In terms of desirable vehicles to own, the Russian-made UAZ Hunter is unlikely to feature on many people’s wishlists. The 4x4 has been in production since the 1960s and has barely evolved since.
If you squint hard enough, you could mistake it for a 1990s Range Rover – all angular, like it’s been built with Lego bricks. Its interior hasn’t made the leap to the modern day, either.
You won’t find much in the way of in-car entertainment or the driving aids that make a lot of today’s vehicles so easy to manoeuvre. This is a throwback off-roader for purists.
Despite all of this, the UAZ Hunter still draws a crowd. Just ask Dubai car collector Nave Lev Ran.
“If I arrive in a Lamborghini, nobody would care,” notes Lev Ran, “but this gets attention everywhere I go.”
The business relationship developer is the proud owner of a 2017 UAZ Hunter, Lev Ran was given the car as a gift, and it has been a big part of his life since. Although the UAZ looks like a relic, people love taking photos and videos of it.
If I arrive in a Lamborghini, nobody would care, but this gets attention everywhere I go
Nave Lev Ran
There’s a certain degree of street cred that goes along with the vehicle. It even has Lev Ran’s son stamp of approval. “I dropped him off at school one day and there was a teacher stood outside who said: ‘What a cool car.’ Ever since, my son has asked me to take him in it.”
To the layperson, a UAZ Hunter might seem like an odd choice, but Lev Ran has long admired the car from afar. He never thought he’d get a chance to drive one, let alone own it.
Road less travelled
Growing up on a farm, Lev Ran has been around off-road vehicles his entire life. From World War-era Willys Jeeps to Suzuki motorbikes, he has a deep-seated attraction to the art of getting off-the-beaten-track motors.
“Learning to drive an off-road vehicle properly is a joy and this [UAZ Hunter] is fun,” Lev Ran says. “It takes me back to my teens and 20s.
“It’s not like the new cars with automatic transmissions with all the gadgets that can help; you really need to know what you are doing.”
It wasn’t exactly love at first sight, though. This 2017 UAZ Hunter had been sat for a long time and a lot of the parts had seized up. It was rough around the edges and needed a lot of TLC to bring it back into working condition. It was only when Lev Ran got into kite surfing that he began to use it more to shift his equipment around. Since then, it’s become his everyday car.
Old-school charm
With a modest 130bhp under the hood, there’s little danger of setting off any speed cameras while driving from A to B. It struggles with the heat during the summer months, too, as the air conditioning isn’t built for the harsh UAE sun. But it really comes into its own when it goes off-road, which is remarkable considering how old-fashioned it seems.
The manufacturing process of the UAZ Hunter has remained largely the same since it was first made in the former Soviet Union. Only a fuel-injected engine and new front disc brake system separate the 2017 model from its archaic predecessors. It has the same five-speed gearbox, low-high gears, and no diff-lock set-up to help 4x4s get out of tricky situations. It’s what we can safely say is an old-school off-roader.
Present-day 4x4s are built for supreme comfort, like executive suites on wheels, and they share more characteristics with luxury yachts. They can, technically, hit the dunes if you want to, but you see more of them in the parking bays at your local mall than you would scrambling through the desert.
The UAZ Hunter, with its no-nonsense approach, thrives on and off the asphalt. “The school-run traffic can be hectic, so I use a route that takes me off-road sometimes,” explains Lev Ran. “I’ve seen other modern 4x4s get stuck in the sand when trying to follow the same path. Newer cars don’t have the same capabilities.”
Although only a handful of UAZ Hunters are in the country, finding parts is straightforward. Unlike many imported vehicles, it shares many components with big Japanese brands, so the car is easy to fix.
But is there anything that Lev Ran would change about his unfancied rarity? “I wouldn’t change the shape of it, but a stronger clutch and engine would be nice,” he says with a laugh.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
FIXTURES
Thu Mar 15 – West Indies v Afghanistan, UAE v Scotland
Fri Mar 16 – Ireland v Zimbabwe
Sun Mar 18 – Ireland v Scotland
Mon Mar 19 – West Indies v Zimbabwe
Tue Mar 20 – UAE v Afghanistan
Wed Mar 21 – West Indies v Scotland
Thu Mar 22 – UAE v Zimbabwe
Fri Mar 23 – Ireland v Afghanistan
The top two teams qualify for the World Cup
Classification matches
The top-placed side out of Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong or Nepal will be granted one-day international status. UAE and Scotland have already won ODI status, having qualified for the Super Six.
Thu Mar 15 – Netherlands v Hong Kong, PNG v Nepal
Sat Mar 17 – 7th-8th place playoff, 9th-10th place playoff
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
Results
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group 1 (PA) US$75,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Ziyadd, Richard Mullen (jockey), Jean de Roualle (trainer).
7.05pm: Al Rashidiya Group 2 (TB) $250,000 (Turf) 1,800m
Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
7.40pm: Meydan Cup Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,810m
Winner: Secret Advisor, Tadhg O’Shea, Charlie Appleby.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Plata O Plomo, Carlos Lopez, Susanne Berneklint.
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3EName%3A%20Tabby%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%20August%202019%3B%20platform%20went%20live%20in%20February%202020%3Cbr%3EFounder%2FCEO%3A%20Hosam%20Arab%2C%20co-founder%3A%20Daniil%20Barkalov%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Payments%3Cbr%3ESize%3A%2040-50%20employees%3Cbr%3EStage%3A%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3EInvestors%3A%20Arbor%20Ventures%2C%20Mubadala%20Capital%2C%20Wamda%20Capital%2C%20STV%2C%20Raed%20Ventures%2C%20Global%20Founders%20Capital%2C%20JIMCO%2C%20Global%20Ventures%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Outliers%20VC%2C%20MSA%20Capital%2C%20HOF%20and%20AB%20Accelerator.%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
