GCC

Kia has come such a long way in such a short time. Once the maker of unreliable tin cans that wouldn’t sell even though cheap, now they are among the best carmakers in the business, with class-leading build quality, ground-breaking styling and still keeping it all relatively cheap. Their bestseller in the UAE is obviously the Kia Sportage. Out since late last year, the 2011 model is already a common sight on Dubai roads. So when we picked up this white tester, we knew we weren’t going to come up with a convincing review. Many people were already convinced.

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Al Tayer Motors, the Ferrari and Maserati dealer for the UAE, has re-opened their Dubai showroom after an extensive refurbishment and expansion. It was unveiled during a media event last week.

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Porsche announced the launch of its all new Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, a street legal variant of the 911 GT3 track-only race car. According to Porsche, the model, which is limited to just 600 units, shall debut boasting the biggest engine among the entire 911 series – a naturally aspirated 4.0-litre 6-cylinder horizontally-opposed motor rated at 500 hp at 8,250 rpm and 460 Nm torque at 5,750 rpm.

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Hyundai seems to have quietly launched the all-new 2012 Elantra in Oman, though their website has not yet been updated. The vehicle in these pictures was spotted when parked in front of a hotel located in a residential area of Sharjah known for its thriving used car market. The vehicle is registered in Oman and seemed to be some mid-option model with fog lamps. Oman has traditionally received new Hyundai and Kia models several months before the UAE, due to their massive popularity there.

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Al Rostamani Trading Company, the sole distributor of Suzuki in the UAE has quietly launched their sporty midsize sedan, the new Kizashi, as a 2012 model in its showrooms. The much-hyped Suzuki Kizashi had been launched in Oman almost a year back and 6 months ago in Saudi Arabia.

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Al Habtoor Motors, the official dealer of Bentley in the UAE, has launched the Bentley Continental GT as a 2012 model at an event in Dubai. Changes are limited to new front and rear fascias, as well as a new engine.

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Choices for sporting two-door coupes are limited in the GCC market if you’re on a budget. There’s the Hyundai Genesis Coupe that is saddled with badge-perception issues and a dealer reluctant to import manual ones. There’s the Ford Mustang, which is built like a Ford Mustang. There’s the Chevy Camaro, whose interior is about as pleasing as an airplane toilet. There’s the Honda Accord Coupe and the Nissan Altima Coupe, neither as sporting as they’re expected to be. There’s the VW Scirocco, a fake “coupe” that really is a photoshopped Golf. And now, there is the Peugeot RCZ. And it takes budget coupes to a whole other level.

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After Fiat’s takeover of Chrysler, the impact was new design and revamping of existing models. New for 2012, the Chrysler 300 came out with a new model, although some would call it an upgrade rather than an entire new machine. Claiming it to be the “most powerful, best-handling sedan ever”, Chrysler displayed the highly-anticipated 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 at the 2011 New York Auto Show.

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The covers have been lifted off the fourth-generation Subaru Impreza at the 2011 New York International Auto Show. The new Impreza from the not-so-popular brand is now bigger and better, offering its customers more space, better interior quality and features, and “allegedly” better performance.

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It was a double surprise as Nissan revealed two different versions of the next-generation Tiida at two different motor-shows in a span of 2 days. As we previously reported about the Chinese Sunny being the new Tiida sedan, the new Sunny debuted as the Versa, currently known as Tiida in the GCC, at the 2011 New York Auto Show, without a hatchback equivalent. Yet, at almost the same time, Nissan revealed a new Tiida hatchback at the 2011 Shanghai Motor Show that is a completely different car. Make sense?

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