This is going to be a long post but I wanted to document my process in detail mostly for my reference in the future. But I’ll give each section a headline in case you want to skip to a specific part.
Back in 2022 I bought a Toyota Hilux. It was my first pick up truck experience and although I was hoping to keep the car for at least 10 years, similar to how I had my previous FJ for 12, I couldn’t do it. Nothing was really wrong with the car but I guess as I’m getting older I wanted something more comfortable.
Unlike normal cars, the Hilux has a leaf spring in the rear instead of the more common coil spring suspension found in nearly every car. The leaf spring is better at dealing with heavy loads in the truck bed but it sacrifices comfort. I’d mostly feel it on speed bumps where the rear of the car kinda jolts. So I decided to change the car and started looking at options. It was getting very annoying and sometimes I just wanted to fill the bed with heavy things just to try and make the ride more comfortable.
The Lexus GX550 Overtrail
I think what got me thinking about changing the car was when I spotted the Lexus GX550 Overtrail while I was in LA in the summer. The GX is the Lexus version of the Prado but looks much nicer both on the outside and inside. They were priced around KD22,700 in the US with the specs I wanted which is pretty similar in price to the top end Prados here. The Kuwait Lexus dealer didn’t get this model but I had a relative who’s a car dealer in LA so I started the process with him of finding a car in the specs I wanted and then getting it shipped to Kuwait. Turns out it was more complicated than I had expected to get a brand new car shipped (used cars are much easier). Firstly the listed price at the dealership wasn’t the price you’d pay to get the car out of the door. After taxes, dealer markup and various other fees the car was KD27,000. Then you need to store the car for a month or two somewhere before the title comes out and that was added cost but also you risk getting car stolen or damaged or something you never know. Once the title comes out then you need to start the export process and ship the car over. So the 27,000, after shipping and local customs ends up 30,000 at the very least.
All the Cars I Checked Out
I bailed on the whole idea and started looking for something locally. I didn’t want to get a Prado or Landcruiser since they’re too common on the roads and wanted something different. I love the new LandCruiser LC76 with the automatic gearbox but I’ve driven them before and they have less creature comforts than my Hilux and aren’t as comfortable. But, I really need one in my life eventually.
Ineos Grenadier
One car I love looking at on the roads is the Grenadier. So I headed to the Ineos dealer and test drove the Grenadier. I remember liking the car when they first came out but disliked some quirks about it. But it’s been around 3 years since I last drove one and I wanted to give it another chance since I really love the way it looked. After driving the car for a day I realized I wasn’t really getting a car that was much more comfortable than the Hilux. I actually found the Hilux quieter and easier to drive and even more comfortable (as long as I avoided speed bumps). I also didn’t like the infotainment system of the Ineos which was small and sluggish. What was really cool about Ineos was the dealership. They have a small showroom and the experience of shopping for a car with them felt very personalized. They allow customers to build a car with their own specs and order it. A huge benefit which many other dealers don’t allow. The car I built was going to cost me KD26,900, so less than the GX. In the end I bailed on the Ineos since it wasn’t as comfortable as I was hoping it would be.
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392
From Ineos I then headed to Jeep to check out the Wrangler Rubicon 392. The 392 is the souped up Wrangler with a V8 6.4l engine producing 470hp. I think they were priced at KD33,000 but they were all sold out and one car arriving the following month and also sold out. But I sat in the Wrangler and it wasn’t more comfortable than my Hilux and it was too little of a car for 33,000.
Landrover Defender
From there I went to LandRover to check out the Defender. They didn’t have many models in stock and they wouldn’t let me build a car. I would have to buy whatever they decided people in Kuwait wanted so beige or cream color interiors, one tone exteriors and the features that they felt people needed, not what I wanted. The 4 cylinder was also around 27,000 while the 6 was I think 31 or 32,000. While at Ineos I felt I was buying a proper off-roader, at Landrover it felt like I was just buying a normal boring car and I didn’t like that feeling.
Genesis, Mercedes and Denza
Since I was now looking at normal cars I decided to go test drive the Genesis GV80. I forgot what the price was, maybe around 26,000. Very comfy car with a ton of cool features but just wasn’t for me, maybe when I’m a lot older but I just felt like a dad in the car. I then decided to check out the G-Class since I figured if I’m looking at cars around the 30K mark I might as well check out the Merc. I remember years ago you could buy a G500 for around 38K. That’s long gone cuz the cheapest G500 on display was I think around 55K and the G63 was like 65K.
I also went and checked out the Denza B5 and B8 and although both were very tempting (700hp, lots of features, great sound system etc) but there weren’t any non-sponsored reviews online.
Ford Ranger Raptor
Finally, my last stop was at Ford. When the new Ranger came out I thought the Raptor version was ridiculously cool but it was priced at around 21,000 which was too expensive. But, after looking at all those much more expensive cars the Ranger Raptor seemed more affordable (19,500 after discount). The more I read about the Ranger Raptor and the more videos I watched the more it actually seemed like a steal compared to everything else I saw. Online in every review it beat out any other car they put it up with. The only real negative was fuel consumption and the small fuel tank which isn’t really an issue when you’re living in Kuwait. The Raptor had literally everything I wanted, a coil spring suspension in the rear, front and rear diff locks, huge brakes, 405hp, all the comfort features including electric seats, 360 degree cameras, adaptive cruise control, wireless charging and CarPlay, a B&O sound system and various safety features. I was convinced I wanted it so I took it for a test drive. It took one short drive around the block on a few speed bumps to convince me to get it and I did.
Now that I’ve had it for over a month and driven over 2,000KM with it I think it’s one of the best cars I’ve ever driven and I’ve driven a lot. It’s difficult to describe it but it feels like a sports car that has huge wheels. It’s so comfortable on the road over any terrain, it’s also so fast and handles really well, I’ve never driven anything like it. At first I didn’t think I needed 405hp in a pick up truck but now I realize how that can be beneficial, not necessarily for going fast, but for the acceleration aspect. If I was to sell all my other cars and be left with just the Ranger Raptor I’d still be satisfied.
The suspension is incredible, it’s stiff and doesn’t sway much when turning or stopping, but as soon as the road surface is rough or you go over a speed bump the car just floats over them so softly. It’s an incredible suspension system but the interior is so comfortable as well, and it’s such a cozy place to be in. Usually when I buy a new car I want to modify it but in this case there really isn’t anything for me to do. I ordered a cover for the truck bed and I got the windows tinted and that pretty much all I’m going to be doing. There is an official Ford Performance upgrade that adds an additional 50hp to the car which I might end up doing once the warranty runs out. Oh I did take the car to a Ford Programmer (who knew such a thing existed) to activate some cool features though.
Ford Programming
For some reason the Ranger Raptor in Kuwait comes with a few features deactivated, but with the help of a Ford programmer you can get them working. The two features I really wanted to activate were steering assist and the ability for the car to read the speed signs and display it in my dash so I always know what the speed limit is. The car comes with lane assist in Kuwait which is a feature found in most cars. When the car sees that you’re leaving the lane you’re in it nudges the car back into the lane. Steering assist on the other hand is a bit different. It’s used when you have adaptive cruise control active and the car steers itself keeping you in the middle of your lane. It feels like the car is driving by itself since it speeds up and slows down with traffic and steers for you. I guess Ford Middle East doesn’t think we’re responsible enough to use that here? Another feature I got activated which I thought was cool is internet. The car now has free internet anywhere I go in the region. It’s a cool feature that I won’t use much, but I do like that when working out of my car my laptop now just connects to the car’s hotspot.
Dealership Issues
The only negative thing about the car for me really was the buying experience. There was a lot of misinformation shared constantly during the purchase process and I think it was my least favorite car buying experience which is a shame since it involved buying my favorite car yet. A small example is with the colors, I was originally told they had the color Carbonized Gray in stock, so I started doing the research on that color and getting all hyped up about it but then the salesman they told me the grey color they actually have is Meteor Grey. I was also told they had 4 colors in stock, white, blue, black and grey, but then when I showed up to pay the reservation fee I saw a 5th color on display. When I asked why I wasn’t told about that color they told me they only had 1 in stock which didn’t make sense but whatever, I wasn’t interested in that color but I would have been very pissed if it was a color I wanted.
I was then told the car would be ready in 5 business days, that didn’t happen. I actually had to get really upset with them to get it 10 days later. If they had told me from the start it would take 2 weeks to get the car I would have waited but when they said it takes 5 days, but the 6th day I’m going to be like where is my car. They mismanaged my expectations and it only got worse since they did the same with my wife’s car.
Wife got a Bronco
Since I can’t own a pick up because I’m an expat, the Raptor has to be in my wife’s name. When she came to the dealership to sign some papers she fell in love with the Bronco and decided to buy one as well. They told us she would get the Bronco a few days after my car but that didn’t happen.
First issue is that my wife was trading in her car for the Bronco. The salesman said she could keep the car with her till she picked up the Bronco. A week later the Bronco still hadn’t popped up in her Mobile ID so I followed up with the the salesman and he was like oops, we can’t register the Bronco in her name until she hands over her car. I couldn’t believe anything he was saying anymore and that wasn’t all of it yet!
I then kept following up on the delivery date since it was getting close to our Japan trip and we wanted the car before we left. The salesman kept assuring me the car would be done by then and he kept saying they were working on her car and that he is following up with them every day by email.
Well two weeks later he calls me to tell me not only were they not working on the car, but the car wasn’t even with them, it was still at the port. Supposedly there was some mixup and the system was showing the car in their warehouse but in reality it was still at the port. So all the messages about them working on the car’s PID (which really takes a day) wasn’t true. He now didn’t know how long the car needed to leave the port and be sent for PID.
I had sold my Hilux by then as well since we were meant to pick up her car any day now, and since that didn’t happen, my wife didn’t have anything to drive anymore (she had been driving my Hilux after handing her car over for the trade in). I asked the dealer if she could have the test drive Bronco for a few days until we traveled and they agreed, they also gave her a 3 year service for free as a we’re sorry gift.
While we were in Japan we got the call saying her car was ready and we ended up picking it up the day we arrived. You’d think by now the negative experience would be over but there’s more! As part of the purchase they email you a survey form on how your experience went. I filled it up and mentioned all the issues we had. Someone from the dealership then called me and instead of being apologetic which is really all I wanted, the person on the other end was just coming up with excuses. Thankfully, I don’t have to deal with the salespeople ever again.
The Bronco is Also Great
On a side note, the Bronco is also a really great car, surprisingly good. I wasn’t expecting to like it but after spending time in it and driving it around I really like it a lot. The interior is very cool and even though she got the Big Bend which is the entry model the 2025 model comes with a huge center display, a fully digital dash and new for the Bronco sears, rear AC vents. If I didn’t get the Ranger Raptor I think I would have gotten the Bronco Badland. They’re reasonably priced as well.
So yeah, that’s about it. We’re suddenly a Ford household now and both loving it.
