The new Jeep is so modern and technologically advanced that I have to relearn how to drive. Well, not exactly how to drive, but rather how to operate the vehicle’s “systems”. Even turning it on is different! No more “key in the ignition and turn,” it now starts with the push of a button and the “key” is an electronic “black box” of sorts that just needs to be inside the vehicle to work.

Of course “driving” is still the same, and once I am on the road everything is pretty “normal”, though I did have to quickly learn how to turn the heated seats off before I roasted myself! On the long drive home from the dealership I figured out how to operate the heat, or should I say “climate control” as I can now set an optimal temperature and the vehicle adjusts heat or air conditioning automatically to reach and maintain it.

The Jeeps onboard navigation system worked pretty much like my phone, though I was able to see the map a lot better on the big dashboard display screen — and hearing Siri through the stereo sound system with subwoofer was a bizarre experience. I wonder if there is a way to turn her off and just keep the map display open. I have to spend some time playing with the whole navigational system to see what it is capable of, as I expect that it should be able to do a lot more than a phone.

The one thing I couldn’t figure out while driving, was the Satellite radio. Once I had turned it on I couldn’t find a way to turn it off again without turning off my navigational screen (and I needed Siri’s help to find my way home from upstate New York through the winding labyrinth of highways that converge on the city as I get near the Bridges). It has seemingly thousands of channels and I fumbled along through the list eventually settling on some kind of Latin salsa music which was fine until the radio hosts came on chattering away for what seemed like forever. I attempted to find another channel and randomly skipped around not knowing what I was doing and ended up with Quebecois French-language country music station that was a kind of bizarre mix of almost cajun sounding modern country folk. I listened to that for the rest of the journey home.

I think the first thing I will do is figure out how to program that radio — and how to just shut it off!

I had sent the link for the map portal to my teammate, and she verified that the track did in fact broadcast as I travelled. I also used to communications function while en route to SMS her my location, and was able to receive her reply SMS with just a short delay. Once back at base, I went into the interactive space and labelled, connected, and refined the route lines directly on top of the satellite imagery of the terrain, where I could precisely contour the lines of my route to match the lines of the trail.

Very impressed with the capabilities of this tool so far. Next test will be in the canyons of Moab…

I took the opportunity to test out and compare three different vehicles, the Landrover LR4, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and the brand new Ram Powerwagon truck, which was just being introduced to the market in a big launch this week. Everyone was excited about the Powerwagon, billed as the “Rubicon” of trucks, and manufacturer’s representatives were there giving a presentation on its capabilities and the rationale behind it. It is the first truck built specifically for “off-road” applications, and so was engineered with a lot of the standard features of the Jeep Rubicon, including push buttons sway bar disconnect and lockers. The truck is enormous with its lift and long wheel base, and powerful thanks to its hemi engine, but I had my doubts as to how it would handle on the course.

My first loop around was with the folks from Landrover, in their luxurious LR4, which seemed more like flying a complex aircraft than driving offroad. The LR4 has all the most modern technological “assists,” so a driver doesn’t need to know anything about handling complex terrain in an off-road context — the vehicle does it all for you at the push of a button. It is impressive engineering and a comfortable ride, though personally it leaves me feeling a bit “cold” as I don’t get to do any real driving apart from just steering it around the course.

The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon was next up. Obviously this was the most comfortable vehicle for me, as it is one I drive regularly. Smiling as I walked it easily over the course, not even needing to use the lockers at the designated spot, I just enjoyed the feeling of “driving” for myself. I guess I am “old-school” about that — for me, the challenge of knowing how to drive the course is what makes it fun.

Finally, I took my turn in the new Powerwagon. It felt “big” as I got behind the wheel, and special guest driving instructor, Nena Barlow, laughed when I automatically went for the controls where they are located on the Jeep. She pointed out the differences between the two, and we took off for my last loop around. Despite the vehicle’s long wheel base, it handled well, even on the tighter turns. Most surprising was the fact that the drive felt so “flat,” as if we were floating over the course, rather than taking each bump and turn. Barlow pointed out that it was the long wheel base that actually made the truck more stable. Even the articulation bumps proved no problem, and again, I didn’t need to use the lockers at all. I was impressed with it’s handling, though I know it would have problems in the tight terrain of the forest trails back east just because of its size.

Niki “spotted” me as I squeezed the Jeep in between the metal poles on the sidewalk that are intended to keep people from parking there. I pulled it right up to the front door of the building, but the back end was still hanging off into the street a little. We would have to move quickly.

We had most of our gear packed into army duffle bags, with a few extra bags of supplies and some loose equipment, like the helmets. Somehow we managed to get it all into the back of the Jeep within fifteen minutes, and luckily no police passed during that time. Then we took our loaded Jeep back to the safety of a parking garage for the night. Tomorrow the real adventure begins…

And then it was time to go. We got into “our” Jeep and drove off.

We hadn’t thought about this aspect of it. We didn’t actually know how to get back to Paris! I mean, Niki knew in general, but as she doesn’t drive, she didn’t know the “directions.” Still, she did an excellent job of “navigating” as we made our way from one autoroute to the next, then on into the city.

Driving the Jeep through Paris was strange. The Jeep seems so big here. And the streets seem so narrow. There is no room to move. It is all so tight and messy. Driving in Paris is harder than driving off-road. Yet, we manage…

Will it be able to power up the dunes like the Barlow Jeeps I trained with? I don’t know the answer to that question, and I guess I will learn it once I am out there in the ergs…

I like that the rally Jeep is the same color as our Jeep. I think there is some kind of good karma there. And I know our camel will feel at home…

In any case, the day starts with packing all the gear that needs to go to the Gazelle rally. It will require two pieces of excess luggage — an entire “piece” is for the MaxTrax, as together they weigh 50 lbs which is the limit for one bag, and the other extra duffle bag is for the camping gear, the helmet, and this kind of thing.

The adventure starts now…

Am hoping to test these out during my upcoming dunes training session later this month…