European Car News

Long-term update: Jaguar XK service and parts costs

Long-term update: Jaguar XK service and parts costs

Our Jaguar XK went in for its annual service the other day. We generally take our car in only once a year because we do maybe 4,000 km per year with this car, and modern synthetic oils can last that long without any ill effects, despite what your dealer or your great-granddad told you. Here’s an idea of what the regular cost of running a Jaguar XK looks like.

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David Brown Automotive brings Speedback GT to the UAE

David Brown Automotive brings Speedback GT to the UAE

On his visit down to the UAE for the Dubai Motor Show, British serial-entrepreneur David Brown told us during a private dinner that he once went on a classic car road rally using a borrowed 1960s Ferrari Daytona. While that car was stunning to look at, he came to realise how uncomfortable and unreliable cars that old can be, and actually enjoyed driving a new Peugeot rental car more because of its modern conveniences. We tend to agree with his line of thinking. Classic-car ownership is not as glamourous as the media makes it out to be, although what David came up with as an alternative is much more agreeable in all but one aspect —

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The clock on the Bentley Bentayga costs as much as the car

The clock on the Bentley Bentayga costs as much as the car

The Bentley Bentayga is the British uber-luxury carmaker’s first official 4×4, and when it was unveiled, reactions were mixed at best, if only because of its exterior styling. One thing is for sure though — it’s going to sell well, and it is likely to become the brand’s most popular model, if Porsche’s history tells us anything. Bentley also claims that the Bentayga will be the world’s fastest SUV, although we found a single item on the options list to be more fascinating than that — the optional Breitling clock on the dash costs almost as much as the base Bentayga.

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Long-term update: We fix up our Alfa Romeo 156...for free!

Long-term update: We fix up our Alfa Romeo 156…for free!

Everyone in the DriveArabia family likes Alfa Romeos until sarcasm kicks in. So, when our buddy was planning to leave the country for good, all we cared about was his car — a 2003 Alfa Romeo 156 V6 with 250,000 km on the clock. As mentioned by him, we knew the car had some “minor” ongoing issues and our plan was to keep the car for a while before we sell it off. It was registered under the Editor-in-Chief’s name, as he wanted a taste of Alfa ownership as well. On the day he was leaving, I dropped him off at the airport and took over this car.

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