Feature Stories

Oil prices are soaring and so is the greed of the local oil companies due to which fuel costs are rising. The massive impact from the recession has hit hard on the brains of the crowd; in fact so hard that their vision of the future is now so short term. As a result, this has led to many people playing “safe” by not falling prey to huge debts and its aftermath. They make more sensible choices and judge their financial stands way better. The recent increase in the number of econo-sedans and crossover jokes is a proof to this.

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Our long-time readers might know that our VW coverage bordered on farcical since 2006. However, things change over time, and we were pleasantly surprised to receive an invite to the GCC launch of the 2011 Volkswagen Jetta in Dubai. The new Jetta is the car VW expects to crack the compact segment with in the GCC.

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What was supposed to simply be a quick mini-meet in celebration of being the first one to review the 2011 Dodge Charger SE turned out to be better than expected, as six people turned up at the Dubai Outlet Mall location. Advertised only on our Facebook fan-page and our MyRide forums, it was to be an event for our top fans, as everyone was treated to a Burger King/KFC dinner, sponsored by us, and everyone got a chance to take the Charger for a spin around the block with no strings attached, an unannounced bonus for showing up.

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This is the final hurrah for our 2011 Infiniti QX56 long-termer, which has already gone back to Nissan Middle East. The QX has some special features and details that can only be discovered in person. So what better way to highlight them than a walkaround video. Be sure to check out the cooler box that opens both from the front and the back, the numerous storage compartments, the abundance of clear buttons, the generous overhead a/c vents and the ease of access to the third-row seat.

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After a long break, I have finally decided to write another review in here. Think Mitsubishi Lancer; yeah, think! I bet the vast majority of you will now think of a silver-coloured bland-and-boring rental runner crying out loud in agony on the last lane of a motorway while trying with all its might to catch up with a Toyota delivery van! Get a manual variant and you may be able to get a glimpse of the delivery boy too. Yeah, that was what it was and that is what it still is! So why the review? Because what I am going to write is not about the Lancer,

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The last Porsche World Roadshow for the UAE was held two years ago at the Dubai Autodrome. It was a superb event for highlighting the entire Porsche line-up in one go. Seemingly open only to existing Porsche customers and us media types, it was a well-organised event that got us some wheel-time with the 2009 models. We haven’t driven any 911s or Cayennes in the past two years since then, simply because Porsche refuses to give us test cars for more than a few hours, but they did invite us to the 2011 edition of the Porsche World Roadshow,

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For those not in the know, a hybrid is a car with a petrol engine that also has an electric motor attached that provides additional power when needed and recharges its battery as the car moves, all while saving petrol, saving the environment and saving the whales. The theory goes that petrol is cheap in the GCC, so no one cares about hybrid cars. While that is definitely true, we live in the UAE, which boasts the highest petrol prices in the region and is proudly increasing prices further to match international market rates eventually. Suddenly, a hybrid doesn’t seem like a bad idea after all.

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At the risk of sounding like an iPod on loop mode, we’ll say again that the 2011 Infiniti QX56 is a big car. That also made our latest economy test more interesting. Is it possible to drive one of the largest 4x4s on the planet without hurting the planet, or more importantly, your wallet?

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The 2012 Hyundai Accent isn’t a car anyone was anxiously waiting for. That isn’t to say no one anticipates sub-compact cars with sweaty palms. The launch of the next-generation Toyota Yaris is going to be a big event in the lives of many in the UAE. Nothing else comes close to the Yaris in popularity. The Accent has always been sidelined. However, we just drove the all-new 2012 Hyundai Accent from Dubai to Fujairah and back, and it’s a car that can give Toyota some sleepless nights.

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The 2011 Ford Mustang GT, the 2010 Dodge Challenger and the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS all have three things in common. All three are retro-styled Americans, all three are V8-powered muscle cars, and all three have more than 400 horses. Each. This comparo has been a long time coming. Everyone else has already done their armchair evaluations, simply comparing manufacturer figures, snapping a few photos and calling it a day. It took us a spread of six months to be able to drive all three of these direct competitors. We have neither the time nor the resources to pull in all three cars together.

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