It was time to get some new tyres for our Jaguar XK, since the old ones had “expired” as per the RTA. Considering it’s always a hassle to go get tyres changed, we decided to try shopping for tyres online, on the only local tyre site we’d heard of in Dubai.
So it has been a year and 30,000 km since we bought our Renault Megane. Buying this car was an experiment, as it is the least noticed and least trusted car by the general public. Contrary to popular belief though, the car has chugged along rather well, probably due to the fact that it is almost purely a Nissan underneath, from almost every nut and bolt, right up to the engine and transmission. It may not have exceeded our expectations, but it has never let us down either. For the price paid, we actually do not have any complaints.
One of the reasons people buy Toyotas in the UAE, aside from resale value, is that they’re supposedly cheap to maintain. We finally got to put that theory to the test when we went in for dealer service at 10,000 km.
The Range Rover we had originally intended to keep for only two years is now going to complete almost three years with us in a few months, beyond which we will probably continue to keep it for a while longer, as there’s nothing else that’s quite as appealing at the moment, aside from another Range Rover. Of course, that means keeping up with the maintenance on a decade-old car.
Ever since a certain now-unemployed TV host mentioned on air that you have to own an Alfa Romeo at some point to be a true petrolhead, idiots around the world have been quoting it like gospel. Never mind that the same idiots have never been brave enough to put their money where their mouths are, so we never took it seriously either. But over the last few years, we’ve actually met several Alfa owners in Dubai itself — none of whom took advice from TV comedies — and began to understand the madness behind Alfas. So when we finally found the opportunity to keep an Alfa,
One reason why some people skip the Toyota FJ Cruiser in favour of a 4×4 with four proper doors is that they see the FJ as a car with two doors, with the rear-hinged back doors there only for show. Hence it will make a bad family car. However, we managed to use it as one just fine.
Our Jaguar got a bit of work done last December, and also got a fancy new set of aftermarket door gadgetry last month.
Some loser managed to scrape the front bumper on our Toyota FJ Cruiser while it sat in the parking lot, running away without even leaving a note. Luckily, it looked like our truck left more damage on their car than the other way round.
How does a fuel-tank range of 1000 km sound? It sounds great, especially if you don’t know your car even had that capability. You see, The Toyota FJ Cruiser has been around since 2006, and reached the Middle East in 2008, but it’s always suffered from a pathetic 72-litre fuel tank. However, in 2013, Toyota quietly added an 87-litre secondary tank to the FJ, effectively doubling its petrol capacity to 159 litres.
If you own a particularly decent car, loaded with technological giblets and such, have you ever found yourself discovering a completely new feature long after you’d bought the car, not knowing that it existed? It’s a good feeling, like receiving a gift.