to Jebel Hafeet for our first ever run on that mountain, close to midnight, and it proved to be an amazing car.
The Americanised Volkswagen Passat has been around since 2012, when it caused a few ripples by separating from the smaller European Passat and transforming into a larger car with class-leading space for a midsize sedan. Since then, it’s been a bit muted in public minds, but this timely facelift for 2016 should see it garnering some interest again, with some new features.
Kia credits themselves with being the inventor of the crossover SUV, a title that is usually usurped by Toyota. The truth is Kia’s Sportage came out a full year before the first-gen RAV4. However, it was conceived back before Kia merged with Hyundai, and therefore the Sportage was better-known for 1-star crash test ratings and recalls for wheels falling off while driving. Somehow, it still managed to have a fan following over its decade of existence. Fast-forward a couple of decades, and the recent Sportage does 5-star crash ratings and among the top sellers in its segment. Now that’s an impressive transformation.
The Hyundai Elantra is a subcompact that has been around since a long time. Although not much of an attention grabber, it is apparently a sales success in the Middle East, owing to the great exterior design and price tag. However, the Koreans’ penchant to continually evolve meant that Hyundai finally went all-in to make the car a more complete package rather than just a looker. And how the all-new 2016 Hyundai Elantra has grown from its past is what we were to witness when the local dealer invited us for a day-long media event that included an extensive test-drive.
