Days without the Sorento - Thankyou Michael and KIA

Due to that simple misjudgement I was left without my +KiaMotorsWorldwide #Sorento for over 3 weeks. It was a great opportunity to catch up on some of my reading and forced me into some much-needed walking and so many other benefits that came along with it. 

At the onset I should say I was lucky to be dealing with Michael, a Service Advisor like none other at the Rashidiya workshop of Juma al Majid - KIA Body Shop. After having talked to him over a dozen times and met him at least on two occasions I still could not believe that he was an Arab. He spoke Hindi, Arabic and English with equal fluency and its difficult to figure out which is his native tongue. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, his true brilliance is in the fact that he has integrity. I think I can fairly say that this gentleman has never lied to me in the 3 weeks - a very rare quality indeed (of course I verified this by visiting at off-hours). Whenever I have been able to get him on the phone (yes, I am coming to this aspect), he has satisfied me with responses to ALL my questions. I always put the phone down confident that I am in good hands.

I was not the only one to appreciate his qualities and so I was not the only one who called to talk particularly to Michael - there were many, many more. It soon dawned on me that this person was over-worked and that the entire centre was actually under-staffed (or may be all Kia customers were afraid of not getting the utmost service and so wanted an update a lot more often than appropriate). Either ways, getting this man on the phone was a real Challenge with a capital 'C' !!!!!!!!! For two weeks I satisfied myself with

Michael Inspecting a vehicle.

occasional but very accurate and in-depth updates from him. I learnt of how he negotiated with the various parties (insurance, Kia Motors - Korea, Juma Al Majid workforce) to get the Sorento back on the road, where the roadblock was and what he planned to do to overcome it. Because he had integrity, there was clarity and he soon had my complete trust.

Initially the insurance arranged for a replacement vehicle on hire which helped me prepare for the days without one. I debated on whether to continue the hire but decided against it because I wanted to experience life on foot. Some of my loveliest memories in Dubai have been when I was be-Car (without a car) and this was my opportunity to relive those days.

Tall, tall Sun Flowers

I embraced this new lifestyle and moved around solely in #PublicTransport. I feel I am able to contemplate and plan a lot better when I am walking - specially to and from work. I have never been able to achieve this in the car, nor by arriving early at the destination. I also tried to avoid all dependency on friends and colleagues who offered to drop me to the closest station. Instead of quarreling with drivers on the road, negotiating my way into the traffic and wondering whose right it was to go first I stopped by to appreciate nature that I had never noticed - there were some beautiful spots on the way that had never caught my attention before. 

I probably missed the Sorento the most on a day when friends were to be collected for a small dinner get at home. But even that turned out to be splendid as on the way back from office we agreed to meet at a bus stop. We abandoned the public transport and instead set out on foot. In that 40 minute walk together we learned a lot more about each other than we could ever in the car. It joggled back my school days, back-pack and briefcase memories :) .

As much as I enjoyed this lifestyle I knew I could make it permanent. For any work related trips I had to borrow the other office vehicle that was making logistics a nightmare. Also the weather was not going to be pleasant for long. I will have to do something to get my Sorento back.

Difference between Nazwa and Khatam - and the price we paid!

Since past winter I have been driving the new KIA Sorento 2013 3.5L model. It was a steal compared to similar models in the Japanese lineups and I could not care less that it was Korean. I knew that many Japanese brands were also manufactured outside of the mainland and with the latest arrangements between American models and Korea I was confident of its quality and engineering. But I was not as confident of its aftersales support. This was a about to change...

The 4x4 allowed me access to parts of the UAE (where I was born and brought up) that were out of bound before and I was full of energy and enthusiasm to explore them all. I identified the Ideal way is to sign up with like-minded off-roading enthusiasts and that is exactly what I did. The first 3 trips in the Nazwa region went extremely well, I drove the Sorento in one and a cousins Pajero 3.3L 2009 in the second and the third. I could feel the difference in the power between the two and realized how the extra 0.2 L helped. Hence for the 3rd trip (to the Camel rock in Khatam, off Sharjah-Kalba road E102) I am keen to take the Sorento again.

In the first hour we climb the hill closest to the Highway nearly 900 ft above sea-level. The Sorento fills us with pride as we climb to the very top… something that even a Cherokee fell short of. As we set off to the Camel-Rock we come across a huge Valley that we are asked to cross one after the other. Since we are at a vantage point we are able to see each car cross one after the other. The first five cars (a Petrol, 2 Jeeps and 2 Cruisers) do so in a breeze – completely uneventful. The Fortuner 4.0L before us starts rolling down, accelerates to what seems like 60 kmph but loses speed at the bottom and struggles its way up… barely making it to the safe point. We are next. As I start to roll I vouch to cross it in the first attempt as I don’t want anyone to frown on my Korean ride… I avoid speeds higher than 50kmph but decide not to slow down at the bottom. Little that I know the bottom is solid rock with very little sand padding. The Sorento bounces as it crosses the valley and a frightening thud follows before we climb comfortably to the other side. Once safely up I get down for an inspection.

To my horror the spoiler beneath the bumper is dragging on the sand and a trail of liquid extends far behind us! This marks the end of our otherwise a great learning dune bashing experience for the season! Here too we learnt the difference between Nazwa and Khatam, but the hard way! Khatam is a mix of dunes and rocks and unlike in Nazwa you need to be careful where you bounce.

We wait for the 4x4 tow truck service to pull us to the road close by and watch the sun set from a peak close by.

But this is a gift in itself, as the days without a car are also a blessing in disguise. And the culminating day in KIA motors Service Centre has been truly exceptional.