scrubbedexpat141

Jag XFR

martinbkk

Definitely a more appropriate motor, though I suspect it breaks the budget somewhat. I just find it hard to get excited about performance much these days, at least above a reasonable point like, does it feel like I'm moving / going faster. Can it keep up. If I plant my right foot does it not feel like its having a good old tea break long think about it. Performance beyond that, especially in Doha, meh! More important, can I get in and out with contortions or pain. Having spent an hour or two sitting in it can I get out feeling like I've not spent an hour or two sitting in it. Does it make the whole driving experience effortless, in the last 3 years I've never had to turn lights on or off, never had to turn wipers on or off, never had to twist in my seat when reversing.

scrubbedexpat141

Very, very good point. I had a buddy chasing dreams of an S3 / Golf GTI type thing. I suggested it was pointless as unless you go to Jebel Hafeet every weekend, you're driving something pretty uncomfortable on straight roads.

Joking aside, because I love talking cars and drive a relatively boring one...but I do like my Explorer. It's comfy, it shifts well when you put in sport mode (otherwise you could rebuild a gearbox by the time it drops a gear and sometimes it likes to drop two and you think you just blew it up), it's safe, it's fully tooled up with cold seats and auto-everything and most importantly - Apple Carplay. It's alright looking, it's spacious for golf clubs to be left in permanently and remote start came as standard. I dream of being flashy and driving a Range Rover or XFR but I'm too boring and would rather bank the money at the moment. The only thing I would say, that despite how dull it is, it's not a Pajero or a Prado, so there's that.

When we were looking, for the budget, I could have an old X5 / old Merc ML / really old Rangey / old Disco / old Land Cruiser etc etc etc. It came down to a brand new Explorer or brand new Dodge Durango and the latter looked like a blind monkey had assembled it....even though I weirdly quite like the outside styling of it.

The only other one I really like, again boring Scamp alert, is the XC90. They just have TERRIBLE resale value here, nobody seems to want or like them.

nonthaburi

Rented an XF a few years back and for pure driving experience it's probably the best thing I've driven. Completely reliable in any conditions, any angles, it's just never stops . You put your foot down and it just goes. Great handling too.

Got a few negatives though. I rented in the UK so it was a right hand drive. When I drive my left leg tends to bend over to the left , and the central part between the seats was so big that it made it a bit uncomfortable. My leg is always hitting that central part. Also , boot space is small. Two adults and two kids on a road trip. We struggled with that. A bit limited for space in the back also . My wife also found the seat too hard, although I thought it was fine.

Having said that. I loved it. Made me seriously think about getting an XJ back in the UK. I'd never be able to afford a new one, but second hand 5-8 years old maybe. Love the shape of the XJ. A beautiful car.

scrubbedexpat141

Oh don't say this. I've always lusted after one, rented an XE in the UK and loved it, never driven the XF but covet it (especially the XFR with the Black Pack). I'm going to spec one online and keep dreaming.

nonthaburi

Don't get me wrong, I did say its the best car I've ever driven... For pure driving experience. I was gutted when I had to give it back.

But family car it's not. But if its just you, it even you and your Mrs, fantastic.

Funnily enough, the time I booked I actually booked the XE, but when I got there they gave me the XF.

Went all over Europe with it, Holland, Belgium, France, Germany , Austria. Got a lot of interest as well because there aren't many of them around. My mate in Germany who's been raised on BMW couldn't wait to test drive.

Millhouse

I loved my Jeep SRT. Awesome motor, if it wasn't for its money pit reliability I would have kept it forever. Very tempted to get another and sell it the day the warranty runs out.

Would love a big Tesla, never driven one but been a passenger and they are fantastic machines.

martinbkk

I gave up buying old cars a good while ago though I don't see anything wrong with "previously enjoyed".

18 months to 2 years is about as far as I would go though with a motor, beyond that it's just gambling. An exception might be something that you buy as a hobby in itself, as a long term keeper that you don't mind investing in even though it will likely be impractical and possibly even reckless. I don't expect to be making much of a car hobby in Doha even if I can last a good few years and with advancing years I'll take the easy comfort and satisfaction of a lesser car with less hassles in keeping it going.

I had a Jeep for about 7 years, not the SRT which never came here but a locally assembled Cherokee 4.0. I was a super bus and took me all over Thailand, in 7 years I did 150,000km. It was a good car, bought new, but very agricultural even in 1998, live axle with leaf springs, in line overhead valve 6 cylinder. Comfortable cruiser though. Very thirsty, not an issue in gulf countries maybe but noticeable here where petrol hovers around US$1 a litre.

scrubbedexpat141

I bet that was awesome, proper roads in that car. Nice.

Yes and yes. SRT is a joke, didn't know about reliability, but makes sense.
Tesla as well, great shout. But fudge me they're pricey.

Millhouse

The modern SRT (and Jeep GCs) are nothing like the busses they made in 1998. It's a proper refined motor. Probably the best car I've owned in terms of emotional enjoyment. It drank fuel like crazy and even made the Mustang GT we had at the time look like a sensible motor.

But... as I promised when I sold them both. No more American cars... until the next time of course.

Gavtek

It's possible to run nice cars without spending too much overall. For example, I tend to go for cars that have 5 year warranties, try to find one around 2.5 years old with low-ish mileage. You can run it for 2 years, after which you should hopefully have average mileage and 6 months warranty remaining so can sell it for a decent price.

Over the years I've had some fancy cars and overall I don't think I paid more than AED 2.5k/month which is about what it costs to lease a Pajero. Or at least that's how I convince myself anyway.

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah, I specced up an XF with all the cool shit and it came out over 400k. Even with 20% down and 5 years it's like 6-7k a month. I can't justify that when I get a minimum fare cab to work

Gavtek

I've got an F-Pace S. It was 2.5 years old when I got it with 30k km on the clock, paid about half what it cost new. Even with loan interest and servicing, as long as it doesn't depreciate more than AED 60k over the next two years, it will cost me less than the Nissan Pathfinder I was leasing through my employer. No brainer really.

Of course if I lose my job and have 30 days to leave the country, it might be a different story.

DXBtoDOH

I didn't see that many luxury/nice cars in Doha compared to the UAE and most were driven by locals, not expats. It seemed like most western expats either just ubered/taxi everywhere or drove a basic Japanese and flipped it in due time. Something to keep in mind. The buzz of a nice car wears off quickly and you're still stuck taking taxi/ubers whenever you go out for drinks (which, in Qatar, is 99% of the social life). It was cheaper for me to take taxi/uber everywere than it was to have a monthly hire and I didn't have to deal with parking or worry about dings or Qataris in their Land Cruisers or traffic fines or reselling.

If you're just going to be doing city runs and getting around Doha, be realistic. Regardless of whether it's a Toyota or a Mercedes, it's still the Doha Expressway. But if you want to go off roading then a jeep makes sense.

Millhouse

The guy wants a V8 SUV. Don't be so dull.