I've heard similar about the auto transmission in sand. They are OK as comfy long haulers on road and trail though. Very comfy ride, very bad MPG, heavy and the brakes seem poor compared to my Patrol.

Fuel consumption is about 15 MPG- similar to Patrols, Land Cruisers, ect.
They are a bit on the heavy side, which is why they are hard-working on sand, and you are right; the brakes are only just adequate, and you can beat the ABS if you catch them wrong...EEK!

I inherited an Explorer (2009) and use it for the Dubai-AD commute; as above it is quite heavy and though mostly OK, the brakes are genuinely shocking. I leave a lot more distance than the average driver here (not hard admittedly) and have still had a few pretty scary moments having to brake very hard. A major safety flaw given the way people drive here and and I wouldn't buy one.

XC60 T6 AWD...safest in it's class and beats the Q5 and pig ugly X3 on all counts

I've been looking at the XC90...looks like a great deal but I'm not sure whether I can 'fess up to friends and family that I'm driving a Volvo!

Go an have a look at a Top Gear Video! - Clarkson rates the XC90 a close second to the RR! Nothing wrong with owning a Volvo either - But Volvos & Saabs do not hold their value, as in the UK. Stick with Toyota and Nissan if you intend to resell, or go for a Hyundai if you're going to run it until it drops!

I had a Volvo (car, not AWD) in Kuwait. Cold weather cars and hot countries do not mix, especially when the seat-heaters jam on in summer!

I think I'll probably end up going for a Nissan/Toyota.

I'm not convinced the Volvo's a/c will be up to the job here.

If anybody is interested there is a steal of a 4x4 going at the DQ at the moment.

German Diplomat selling a V6 2008 Land Rover LR2, 50k km. From what I can tell it's mint and cheap. He's going to Islamabad and can't take the car.

PM me if you want more details, i have downloaded the flyer.

Not spam btw.

Ok back from a morning road test in the Xterra and as promised a review against the Pathfinder
Xterra and Pathfinder are both mid option versions at 10.3k BHD and 12K bhd respectively

Xterra. 5 seater only with same 4.0L V6 as Pathfinder. Goes like the bladdy clappers. Rear cooling via two vents in back of centre glove box is only average however on max AC there was good movement from the front vents in the dash. Vehicle is quite narrow and I could feel my left knee up against the door card. Some of the dash controls feel a bit naff ala Ford and not up to usual Nissan standards. Great headroom in both front and back. Big cargo area in rear and swallows up and Phil and Teds dual pram with ease and loads of space for other crap (for the mums out there). Road holding was good though the BF Goodrich road biased tyres are not as good as the Duellers fitted to my Fortuner. Only camel colour cloth seat option available in Bahrain and it looks like it could mark easily (blackcurrant juice etc).
The Xterra felt fun and scuds about, no obvious blind spots and tight turning circle.
Overall thoughts. Great fun solid truck with true off road capability. Cooling for kids in the back was acceptable. Aimed at a market younger than me and surprizingly made me feel different to driving my usual 4x4 buses. Definitely one to consider if you have wife + kids, want to go off road every now and again and not get bogged down.

Pathfinder
The same 4.0L V6 is a corker. 291 BHP in ME spec. 7 seater if you dont have kiddy car seats fitted to the 2nd row which reduces it to an in effect 5 seater. Much wider seats than the Xterra for those of middle aged girth. 2nd separate AC system for rear passengers is excellent. More refinded, read soggy, ride than the Xterra and a little quieter. Useless boot area if 3rd row seats are up (maybe 3 Spinneys bags), good size boot area if 3rd row down,
Mid spec comes with a reversing camera located by the number plate and display screen on the dash however if you need reversing cameras then you are either arab or the car is too big for you. For some reason they have fitted a remote audio cassette player into the central glove box which takes half of it up. Who the **** has cassettes these days..
Overall a great tool for eating up the long miles such as Bahrain to Riyadh or Jeddah, also if you have 5 kids to move about daily.

I cannot think of a good enough reason to buy the Pathfinder which is a great car other than because I can. The car will be driven by my wife and though she proved herself capable of driving my Expedition about AD without marking it once, the Xterra will scud into all small spaces with less thinking about. Its seriously quick off the mark when you use half throttle never mind flooring it. It looks great, has a massive boot and its 10.3K Bhd which is 1,700 bhd cheaper than the pathfinder. Residual values appear strong so its a good buy financially and you dont look like a sad ****er in a Volvo

[QUOTE=Tockalosh;9446541]Ok back from a morning road test in the Xterra and as promised a review against the Pathfinder
Xterra and Pathfinder are both mid option versions at 10.3k BHD and 12K bhd respectively



So, if it was for YOU, would you have gone for the Pathfinder then, but as its for the missus and you dont want it marked up, its the Xterra. ??

A lot of people still like them because it's a way of connecting an iPod when there isn't an auxiliary port. There was a time (if I remember right) when second hand cars with tape players were selling for more than the CD equipped versions because of this.

Thanks for the review tockalosh, as mentioned I was seriously looking at a PFinder, but think the Xterra is a better buy.

BUT - after reading comments and points on the 'Moving to Riyadh' thread, I remembered with fondness driving an old beat up Pajero I had in Jeddah. An old car that you don't care about too much, is perhaps more appropriate here in KSA. I think I'll sell the Beemer and start looking for an old Suburban....

BOYS TALK
Several years ago, I bought a 2 year old Jeep Wrangler 4.0 from a guy who was leaving. I took it on a Test Drive and he came with me, telling me that the first time he drove this thing it gave him a 'Hardon!' I can only say, that if he got a 'Hardon' I got Premature Ejaculation! - 200 BHP and a Manual Box! Like so many other cars, they are just not made any more! I bought it, and ran it until it dropped! - Well, it didn't exactly drop, it was sent to Afghanistan, so I got a backhanded refund! - Great Car, and I will never forget it! - Just the same as my first Toyota Corrolla (Aquatic Version) that made it through Sharjah in 1997! - That was the year when Dubai and Sharjah were cut-off for nearly two weeks, due to rain! - But the Corrolla floated through!

A borrowed Chevy Blazer (big body) with a 500 cubic inch Cadillac V8 was a lot of fun. An automatic, but so what? Only prob was the fuel consumption never hit double figures-it wasn't the cost, but the rather limited range!