When I moved to Qatar I was a wide eyed fresh expat enthralled by the bright lights of Doha. Nothing seemed further away from my life in London than the wild mean streets of a country developing so fast it can’t even keep up with itself.

No where is this more prevalent than on the open road, there is a style developed solely in the Middle East for driving and its frankly insane. No one, I mean no one has a single care for rules or regulations, you go about your journey not just as if it’s your last but as if you are already late for your appointment at the Pearly Gates. 

It’s awesome.

Driving whilst looking at your mobile phone, with one foot on the dashboard, smoking a fag, slapping your children while they roam free around the cab is all quite normal and wouldn’t raise a single eye brow. The driving is mainly done in 4 tonne vehicles with soft squidgy Sand tyres powered by a super charged 4 litre V8. Control of your own vehicle is optional and often considered bad form, looking in a mirror or even out of a window is also considered a bit wet. You take your life in everyone else’s hands every single day.

It was an instantaneous decision that I wasn’t going to feel relaxed in a saloon car, as neither an uber driver or a takeaway driver I am nowhere near brave enough for a saloon car on these roads. So it was time for me to enter the world of 4×4 driving, and I had no idea what a transformation it would make to my life.

Drum roll please…..I drive a……

Mitsubishi Pajero