Nilakantan Erode

@Gaurav @Looper@Pavel PashkovskiyUltimately the proof is in the pudding! So decided to go for a 20223 Bronco Wildtrak. Of course had some help from some old contacts of mine at Ford...on the final purchase!! @Marco B. @Vivek Khetan @Mark Stark @Mehek Merchant Good to know that there are some bronco folks already here in Carnity. See you all soon!

So my Carnity friends...I have finally got a 2023 Bronco Wildtrak. Thanks @Gaurav@Looper@Rizwanm2 @Gautam Bank @Hisham Masaad @Frederic @Alexanderrr @Stumpy Flowers @Bravoecho @Krishna R @Pavel Pashkovskiy @Benjamin and all others those who had shared their wisdom and tips on the card ...ranging from Pajero, Prado, Patrol, Safari. Rubicon and Bronco. Had something to learn from all your experiences / suggestions. Also explored some of the other chats on the car forums. Lots of insights there! Last time i owned a 4WD in Dubai was 22 year back was when i had a 1997 Mitsubishi Pajero (Classic Green). Used to do some desert drives then but after that it has been only family sedans / other cross overs since 2001 ...once i relocated to Singapore. But it is great to be back here in Dubai after 2 decades. The off road landscape and vehicles have changed a lot. And...some really great offroad communities are here now. Last couple of months have been very exciting as i was looking for my off road car with all the advices, research and test drives . The new car prices (and availability) and used car prices (and the evaluations / conditions) have also been humbling revelations. Was also lucky to get some management contracts at Ford that facilitated the final Bronco purchase and delivery. But had nearly finalized and bought 4 other vehicles! Have been the desert in the heat a couple of time now...and driven a (reluctant and worried!) friend's Nissan Patrol V8. Great experience. And..no nothing happened to his V8 Y62 ..though he was biting his nails (more worried about his car than me!!). Ultimately ..as per my learnings here in the Carnity Forum...it is the driver, temperament, skills (and willingness to continuously learn more from all) and the community (for support and encouragements ) and not entirely about vehicles and modifications. Looking forward to seeing some of you soon!

@IsmailGreat choice. And..,like your clarity and quick decision making! Cheers!!

@Ismailwhen i visited Lexus showroom in Early June...the Lexus GX460 Premier was offered at AED 260K..special offer. Worth checking it now..prices may not have changed that much. Lexus GX460 is after all a high end Prado...with luxury trimmings...marketed as such in US. I have had 2 Lexus in the past but the smaller version RX350 (one of my all time favorite cars) ...and they drive very well and very low maintenance ...very much comparable to the dedicated on road BMWX5 that my wife drives now! of course no off road on them. GX460 seems is much more suited for mild off road / camping etc. If i did not have any off road ambitions or had a dedicated off road vehicle...my own 2nd car would have been Lexus or Grand Cherokee. You seem quite sorted out with your dedicated off road vehicle ...Suzuki!!

@Ismailnice note. Have also looked at the LC300 and Prado though delivery timelines have proved a dampener. for my Offroad post feedback from some carnity folks to my query on buying an suv for offoad… Here are my thoughts on the Prado ‘limited” after my test drives on the off-road capability of Prado ( the more experienced folks here especially @Gaurav@Gautam Banka etc. would give a better feedback) . the bumpers are low and Al Futtaim sales person advised me on Prado EXR or GXR if I want to make modifications for off-road. Probably easier on these trims … more importantly the KDSS on the Prado limited has a risk of breaking down on serious off road (again as per the candid view of the Al Futtaim sales person …with an estimate 20k for repairs…if it gets damaged!!). But yes… he did mention that mild off-roading is fine. Worth checking that out from experts here…if you do for ‘limited’ and looking at serious off-road. Prado “limited” does have lots of feature and creature comforts.. one wants to have good SUV..literally the kitchen sink is thrown in!! Safety features like blind spot, lane change and also some great off-road features crawl control , multi terrain monitor etc. BUT…I wonder how these are relevant if serious off-roading is not recommended on Prado ‘limited’…or maybe I got that wrong!! I leave it to the stalwarts at carnity for a more dependable feedback.

Yes @Pavel Pashkovskiy the bronco ecosystem is not fully developed (yet) w.r.t. Repairs / spare parts / mods etc . Jeep seems well established and Japanese vehicles have their own ecosystem to take care of repairs and mods. One of my American friends told me that … repairs / spare parts are not that big a concern in US as most folks there have a D.I.Y. Mindse ( unlike here in Middle East where cheaper labour is available)!! Was also reading @Loopercomments on a related bronco thread ‘With dunebashing (vs baja racing) not a large part of the American off-road scene, and focus on national park trails, rock crawling and overlanding focus overall, it will take time for American manufacturers to embed themselves into the driving culture of the desert.’ So True!! And…Bronco Badlands has some good specs but again rock crawling is not the culture here in UAE (quoting directly from a Al tayer salesperson!!). Guess they are positioning it wrongly . Rubicon also has similar specs but is not held back by lack of ‘ Rock crawl’ culture!! for the time being .. nothing is going to be no change in the desertscape … as there is hardly any supply / delivery of broncos (ignoring limited ones in the pre owned market) and the latest from dealer is that none will be released soon as there is a recall in place for broncos because of a seat belt issue and that needs to be be fixed before new cars are delivered!!

Appreciate any views / thoughts on Ford Bronco...especially the Wildtrak and Badlands models...for offroad (especiually dune / deserrt driving in UAE. Positioned as a strong competitor to Wrangler / Rubicon. Test Drive was great (but of course on road only!!). Seems to bridge the On road / Off road (at least from specs) balance...but with a slightly (!!) higher price tag .. And...repairs and resale untested. Don't think this will challenge / displace the UAE Dune premier league dominated by FJ , Prado / LC, Safaris etc but nevertheless worth a look.

@Gaurav. Thanks. Will certainly start a new thread for Bronco. Dont see too many on the road here in Dubai since it has only been here since 2021 and limited supplies) .Most reviews and videos are still heavily US focused / biased (that is US offroad is not so much Desert / Dunes!).

@Gautam BankaLet me know how i can reach you? Can have a chat on prado..if you are still keen on selling the same. My email is [email protected] and i can be reached on +971547802888. @Gaurav and @Frederic have made some good points...especially on service / warranty / insurance and repairs on non gcc specs. And...you had earlier mentioned that you had already made some modifications to your prado...correct? and that these mods are ready for intermediate level. @Gauravhad also mentioned the same earlier. And...while on the subject of choosing a car (dont shoot me folks!)..any thoughts on Bronco Wildtrak? The test drives were fun. Price not so much.! some preowned 2021 / 2022 with low mileage are available!

Thanks @Gautam Banka Appreciate the thought. Will connect: New Prado is still a couple of months away at Al futtaim….so would be good to checkout good preowned ones! I did some test drives on Bronco and seem to like that. New ones are not available right now ( same issues on delivery as Toyotas!) but seen a couple of decent pre owned broncos… price is a different issue though! And….managed to get some offer on new wrangler rubicon … with some old management connections. The search continues but hope to be ready for the desert drives by September!!

@Gaurav@Frederic@Looper@Hisham Masaad@Gautam Banka Thanks to you and so many others from the Carnity forum for giving your unbiased and candid views and feedback on my query to buy off road vehicle. Gained some valuable insights and knowledge. Did not anticipate this when i asked the question. Simply awesome folks... And great community! After checking a few preowned and new vehicles and frustrating some sellers and car dealer salesmen ...have decided to go for a new one ( i want to have some level of control over repairs and warranty!). The pre owned prices for FJC (new ones are not available anyway) and LC Prado are quite high...in my opinion. same for other 1-3 year pre owned vehicles. My final choices are (taking to consideration offroad capability plus maint plus resale etc.) : 2023 Prado GXR (or VXR) with a delivery of minimum 3 months (but is summer anyway) . @Gautam Banka had mentioned that some modifications may be required for intermediate and beyond approx 30K! Would be good to get some more info on stock prado and modifications required! or as @Gauravhad suggested may go for a 2023 Wrangler Rubicon (after managing to get a contact for some discounts)...and stock may be good enough. Its is also readily available. Would like to know of any limitations / caution in taking a new wrangler off road! Had fun though test driving (on-road)lots of vehicles including Bronco and nissan patrols. Cant rent a car in Dubai to take a car off road else would have liked to try that or maybe join join carnity folks for a drive or at least take some training / refreshers. But that will have to wait.

@Gaurav True that!!😀

@AlexanderrrYes..Thats ideal. Have done test drives on few vehicles that i have shortlisted (New as well as preowned). Ultimately...want to be comfortable with the choice as this will be part of my life for some time!! Like the comments by some of the other folks here..that there is pros and cons on every vehicle. And..Taking a leaf out of Lance Armstrong's autobiography "Its not about the bike" (he is the winner of the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times ). Here it will be "Its not about the SUV"!! People have said it in this forum that more than the vehicle it will be the driving skills that needs to be given lots more time and thought. And ... am sure Carnity community will help!!

@GauravGreat insights. Takes the steam out of Land Cruiser and Nissan Patrol a bit!. Hopefully the dealer will not see this post. I was also impressed and influenced by the LC & NP spectacle shown by the safari companies. Clearly...there is lot more to it. Great learning!!

@Krishna R Yes. I hear you! Y62 v6 dropped out of my picks! And...valid points on popular hybrid cars and getting higher on offload capability curve (nice terminology!) and sticking to a budget!! No end to mods!! @LooperAwesome statistics. The Big4 and the long tail (poor Isuzu...barely hanging on!). Nice to see the Merc. Time to get my BMW on the chart as well (wont tell my wife!). But..Yes..Can see a clear topper in wranglers (okay i am having my eyes on one now..so the bias ) and surprisingly (actually maybe not) ...Pajeros. lots of references made earlier on Pajero and XTerra having their proof here. Couple of more drives and FJ will take the pole!!