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@Salim Akhtar you were a true superstar on Sunday to manage your car and the drive so well. Bravo!!

Thanks @Looper for your encouraging words. Being only Fewbie+ Guy in convoy and that too with very first drive after promotion, kept my heart beat faster as how to keep pace with the convoy and not let much refusals/stucks. Thankfully with all support from all of member, hopefully it ended much better 😊

Thanks to all of you for joining us last night on our night-time photography session ! @Shaker@Quresh Pajero@Stan Hassett@Morshedi@Simon Dawood@Tareq Al Turq@munkybizness We met up around 7PM, deflated a bit, and headed out into the Faqa terrain, where a tiny old farmhouse surrounded by some nice ghaf trees could serve as our subject. Soon everyone scattered and found their preferred spots to practice their camera skills and i loved the fact that it was so quiet and all of us were just taking in the surroundings and magnificent night sky. There was quite a bit of light pollution from the East unfortunately, not sure what the reason was, but we made the best of it, and the weather was cool and there was a gentle breeze. I love these evenings not just for messing around with the camera, but just for meeting up with likeminded people and enjoying the scenery. Please share your photos good and bad here on the topic and add the camera settings you used for that photo, as this helps us to better understand and study the optimal settings. See you all soon again !

I have a thing with doors. They all have a story to tell. This was taken during daytime as I arrived a bit earlier: A few hours later, the door magically become a portal to another world: My (T)rusty Trooper: And the Farmhouse itself:

here's a photo from yesterday, @Shaker helped me a lot with the settings, no galaxy but if you look closer will see my car 😄🧐 and here's Shaker 😄

I've only been able to look at the photos on my phone so far. Here's the one that I think was the least shaky one.

I hope they came in peace !!

Another amazing drive! Thanks to @Hisham Masaad , the master of badayer:) Always a pleasure driving with all of you and thanks to @JeromeFJ for helping us throughout the drive and tricky situations. @Zixuan Huang - Charlie hope you get everything fixed for next weekend! Honestly i didn’t notice that you were struggling that much:) you drive very smoothly. @Rob S i believe that was your first IM and you didn’t have any trouble at all:) well done @Davie Chase sad that we won’t see you for some time but looking forward to our next drive soon. @Simon Dawood excellent 2nd lead👍🏼

@JeromeFJthanks very much for a very enjoyable drive and your excellent leadership during it. Also thanks to @Federico Galbieri, @Hisham Masaad and @Tareckfor the support during the drive. For my fellow dune bashers @Alfred Alinazar @Suresh K @Jose Thomas @Haitham Khattab @Sergio Big Dawg @Michel Van Woudenberg @KKIRAN @Beide Worku at the below link you will find some Gladiator POV videos. https://photos.app.goo.gl/toWZ5fWZhTTfTqecA

thank you thanks @Hisham Masaad looking forward to the super dose of adrenaline now thanks bro. hope to see you soon. Many thanks bro. im sure you will be joining soon.

@varunmehndiratta looking forward to supporting your drive. Faqa has some great challenges from high dunes and ridges to sweeping dunes with exciting bowls. @Ashok chaturvedi I will do my best to ensure that you are relaxed, but this time without breaking my car. I am pleased that such an experienced driver is joining the drive - so those with less experience can follow your line.

Great to have dear Richard back, I once recall he was behind me on a drive ( as a convoy driver) and I was superlative nervous to have a Marshal behind me. Near-half way of the drive he had to exit as his car was having some engine problem and I then could totally relax.

Dear Sand Sailors Thanks all for RSVPing for the drive. Slots went in quite fast so i am sure you are all looking forward for adrenaline pumping experience that Faqa has to offer. Plan for this drive is simple - we have an entry point and from thereon we will try to climb every high dune that comes our way and ride every nice ridge that we will see. I have no fixed exit.point in mind, we will exit close to where we will be around 9am. And that's the beauty of Faqa we can exit at all four sides of the area. Key is to make the engines roar and try to expand our experience with our ships - and we have some really powerful ones in the convoy this time Just to share Desert Champion and someone who truly needs no introduction at Carnity, Richard @Wrangeld will be joining us for the drive. So let's get our ships ready to explore Faqa. @Paolo Morresi @Paolo Pellegrini @Sergio Big Dawg @Federico Galbieri @FiNaR @FiNaR @Beide Worku @topgear @Mahmoud Taha @Ashok chaturvedi you all are added to the drive. In case of any change of plans, please share it well in time as we have 4 sailors in WL for their first drives of the week. Wait listed @Sam K @Yogesh Chaudhary @Pieter Potgieter @Daniel Rodas Looking forward to see you all on Sunday.

Nice videos, thanks for sharing @Gerrit Bus

Congratulations bro Enjoy the new level @ASAD.

Well done @ASAD.. Congratulations bro

Thank you for sharing!

Hey @ASAD. Good to see you in intermediate level. Congrats

Congratulations..👍👍👍

@Frederic, these are stunning! And after speaking with you last night, your voice really speaks through it. I especially love the grades of shades on the monochromatic Trooper photo, especially the shadows.

Having a diff lock is nice, but not very necessary when driving in convoys. Keep in mind you can always add an aftermarket front and rear diff locks (pneumatic or electric) and btw they make your diff more robust and they do actually work when you need them unlike the factory ones!

Thanks Gerrit for documenting the fun

Congratulations @Tareq Al Turq! Enjoy the change in pace that comes with FB+

congrats @Tareq Al Turq !!

Congratulations @Tareq Al Turq

Congrats @RiaanJH..👍🏻

Super Nice footage, thanks @Gerrit Bus!

Congratulations @Tareq Al Turq

congrats @Tareq Al Turq

Yeah definitely, The Y62 is a big car, mechanically its highly capable for any type of offroading, but they made it more of a city sports car with low hanging bumpers. Trim them and you will be fine. The service of the Y62 isn’t cheap at all as well.

Congratulations @ASAD. well deserved and well done

Congratulations @Tareq Al Turq well done

Power-wise yes, but bumpers and challenges to make them off-road worthy remain the same. Correct? To top it up Nissan added a radar just under the bumper, making it a strict no-go off-road vehicle without serious body modification and protection.

Congratulations @ASAD....

Congrats @Tareq Al Turq.. Enjoy new level

Goo job @Tareq Al Turq congrats

Congrats @Tareq Al Turq

No idea why there is a v6 Y62, that consumes fuel as much as the V8 version, might be more efficient in traffic but nothing more. It is way underpowered. If fuel consumption is the reason you are looking for a V6 Y62, then this is the worst decision. However if you are on budget and looking for something spacious then yes. Don’t expect any adult to sit in the third row seat of a Prado. So If you don’t really need the space then definitely the Prado. If you say V8 Y62 then that’s a different story.

Does Toyota ever lose a competition? Perhaps only in budget-friendly section

Congratulations @ASAD. 👏👏

Happy wife happy life....... smart way of thinking Hui. @Theo09 while reading your original post, I was thinking it's Y61 you are comparing for Prado, which was clarified by Fredy and 4.0-liter statement. In short Y62 - 4.0 Liter vehicle isn't really made for sand, rocks and wadi - AT ALL - Irrespective of countless advertorials and commercials bombarded by Nissan and Arabian automobiles with rhetoric advertising of "Conquer everywhere". It is only meant to conquer office, malls, school runs and traffic jams by leveraging the legendary reputation of Y61. Selling Y62 with a badge of Patrol is a modern-world scam, in my eyes as an ex-patrol owner of Y61. How do we know, because we see the dark side of Patrol Y62 getting bruised in every single drive and masterclass we do unless and until the driver is super-duper careful in every single descent, which means the driver is sitting on ticking bomb all the time. You go off-road to relax and enjoy than heavily pressurized yourself by sticking your both eyes on the front bumper. If you wish to do gentle off-roading in the future and nothing very intense, then you can also check Nissan Patrol Super Safari Y61. It may not be as comfy as Y62 and Prado, but it brings a very good balance for a fair share of off-road in sand, rocks, wadi, cross country etc. + good space available than Prado. And no body modification is needed from the stock state as compared to gentle bumper trimming needed in Prado.

I could see from your profile that your current car is a Fortuner. Will the Prado/Patrol be an additional car or to replace the Fortuner. If it is to replace, then Prado will get my vote - based on the reasons given the above by other forum members who are smarter and more experienced than me. If it is an additional car, then I will vote for Patrol. Simply for the fact that it is a bigger car and different dynamics. Most importantly, what is the preference of the missus?

The Y62 Patrol (2019) is 5165mm in length, 1995mm wide, with a 3080mm wheelbase. Unladen weight is 2800 kg. The Prado (2018) is 4995mm in length, 1885mm wide, with a 2790mm wheelbase. Unladen weight is 2240 kg. Hence, in almost every component, the Prado is narrower, shorter, with a lower breakover angle. And it is lighter. For use in the mountains, if you ever find yourself in tight spots, with the addition of flares and side bull-bars, the Prado will still give you some clearance that a Y62 just wont. With a lift kit when you're ready to upgrade your mountain skills, and shorter wheelbase, the Prado also has a lower probability of getting belly rubs. And in the sand, the lighter profile with a nimbler footing will make the Prado easier to maneuver.

The Nissan Patrol Y62 is a lot bigger than the Prado. In the mountains the Patrol is indeed very large and heavy. I would vote for the Prado as it's plenty powerful and has good stock ground clearance. The lack of a rear diff-lock is really not a big thing, and only a "nice to have" during self recovery in sand.