First Drive

Ford made headlines a few months ago when they announced that they’ll stop selling sedans and hatchbacks in the United States due to high costs and low profit margins compared to crossovers and SUVs. The Mustang will survive there too, but everything from the Fiesta to the Taurus will get the axe in a couple of years. It is entirely possible that the same strategy will be followed in the Middle East, as the car line-up doesn’t get much attention any more, and the next-generation Focus will not be launched here (which we drove and liked). Word is that twin-model Mondeo may go the way of the dodo in Europe as well.

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Audi is late to the electric-car game, although it’s never too late in the Middle East, considering EVs are yet to take off here. So it’s interesting that the German carmaker decided to hold the international media launch of their first mainstream all-electric vehicle — the E-tron — in Abu Dhabi. 

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The Volkswagen Touareg has always occupied an awkward niche in the midsize SUV segment. Not quite mainstream, but not quite premium either, it’s left to do battle with everything from Jeep Grand Cherokees to BMW X5s, while even targeting lower-end Toyota Land Cruisers and Nissan Patrols in terms of price (and VW admitted as much). Now there’s a new-generation Touareg in town, and its objectives are clearer.

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Aston Martin has been moving fast to update their line-up in recent times. We recently had a chance to drive the 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, the third release in their “new” lineup. The first being their DB11 grand tourer, followed by the sportier two-seater Vantage. 

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Redesigns for American pickup trucks come about only once in a blue moon. However, Ford’s F-150 and GM’s Silverado/Sierra twins are raising the bar by reducing the time between redesigns and facelifts, as both have undergone notable changes over the past decade. In that time, the Ram 1500 has remained relatively stagnant, save for a couple of minor under-the-skin upgrades and a brand-name change (remember when it used to be the Dodge Ram? Some people still call it that). There is finally an all-new model for 2019, on sale in the Middle East for a couple of months already, and we got some wheel-time in a couple of variants.

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With the crossover market booming over the past decade, with 7-seater options particularly popular in the U.S. market, Volkswagen finally jumped on the bandwagon and created the Teramont, their largest SUV. Built in the States and known as the Atlas over there, the Teramont is a logical addition for the GCC market as well, even if it is confusingly placed between the Tiguan and the flagship Touareg in terms of price.

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Audi officially launched the Q8 in the GCC a few months ago as their new SUV flagship, with a drive around Omani mountains. Late to the game when it comes to “four-door coupe crossover” thingies, the Q8 vaguely follows the design theme of the ugly BMW X6 and the Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class Coupe models, but does it in a much better job of combining an SUV with a roof design similar to a coupe.

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Porsche recently held their international launch of the 2019 Panamera GTS and Panamera GTS Sport Turismo in Bahrain. Like the previous generation, the Panamera GTS sits between the 4S and Turbo variants, with enough options between the three to give potential buyers a variety of choices.

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Chevrolet has entered the electric car market in the Middle East with the introduction of the Bolt EV. This model has already been on sale in the United States since late 2016, and then reached European shores as an Opel Ampera-e the following year. We were given a glimpse of the Bolt at last year’s Dubai Motor Show and it’s now available in UAE showrooms.

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Roadsters aren’t the big-volume players in BMW’s line-up, but this genre has thrown up some of the Bavarian marque’s most iconic models over the years, dating back to the timeless 328 (1936-40) and sublime 507 (1956-59). In more recent times, we’ve had the offbeat Z1 (with its unusual vertically sliding doors) and the beautiful Z8 that served as James Bond’s ride in the 1999 blockbuster The World is Not Enough.

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