[ad_1]
Gareth Herincx brings this large family SUV with a strenuous 800 mile test of some on the best roads in the world …
Not a lot of people know that Morocco is only 8.9 miles off the coast of Spain on a very short time. In fact, you can see Spain from Tangier on a clear day.
About 1.8 -larger than the United Kingdom and is a country with dizzying diversity, complex layers of history, epic landscapes and old cities.
I belonged to a group of only eight journalists who were selected to take part in Morocco on the ‘Mazda Epic Drive’. The goals in the past included Iceland, Türkiye, the Arctic circle and Kazakhstan.
Our trip began in Marrakesh, which is about three and a half hours from London Heathrow. Also known as “Red City” (many of its buildings and ramparts use sound that are infused with a natural red ocher pigment), is the Jemaa el FNA, a huge open spaces that play hosts for Food Stalls Abd -EnterTainer.
Souks sells everything from leather goods to spices, mainly in a labyrinth of narrow streets.
The first day of our trip led us from the city and through the high Atlas Mountains down into the Sahara level, before we bend northwest towards Ouarzazate and a remote Ecolodge for the night.
The demanding nine-hour drive through the dramatic landscape on the R203 and in the renowned Tizi N’test-a High Mountain Pass about 2,100 meters above sea level.
We have adopted sufficient evidence of the devastation, which was caused by the earthquake of 6.8 magnitude last year, the entire villages all over the Morocco. Families who still live in tents and other temporary accommodations collapse, buildings, rocks and ruined roads that are covered with rubble have interrupted our journey.
Not for the faint of heart that revealed the Tizizi test how capable the Mazda CX-60 is when it becomes difficult. Praise in a region in which the Toyota Landcruiser seemed to be the 4 × 4 contact point.
The road surface was only loose stones. In some places there was hardly enough space to spend two vehicles with a bare drop on one side.
Our CX-60 was falsified with street tires and still had a lot of traction on the poor surfaces. Fortunately, it was also equipped with Mazda’s newly developed I-ACTIV all-wheel drive system that prioritizes the rear wheel drive for handling and stability and can, however, transfer up to 50% of its power supply to the front wheels if it is necessary under slippery conditions.
In addition, it works together with the MI-Drive-Select system of the CX-60, which offers drive modes for a variety of driving scenarios.
In addition to the everyday normal mode and the increased responsiveness of sport, there are also off-road and towing options.
We made a coffee in the La Belle Vue restaurant, which is high up on a Tizi N’test Hairpin Bend, and has a breathtaking view of the mountain.
The route then goes towards the Sahara desert, where the area is gradually dry and wide in front of them. For a large part of this section of the trip, it was only miles and miles from Gerader Straße, between nothing but sand and rocks.
In addition, we drove through cities and villages and occasionally passed oasis, switched to the N10 (National Route 10) directly behind Tajgalt and Tafingoult.
We then switched off the N10 to the P1743 before we went to Ouarzazate near Tissint near Tissint – also known as the “door of the desert”.
After a night in a Berber tent in the Ecolodge Ouedoujoum, which is hidden in a remote canyon about 12 miles south of the city, we make our way after another route -Highlight -the Dadès gorge.
A series of separate gorges, which were carved out by the passage of the Daden River, is reached via a street that is known locally as a street of a thousand Kasbahs. On the way we discovered camels, sheep, goats and a massive stork nest, high above us in a chimney.
We stopped in the panorama dades hotel to achieve a coffee and we had his breathtaking view of the Dadès Valley.
Then it was in the Dadès Gorge Self-an astonishing street that culminated in the famous switchbacks that were best looked from the Café-Restaurant Timzzillite Chez Mohamed.
We had also recommended to be on the street in Tamlalt during a rock formation as a monkey finger. As the name suggests, the rocks look like the digits of a monkey.
We then went back to Ouarzazate, which has become the center of the film industry in Morocco. If you bring the N9 back to Marrakesh, you will pass the studios in which films such as Gladiator, Prince of Persia and The Mama and scenes of Game of Thrones were shot.
The N9 is the main street, which crosses the high atlas between the two cities and crosses about halfway on the 2,260 meter Tizi-N-Tichka pass.
Another roller coaster ride on a street that gave the CX-60 the chance to stretch its legs. Equipped with Mazda’s smooth new E-Skyactiv D Diesel engine, it offers lower emissions, improved fuel efficiency and a high torque content.
The large 3.3-liter straight-Six is combined with a 48 V mild hybrid system, with which the engine can increase efficiency and improve the coast. It presses out a decent 251 hp, is largely strong and refined. For the recording, it can be able in 7.4 seconds with 0-62 miles per hour, fuel consumption of up to 54.3 MPG, while the CO2 emissions are a decent 137 g/km.
Again the CX-60 was good for the job. The appearance of Slow Trucks is not an unusual experience, so quick overtaking maneuvers are a necessity. As soon as you have automatically got used to the initial hesitation of the eight gear, there is an impressive kickdown, while smoother sections of the N9 were a sophisticated cruise.
The road is becoming more bustling, the closer you get to Marrakech and nothing less than chaotic in the city center.
After a second nine-hour day of driving together, there is no doubt that our epic Morocco-Drive was an unforgettable experience.
Now I want to do everything again, but spread it over a week so that more time to stop, the sights and immersion in this multifaceted gate to Africa.
Mazda UK
[ad_2]