Rahimdad

Trip report. Thank you @Emmanuel for graduating yourself within the club to be able to post what turned out to be an amazing place to discover. While you graduated through the different levels you have bought in many ideas and inputs to improve the experience of the new comers. Congratulations to @Javier M for graduating to the next level to enjoy this drive and thank you and Ramon for bringing your A game. Thank you to @Gaurav and @Srikumar for the support. A big thank you to @Asif Hussain bhai for joining us and giving us company. As we met on time and experiencing a little rain on the way to the deflation point our hearts were racing with what was in store for us. Upon reaching the deflation point we were briefed well by @Emmanuel and started towards the start of a fantastic day ahead. Sorry, after being put in second lead after a long time I was waiting for everybody to move before I did and someone had to tell me to move behind Emmanuel. As we started it was like a Veloceraptor was released from its cage. We had a good mix of some really fast paced drive through some gorgeous dunes and some really big dunes we could play on. Somehow we finished the first session on time to head out for Friday prayers and grab a quick bite. If the first round was an appetizer, round two was the main course and desserts combined. It was even more quicker in pace even after 2 pop outs and a few stucks we were able to cover so much more and loved every moment. As the sun coming down we were trying to find a suitable stop to camp for the night. We finally found a reasonable bowl in which we settled. As we settled we found two challenges, the wind due to which we couldn't set our tents and the passing drizzle which made it difficult to get the BBQ going. But @Javier M and Ramon didn't let the spirits dampenand got the BBQ going. Great preparations for both food and drinks along with music. Had to sleep in the car, but the best sleep ever with a great wake up call. After a quick brush of the teeth it was the wonderful breakfast provided by @Emmanuel and @Gaurav. In conclusion have to admit didn't feel like going home after the brilliant day out with such wonderful people in some amazing dunes.

@deo welcome to your very own car community in the middle east.

I have seen my friend drive the Kia Sorrento with his huge family in the dunes. But don't go just for the figures they are misleading. The car can barely touch Fewbie level. As for the Kia Mojave, once again just fancy car that can carry 7 people, not to sure about their performance in the desert. One thing I have learned from my experience, to keep cost down and fun level up choose a car that you see often in the desert, they have been established to have spare parts and mods available when you need them.

Prado is my favorite and I have a soft corner for it. They are reliable and if your heart desires the Prado and price difference is not an issue for AED 85k you can get a brand new Pajero with one year free petrol, service and Salik. As the oils degrade over time I think the Prado needs a service every 10k kilometers or 6 months whichever comes first. So if major service is due in 20k kilometers you'll have to do that service within a year. I have had bad experience buying from the dealers their second hand cars as once bought they start giving you huge bills during your service, if you point out that the car is under warranty they just tell you that warranty is for major parts like engine and gearbox while these are only wear and tear items. Plus they are overpriced compared to the market. It's your choice, I like @Gaurav bhai advise of having one car for road and another for off road if your budget is AED 90k. My wife's car is still available and you can view and try it out any time. Wish you luck with your decision.

Nice topic @eduardo and very good points covered by all.

@Jayakrishnan & @Praveenmp would appreciate if you could share your thoughts on the below thread.

I think we need to invest in a good bull for our upcoming drives. Watch. VID-20190313-WA0006.mp4

@syedyaseer WA Ayyakum