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comparing some off road cars


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I am not actually, when buying a car for the main purpose being Daily Driver + Weekend Off-roader, I will always choose a Japanese make. We drive these cars daily and then at the same time push them in 40+ degree heat! They have to be tough and reliable. RR or Jeeps are good, but I have never come to trusting American/British makes just because the Japanese are second to none in build quality of a vehicle and they are inexpensive to maintain!

I had a 2005 Prado LWB for the past 3 years and I have very few complaints about it after 276K Kms. Just recently switched over to a 2006 Pajero SWB for a change. For the dunes I prefer having an old car with less computer management etc. It makes the experience on the sand more raw and in my opinion will make you a better driver, anybody can buy a 2019 Prado and get stuck and use Crawl Control to get them out. But if you're really into the sport of Dune Bashing I think knowing the methods/techniques of self recovery etc are just as important and this only comes with Experience. But then again the newer models are much safer so if you intend to take family/loved ones around everywhere the newer models are much better. 

Lastly, in my opinion, I think any of the 4x4's we have offered in the market (Pajero/Prado/LC/Patrol/JK etc.) are all perfectly capable vehicles. Each has their own USP's but overall they all will run the toughest sands the Middle East has to offer just fine :D. I'm a strong believer of the saying "It's the driver, not the car". If you know your car well and how to take advantage of it, there is no dune that will hold you back!

Oh! Also this is my first post here and I hope to be seeing you guys soon on some drives. 😁

 

Cheers, 
Jas 

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2 hours ago, Jas Gajaria said:

I am not actually, when buying a car for the main purpose being Daily Driver + Weekend Off-roader, I will always choose a Japanese make. We drive these cars daily and then at the same time push them in 40+ degree heat! They have to be tough and reliable. RR or Jeeps are good, but I have never come to trusting American/British makes just because the Japanese are second to none in build quality of a vehicle and they are inexpensive to maintain!

I had a 2005 Prado LWB for the past 3 years and I have very few complaints about it after 276K Kms. Just recently switched over to a 2006 Pajero SWB for a change. For the dunes I prefer having an old car with less computer management etc. It makes the experience on the sand more raw and in my opinion will make you a better driver, anybody can buy a 2019 Prado and get stuck and use Crawl Control to get them out. But if you're really into the sport of Dune Bashing I think knowing the methods/techniques of self recovery etc are just as important and this only comes with Experience. But then again the newer models are much safer so if you intend to take family/loved ones around everywhere the newer models are much better. 

Lastly, in my opinion, I think any of the 4x4's we have offered in the market (Pajero/Prado/LC/Patrol/JK etc.) are all perfectly capable vehicles. Each has their own USP's but overall they all will run the toughest sands the Middle East has to offer just fine :D. I'm a strong believer of the saying "It's the driver, not the car". If you know your car well and how to take advantage of it, there is no dune that will hold you back!

Oh! Also this is my first post here and I hope to be seeing you guys soon on some drives. 😁

 

Cheers, 
Jas 

Welcome to Carnity @Jas Gajaria ! 

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"Go as far as you can see; once you get there, you'll be able to see further."

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11 hours ago, G.huz said:

am surprised with his verdict. does this apply on dunes? what do you guys think?

I'm not supersized at all. I can of course not compare the models as i do not have first hand experience with any of them apart from the Prado. I also have quite limited experience with electronic traction aid systems as i prefer good old diff-locks.But i have seen them doing magic. I'm actually also fine with the dash board in the Prado..

My next car will likely again be a Toyota. . :-)

I fully agree on Jas points above.

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4 minutes ago, M.K said:

I'm not supersized at all. I can of course not compare the models as i do not have first hand experience with any of them apart from the Prado. I also have quite limited experience with electronic traction aid systems as i prefer good old diff-locks.But i have seen them doing magic. I'm actually also fine with the dash board in the Prado..

My next car will likely again be a Toyota. . :-)

I fully agree on Jas points above.

My old Prado was a high school grad gift. I wish I could buy another Toyota but they hold their value sooooo well! I had the option of going down and buying a Prado SWB full stock or buying the Pajero and spend the same budget in performance and mods. Let's see how this turns out!

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6 hours ago, Jas Gajaria said:

. I'm a strong believer of the saying "It's the driver, not the car".

This right here is the truth. Over my recently long offroading career this was very apparent because we basically all drove the same car. Land Cruisers. 

But some even after driving for years could not tackle anything more than some simple dunes ans while other having recently joined would go anywhere.

There was a select group of drivers who were allowed to do the Liwa, Wagan, Shuaib type trips and out of those even a smaller number who were assigned to lead the convoy.

Unlike majority of the tour companies we did not operate in the regular sandbox of big red fossil rock area but murqab, lisaili and what is now known as Qudra area.

During busy time we outsourced drivers, even the so called ACE and best drivers of the sans box struggled in our area due to is varying terrain from small very technical dune to the big ones closer to lisaili close to the sand stone formations.

So yeah I too 100% believe its the driver and not the car. As many know later on I moved to a big chunky Land Rover Discovery and everyone said its a whale and wont go anywhere. But I took it everywhere from Liwa to Wagan and once when involved in a friendly high speed bumper to bumper chase behind big red with a wrangler a Cherokee driver actually later on came up and refused to believe the car was stock other than a basic 2" lift after he saw us two giving it a go on the ridges.

SO yeah its the driver alright, another example is Formula 1 racing basically they all have to drive same spec cars due to regulations. So only tye best driver wins tye race.

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Yes, it's diffinately the driver  :) 

i thought maybe the video didn't tackle desert dunes very much, I was thinking maybe offroading on desert dunes is a big different than rock crawling, so maybe the judgement would've been different? Also I was hoping for bigger collection of cars to compare with, maybe in next episodes.

Am hoping that my next car would be SWB Prado or Patrol, if I can't afford them, maybe a Pajero... Or I'll stick to my wonderful Pathy :)

I loved the old Discovery, I watched couple of the Camel Trophy races years ago, insanely capable car, but the newest model, super ugly in my opinion, and kind of expensive.

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@Jas Gajaria, welcome to Carnity and it's offroad club. The very nice introduction you gave in the opening post, looking forward to driving with you.

As much as I agree with everyone points here for the driver comes first, I also believe that car is equally important to really enjoy the dune bashing. I have changed 5 cars before I actually started enjoying the desert driving.

@G.huz this guy video reviews and his credibility has been already discussed a few months back here so I really didn't pay any heed to his opinion and feedback, when he was crying for flat bench third row in Pajero for an hour long video.

Having said that, I don't love new Pajero's either but the value of money they offer and reliability it comes with is close to none. With little expense, you can fix minor bumper trimming or lift issues and they can be good offroaders.

Last but not least whenever you are confused for your next offroad rig, ask yourself which 4x4 you have seen in the desert more and you can't go wrong that way - it will be - Wrangler, FJC, Xterra, LC, Prado, Pajero, Patrol, older pathfinder, older Cherokees etc.

I very rarely spotted JGC, LR4, LR3, Touareg, ML, etc in dunes tbh.

Like I always mention that sand offroading is TOTALLY different than those overland trips, rock climbing, water wading etc. For Sand, you need basic HP first and then torque, for others it's mostly torque. That's why Landrover defender termed as best 4x4 by far coughs up on half the big red climb with 2.5 diesel engine unlike before V8 Petrol (1999).

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Let's root for each other & watch each other grow.

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@Jas Gajaria it was wonderful reading your thoughts, my feelings exactly. Can't wait to drive with you, it will be an honour. I had the LR Disco 1 for 5 years and it taught me a lot. BTW I was there when @desertdude was chasing Championdada in his Jeep Wrangler YJ and it just goes to show how a good driver can make the difference.

I had an instance when a guy shouted out which is the best 4x4. Turns out most people responded Wrangler. He bought one for AED 60k. Next he asked what are the best mods. I told him at least step in sand first and than decide what you think lacks and apply the necessary mods. But he listened to everyone else and spend another AED 60k to make it look like a monster from moon. AED 120k spent he came for a Newbie drive and after 2 small dunes decided this was not the thing for him. He tried to sell his ride, but no one pays for mods, so he was stuck with a monster created by him which never fetched him anything close to what he had spent.

So conclusion, just make the best of what you have and if the sand bug bites you, you'll make any 4x4 rock your way. Don't go by the reviews of a biased old fart who can complain about anything and everything.

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1 minute ago, Rahimdad said:

@Jas Gajaria it was wonderful reading your thoughts, my feelings exactly. Can't wait to drive with you, it will be an honour. I had the LR Disco 1 for 5 years and it taught me a lot. BTW I was there when @desertdude was chasing Championdada in his Jeep Wrangler YJ and it just goes to show how a good driver can make the difference.

I had an instance when a guy shouted out which is the best 4x4. Turns out most people responded Wrangler. He bought one for AED 60k. Next he asked what are the best mods. I told him at least step in sand first and than decide what you think lacks and apply the necessary mods. But he listened to everyone else and spend another AED 60k to make it look like a monster from moon. AED 120k spent he came for a Newbie drive and after 2 small dunes decided this was not the thing for him. He tried to sell his ride, but no one pays for mods, so he was stuck with a monster created by him which never fetched him anything close to what he had spent.

So conclusion, just make the best of what you have and if the sand bug bites you, you'll make any 4x4 rock your way. Don't go by the reviews of a biased old fart who can complain about anything and everything.

LOL, Will await the drives!

Completely agree with the mods, do what is required after you know your driving style! I will always mod a car after I master the technique, Learn the technique and then once you master it you can add a mod which makes your life easier. This way you'll not only be able to become a true pro but will also be able to help and drive ANY car in the dunes rather than only your expensive modded one :D

I am currently away in Canada, coming back in a week so will join you guys for the next drives after the 10th for sure!

 

Cheers, 
Jas

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