I owned a Mazda back in Australia in 2004, a Mazda2. It was the first car I'd ever bought brand new and, while it was no highway warrior, it was a solid little hatchback, albeit one that looked a bit like a breadbox. The next Mazda2 was, to my dismay, a much better looking car, but by the time it was released, I was getting ready to move to Dubai - and Mazda2s are not on sale here.
But the good news for aesthetically concerned Mazda buyers in the UAE is that the Mazda3, the smallest non-sports car Mazda on sale here, follows a similarly pleasing design. The 2010 version's facelift is definitely for the better. Mazda has designed some lovely looking cars in the past, most notably the RX7 and MX5 (and I have a soft spot for the Mazda Capella, but some people find that odd). While the 3 doesn't have quite the same sex appeal as the sporty Mazdas, the well-placed creases in the metal, the sharpened headlights that curve around towards the fenders, and the tail lights that now echo the headlights' styling rather than looking like odd, miniature Corvette tail lights all combine to make an attractive car.
Inside, the beige and dark brown interior was not terribly exciting but the seats are firm and comfortable. I was pleased to note that, like my Mazda2 of six years ago, Mazda has kept the simple centre console for a/c and entertainment. In particular, I was very pleased that the big, easy tuning dial for the radio remained from 2004 - so much simpler than a flaky touch screen or tiny buttons that beep a lot but are tricky to get the right frequency.
The layout of these controls was straightforward and it passed my test with flying colours - whether I can figure out the entertainment and a/c controls at one red light stop. Any longer than that and I just get annoyed. Also, like most Japanese cars, the a/c was excellent - this is where the Japanese car makers have it all over the Americans and Germans (the wonderful Airscarf in Mercedes convertibles aside).
It's a nice-looking car on the outside and pretty sound on the inside, so it is a mystery as to why they are not outselling the Nissan Sunny (base price, Dh49,500) or the Toyota Corolla (base price, Dh55,000), both of which are comparably priced but less attractive cars. The driving experience of a Mazda3 is hardly a thrill a minute, but neither is a Sunny or a Corolla. Having briefly sat in the back of our Female Persuasion columnist's rented Sunny on the weekend, I can attest that the Mazda3 back seat is more comfortable and less cramped. Anyone contemplating a Nissan Sunny should check out the Mazda3 first.
Like most cars in its class on sale in the UAE, the ubiquitous automatic transmission has a sequential manual option. The tragedy for the Mazda3 is that the gearbox only has four speeds. Even the little Honda Jazz has five gears to play with, and it includes paddle shifters. While using the manual option to shift gears for added boost when making a swift move in traffic works pretty well, out on the motorway at 120kph and above the four speed box mated to the 1.6L engine is somewhat limiting. At these speeds, the revs are high and it is noisy without being especially powerful. The manual option doesn't really help too much with this. But I suspect most UAE drivers will never use the manual option and merrily leave it in drive everywhere they go.
The high revs on the motorway kept the needle flying up to 4,000rpm and above, rather than staying at a more economical 2,500-3,500rpm. But it was still miserly on fuel with a combined consumption of just eight litres per 100km; even in these slightly more expensive times at the petrol pump, it cost just Dh65 to fill the tank. With this in mind, there is not much use looking at the somewhat haywire fuel economy computer in the middle of the dashboard. It allegedly gives you an average fuel consumption figure as you drove along. However, when I was cruising along the Sheikh Khalifa Highway towards Yas Island at a steady 130kph in top gear, the average fuel consumption reading went up and down like a yo-yo. The figure wavered between a Hummer-like 17L/100km to a ridiculously idealised 0.2L.
But the distance-to-empty reading, which appears on the same little digital screen, seemed to be far more reliable, with the orange warning light coming on just as it was telling me I had enough petrol in the tank to travel 32km. Overall - the four-speed gearbox and kooky average fuel consumption gauge aside - the Mazda3 is a steady, reliable and good-looking addition to the small-car market that should, in a perfect world, sell the socks off the Sunny and Corolla. motoring@thenational.ae
THE%20SPECS
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
