It has been sometime since we heard the roar of the MG brand. Now with a turbo-charged 1.8 engine the 550 seeks to re-establish the brand in Oman.
Author: Charles Aitchison | Photography: Basim Al Muharbi
 MG550 This is an interesting car – designed and developed in Britain, made in China. In 2005 Nanjing Automobile Group bought the plant and tooling from the receiver of the old MG Rover business, did a deal with SAIC Motor (sic) to manufacture the vehicles, who took it all to China, installed it in a purpose-built factory and set about building the car on test here.
The Lexus GX460 is in Oman and seeks to grab a chunk of an all important niche in the luxury segment. Does it have what it takes? Automan explores
Author: Charles Aitchison | Photography: Basim Al Muharbi
 Lexus GX460 Is this a car for all seasons, a car for all reasons? Perhaps so, as it ticks so many of most people’s boxes when they’re considering what they want of a car, at least in the Middle East. Maybe it’s not a car but an SUV; as well as behaving like a luxury limo when that’s what you want, it’s also family carry-all plus, of course, a superb off-roader. And, whilst it’s certainly not a sports car, for a vehicle of this size - and there’s no getting away from it, it is big - it’s surprisingly able in the twists & turns. The GX 460 is Lexus’ mid-range luxury SUV, between the flagship LX 570 and the RX series. This is a significant upgrade, with enhancements to comfort, versatility, safety and economy over the old GX, which never quite made it to our shores.
Consider it a luxury car with a difference. In a market that is getting increasingly comfort biased, the Lexus RX350 has been a pioneer. Automan tests the car
Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Shakeel Al Balushi
 Lexus RX350 In other pages in this month’s magazine, we look at the range of SUVs that a certain luxury car marque offers. While the attempt by the brand there was to bring out the hardy, terrain-busting characteristics of even their entry level SUV, the understanding always remained that all the performance in the world had to come with a clutch of core values to make sense for a luxury segment buyer.
Hence just as much importance would be given to things like air-conditioned seats, leather and DVD players and driver related goodies couched as necessity in terms of safety or performance. Like adaptive cruise control, reversing cameras or even the power adjustable seats with memory functions. At a certain level the customer is accustomed to a feature set that gives him this package.
The black year for American motoring is over and Ford is on a charge in many ways. In the Middle East it is the launch of the new Taurus that excites the brand
Author: Charles Aitchison | Photography: Basim Al Muharbi
 2010 Ford Taurus Ford’s flagship Taurus is a full-size sedan – bigger than the Mondeo, and as such it is Ford’s attempt to break into the very competitive luxury sedan sector of the market. This is an important car for Ford in GCC, and is a step up in size-class from their well-established and better known Focus and Mondeo models.
The question is, can the Taurus live up to the very high standards set by its stable-mates the Mondeo and Focus? The latter two are built in Europe, and are very strong in terms of build quality, comfort and dynamics. So does the fact that the Taurus is made in America make any difference? The short answer is - yes and no. In terms of ride, handling, comfort and noise suppression it does not. In terms of build quality it does. That’s not to say it’s shoddily built, just that it’s not up to the same quality standard as some others with the same badge. Panel fit and shut-lines can’t match the standard as projected by Japanese and European standards, whilst the quality of the interior fittings and furnishings is reasonable rather than commendable.
Packed full of goodies and with the reliability of a front-wheel drive geartrain, The Lexus ES350 brings desire to executive motoring. Automan tests the 2010 variant
Author: Charles Aitchison | Photography: Basim Al Muharbi
 Lexus ES350 The ES350 is a medium-size four-seater sedan. Of course, it will seat five people, but as with almost all so-called five-seaters, the fifth seat is really for occasional use only.
We’ve come to expect the very highest standards from Lexus, so does this car make the grade? First impressions are of the usual tight and even shut lines and superb paintwork that we expect of Lexus. The White Pearl pearlescent paint on the test car is very attractive, both at a distance and close-up. Although now increasingly common in GCC, on this and other brands, that’s not surprising, as this particular paint finish is both beautiful and practical – reflecting the burning sun while looking smart and producing an interesting, ever-changing shimmer.
With the introduction of the all-new 2010 Jaguar XKR supercharged convertible, Jaguar has finally crossed into supercar territory
 Jaguar XKR Anyone knowing about British cars will know that, while Jaguars are about beauty, they are also about speed and power. In-between ownership changes from Ford to India’s Tata Motors; there’s been some change in the attitude for the brand. Tata Motors seem to be more content to let Jaguar continue as a luxury car brand selling modest number of models instead of trying to become a volume global player [the plan hatched by Ford for Jaguar that miserably failed]. Now that there’s a shift in ideology, that makes greater business sense and the results are beginning to show. Given that Jaguar let chief designer Ian Callum and his crew decide on the exterior and the interior, the refreshed 2+2 grand tourer XKR is a stunning car in terms of design, proportions, elegance and aggressiveness.
While offering luxurious interiors, the Lincoln Navigator has its task cut out for it to make a dent in the Luxury SUV market against entrenched competition
Author: Charles Aitchison | Photography: Basim Al Muharbi
 Lincoln Navigator Even for Oman, where we are used to very large SUVs, this one is big! Although it’s the size of a small truck, and is high and heavy, it actually drives much better than you might expect, having a good ride, enables excellent views of surrounding traffic, and, for such a large vehicle, it’s surprisingly manoeuvrable. With due allowance made for the width and length, it’s manageable until it comes to narrow spaces and parking. It’s not a town car - take it shopping if you must, but other shoppers won’t thank you for doing that. Even in its class it’s big – for instance, one’s eye level is significantly higher than in a Landcruiser Amazon or a Nissan Armada, so if height is a measure of status, then this vehicle is king of the hill in the full-size SUV stakes.
What would Colin Chapman have made of the new Evora? It keeps its roots firmly with the heritage of Lotus while trying to appeal to a whole new audience. Automan tests the car
Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Shakeel Al Balushi
 Lotus Evora British engineering has been having quite a tough time over the years. From being a very industrial revolution based land of factories and mills, much of the manufacture of goods has been moving to cheaper and more prolific countries. Even if we were to limit ourselves to the automotive vertical, the country has barely managed to keep its industry viable. On the other hand, if you were to think of the application end of automobiles, motorsports is still very much a UK speciality. Formula One teams call the country home, tracks like Silverstone and Donnington are known worldwide and the quintessential small volume British sportscar still survives.
Kia Motors has just wheeled in the third generation successor of its highly successful Sportage compact SUV for the region. Automan finds the new arrival not just a befitting replacement, but also as a signature of transformation within SUV and crossover line-up for the marque
Author: Chandan B Mallik | Photography: | Shakeel Al Balushi
 2010 KIA Sportage Kia Motors has move quite a distance with its motor car line-up. The first generation body-on-frame Sportage, developed during early 90s used alliance technology as a result of a then three-way Ford-Mazda-Kia partnership. In fact, the vehicle was developed from a Mazda pick-up truck. The second-generation Sportage, introduced in 2004, represented a huge step forward for Kia Motors in terms of architecture, design and engineering and was a commercial success.
By the time the third generation was due, the global market dynamics have changed dramatically as a result of the current economic meltdown. The crisis had triggered a global slowdown in car sales worldwide and also prompted carmakers to look at a new direction to sustain operations, and meet legislation, fuel efficiency and emissions norms.
Automan discovers the all-new 2010 Tucson as one successful new chapter in transformation of Hyundai from a maker of cheap econoboxes to a bonafide manufacturer of first-class quality global cars
Author: Chandan B Mallik | Photography: Shakeel Al Balushi
_fmt.jpg "2010 Hyundai Tucson") 2010 Hyundai Tucson If you remember the outgoing Hyundai Tucson, it was one affordable SUV money could buy. It was decent in terms of its package and performance, but it was more Asian in styling and was seen as a viable alternative to a second hand or used Japanese equivalent. Hyundai is flexing its muscles in the global markets quite successfully and the fact of the matter is that despite the current economic crisis which has hard hit the bottom lines of even seasoned automotive players, Hyundai and Kia jointly are one exception to the rule. Hyundai has surprised business analysts with an outstanding and enviable 49 per cent year on year growth.
Designed by Renault, engineered by Nissan and built in South Korea, the all-new Koleos is the French marque’s first ever 4x4 lifestyle crossover SUV. Question is: can it cut in the fiercely competitive market? We find out
Author: Chandan B Mallik
 Renault Koleos The adage used sometimes ‘it’s better to arrive late than never’ usually helps business strategists and product planners to study the markets in-depth, understand and see what competition is up to. Timing is also important, especially for Renault at this stage, since the company is currently on an overdrive mode with its models as it expands globally. To many in the business, Renault may have come into the compact SUV market a little late with the Koleos SUV, but it does arrives fully-formed and not as a half-baked proposition.
For the record, the SUV run for Renault just doesn’t end here. In fact, the automaker has, recently confirmed market rumours that it made an offer for ailing South Korean SUV and car manufacturer SsangYong Motor Co. SsangYong produces saloon cars and SUVs mostly using dated Mercedes-Benz engineering. The buyout offer was made in conjunction with their Korean subsidiary Renault Samsung Motors and Alliance partner Nissan.
Has Aston Martin, the Gaydon, UK-based luxury sports carmaker cracked the 2+2 slot with its V12-engined four-door all-new Rapide? Automan discovers how a balanced combination of elegance and aggression work in tandem in Valencia
 Aston Martin Rapide The international launch and first drive of Aston Martin’s all-new four-door 2010 Rapide, in Spanish city of Valencia was more than just ‘Opening Doors’, the event’s title theme. Although the Rapide is described by Aston Martin as its first high performance 2+2 coupé of remarkable grace and poise, it actually isn’t as aficionados of the marque would remember that the 1941 Aston Martin Atom had four doors and four seats, and so did the 1976 Lagonda and the 1994 Lagonda Virage. But that’s not the point we want to make out here.
The KIA brand is car is carving out a space for itself among the contenders from the principally Japanese driven family car segment. The latest offering is the Cadenza. Automan looks at the car’s potential in an entrenched segment
| Author: Raj Warrior | Photography: Basim Al Muharbi |
 KIA Cadenza These days you can’t help but side with the guys at KIA Oman. They are celebrating for quite a few reasons and all of them are valid. They have a new major showroom facility in the heart of Wattayah, they have done extremely well in the dogfight that the year 2009 turned out to be and to top it all they have a slew of new products that are reaching the showroom now while other brands are still in the process of selling off 2009 and even 2008 model year cars.
Take two parts luxury car and add in two parts supersports, then take away one part of weight – you are left with the awesome Lamborghini LP570-4 Superleggera
Author: Raj Warrior
 Lamborghini LP570-4 Superleggera For all purposes, Lamborghini is an Italian company, notwithstanding the German ownership and origins of the companies that own it. However, there are more than a few character traits that have rubbed off from the German owners and one of these is the clockwork regularity with which the brand moves ahead with model introductions and the process of beefing up its range. A year ago we were out with Lamborghini in Tenerife welcoming the LP560-4 Convertible. Now a year on and the next variant, the LP570-4 Superleggera has not just been unveiled at the Geneva show, it was also laid out for Journalists to take test drives on in Spain.
Honda has a penchant for making driver’s cars - the Accord Coupe, built on the Sedan’s underpinnings, makes a case for itself
 Accord Coupe The sedan car market may be under pressure in most parts of the world but that isn’t preventing car makers from extending their sedan platforms into other spin-offs. Like all great manufacturers of yore, Hoda is no stranger to the genre. If you look back a decade you will see that the Accord-Prelude duo were perfect examples of the same essential car serving two entirely different market sets. Today that equation is served by the simultaneous development of the Accord Sedan and Coupe.
Stand by for action as the sixth generation 2010 VW Golf GTI hits the roads in our region. This GTI is one of few most desirable hot hatch models of German origin, and probably among the fastest mainstream models in the segment’s history. Automan was given exclusive access to the car
_fmt.jpg "2010 VW Golf GTI") 2010 VW Golf GTI Quintessentially, five generations of Volkswagen Golf GTIs have established an iconic status of this the pocket rocket hot hatch by aficionados. Ever since, the latest iteration was showcased at the Dubai International Motor Show in December 2009, enthusiastic drivers have been itching for a chance to get behind the wheel of this car.
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