Car showrooms in Dubai - Lotus/Caterham
Discussion
I have a very rare two weeks off between jobs and in between the list of household tasks and Ikea runs that my dear wife has managed to 'ask' that I do, I am trying to see as many of the car showrooms that I can on a quiet weekday and without kids in tow.
I am also trying to document these with photo threads for each and which any of the PH'ers from outside the Middle East may find of interest if they wander to this section of the forums.
The car that jumped out most to me was the Evora. The last time I had looked at a Lotus in any detail was way back at a car show in Blenheim Palace when I had seen Pretty Woman the night before and lo and behold, a yellow Esprit was there for sale. Folded (literally) myself in and thought cramped, held together with hope and prayer (I had arrived in a CL500 so the build quality differences were apparent). Disappointing summed it up and there ended the Esprit. Unfair of course to judge on one car but circa 2006/2007 they were practically giving away the large German barges and LS400s and they occupied car ownership for me as my garage shows.
Because of those cars, I always find that I pay a lot of attention to fit and finish in cars. I remember being gobsmacked at how cheap the successor to the BMW E38 7 series felt like or the W220 S-Class as against the W140 S-Class. The Evora was a huge surprise. It has many complex curves and surfaces which must have posed a nightmare to get panel gaps to line up with some very complex intersections. This really jumped out when I was taking photographs and focusing on a panel for example. Hopped in and roomy, very comfortable seats, some back seats for the kids, boot storage, great 'feel' to the surfaces and controls and just felt 'right'. I was very kindly offered a spin around the block and since, like many on here, I am interested in driving anything that has four wheels and an engine (the Morgan 3 wheeler was not in stock so I am flexible on the number of wheels!) it would have been rude to say no. Hilariously quick and the exhaust/supercharger whine just had me giggling. It was very easy to feel settled in the car and felt 'right'.
I used to think when reviews talked about driver's cars that it was a bit of journalistic flourish but I would put the Evora in that box. I mentioned to Faisal about driving a Proton Satria with the Lotus-tuned suspension back in Oz years ago when they were trying to get people exposed to the car and had stands in shopping centres where there was no-obligation test drives. This was a time when the Ford Falcon/Holden Commodore V8 reigned supreme so small hatches saw little of the time of day for most. Practically begging me to take it our, my then girlfriend (now wife) and I took it for a quick drive and was shocked at how much fun it was to drive. I had just bought an MX6 Turbo so was not in the market but had that not been the case, then a very good chance the Satria would have been on the driveway. So too with the Evora....I may hold a garage sale to raise funds!
Well worth the quick drive up to Festival City for a look and a great bunch of blokes to have a chat to too.
Photos to follow.
Cheers
I am also trying to document these with photo threads for each and which any of the PH'ers from outside the Middle East may find of interest if they wander to this section of the forums.
- The Ras Al Khor Used Car Market*
- Lotus/Caterham at Festival City*
The car that jumped out most to me was the Evora. The last time I had looked at a Lotus in any detail was way back at a car show in Blenheim Palace when I had seen Pretty Woman the night before and lo and behold, a yellow Esprit was there for sale. Folded (literally) myself in and thought cramped, held together with hope and prayer (I had arrived in a CL500 so the build quality differences were apparent). Disappointing summed it up and there ended the Esprit. Unfair of course to judge on one car but circa 2006/2007 they were practically giving away the large German barges and LS400s and they occupied car ownership for me as my garage shows.
Because of those cars, I always find that I pay a lot of attention to fit and finish in cars. I remember being gobsmacked at how cheap the successor to the BMW E38 7 series felt like or the W220 S-Class as against the W140 S-Class. The Evora was a huge surprise. It has many complex curves and surfaces which must have posed a nightmare to get panel gaps to line up with some very complex intersections. This really jumped out when I was taking photographs and focusing on a panel for example. Hopped in and roomy, very comfortable seats, some back seats for the kids, boot storage, great 'feel' to the surfaces and controls and just felt 'right'. I was very kindly offered a spin around the block and since, like many on here, I am interested in driving anything that has four wheels and an engine (the Morgan 3 wheeler was not in stock so I am flexible on the number of wheels!) it would have been rude to say no. Hilariously quick and the exhaust/supercharger whine just had me giggling. It was very easy to feel settled in the car and felt 'right'.
I used to think when reviews talked about driver's cars that it was a bit of journalistic flourish but I would put the Evora in that box. I mentioned to Faisal about driving a Proton Satria with the Lotus-tuned suspension back in Oz years ago when they were trying to get people exposed to the car and had stands in shopping centres where there was no-obligation test drives. This was a time when the Ford Falcon/Holden Commodore V8 reigned supreme so small hatches saw little of the time of day for most. Practically begging me to take it our, my then girlfriend (now wife) and I took it for a quick drive and was shocked at how much fun it was to drive. I had just bought an MX6 Turbo so was not in the market but had that not been the case, then a very good chance the Satria would have been on the driveway. So too with the Evora....I may hold a garage sale to raise funds!
Well worth the quick drive up to Festival City for a look and a great bunch of blokes to have a chat to too.
Photos to follow.
Cheers
Gassing Station | Middle East | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff