Everyone loves a good off-roading adventure. But few seem to be going out of the way doing it. But the thing about off-roading is, it always has to be out of the way! Well, not necessarily, if the adventure course is right in the heart of the city – like the one Jeep set up on the first weekend of March in Dubai Festival City.
Jeep called it Adventure Days. The days were two, and the clause was simple: one had to own a Jeep to enjoy it. Well, those who didn’t own one could use this as an opportunity to ride a Jeep ‘off-road taxi’ on the course and experience adventure at the hands of a professional driver, which would of course keep the marketers happy. So, hundreds of Jeeps kept driving in and sliding out, with a splash and a smile!
The track was supposed to look like a series of challenges a Jeep would be facing out there in the wild, mean world of dunes, rocks and chasms. And it did – in the humble way a ‘kutcha’ riverside ground could ever do. Interestingly named as ‘pipes of doom’, ‘Mopar hill’, ‘The Big Buckaroo’ and a narrow, deep ditch that meant driving on a 48º slope (two pictures below), the obstacles sent a couple of wheels flying in the air, and the loner spinning for want of traction! Some lucky drivers landed in the ditch water with a loud splash when the marshals were looking the other way!
Jeeps of all sorts were lined up on the promenade but the spotlight in the majlis was on the brand new Jeep Wrangler JL (that is the one above, all spruced up) and the recently launched Jeep Compass. On the course, some Cherokees, Grand Cherokees and Wranglers of a million kinds – seriously, there is hardly another that goes this high or wide to please a fan. The harder of the two tracks was built to demonstrate the skills of Wrangler – seven cardinal challenges featuring articulation, a mud bath, extreme bumps, bridge trailer, rocks, sand pit and a wading pit. The other track, which I took first as a warm-up to the bigger one, saw Jeep Grand Cherokees and Renegades tackling them. Well, even with the harder one, there is very little that drivers with some experience had to do. These days, the SUV does most of the job – even if it is a Jeep. But that little I got to do in my loaned Jeep Wrangler Falcon did leave a smug smile – that’s why I love it when they call it the ‘harder track’!
Watch the video of the Jeep Adventure Day on facebook now. I will upload it here soon.
https://www.facebook.com/hit967/videos/10156540737726535/
There was music, mocha, s’mosas and more. There were a slide, a trampoline and cactus balloons that kids seem to be having plenty of fun with. But believe me, it was a day out for the big boys (and a few girls). It is a pity that Trading Enterprises had to take down the purpose-built track they put up for the weekend. Really, it was good fun, and I think my junior enjoyed his Jeep ride just as much as he did rolling down the bouncy castle!
The next weekend I tested the new Jeep Compass. Read the review.
