A complete mental recalibration is called for. This is just the first three-quarter-throttle squirt out of the pitlane and onto the front straight of the Dubai Autodrome, yet it’s already evident the forward thrust being served up here is on the gob-smacking end of the scale. It feels as though I’ve been implanted in a movie that’s playing in fast forward, and the grey matter is still trying to comprehend this madness.
It’s not often that the launch of a new car is held in the basement. But there we were, in the underground parking lot of the Ford Middle East HQ, getting an exclusive walk-around of the all-new 2020 Explorer. Only two US-spec pre-production cars are in the country at the moment, in Hybrid trim, and we were among the first journos to get a look at them.
A surprise debut at the 2019 Dubai Motor Show was the 2020 Chevrolet Captiva. We didn’t quite realise what model it is until we saw the “Captiva” badge on the tailgate. It’s a decent-looking compact crossover, but it wasn’t until later that it’s really a rebadged MG Hector after a reader alerted us.
Yesterday, November 12, 2019, saw the opening of the region’s premier motor show – the 15th Dubai International Motor Show – at the Dubai World Trade Centre.
Launched in the UAE, we took the all-new 2020 Toyota Supra for a spin around Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, and found it to be a car in need of a niche.
If you’re wondering why we don’t talk about our 2013 Toyota FJ Cruiser any more, it’s because we sold it last year to a reader. And what a great car it was. Let’s take a final look at the running costs.
We road-test on and offroad regular-cab 2019 Chevy Silverado Trail Boss and RST models, which are exclusive to the Middle East in this body style.
The Ram 1500 is all-new for the 2019 model year, and we find out if FCA has done enough to take the fight to its cross-town rivals in this quick video review.
As comparison tests go, this isn’t the most exciting, but it is probably relevant to a whole lot more people than pitting Porsches and Ferraris against McLarens and Lamborghinis yet again (spoiler alert: Porsches and Ferraris are always better). What we have here today are the newest segment of vehicles to sprout from the SUV revolution — the sub-compact crossovers. Not quite SUVs, but not really cars either, the sub-compact crossover gives owners the feeling of driving an SUV while keeping ownership costs within car-like levels. The newest of the bunch is the Honda HR-V, going up against the immensely-successful Nissan Kicks.
Chevrolet recently launched the all-new 2019 Silverado pickup truck in the Middle East, as well as adding two exclusive models just for our region. The new Silverado is not only longer, wider and taller than the outgoing model, it is also lighter thanks to the partial use of aluminium for the first time in its construction.