Wasif Ahmed wrote:In your price range a nice late nineties Land Cruiser would fit with change to spare to spruce it up....talk to PR and see if he knows of any as he is a specialist on these sort of cars

I second that. In fact I myself am looking for a nineties "Elsie" so I can change from Fatimah Juma.

Mosalf wrote: so I can change from Fatimah Juma.

Finally, somebody seeing sense!

tintin wrote:Finally, somebody seeing sense!

He didnt mention he is looking for an on road Elise not for off road

Either way it's an upgrade bro, on or offroad!

Wasif Ahmed wrote:He didnt mention he is looking for an on road Elise not for off road

tintin wrote:Either way it's an upgrade bro, on or offroad!

I can see your understanding of the word upgrade.......for you going from Cherokee to a YJ was an upgrade ....LOOOL

arqvista wrote:Thanks for your comments but I'm not ready to burn the korean flag just yet!! Having owned both a Hyundai Santa Fe and Kia Sorrento I have no worries about reliablity as in 5 years I put about 100,000 miles (160,000km) on them (combined) without any mechanical problems. Thats more than I can say for the freelander I owned which was pretty awfull reliability wise.

I am favouring the facelifted Mk1 Sorrento (2008 ish)...

Hi arqvista,

Welcome to the club! 8) You asked a question and got a pretty clear answer - if you still insist on the Sorrento, it's certainly your own decision, but don't say the experts in the UAE off-roading community didn't warn you

I will go a step further - buy a Sorrento, and within the first three drives, you will have replaced both bumpers, felt the $$$ pain of repairs, and the hassle of dealing with the workshop delays, and next drive you will opt out in order to prevent further damage, and will end up driving on road only. That's my prediction, prove me wrong

From your list, Prado definitely. If too expensive, go older. Stick with Toyota and Nissan, if possible; Jeep is a potential third; and that's it - no exotics, no weirdo models you don't see on club drives. People have learnt from experience, and that's why you're asking an excellent question, because you'll benefit from their experience.

Sand dunes are very very different from snow and ice: they are little mountains, and you can cross hundreds of them on one trip. You need good suspension and wheel travel especially, or things will break (which is why the Koreans don't do well - wheel travel - not the mechanics or the power or the reliability)

And yes - if you can, I would certainly say go for an early nineties Land Cruiser or Patrol 8) Absolutely.

People always say: but don't you have to fix them? I laugh.. they are rock solid and you really can't break them. Elsie is a 94 - I had one issue once: the spark plug wire cracked. I replaced them. The old ones had the date printed on them: 1994.... the beast has been running for almost twenty years on the original parts! LOL

Buy what the local boyz can't break!

Sure was mate. The ZJ was excellent in my eyes. Maybe not as reliable as a nissan/toyota, but was much more fun to drive in my opinion. The YJ on the other hand is a doddle to work on, has very little electrickery and leaf springs all around, so less stupid suspension components to worry about. Plus, it looks pretty!

Wasif Ahmed wrote:I can see your understanding of the word upgrade.......for you going from Cherokee to a YJ was an upgrade ....LOOOL

tintin wrote: The YJ on the other hand is a doddle to work on,

The complete dedication, care and immense time tintin puts in his toys . ......wonder how often we would see him offroad if he had a '92 Nissan or yota. layball:.....

Al Kurby wrote:The complete dedication, care and immense time tintin puts in his toys . ......wonder how often we would see him offroad if he had a '92 Nissan or yota. layball:.....

True...with all the work and love he puts in to his toys ....we only get to see him once in a couple of years....

I too wonder what would have happened if he went Jap !

LOL well, in all fairness, I think he's been slightly busy creating and adjusting to life's ever-changing circumstances!