Category: Automotive

Other than the Suzuki Jimny from a couple of years ago, I can’t really think of any other car in recent history that interested so many people. The hype and demand around the new Landcruiser is so huge that there were people selling their spots on the waiting list for up to 2,500KD! Last Wednesday I picked up a brand new Landcruiser to review, and after spending 24 hours with it I have mixed feelings about it. People really do love this car though, I don’t think I’ve gotten so much attention on the road or interest in a review car as much as I got with this Landcruiser. Since you guys left a lot of questions under my what do you want to know post, this review is going to be a combination of my opinion on the car as well as answers to all your questions.

The first thing I need to discuss is the looks of the new Landcruiser which I’m not a fan of yet. I kinda like the front of the car which now has a huge grill, but not a big fan of the side profile or the rear of the car yet. I think the wheels look too small in proportion to the car and I think the rear quarter window gives it a minivan feel. The rear of the car is also fairly boring, but so was the last generation so at least that’s consistent. I remember not being a fan of the last Landcruiser when it came out either. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for new designs to grow on you and I’m expecting the same with this new Landcruiser as well.

I had the fully loaded GX-R model which comes with a leather interior, electronic ventilated seats, a large 12.3″ center display and some safety features like lane assist, radar cruise control and collision detection. The Landcruiser finally has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto built-in which is great but also expected. Their digital side is still lagging behind the rest of the market. For example, we now have this gorgeous new super-large screen in the center console, but I still can’t control any of the car settings on it. If I want to change the settings for lane assist, or reset the tire pressures, adjust the sensitivity for collision detection or any other settings related to the actual car, I need to use the tiny black and white screen in the center of the gauge cluster. The only thing I can control with the large screen in the center console is the media center and climate control, that’s it. I don’t understand why there are two different systems in the car, I should be able to change all the settings from the main screen like in other cars. The technology side of the car makes it feel dated. Everything new on the new car should have already been on the last generation of the Landcruiser, but Toyota has always been like this. They’re one step behind in technology because they go for reliability and simplicity over having all the latest gizmos, and I think the majority of the people prefer that.

What are the differences between GX-R vs VX-R?
The model I drove was the fully loaded GX-R, but the VX-R is actually the top-of-the-line model and costs around 4,500KD more. The main differences between the two are the fact the VX-R uses better quality leather, has electronic suspension, 4 cameras vs just 1, electronically foldable third-row seats, memory seats in the front, front and rear locking diffs, blind-spot monitor, and a tailgate that opens by waving your foot.

How’s the handling and ride quality?
The first day I found the car too soft but that’s how Toyota’s generally are. My FJ Cruiser had soft suspension and one of the first things I did was replace them with stiffer ones. The soft suspension gives the car a soft ride but also makes the car feel heavier since there is a lot more sway on breaking and turning. When I drove the car the second day I enjoyed the ride a lot more since I was used to it by then. It’s comfortable, it’s quiet and definitely a car I wouldn’t mind taking a long trip in.

How is the AC?
I had the car parked under direct sunlight for 5 hours and it took less than 10 minutes of blasting all the AC’s on max for the car to turn into a freezer. So it’s great like it always is on Toyotas.

How is the entertainment system and JBL speakers?
As I mentioned, it has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Oddly you can’t have them occupy the full center screen, parts of the screen always has to show the climate controls. The speakers were fine, loud with boomy bass, they’re good enough for 99% of the buyers. There were a lot of USB-C and USB-A ports scattered around the car plus a wireless charging pad in the center console near the gear shift. There was also a home power socket in the trunk.

How did the 10-speed gearbox feel like?
Not that great actually. The gearbox never seemed to be in the right gear and shifting in the 1st and 2nd gear was always rough. Even putting the car in sport mode didn’t help much.

Can the car handle Kuwait roads?
I think Toyota has proven themselves over the decades that all their cars can handle the Kuwaiti climate and roads with no issues. One of the reasons the Landcruiser is so popular is because of how reliable they are and I don’t expect the new ones to be any different.

Is the steering wheel still heavy?
I haven’t driven the previous generation to compare, but I had two friends who own Landcruisers test drive the car and both said the new Landcruiser is an improvement over the previous one in every way. The steering is lighter, the car feels faster, the brakes better and the overall ride smoother.

What do you think about the price, is it worth it?
This is a difficult one to answer, personally, I think the new Landcruisers are too expensive. The model I drove costs 24,250KD after discount. I think if you’re paying over 20,000KD for a car you’re buying a premium or luxury brand but Toyota isn’t that. It’s a reliable brand that’s meant to be accessible to everyone and I don’t think thats the case with the Landcruiser. With every new generation of Landcruisers, the price has gone up and I think paying nearly 30,000KD for a Landcruiser is just too much.

Is the GR Sport edition getting released in Kuwait?
Yes, it’s coming and the price is around 28,000KD.

Obviously love or hate the new Landcruiser, there is no denying the fact that we all know they’re going to be extremely reliable and popular. I was at a traffic light on Wednesday in the Landcruiser and I looked around me and I was surrounded by 4 other white Landcruisers, one in front of me, two on my left and one behind me. People love them for good reason and anyone with a Landcruiser is going to feel right at home in the new one. If I forgot to answer any of your questions or if you have any more, let me know in the comment. For more details info on the car including the specs and features of the different models, check out the Landcruiser page on toyota.com.kw

I’ve got the all-new redesigned Toyota Landcruiser for the next 24 hours, what do you want to know about it, let me know in the comments.

Yesterday I read a story about a guy who drove his 1982 Mitsubishi Galant from Kuwait to Delhi, India during the 1990 invasion. The family still owns the car today and the son is now trying to restore it. If that wasn’t interesting enough, there is a similar story of another guy who drove his 1984 Mitsubishi Galant from Kuwait but to Kerala, India, and also still has his car today. Both cars seem to be the same color and they both might have been in the same convoy of cars that left Kuwait to India by road during the escape.

The journey from Kuwait to India took around 110 days and involved driving through Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan before finally reaching India.

You can read the story on the 1982 Galant journey here.
You can read the story on the 1984 Galant journey here.

The 1984 Galant and the owner Mathunny Mathew seem to have gotten more coverage online. There is a video interview with the owner on YouTube but it’s in Malayalam so I couldn’t watch it. But, there is another very cool video on YouTube where the Petrolhead Motor Garage guys attempt to start the car. It’s not in English but there is very little talking, it’s mostly them taking apart the engine to try and start the car which is a total rust bucket. It’s a chill video and I’ve embedded it above.

I love stories like this so if you know of anymore, let me know!

Thanks Fahad

Those who follow the blog regularly know I’m a big fan of the PASS app which is a ticketless and cashless parking service. I hate carrying cash and I especially don’t like touching any parking buttons right now so PASS really makes the parking process less stressful. Mawqif is another similar service I started using recently that seems to have taken the same concept as PASS and improved on it.

The biggest issue with PASS I think was the fact parking operators needed to install expensive license plate reading cameras. Mawqif on the other hand gives parking lots two options, install the cameras and give Mawqif customers a ticketless experience, or use their barcode ticketing system which allows Mawqif app users to scan the barcode and pay for the parking by phone. The advantage to Mawqif users is you’ll end up finding the service in more parking lots including the smaller ones. For example, the small and old multistory lot next to my favorite Korean restaurant Koryokwan uses the ticket barcode service, but the Salhiya parking lot has the ticketless experience.

Another great feature with Mawqif is that it shows you how many spots are available at the parking lots through the app and their hourly fees. Finally, Mawqif also doesn’t charge any fees, so whatever you usually pay for your parking you continue to do so even if you used their app.

If you want to download Mawqif and try it for yourself or if you want to find out more about it then check out their website mawqiftech.com.

On a side note, dear 360 Mall, please bring back PASS or install Mawqif at your parking lots. Thanks!

Summer is here and I know a lot of people either don’t have covered parking at home or tend to park their sports cars or classics until the weather is good again. A friend of mine recently wanted to get a cover done for her car and I passed her a contact I’ve had for years and never used. After she got her car done I decided I might as well get covers made for my cars.

The process is super simple, I just WhatsApped a guy, he came by the same day and took measurements of the cars. The next day he came back with the material and adjusted it to the size of the cars before sending it to his tailor. On the third day the cover was done.

The material used is durable for outdoor use and features a tough material on the outside with a soft velour-like material on the inside. Cost varies on the size of the car and how well you negotiate and in my case it was KD40 per car. If you’re interested you can contact them on 98727813‬, the business is called Al-Surur.

The photo above got leaked online showing what potentially are new cop cars based on the recently facelifted Chevy Tahoes. Keep in mind that similar to the Volvo and Patrol cop cars I previously posted, these could just be samples and not eventually go into service. But, since the current cop cars are Chevy Tahoes, I wouldn’t be surprised if their fleet did get updated with the new facelifted versions.

Thanks Fahad

This is such a great video if you’re into racing and the video quality is surprisingly really great. The video is by CiTV Sport who produced a lot of rally videos back in the 80s and is narrated in English and features some rally legends including Saeed Al-Hajri who raced for the Rothmans Porsche team and also a young Mohammed bin Sulayem pictured below.

Even if you aren’t into cars you should at least watch the first minute or so of the video since it starts off with some footage of the old Kuwait Marriott Hotel. The Marriott Hotel was the base of the 1985 Kuwait Rally so all the drivers stayed at the hotel and that’s where the race started and ended.

The 1985 rally was sponsored by the furniture company Mahdi Habib whom I hadn’t heard of until today. According to their website, they’re one of the oldest companies in Kuwait and were established back in 1952.

Back in March my Garmin dash cam stopped working, I found out by mistake when trying to retrieve a video of an accident I thought I had captured only to find out my dash cam hadn’t been recording any footage for 2 years. I thought it was my dash cam that had failed but turned out it was the fault of my memory card. By then the local Garmin dealer had already seen my post and got in touch with me so they could send me their new Garmin Dash Cam 66W to replace my old one. Exciting!

I had my Garmin dashcam for 7 years and back when I had purchased it, the main selling point to me was how compact it was. But, compared to the new Garmin, my old one now looks HUGE (check the photo above). The size difference is enormous, not only because the dash cam itself is a lot smaller, but Garmin also redesigned the windshield mount making it much more compact. My new dash cam is so small it’s hidden behind my rear view mirror, I literally can’t see it when driving.

Another cool feature about the new Garmin that I love is the ability to connect to it with Wifi to adjust the settings, update the firmware and most importantly, view and download footage. Previously to view the footage I’d have to remove the memory card from my dash cam, take it home, connect it to my computer and then access the footage. When I’m done I then had to remember to take the memory card back down to my car the next time I leave my house which I obviously always forget to do. It was a hassle so I love how I can just connect to the camera from my phone directly. Without removing the memory card I can now connect to the Garmin, find the video I want, select which part of the video I want to download, and then download it to my phone. This is extremely practical, I really can’t emphasize how useful this feature is.

The two features above were really the most important for me, but there are a bunch of other features that other people might be interested in, for example, the Garmin has the ability to notify you of upcoming speed cameras. The 66W has GPS built-in and access to Garmin’s local database of speed camera locations so it can alert you if you’re getting close to one. The dash cam also has an extra-wide 180-degree field of view and records videos at 1440p. My previous dash cam had a 120-degree field of view and would record videos in 1080p but I never had an issue with the field of view or video resolution in my old camera. But, one thing I’m curious about with the new dashcam is how well it performs in the evening but due to our curfew I can’t test that out right now. During the day though, especially when the sky is blue, the footage is pretty sharp and clean and only starts to get noisy when the sun starts setting but that’s pretty normal.

Here are some other random features the cam has which I personally don’t care about:
– Forward collision warning
– Lane departure warning
– Voice control
– Travelapse
– Incident detection
– Go feature which notifies you when stopped traffic in front of you has started to move

As usual, I like to leave the negatives till the end and this camera has two. The first is the fact that it’s pretty slow transferring videos over wifi. It takes around 30 seconds to download 13 seconds of footage so you need to be veryyyy patient. The second downside is the price. The Garmin 66w costs KD75 which is right at the top end of the dashcam market. You do get a lot for that price and the build quality is miles apart from cheaper counterparts, but it’s still a lot of money especially when you can find decent ones at a third of the price.

Based on some recommendations from my readers I also ended up buying one of the most popular and cheapest dash cams from Amazon and I’ll be posting a review of that one soon. I’ll also do a comparison with this Garmin but I can tell you from now that once I got the Garmin I stopped using that other dash cam. The main reason was how cheap the other camera felt but also because of basic things like the user interface and the horrible LCD screen of the other one. But, if you’re interested in getting or checking out the Garmin dash cams, here is the link to the local dealer’s website.

Last year I posted about how Traffic Department’s instagram account @traffic_kw was very active and constantly posting videos of car chases and before and after videos of cars that had violated laws and then after they were caught. Over the weekend the Traffic Department posted a video of a tragic incident that took place last Sunday when one of their officers was killed by a reckless driver.

The video is in Arabic but with English subtitles and you can watch it above. It’s pretty sad and makes you aware that the roads aren’t just unsafe for us, but also the cops. A week earlier another police officer was lucky to escape injury when a speeding car hit his parked car. The video of that incident along with the officer recounting his experience can be seen below. We really need to try and figure out how to make our roads safer because it’s not gonna get better by itself.

I spotted these two banners at 360 Mall this weekend, the first number to dial is if you have a flat tire, the second if you have a dead battery. This is pretty cool and I’m surprised I haven’t seen a similar service in other malls.

One of the reasons I now carry a lithium jump starter in every car is because I’ve previously been in a situation where my car battery died while shopping at Avenues and had to awkwardly find someone to jump-start my car.

The photo above is of the first large Al Mailem showroom which they opened back in 1971. Al Mailem if you aren’t aware are one of the largest retailers of tires in Kuwait and they have a whole bunch of locations up and down Canada Dry st.

I’ve actually been trying to find old photos of Canada Dry street from the 60s and 70s but can’t seem to find any and not sure where to look anymore. But, I just thought of an idea while typing this post up of trying and putting together a post with old photos of car dealerships similar to the photo of the first AlBabtain dealership pictured above. If you work at any of the car dealerships in Kuwait please email me!

I’m very routine-oriented so every year when my car registration expires I take it to the same traffic department in Jabriya and go through their long clumsy process to get the papers renewed. What is the process? First I have to go to an insurance office to renew my insurance. Then I then need to head to the traffic department in the morning, wait in a long line for my car to get checked. If it passes I then need to find a place to park my car so I can go to a small office in a shack to get my papers stamped. Once that is done I then need to leave and come back in the afternoon and head to the super busy main traffic department building (the mornings are only for Kuwaitis) and buy a stamp and then submit my papers to have the registration booklet printed. If I have a fine I’ll have to get my papers back and head to the fine payment section upstairs, wait in a long line and then head back down and submit my papers again. A very complicated and inefficient process.

But years ago private car inspection centers started popping up but I never thought to try them out until now. Due to Covid and not wanting to deal with large crowds, I decided to try a private center and all I can say is WTF, I can’t believe it took me this look to go the private route!

I just renewed two of my cars last month and the process couldn’t have been easier. I went to a place in Al-Rai called Super Service and both times I was in and out in under 30 minutes. The first thing you need to do is drive your car into the center and leave it running. You then head inside and give your registration booklet to the receptionist who photocopies it and then tells you to hand over your documents to one of their employees at a counter. That employee will fill in all the paperwork, renew your insurance, and also let you know if you have any fines to pay. You then pay for everything (fines included) using Knet and go sit down and wait. 10-15 minutes later your car is done getting checked and your new registration is printed and you get in your car and leave.

That’s it!!

I paid KD29 to renew my paperwork which is very reasonable considering how fast, smooth and anxiety-free the process was. There is no way I’m ever going back to renewing my car registration the old-fashioned way at the traffic department, not unless I have to. There are a number of private inspection centers but if you want to visit the one I went to, here is their location on Google Maps.

So two things here. Firstly I wasn’t aware that we had Skoda in Kuwait, or maybe I was aware but because it’s such an unexciting brand I might have forgotten about it.

The main story though is that Behbehani who are the VW and Porsche dealers just announced that they’ve acquired the Skoda brand which makes sense since Skoda is part of the VW Group. The brand previously was with Fouad Alghanim & Sons Automotive (@skodakuwait), the same dealers as Audi and Lamborghini (which also fall under the VW Group).

Skoda is considered to be a cheaper alternative to Volkswagon. The cars are made in the Czech Republic, China, Russia, India and Slovakia so producing them is cheaper due to lower labor costs. As I already mentioned, I personally don’t find their cars to be exciting, but anyone looking at Skoda’s is probably doing so because of value and not looks. If you’re interested, the Skoda Behbehani Instagram account is simply @skodabehbehani

Thanks Fahed

This is a post for google since I know a lot of people want to powder coat or electroplate parts but don’t know where to go. I found out about a place in Shuwaikh that offers these services when I wanted to powder coat my wheels, but they also zinc-plated all the nuts and bolts for my 240Z that I’m restoring and I might be getting my 240Z metal bumpers re-chromed by them. The place is called Anmar Advanced Services but they’re on Instagram as @pcoatkw and @tankelkw.

The services they offer are:
Zinc-Plating
Tin-Plating
Nickle-Chrome Plating
Powder Coating
Sand Blasting

I don’t have all their prices since it depends on various factors like size and quantity, but for powder coating car wheels for example they charge KD90 for 4. I think I also paid 35KD to galvanize (zinc-plate) all the nuts and bolts of my 240Z but I can’t find the bill. If you’re interested in any of their services, here is their location on Google Maps (they’re in the back left corner of that street). You can also get in touch with the engineer, his name is Maher and his number is ‭66475000‬ DM them on Instagram @pcoatkw and @tankelkw

It’s been over a year now since I got my 1970 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV and I’ve put over 10,000KM on it. That’s a lot considering it’s one of 4 cars I currently own, I didn’t drive it in the summer because it doesn’t have AC, and we had curfews last year and a full lockdown. But it goes to show how much I’ve been loving the car. It’s beautiful to look at and it’s so much fun to drive.

But, it hasn’t been problem-free, the more mileage I put on the car the more old parts break and need replacing. As I type this post my car is sitting in my basement waiting on a new rear differential since mine broke a couple of weeks back. At the rate I’m swapping parts out I should end up with a brand new car by the end of the year. I’ve mentioned this on one of my previous posts but I’m still surprised at how easy and quick it is to get parts for my 51-year-old car, classicalfa.com is a lifesaver. I’ve been doing most of the work on the car myself or with a help of a friend and it’s been fun, I describe it as Lego for adults. The first step is always figuring out what’s wrong with the car which is not as easy as it sounds, and then the second step is ordering the parts and swapping them out. The mechanic I had previously been using to work on the car got stuck outside Kuwait when corona hit and since he’s over 60 he can’t come back in. The fact he was old is why he was good at what he did and this goes back to my other post on how we are gonna lose a lot of experienced people with this ban on 60+ year old expats.

Anyway, so a few years ago I posted about how I highly recommend getting a classic car, well I’d like to revise that statement now and add that it isn’t for everyone. When you do buy a classic car you need to be fine with the idea that the car will eventually breakdown and leave you stranded in some random parking lot or on the side of the road. You also need to have some basic car knowledge so you know when something is wrong, and definitely have a good mechanic you could take the car to when it breaks down. Keep a bunch of tow truck numbers saved on your phone and before you buy a classic car check and see how easy it is to get parts, if it’s not easy then look for another car to get. Oh and you need to be patient and calm when things do go wrong (which they will). If you’re fine with all the above then yes, I highly recommend getting a classic car.

While I’m on the subject of classic cars, my 1972 Datsun 240z is nearly done and as you can see it’s no longer blue. The 240z is basically going to be a new old car once done since I’ve basically rebuilt the car from the ground up with brand new parts. Hopefully, it should be ready and on the road in a few weeks time, it will have air conditioning so I will be driving it throughout the summer. I can’t wait.