First Drive

There we were, a Ford Raptor in our parking lot, and the only logical thing to do was to venture into the desert wilderness. So we were on the lookout for a rental 4×4 as a backup vehicle for desert-testing something as big as a tank, in case it needed to get pulled out! While we were looking for nothing less than a powerful V6 at least, we ended up with a 2013 Toyota Fortuner 2.7, thanks to the ridiculously ill-informed staff of an international rental agency.

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So if you thought that every car manufacturer was going the ‘Ford Explorer’ way when it came to overhauling their existing midsize SUVs, you’d be wrong. There are a few manufacturers who decided to try the opposite route, taking a step backwards by choosing to transform a commercial pick-up into a four-wheel-drive wagon in a half-hearted bid to create a viable replacement for their already-cancelled midsize SUV. So what was essentially competing with the refined Toyota Prado, now tries to go after the simplistic Toyota Fortuner. That new wagon is none other than the all-new Thailand-built 2013 Chevrolet Trailblazer.

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The previous-generation Lexus IS 300 was a compromised but attractive sedan, easily the carmaker’s sportiest offering for the better part of a decade, if we were to overlook the overpriced (and overrated?) LFA. It was going to be a tough act to follow in terms of styling, although it was a given that the replacement also needed to address the issue of interior space. After the rather good GS sedan, every model in the Lexus range got a “spindle” grille and now looks like clones of each other, so their designers had to do something drastic to make the new IS be more than just a GS-lite.

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The sub-compact market is a lucrative segment that’s dominated by a select few. With the Toyota Yaris and the Nissan Tiida laying waste to competition by everyone from Chevrolet to Volkswagen, the latest entrant to try their luck is Peugeot. They already had the little 208, but needed more of an edge in terms of space versus price. And so, we have the Peugeot 301, a car designed for “emerging markets” that concentrates on cabin space above all else.

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A never-mentioned fact about us is that, back in early 2005, a month or two after we started this website, the first test car we officially got offered was an Aston Martin DB9. What’s even worse is that, just as I sat in that car to drive off, we found out that none of us in the crew were eligible to drive it, since we were all under 25 at the time and insurance wouldn’t cover us. In the end, all I got to see was the fancy door handles and the cool interior with the button-operated gearbox, both giving a sense that the Aston was way ahead of its time.

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How often is it that cars enter the GCC market, get stereotyped, and go unnoticed? A classic example of that has to be the brand we call MG, a simple abbreviation for Morris Garages.

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Porsche recently offered us a day with their sportiest SUV, and we took it. It’s a lemon-green 2013 Cayenne GTS, slotting in between the Cayenne S and the Cayenne Turbo. According to the specs, it’s not quite as fast as a Turbo, but apparently it’s quicker around the corners.

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We used to own a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee right up till last year. Despite what hype you may hear, the Grand Cherokee has never been a Range Rover rival; more entry-level luxury rather than premium luxury. But the real reason we bought one back then was because it was the cheapest way to get behind the wheel of a midsize SUV with a big V8 under the bonnet. The latest Grand Cherokee still offers the same formula for those who prefer it, with a little more premium gadgetry now thrown in.

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This one has been a long time coming, even before the Lamborghini that I test-drove recently. It wasn’t bias; it is just that this cheap crossover is actually quite popular regardless of our review, so much that you might end up counting at least as many of this vehicle as any popular Japanese crossovers on the road. And ‘this’ crossover, which we sourced from a close friend, is none other than the 2013 Hyundai Tucson 2.4, aka “Tuck-Sun”, as it is known to most people, including some of the local dealer’s sales staff.

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Every now and then, a new carmaker enters the market. But how often is it, that many of them go unnoticed. One could possibly shun the new car we have here, citing reasons that the logo could be ripped off from Lexus. However, this particular vehicle has no specific relations with Lexus, or even Japan. As a matter of fact, the Luxgen 7 SUV we have here is from Taiwan.

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