Our cars

You know, I reckon Assistant Editor Tom Bird should be writing this update, as he’s put on more kilometres on the car than I have.

Whilst I was having a peaceful and quiet vacation in Karachi, dodging burning cars and angry mobs (the people’s way of expressing their grief at the assassination of former PM Benazir Bhutto), Tom was out wadi-bashing in the LR2, picnicking in the mountains and touring the Emirates.

Come to think of it, I could have done with the LR2 in Pakistan.

With the poor condition of the roads, the Landy’s rough-roading skills would have given me supremacy around town; the inherent toughness would have been comforting given the appalling driving standards there (you think the Middle East is bad?!); its relative throne height would have helped me identify trouble well ahead of arriving at it; the sat-nav could have guided me though the maze of back streets to safe haven; and its performance would have outrun just about most things on the roads there.

On the other hand, it might have been carjacked off me at gunpoint and then set alight (an event not covered by any motor insurance policy in Pakistan, apparently).

So perhaps my inconspicuous and rather knackered little Suzuki Alto rental was probably the better choice after all. Don’t know though. The sublime ruggedness of the LR2 does give you a certain confidence and assurance.

In fact I’m really getting used to living the Land Rover life. Day-to-day it’s proving a dependable partner on the mean streets of Dubai, the kids are getting comfortable in it and beginning to treat it like home – which means it’s getting steadily messier in the back – and it certainly came into its own when the floods hit town.

Stuck in a never-ending jam, and following the example of a couple of Pajeros, I left the tarmac and took the off-road route home. Cool!