Well, looks like we’ve landed an exclusive. This here is the first 2012 Honda Civic to be reviewed in the UAE. After months of spy photos by readers spotting these mysterious cars all over Dubai, the Japanese firm has finally gone official with their new compact contender.
When we heard that Porsche Middle East had bumped up their test-drive period to a little more than a day now, we were more than a little pleased. Previously, Porsche used to hand over test vehicles for just six hours at a time so as to avoid naive journalists, drunk or otherwise, from trashing their cars. So we’d never bothered to drive their cars before, outside of their spectacular roadshows at local race-tracks. But things change, and we went ahead and asked for a Porsche 911 Carrera GTS.
Exactly as the title says. Volkswagen’s Middle East office has like three or four VW Golf R hatchbacks on media duty. When we picked up the white VW Golf R earlier this month, the only one available happened to be the version without Dynamic Chassis Control, a system that adds adjustable suspension. So we simply asked for another round, this time with the DCC version, and they obliged. After driving the non-DCC car, we were already impressed, and had made up our minds that adding complicated suspension gimmickry would only add weight and nothing else. We were wrong.
We never even touched the 350Z. We didn’t drive the 370Z Coupe either. And we never asked for the 370Z Roadster. However, we never say no when we get offered a car, so we took this Nissan drop-top you see here for a spin. Trouble is, with 16,000 km on the clock, everybody and their mother has already test-abused this car, so we’re guessing it wasn’t the most ideal representation of what a “Z” car is supposed to be.
This is our third VW test-drive in a row. This time we have the 2011 VW Golf R, a stronger version of the Golf GTI and replacement for the previous R32. Since we’ve tested neither of those cars before, thanks to VW’s previous PR agency, we have nothing to compare the Golf R to. All we know is that it is a proper ass-kicker of a car.
The facelifted-for-2012 Eos is our second test car from VW after the Tiguan, so we got to try out the rather-entertaining 2.0-litre TSI turbo yet again. Of course, there is more to this car than just the engine.
As part of our fresh look at VW’s line-up, we’ve picked up a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TSI Sport&Style R-Line 4MOTION DSG. A facelift of this model has already been revealed, but it won’t differ much from this tester, aside from a new face. The ridiculously-long name also hints at several specifications, although all of it is not marked out with badges on the body.
The Chevrolet Camaro has finally lost its top for the 2011 model year, as expected for years. We got our hands on an automatic 2011 Camaro SS soft-top, in pristine white.
The previous Dodge Durango was a dud on such a massive scale that it remained on showroom floors right up till 2010, even while production ended in 2008. That fullsize 4×4 is now dead, but its replacement, a stretched midsizer, might very well be among the best in its class.
The Dodge Charger, one of the last American rear-wheel-drive sedan nameplates left in existence, has gone under the surgeon’s knife and come out the other side with few changes. Or so it seems. What you see here is a 2011 Dodge Charger SE, the one with the new 292 hp 3.6-litre V6. We’re possibly the first ones in the UAE, and possibly the GCC, to review one on local roads. And we are absolutely blown away by this car. Compared to the old one, this new model is from a different planet altogether.