Maserati, the brand best known for building cars that Ferrari didn’t want, has finally dipped their toes in the hugely-profitable SUV segment. While you may never see a Ferrari SUV, Maserati’s new Levante is as close to that as you may get, assuming you ignore the lack of a V8 option. We got our hands on one during a recent trip to Oman, as they seem oddly hard to come by in Dubai.
If you like going against the grain and actually prefer the new ill-received BMW 5-Series as well as plug-in hybrid cars, the increasingly mass-market German carmaker has a solution for you. BMW has introduced a plug-in hybrid version of the new 5-series sedan called the 530e. The hybrid 5-series has a lot in common to the 330e hybrid released a few months ago.
If you’ve read our previous reviews of Mercedes-Benz’s AMG cars, you’ll realise that we don’t particularly find them impressive, specifically anything that seats more than two. All of their beefed-up sedans and coupes are rocket-fast, but when it comes to corners, it’s either severe understeer with the ESP in ‘sport-plus’ mode, or complete oversteer with the ESP fully off. Their rear-wheel-drive four-seater models are rather unbalanced cars compared to BMWs, held in line only by electronic nannies, which is why many of them now come with all-wheel-drive. The only car they currently have that’s truly an engaging drive is the AMG GT sports car.
The all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class made its debut in the GCC, with the German manufacturer calling it their most intelligent car yet. While we have yet to get proper wheel-time with it, Mercedes-Benz is keen to point out that their ‘smart car’ has a whole host of new active safety features. We got chaperoned around at an event to experience some of the safety features which are part of the optional Driving Assistance Packing available in the 2017 E-Class.
The reborn Fiat 500, which debuted in 2007 and has been hugely popular in Europe but has remained externally unchanged since then, is getting a new variant called the 500 Riva. And it’s coming to the UAE and other GCC countries.
If you’re a regular reader, you may have caught our Ferrari 488 GTB reviews which, if you read between the lines, would realise that it is probably the best supercar today, barring those ultra-expensive limited-production hypercars. However, we never drove it on a racetrack before, which is exactly why we decided to attend Ferrari’s Passione Rosso customer event at Yas Marina Circuit last weekend, which had a little corner reserved just for us media people.
The inaugural Gulf Concours, the Emirates’ first Concours d’Elegance event, was held at the Burj Al Arab Terrace over the weekend.
Following the launch of the new-generation Volkswagen Tiguan this October, Volkswagen Middle East has introduced R-Line packages for their compact SUV, catering to customers who appreciate a racier look.
The strongly-contested crossover segment has numerous players nowadays, but one stalwart that has consistently done well in the Middle East market is the Ford Edge. Introduced a decade ago, the Edge has been a segment leader for several years. It also offers the third best resale value among all cars in the UAE, according to a report by CarSwitch. The Edge has been redesigned from the ground up for the latest generation that debuted in the region this year, and Ford has massively stepped up its game.
The Alfa Romeo Stelvio, the Italian company’s first ever SUV is finally here! The all-new premium compact luxury SUV was unveiled to the general public at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday.