Mazda has revealed the 2012 Mazda 3. It gets a minor facelift, but the engine and transmission will be new, which will help gain better fuel efficiency numbers, but at the same time produce better low and mid-range torque.
The “all-new” 2012 Honda Civic has been unveiled, at least in U.S. guise. It remains a good car, but it is not as ground-breaking as the outgoing version was back in 2006, and in fact looks like a facelift rather than a full redesign.
Hyundai has released first photos of the European-market 2012 Hyundai i40, an all-new station-wagon that looks oddly familiar.
Mazda have revealed a special edition for the MX-5 Miata at the Chicago Auto Show to celebrate 900,000 units being produced. It is an upgraded version of the top model, the Grand Touring. Only 750 units will be made.
Al-Futtaim Motors, the exclusive distributor for Lexus in the UAE, has announced that the Lexus LFA supercar will be displayed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi from the 9th to the 19th of February this year. The “most powerful road-legal Lexus ever” is being put on show to give the poor masses a chance to see the LFA from a bit closer, but without touching, as the car will be sold by invitation only.
Our long-term 2011 Infiniti QX56 is getting easier to manage every day. It takes a while to get comfortable with a vehicle this size. It is, of course, made easier by a myriad of cameras and sensors making sure you don’t hit anything. We took the truck to Hatta this weekend, not for off-roading, but to use it as it was intended — as an all-terrain luxury picnic bus.
If you were in the market for a compact European yuppy-mobile, you might want to wait until the 2012 Kia Rio hits the road by winter. Because it is, as with recent Kia products, a stunner, at least in hatchback form anyway.
The 2012 Hyundai Genesis debuted at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show with minor exterior design changes, new direct-injection technology for its Lambda V6 engine, new 8-speed automatic transmissions and better chassis tuning. A modern 5.0-litre direct-injection V8 engine is now available with the new 5.0 R-Spec model, which includes unique 19-inch machined-finish alloy wheels, and sport-tuned transmission, suspension and steering calibrations.
Nissan Middle East is now offering a new version of the GT-R in the GCC. It is being termed as the 2012 Nissan GT-R VVIP edition, which is basically another name for the Japanese-market ‘Egoist’ trim level. It is a customisable version of the updated 2011-2012 GT-R, with more power and more luxurious cabin upholstery.
If you didn’t know, Honda has had a minivan in their GCC line-up for years now. It is called the American-built Odyssey, and up until this point, it simply existed rather than do anything fruitful. Honda quietly managed to sell a handful every year to families who wanted something more upscale than the hotel-shuttle Toyota Previa, but it remained rarer than a Ferrari on UAE roads. But now, there is a new model for 2011, and Honda is actually going heavy on the promotion for this one. We took a look at what exactly it is they are so proud of,