In a move that no one expected, the Fisker Karma just became the first plug-in electric car to officially go on sale in the Middle East. Mitsubishi briefly thought about making an entry here with the i-MiEV, while Chevrolet has a couple of Volts running around Dubai since last year for so-called tests that never seem to end. But the upstart brand Fisker managed to come to market first, with a launch event held in the UAE.
We kind of weren’t interested in testing this one. We’ve driven the Lexus RX 350 several times before, and while it’s a great car, it isn’t the kind of car you look forward to, especially since we’re trying to take a break from testing cars at the moment. Ah, but this is the RX 450h, the hybrid version of the luxury mommy-mobile. For some reason, we had visions of the slowpoke CT 200h in our minds when this RX was home-delivered to us, but we assumed wrong.
As one of the most successful cars of all time, Honda’s designers surely have gone through a dangerous phase designing the new Accord, not only because there is pressure from past and current owners who expect to be impressed, but because there are a whole slew of new buyers the automaker is looking to impress. But, with that in mind, the newly-designed Honda Accord is no disappointment.
The electric Nissan Leaf was the darling of the EV industry, slapping the Chevy Volt in the face with its lower price as it took the top spot in U.S. electric-vehicle sales. However, a major issue with heat is starting to emerge, and that makes any sort of debut in the Middle East unlikely.
The 2013 BMW ActiveHybrid 3 has been unveiled, becoming the first 3-Series to be offered as a hybrid. It also happens to be quicker than the BMW 335i.
The Audi R8 e-tron, piloted by Markus Winkelhock, clocked a time of 8 minutes 9 seconds around the 20.8 km Nurburgring circuit setting a record as the “fastest production electric car” around the ‘Ring. The only issues are that it is neither a production car, nor has anyone tried to set a record before with an electric car so that it can be beaten.
German auto-manufacturer BMW have showcased a new luxury edition of the i3 Concept as part of the inaugural jubilations for the manufacturer’s first i Store in London.
Our friendly neighbourhood reader-cum-photographer Rizwan Khan made a quick draw for his cam after seeing these BMW vehicles that have possibly come to Dubai for summer testing.
It seems that road traffic has increased sound pollution in some noticeable proportion and engineers are working to reduce tyre noise by altering the design and constituents of pavements.
Al-Futtaim Motors, the Lexus dealer for the UAE, has unveiled the new 2013 Lexus RX range, including the hybrid and sport models.