first look

Last week, we drove the 2012 Lexus LX 570. A couple of years ago, we drove the 2010 Lexus LX 570. And four years ago, we drove the 2008 Lexus LX 570. So what has changed over the last four years?

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This is one car that caused a lot of controversy back when it was launched in 2002. Most had issues with the fact that the Phaeton was “too expensive for a Volkswagen.” Of course, many failed to realise that the Phaeton was pretty much a cheaper Audi A8, possibly better even, considering it used the dedicated all-wheel-drive Bentley Continental platform.

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We knew it was a station wagon. We knew it had big “Emirates Gas” stickers on the sides. We knew it was going to get no respect on Dubai roads. But we specifically asked to drive this car — the 2012 Volkswagen Passat Ecofuel Variant. Because this is the only Euro-spec 2012 Passat in the country. But more specifically, it runs on CNG as well.

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It’s fun to keep repeating that the 2012 Toyota Camry is the most anticipated car of 2012. But as much as we like to repeat it, when we finally hit the road with one before anyone else, it didn’t illicit any reaction from the public wherever it went. In fact, we started getting unwanted attention from tailgating taxi-driving jerks on the highway instead. Could no one notice the substantial changes beyond the badge?

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The 2012 Nissan GT-R is easily the most significant premium sports car to come out this year. The ironic part is it isn’t even completely new, and yet, we were completely blown away by this latest version.

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Ah, the Pilot. Honda’s largest offering. Thanks to its styling, it never gets the attention it deserves, compared to the new Ford Explorer and the default Toyota Prado. Honda trise to address that with a 2012 refreshening.

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When we saw the 2012 Ford Focus in person for the first time at the Dubai Motor Show, we were quite impressed by the attractive-than-most design and the better-than-most quality. In our book, it had already won the battle with the Hyundai Elantra and the Honda Civic just sitting there on the show floor. Then we took it for a brief spin at a public “Ford Factor” event, which didn’t tell us much, other than it can match the smaller Ford Figo on a tight autocross track. But then we met one of Ford’s PR bosses, Sue, at that event,

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While our VW Passat CC long-termer has gone in for some bodywork after a hit-and-run incident, we picked up a 2012 Volkswagen Touareg to test-drive in the meantime. And it’s not just any Touareg, but the new 4.2-litre V8 version that debuted a few months ago, and that too in pricey “Exclusive” trim.

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It feels like the Lexus IS 300 has been around for ages. To breathe new life into the nameplate, Lexus has now created the IS 300 C, a hard-top convertible that aims to kill two markets with one stone. We got this car for this Eid-Al-Adha, a brand new one with only 20 km on the odo.

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There is only so many ways that we can make a Toyota Yaris review interesting. The hottest new car of this year that will sell in droves no matter what we say, we were given the option to pick a colour, and we picked red. You know, like a Ferrari.

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