We’ve had our V6-powered 2012 Volkswagen Passat CC for more than four months now. But it’s only today that we finally decided to take it out for a 0-100 kph flog. Truth be told, we always thought the CC was quick, but not that quick. But we were totally flabbergasted when the timings came in, so much so that we couldn’t wait to share it.
It’s been more than two months now since we bought our 2007 Honda S2000. I’d like to reiterate that I hate soft-top sports cars, but Honda chose to make one of their best cars ever as a convertible, and we have to live with it. We did hear that they offered a hard-top in Western markets when the car was new, so we went to look for one.
The last few weeks were pretty awful in terms of weather. Daily sandstorms took a toll on cars in Dubai. It was even worse when, you think the worst of the dusty weather is over so you wash your car, and then there is yet another dust-storm the next day. Frustrating indeed. And it took a toll on a car’s performance too.
Our two-year-old Renault Safrane just had its first proper problem. The driver-side power window, which had been acting hesitant for more than a year, finally decided to crap out. The window glass went down and never came back up. Naturally, my father was pissed, as he had to go to work on a Friday, driving at 120 kph with a face-full of wind, and then having to leave the car overnight, open to the elements. He kept comparing it to his “reliable” 1997 Toyota Corolla, which didn’t even have power steering, let alone power windows.
Our Volkswagen Passat CC had taken a back seat for the last month as we fiddled around with, what else, other Volkswagens. We drove the VW Phaeton and the VW Passat Ecofuel recently, and we have become quite familiar with Volkswagen DNA by now. Of course, we’ve come to realise that the Passat CC is indeed tuned to be sportier than other sedans in their fleet, as our car rides a wee bit firmer than either of those cars, while taking corners with much more confidence. But does it make a good highway cruiser?
So the Mitsubishi Pajero has been with us for over 3 months now, racking up over 12,000 kms on the clock. A vast chunk of the mileage was amassed from a series of long drives and off-road excursions we had with the vehicle. We even had a cross-country trip to Oman, only a few couple of weeks after we bought it. Besides, it fulfills our requirement of daily office commutes too.
It’s rather surprising what an effect we have on the popularity of certain models. While we haven’t bothered to put up an update on our 2008 Mitsubishi Galant GTS in a while now, we’ve been getting requests asking us more about the car. It seems some people are starting to consider the Galant as a viable alternative to the Japanese regulars, thanks to our endorsement.
It’s no secret that we’ve done extremely well over the past year, financially. As the most popular-yet-hated automotive portal in the region, we’re finally getting our dues in terms of advertising money from carmakers we haven’t pissed off. What better way to celebrate than to buy a new car, especially since we’ve sold off our longstanding Jeep and BMW late last year. We were having crazy thoughts at the time on what our new mascot car should be, as we were looking at everything from the upgraded Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 to the new Porsche 911 Carrera, with everything in between,
There isn’t much to report on our 2009 Renault Safrane, the car that we’ve owned from new, and driven by my father. It was my top pick for a reliable car to replace his old 1997 Toyota Corolla. And so far, my decision is proving to be right.
Our Jeep went for its last service back in November. While it has been a great car, decently reliable despite misgivings about Chrysler quality, we were fine with the cost of regular servicing because we could afford it. But then we realised that the dealer service charges were only slightly less than that for Mercedes-Benz. That got us a bit peeved, and we decided that we might as well get a better car to pour money into.
