For most of its 102-year history, Lincoln has churned out solely sedans and coupes, but over the past decade the marque has become a purveyor of predominantly SUVs – a shift that’s in line with changing buyer tastes. Forget the gargantuan Continental land yachts of yesteryear, the lion’s share of Lincoln’s sales volume today comes from high-riding wagons, and these now represent two-thirds of the brand’s model line-up.
There was a time when sports cars were low-slung and had two seats, while SUVs were slow, lumbering behemoths that were good at hauling loads and conquering rugged terrain, but not much else. However, boundaries have been blurred over the past decade and a half, and a sub-genre has emerged that morphs these two divergent vehicle types into a single entity.
Jeep is synonymous with off-roading, and nothing epitomised that more than their Trailhawk-branded range of vehicles, which came with more offroad equipment than regular versions of the Renegade, the Compass and the Grand Cherokee. We found all three Trailhawk models to be impressive both on and off the road. Yet there was a lot of noise being made to build a Hellcat version of the Grand Cherokee SRT, offroad abilities be damned. So they did. And it gave birth to a new badge — Trackhawk. And we got to try out for a few minutes at a racetrack in the United States.
On invitation from Jeep, we had the opportunity to check out what is quite possibly the largest annual aftermarket-equipment trade show in the world, where even a few major manufacturers such as Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, Toyota, Honda, Ford, Hyundai and Chevrolet make an appearance with modified cars, aside from hundreds of privately-owned tuner shops and suppliers.
When we went to Nevada for the U.S. launch of the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk (and visit SEMA) late last year, we had a bit of free time to explore Las Vegas, and we were provided a new Chrysler Pacifica minivan to do it in on our own accord. We figured why not take the chance to review it, since it’s likely destined to hit Middle East shores eventually, maybe within a year.
It’s a bit early for gags, but this is a classic case of thinking outside the box. Say hello to Land Rover’s fifth-generation Discovery, which does away with the boxy (but characterful) shape of its predecessors in favour of softer, more tapered lines that its makers hope will attract a broader customer base to the model.
The current generation of the Jeep Grand Cherokee has been around for half a decade now, with a second facelift debuting for the 2017 model year. Changes are minimal, and there is no reason to change it anyway, considering what a fine product it continues to be even now. However, a new Trailhawk model has been added to the line-up, and we got the chance to try it out in and around the city of Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Jaguar F-Type has become a sort of figurehead for the once-fading British luxury carmaker, leading the charge as the brand redefines itself as a more aggressively-sporty alternative to typical premium choices. The 2-door sports car debuted less than two years ago, but more variants have been added to the line-up this year, namely an all-wheel-drive option and a manual gearbox. We drove these new versions in the outskirts of New York this summer.
Does an SUV belong on a racetrack? There are several German brands trying to answer that question, but their offerings are so compromised in the pursuit of Nurburgring lap records that they hardly qualify as SUVs. And then there’s the new 2015 Range Rover Sport SVR, which set its own ‘Ring record for SUVs, however briefly it held. The difference between the SVR and other super-SUVs is that it can still go offroad. We drove one of these battering rams at a media event in New York last month.