Bought using a company that imports vehicles from Oman, Amber Dale was pleased to get the options she wanted at a reasonable price. Antonie Robertson / The National
Bought using a company that imports vehicles from Oman, Amber Dale was pleased to get the options she wanted at a reasonable price. Antonie Robertson / The National
Bought using a company that imports vehicles from Oman, Amber Dale was pleased to get the options she wanted at a reasonable price. Antonie Robertson / The National
Bought using a company that imports vehicles from Oman, Amber Dale was pleased to get the options she wanted at a reasonable price. Antonie Robertson / The National

My Car: Grey-market Toyota Prado is a golden boy


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When she first arrived in Dubai 14 years ago, Amber Dale never dreamt that her short vacation would turn into a long and distinguished career in public relations. Falling in love with the city long before its epic boom, she said farewell to her native India and settled down in the place that would provide her first car - a Toyota Prado.

Leaving India behind wasn't easy but neither, as it turns out, was the new world of public relations.

"PR has always been the dark side of the media universe, and navigating through it over the last nine years has been an adventure of sorts," she says. "I realised I was good at what I did. Fast-forward nine years through a number of happy clients, four agencies and several rungs up the career ladder, I find myself as the founder and director of ChatterBox PR & Events."

While many women in the field choose lifestyle accounts to practice their craft, Dale's primary interest is in the very un-sexy field of high-end technology and consumer IT.

"While I love technology I also share a keen interest in automobiles and aviation. It's tremendously fulfilling to lend our expertise as communications specialists to support noble initiatives such as the Lotus Children's Centre in Mongolia through the Mongol Rally 2012, and the PCRF's Goodwill Journey," she says.

Unsurprisingly, when it came time to buy her first car, something dainty and ladylike would not do at all. In fact, her first choice was the massive Nissan Patrol. Eventually, however, she downsized her ambitions to a five-door Prado. Ah, but this is no ordinary Prado - it's a grey market import from Oman, stuffed to the gills with kit.

"I chose to buy my car from GCC International, a company that delivers cars from Oman. My car is loaded with options I wanted at a price that was a lot more reasonable and realistic than what I was getting from the dealer here in Dubai."

People tend to associate buying grey imports with difficulty, but for Dale, this wasn't the case. "GCC International took care of the paperwork and registration at no extra cost and set me up with insurance. I've not had any problems whatsoever. For the price of a base model Prado that is sold through the dealer here, I got top of the range options such as wood trim, a great sound system and built-in Bluetooth, and much more. I also got the car in the colour of my choice in a week.

"I've not had a single issue with the car and it's now close to five years old. I give it almost as much attention as I give my clients and do all the regular stuff, like periodic maintenance, cleaning and rust proofing. It's a go-anywhere, do-anything vehicle."

The number of "do-anything" situations has now increased, since she's just got married - and to a petrolhead, no less. The conversations between husband and wife can often lean towards the heated side of the equation.

"I'm enthusiastic about cars myself but my husband is far more passionate about them," Dale confesses. "I love the fact that we can have conversations about cars and there is never a dull moment."

And even the Prado has become a source of contention, since her husband already has three cars. With only one parking space in her building something has to go - and Dale is adamant that it's not going to be her beloved SUV.

"He has been trying ever since we started dating but he hasn't succeeded so far. I love my car; it has and is still serving me well. I'm a very determined person and won't sell it unless a really strong reason to do so comes up."

Still, five years is a long time to spend with one vehicle - isn't it about time for something new?

"When the time is right I might swap it in for something else that would reflect my personality and tastes at that time," she says. "Since we're talking about dreams, however, I hope to one day own a Mercedes McLaren SLR."

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

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Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

Scotland v Ireland:

Scotland (15-1): Stuart Hogg; Tommy Seymour, Huw Jones, Sam Johnson, Sean Maitland; Finn Russell, Greig Laidlaw (capt); Josh Strauss, James Ritchie, Ryan Wilson; Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist; Simon Berghan, Stuart McInally, Allan Dell

Replacements: Fraser Brown, Jamie Bhatti, D'arcy Rae, Ben Toolis, Rob Harley, Ali Price, Pete Horne, Blair Kinghorn

Coach: Gregor Townsend (SCO)

Ireland (15-1): Rob Kearney; Keith Earls, Chris Farrell, Bundee Aki, Jacob Stockdale; Jonathan Sexton, Conor Murray; Jack Conan, Sean O'Brien, Peter O'Mahony; James Ryan, Quinn Roux; Tadhg Furlong, Rory Best (capt), Cian Healy

Replacements: Sean Cronin, Dave Kilcoyne, Andrew Porter, Ultan Dillane, Josh van der Flier, John Cooney, Joey Carbery, Jordan Larmour

Coach: Joe Schmidt (NZL)

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Brief scoreline:

Tottenham 1

Son 78'

Manchester City 0

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

How it works

Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.

Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.

As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.

A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.

Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Other must-tries

Tomato and walnut salad

A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.

Badrijani nigvzit

A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.

Pkhali

This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

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