Women who dare the fuel guzzlers

By Harold Ayodo

She climbs into her Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) and puts on designer sunglasses before turning on the ignition.

Patricia Wanjiru, 39, drives through the Elgeyo Marakwet Road in Nairobi’s upmarket Kilimani area before getting onto Ngong Road. It is just after 7.30am on a Tuesday.

For Maureen Olero, 35, an Information Technology expert, even her navy blue BMW with the latest registration number plate, lifts eyebrows.

"The attention I draw while driving from home to Mombasa Road into Lang’ata Road is different from when I had a Vitz," Olero says.

She says men who own lesser or similar cars either bully, wink or nod in appreciation especially on traffic jams.

"There are men who roll down their windows and say ‘nice car’ before smiling and driving away while rude ones obstruct you," she says.

Interestingly, she does not draw attention or raise eyebrows when her husband drives the car while seated next to him.

Dream car

"I think there is still a mentality that women should only own cars with smaller fuel tanks," she says.

Like Wanjiru, Olero says she took advantage of car loans advanced by her employer to buy the car of her dreams.

"Society has changed and women are free to express their tastes when it comes to cars," Olero says.

Wanjiru used to drive a Passat before Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta ordered Cabinet Ministers to exchange their Mercedes Benz for them.

"I resolved to change from a Passat to a Range Rover Sports, and I am now used to the doubting Thomases," she says.

Lucy Macharia, 39, an architect, says even sales executives at car marts in Nairobi don’t take women seriously when they are sampling cars to buy.

"A salesman at a bazaar on Lang’ata Road preferred to attend to a male customer who came after me and enquired about the same Subaru Forester I wanted," Macharia says. "Other women receive the same treatment unless they are accompanied by their spouses or a well-dressed man," Macharia says.

Macharia owns a sleek, second-hand Mercedes Benz that does not only raise eyebrows on the road but has forced her to get into altercations with city council employees.

"I have had a series of face-offs with council mandarins attempting to tow my car without clear reasons even after paying parking fees," Macharia says.

Female owners of fuel guzzlers advice women about to join them to be ready for the harsh realities even as they enjoy the comfort of their cars.

"It is not easy at first and there will be times when the intimidation, bullying and road rages will make you think of leaving your car at home, but don’t give up," Wanjiru says.

Mutiso says some of her friends have opted to maintain their small cars despite promotions at work and decided to invest in real estate or trade in stocks.

"Not all women with means enjoy being told they slept their way to the showroom to buy a good car. It takes more than confidence to hit the road in your guzzler," she says.

The women wish people would recognise their education and hard work as the core reasons for their succeess and for venturing into the ‘preserves’ of men.

Promotions

Mutiso says owning a car should not be an issue as more women are enrolling for post-graduate courses and getting well paying jobs.

"Many women today have MBAs unlike before," she says, adding that most of her peers enrolled for evening classes before promotions came calling.

"An increasing number of women do not depend on their spouses for finances compared to days of our parents," Mutiso says.