THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
Being able to get really animated about something on a daily basis is a goal many of us would find appealing. It’s not always easy to achieve, though. Normal life tends to get in the way.
However, if fancy cars are your bag, Maserati reckons it may have the answer, as that is what it says its latest Ghibli will provide – everyday excitement.
The Italian manufacturer may have a point. This is a car with rather more style than you’d expect from a vehicle under the banner of an executive saloon and there is a distinct degree of jollity to be experienced when you get behind the wheel.
It's a Maserati, so you know it's going to be nice to look at. The outer stylings manage to combine a sense of elegance and sportiness. The front bumper and a sizeable grille are prominent, giving what Maserati calls a "shark nose" profile.
Inside, it is comfortable, neat and uncluttered. You can find your way around the various controls without needing a manual the size of an encyclopaedia, which is always refreshing.
This Ghibli is a direct competitor to many of those German saloons (the BMW 5-Series, for example) that, while being solid performers in themselves and without serious fault, don’t seem to have the X factor in quite the way some other vehicles do. It’s all very subjective, of course, but the new Ghibli seems to retain a link to the past, when taking a grand tour in a grand tourer was romantic. Before the roads got quite so full, of course, and, more recently, when people didn’t have to think twice about moving around.
There’s a sense of calm when driving the Ghibli (large cars, notably SUVs, can often give you this sensation effortlessly, but it’s a harder thing to achieve in a smaller vehicle). It’s a nice, zippy ride, too, with a 0-100 kilometres per hour time of 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 286kph.
You wouldn’t describe a Maserati as a supercar, exactly, but that’s because it isn’t absurd where so many of its rather more flamboyant (and eye-wateringly expensive) brethren are.
No, this is just an incredibly smart ride that most of us would be happy to be seen in at whatever our preferred venue may be.
You won’t be going off-roading or rallying in it any time soon, but, even if it was suited to that sort of thing, you wouldn’t want to do that as it’d be a crime to get that neat and tidy exterior all messed up. In fact, it’s surprising that pressure groups don’t exist to make maltreating flashy cars illegal.
So the Ghibli is a car to be reckoned with. It’s not the cheapest in its class, but we’re talking Maserati here, an undoubtedly iconic brand. Would it live up to its hype and provide everyday excitement? Hard to say for sure, but we’d say on first impressions it’s a distinct possibility.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GROUPS AND FIXTURES
Group A
UAE, Italy, Japan, Spain
Group B
Egypt, Iran, Mexico, Russia
Tuesday
4.15pm: Italy v Japan
5.30pm: Spain v UAE
6.45pm: Egypt v Russia
8pm: Iran v Mexico
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
