7:45 am, February 24, 2023
I first heard about this drive-a-vehicle-to-Ukraine malarky by listening to the Car Dealer Podcast Episode 88, with Steve Dhesi of Wetherby, Yorkshire-based SUV Prestige.
His apparently spontaneous, ‘live-on-air’ donation of a Mitsubishi L200 coincided with some research I was doing on the used car market, which also led me to sell a one-year-old Yaris Cross Hybrid (the one that everyone apparently wants right now).
My thinking went something like this.
Here was a one-off chance to sell this car almost at list price despite having had it for 14 months and 13k miles. So I did it, and instead of spending the money on a succession of £2k bangers for myself, I decided to put the money into something meaningful – a car for Ukraine.
I found a wonderful 05-plate Ford Ranger Wildtrak, just 109k miles, victim of London’s ULEZ and mine for £3,500 in a private sale.
Admittedly it was a shed inside, the paint had faded and it had even been scoured with a brillo by someone, plus there were dents. Lots of dents. But in my eyes, this enhanced it.
My next step was calling Harry Leighton, marketing boss for SUV Prestige, and after a flurry of WhatsApps and an enterprising spider’s web of volunteer inputs, suddenly one bright day we were five trucks at McDonald’s Calais in February, 2023, ready to head to Ukraine.
And I have to say it was marvellous. I mean, this was a striking example of civil society rising to a challenge – grass roots at its finest.
But far more importantly, I had checked out of what must be one of the worst hotels in England, the Grand Burstin, Folkestone, and brewed up a coffee on the tailgate of my Ranger, by now crammed with disinfectant wet wipes and stickered up with Union Jacks and Ukrainian tridents.
I met the group. An Irish farmer, an English farmer, a Scot, a property developer, the SUV Prestige team of four, all from Yorkshire. Brilliant people.
When our convoy threaded its way out of Calais and we hit the motorway towards Belgium, I was in a state of euphoria.
And then, as the miles rolled by and my coffee abated, I settled into what was to be a very long road trip of Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany.
We did have a mishap on Day 3, though.
A suspected steering column seizure caused one of the trucks to slew left, collecting a Polish Navara exiting a toll booth. That put a two-hour delay into an already big day as we crossed Poland, and meant that we reached the Ukrainian border much later than anticipated.
As you get closer to Ukraine the traffic simply evaporates. It was eerie, it was dark, and it was snowing, oh and it was minus lots of degrees. There were no cars on the motorway in either direction, just for our trucks, now down to four.
I was fully expecting the border crossing to be underwhelming, despite a frenzy of worry about going ‘into a war zone’.
Ukraine is three times the size of the UK and the very extreme west, where we were, is a far cry from the Donbas where the fighting is raging. Having said that, a missile hit Lviv last week.
But the border crossing was memorable.
There was a juggle of paperwork and V5 photocopying by gun toting border guards, but before long we were in. No more Poland, this was now Ukraine.
We engaged our four wheel drive to tackle the snow and compacted ice, and before long it was no longer a motorway, but a road densely flanked by towering trees that loomed in the darkness, covered in fresh snow. I took it all in, despite having been on the road for about 14 hours.
Oh, and we weren’t insured, which should be fairly self-explanatory. You try calling up Direct Line and saying ‘will you cover me for a drive in Ukraine’. You can guess how that goes…
We passed a military checkpoint, but were waved through despite being close to the midnight curfew. The soldiers manning it with the help of a flame-flickering brazier had been told by the border guard that we were coming.
The next morning we met Ivan Oleksii – the man James Baggott spoke to in the video above that started all this – he’s one of the founders of Car4Ukraine.com and had driven a long way to meet us.
He led all the drivers and trucks from our hotel to a secret workshop location where ordinary Ukrainians have foregone salaries to work around the clock modifying donated vehicles with armour plating ready for the frontline.
We were shown how the door cards are removed and large plates of 10mm steel plate are inserted and welded into place.
Similar protection is placed over part of each window, over the grill in slats and inside the engine compartment to protect the air intake, engine block, battery and radiator.
Leaving the Ranger behind as work commenced on it immediately, we were then taken to a second location where trucks are painted army green and fitted with different configurations of gun turret before final transit to the frontline.
Patrick McIntyre, an Irishman who has made this trip many times in recent months and is renowned for his efforts, told me that when they go into service, the trucks can last anything between two hours and several months. But the ‘average life is three weeks’.
That sounds brutal until you realise that in one situation it is claimed that ground-to-air missiles mounted on a truck worth £4,000 brought down two Russian helicopters worth millions.
The other striking element of the trip, and Car4Ukraine, is how efficient the operation is.
Another driver, Roger Lord from Gretna Green, said: ‘This whole thing is an example of civil society acting rapidly to fill an urgent need.
‘We almost totally circumvented politics and bureaucracy and delivered the trucks in three days flat.
‘They are then expected to be on the frontline within two to three weeks. It’s an outstanding example of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.’
Nazar Kravchuck, said that the workshop mechanics get burned out from working non-stop in sub-zero temperatures.
‘They then take a break by delivering one of the trucks to the frontline,’ he told me.
This is a gruelling drive from western Ukraine to either Kyiv or one of the active fronts in the south and east of a country that dwarfs the UK.
Many of the roads are in poor condition and currently ice-bound, but that’s better than the mud that will follow and the reason why my Ranger went out with Goodrich Mud-Terrains fitted on the front axle and, care of the last owner, new HiFly Vigorous’ on the rear.
Budget tyres they maybe, but sporting a very aggressive tread pattern, they drew admiring glances from the mechanics because they’ll do the job.
Kravchuck added: ‘80 per cent of all military movements are conducted in these types of vehicles. The primary demand, and it is huge, is for pick-up trucks but we will also take SUVs for fast extraction situations, as long as they are 4×4 and diesel.’
The British trucks donated on this occasion were three Mitsubishi L200s, one Ford Ranger and one Toyota Hilux.
Other contenders are the Nissan Navarra and the Isuzu D-Max.
They don’t want any JLR models, but there is a strong parts supply chain for American Jeeps, and there was a Polish-plated Jeep Patriot in the workshop when we arrived.
The mechanics reported that the Hilux is the most sought-after truck but everyone acknowledges that the pricing has become a bit silly. They’ve all seen the Top Gear episode with the wrecking ball dropped on the Hilux. Who hasn’t.
The Ford Ranger is the easiest to work on because it has bags of space under the bonnet, and for armour, while the Mitsubishi is good in the field being a bit lighter, and probably the all-round best value used buy, to go by the numbers at least.
Kerb weight is all relative when you have added 300kg of steel plate. Even closing a door becomes an event. Yet these vehicles can cope. They all have a payload of a tonne or more so can easily cope with armour where an ordinary car would be crippled.
Ivan has always appealed for donor vehicles that are crew cab, diesel, from 2004 onwards and preferably manual transmission but can be autos. They are all 4×4.
There’s an extra tactical twist resulting in a premium being placed on British, right-hand drive vehicles. Ukraine is a left-hand drive market so a British truck might confuse a Russian shooter.
Some of the trucks are being crowdfunded by Ukrainians who on average have a lot less money than Brits.
Harry Leighton, from SUV Prestige, told me: ‘This was a very meaningful trip for all of us. People don’t realise how lucky they are in the UK.
‘We might have cost pressures but Ukrainians are fighting for their lives, their country having been invaded illegally by Russia.’
Scot John McKenna, who has also made numerous donor trips to Ukraine, wrote later on our WhatsApp: ‘It’s amazing how people who never met before and from different parts, come together and show support and incredible generosity to others, how bonds are formed and assistance is offered without being asked.
‘Amazing people. Humanity is still alive and well – I’m proud to be one of you.’
For me, I’d say that the trip was a classic case of gaining a new perspective.
For all the doom and gloom of 2023, whether it’s climate change or the price of a pint going through the roof, or dismal behaviour by politicians, this adventure gave me a higher purpose and got the good energy going.
Now, and recognising the one-year mark for this illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia (Feb 24, 2022), I just hope the war is quickly concluded and Putin comes to his senses, because whatever it means to us, and if the penny hasn’t dropped yet this is about basic freedoms and borders and the menace of Russia-backed-by-China, the reality is that the war is an appalling waste of life and resource that should instead be going on other, more pressing needs.
But it’s not over yet and Ukraine needs our urgent support. I’m already scouting the next truck, God bless that Yaris Cross and its gold-plated residuals. If you know of one, or have one, contact me via the Car Dealer team using the email button below.
For more information see www.Car4Ukraine.com and if you can help email [email protected].
Car Dealer Live – the future of the car dealer – exclusive conference features talks from leading car dealers, Google and Auto Trader among much more. Find out the full event details and book tickets.
