Wrangling a ride in the Jeep

The Jeep Wrangler sports a 3.8L V6 engine and is good for off-roading. GulfWeekly reporter Shilpa Chandran had the opportunity to drive the Sahara model for a week. When you think Wrangler, you think sport. You also think adventure, ruggedness and rough terrain driving. But, the Jeep Wrangler can also be a soft, smooth, convenient, and accommodating companion.

The strange thing I have noticed about the Jeep Wrangler is that, very rarely does anyone label it as a particularly masculine vehicle.

With its characteristics, you could be misled, but honestly, if you are a pink-loving, drama craving, hatchback hankering female, you are still bound to get attracted to this road beauty.

Personally, I have long been a great fan of the Jeep Wrangler. The affection dates back to a few years ago when I was still a carefree and aloof college student.

I got the chance to drive a manual Jeep on some deserted road somewhere in the UAE. It was what they call 'love at first drive'. Contrary to its size and tough exterior, it felt so good to be behind the wheels.

It was as though the vehicle read my thoughts and continued to roll smoothly, without any hiccups while changing gears or even when there were slight speed breakers.

Since then, the Jeep has been a favourite and is close to the top of my list of things to buy when I win my BD1 billion lottery.

Then God thought, why bother giving me such a huge amount of money and making me a more confused soul than I already am on how, where, on what and when to spend all that money.

So he gave me an 'opportunity' to drive this wonder machine, a Jeep Wrangler Sahara model, for one whole week right here on the streets of the island.

It was a dark shade of olive green (if there is such a colour). And as it rolled into sight, I could feel the corners of my mouth lift into a smile.

I got in and tried to adjust everything to my comfort and then slowly put the gear into drive (it was an automatic one) and thought to test that 'reading my thoughts' thing.

What do you know! It did! I didn't have to feel so uptight and tense. It recognised what sort of a driver I was immediately and allowed me to manoeuvre it through the thickening traffic in Manama.

The best thing about the Wrangler was that although it was a high vehicle, it was also very comfortable and you didn't feel like you were driving a tank.

One of the things I couldn't help notice were the perfect brakes - which made me feel extremely safe due to the instant response. Driving it in traffic was not even close to being as difficult as I thought it would be as it sailed through the crowded streets of Manama.

Having a Jeep and not taking it for an off-road spin would have been like going to the moon and forgetting your camera.

So one sunny afternoon, my husband and a friend, who is more aware of cars than I am, thought to take it for a spin and the choice was made of the barren land near the Tree of Life (but, of course) where vehicles are normally taken off-road.

My friend guided me on not stopping anywhere the sand might be too soft and the wheels could sink in due to the weight of the Jeep. So with precision driving, I steered to a safe spot to put the vehicle into the four wheel drive mode and begin the adventure. I was a disgrace to off-roading... I was gripping the steering wheel and praying to God to protect me! But, I have to admit, it was so darn awesome! A couple more spins and I would have been the queen of the desert, but thought against it as the lottery dream was quite far-fetched actually.

The Jeep Wrangler is also a good option to enjoy the island's amazingly pleasant winters as you can dismantle the roof and the body of the vehicle and feel the wind ruffle your hair, which is a great feeling!

I did try driving with the roof off but, due to the wind, covered up again quickly before my nose, ears and mouth got filled with sand.

Now to the harder details of this vehicle. The Wrangler boasts a 3.8L V6 engine of 199 horse power and 315 Nm (Newton metre) of torque. For those who felt that was Greek, I shall explain each term in the lay (wo)man terms.

The V6 stands for the six cylinders in the engine compared to four cylinders you find in your normal sedans.

The bigger the engine, the better the vehicle performance and so the Jeep's 3.8L engine works wonders on rough terrain, while going off-road and also on elevated slopes with heavy human and luggage weight.

The power generated by this engine is 199hp that provides the Jeep's legendary stamina.

As you can see, the engine is one power pack so obviously it gulps a lot of petrol and if you like going off-road more than once a month, then expect your fuel bills to hit the ceiling.

Nonetheless, I must add it did feel like winning those billion bucks.

The Jeep Wrangler Sahara costs BD8,700 off road. The two distributors for Jeep on the island are Ahmed Zayani and Sons and Behbehani Brothers.

For more information contact the showrooms on 17238822 and 17459955 respectively.