4x4 May 2018

4x4

NEWS • PRODUCTS • TRAIL GUIDES • WORKSHOP • CALENDAR • OFF-ROAD SCENE DRIVEN: Skoda Karoq in real winter weather

THE UK’S ONLY 4X4 AND PICK- UP MAGAZINE

The Best Ranger?

When the basic 2.2 TDCi is this good, do you really need to bother with a 3.2-litre high-speccer at all?

How this Shogun was turned into a supercharged V8 animal

4x4 Cover May AK WITH SARAH.indd 1

Trail Guides: • Cotswolds • NE Powys • South Devon • Yorkshire Dales Every month – unique route books on Britain’s rights of way

£4.75

MAY 2018

The history of the first ever Dakar-bred Range Rover 14/03/2018 13:30

WHAT MUD WAS MADE FOR.

THE ALL-NEW XV. It looks great clean, but that

doesn’t matter. What matters is that its always-on Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system can handle all weather and any terrain. Which is also why it’s not clean.

(BETTER where it MATTERS) Find out more at subaru.co.uk SUBARU XV RANGE Fuel consumption in MPG (l/100km): Urban 32.5-35.8; Extra Urban 48.7-50.4; Combined 40.9-44.1. CO2 Emissions 155-145g/km.

MPG figures are official EU test figures for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results.

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22/02/2018 12:04

ROOF RACK

SPOT LIGHTS

WIND DEFLECTORS

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RAISED AIR INTAKE

DOOR STYLING

ROCK SLIDERS

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HUGE RANGE OF PARTS AND ACCESSORIES

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ON MOPAR® PRODUCTS

55249868 Spark plug For 1.4l petrol engines

Our current most popular selling items 68103969AA Oil filter For diesel engines

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TF4250 Black handle bowls kit Plus many other styling products

TF4220 Roof bars For increased load capacity

TF4160 Loadspace liner Protects / traps water, snow, mud

TF4206 Side steps Functional and stylish

TF388 Raised air intake Exclusive to BeRenegade

TF709 65W LED spot light kit Super bright, long-life (inc. wiring)

TF4225 Rack, basket and bars Includes 4 front spot mounts

TF4480 Alloy underbody guard 6mm easy fit, no drilling required

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May 2018

THIS MONTH 52

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2-3 Contents Apr.indd 2

29/03/2018 11:58

80 12 ISSUES OF 4X4 – FOR JUST £12!

This has got to be the best value offer in the history of publishing… subscribe to 4x4 for a year and it’ll only cost a quid an issue!

News 10 11 12 14 15 16 18 20

10

Toyota Land Cruiser Utility model set to storm off-road market Lexus UX Compact SUV will expand range still farther Mitsubishi L200 Eye-catching looks for latest SVP model Ssangyong Musso Rexton-based pick-up here this summer Cupra Ateca 295bhp for performance SUV Jaguar I-Pace All-electric 4x4 on sale now VW Touareg Third-generation model will be classier than ever Range Rover Sport SVR Record run on Chinese mountain

Tested / First Drives 22 26

Ford Ranger Mid-spec 2.2 TDCi model could be pick of the range VW Tiguan Allspace Seven seats add yet more flexibility

Every Month 4 6 34 112

Alan Kidd Toyota has played a blinder with the new Land Cruiser Gallery Land Cruisers doing their thing around the world Products Some exceptionally cool kit for your truck and workshop Next Month Coming up in 4x4 magazine

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66

Features 28 44 52 62 66

Skodas in the Arctic New Karoq tested in a proper winter Easter Safari Jeeps Seven sensational concept trucks from Moab Mega V8 Shogun Great off-road – and the ultimate street sleeper Original ultra-Rangey V8 tuning maestro John Eales’ own car Lake District Terror Laning a £100k G-Class. Don’t scratch it…

28

Our 4x4s 74 76 78

Skoda Kodiaq Seven-seat family adventure wagon joins our fleet SsangYong Korando Our budget SUV takes on the Beast…

Land Rover 90 Rustproofing: always a good idea

Off-Road Scene 82 83 84 86

East Riding Volunteers repair green lane damaged by HGV use Kiln Bent Road Epic Yorkshire lane is open again at last Bonkas 4x4 Off-road club rallies round to help wildlife charity Charity LR Run Places still available on cross-Channel classic

Off-Road Calendar 83 87 88

44

UK Convoy Tours Tag-along runs on public rights of way Pay-and-Play Events Go in as hard as you want Overland Travel Long-range adventures in your 4x4

Green Lane Guides 94 98 102 106

South Gloucestershire Rural rides in the picturesque Cotswolds Yorkshire Dales Epic lanes with views that go on forever South Devon The perfect way to escape the holiday hordes Southern Gwynedd Legendary trails amid mountainous forests

66 ‘You’re never more than a few inches away from bedrock around here…’

4x4 2-3 Contents Apr.indd 3

MAY 2018 | 3

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Alan Kidd Editor

F

or as long as I’ve been writing about 4x4s, people have been wishing Toyota would do a proper job of importing the Land Cruiser to Britain. I got into the business at a time when the 80-Series was unequivocally the best off-roader money could buy, but even then it was an expensive luxury vehicle – despite the worldclass off-road engineering underneath all the leather.

It’s been the same ever since. There was a lower-spec version of the 120-Series model that came out in 2002, called the LC2, but the Land Cruiser has very much been presented as a premium vehicle – largely keeping it out of the hands of people looking for an off-road workhorse.

With Land Rover no longer making the Defender, and prices for the Jeep Wrangler reflecting the fact that demand continues to gallop ahead of supply, those people are quickly getting to the point where there’s nothing left for them. Refurbishing old Defenders is popular, but after a monumental amount of work and/or outlay what you have is still a truck which, for all its undoubted charisma, still dates from an era long in the past.

We’re all excited about INEOS Automotive’s plan to build a spiritual successor to the basic old Defender, of course. But this is still some years away, and the company says it’s likely to start at about £40,000. Then there’s the Bollinger B1, an all-electric utility truck which, if it comes to Britain, is likely to cost half as much again. And as for the new MercedesBenz G-Class…

Make no mistake, there’s a whole lot of outstanding off-road engineering due on to the market in the near future. But it worries me that so much of it is going to be priced far out of the hands of the everyday buyer who just wants a good, honest truck. Sources very close to Land Rover say the new Defender will be positioned as a premium vehicle, with the prices to match. And now Jeep knows it can sell Wranglers for BMW 5 Series money and people will still gobble them up, why on earth would it do so for less when the new JL model comes to Britain?

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The spiritual successor to the Defender is a Toyota That’s why so many people have turned to pick-up trucks, in particular the Ford Ranger. But while pick-ups are excellent at many things, they’re big and unwieldy in tight situations, with over-long wheelbases and big rear overhangs that are very vulnerable over extreme terrain. I’ve watched some of the very best (and most expensive) modified double-cabs struggle, damage themselves and get stuck over terrain which was then taken at a stroll by standard three-door 90s and Wranglers. If you want to do a proper job of it, make no mistake, small, short and light is still very much the way to go.

Which brings us back to Toyota. As the price of off-road vehicles shoots up all around it, the Land Cruiser has just been facelifted. And the big news is that you can now get a Utility model shorn of all the fancy kit and set up squarely for off-road work – at a price which undercuts more or less everything on the market.

Yes, the Land Cruiser is now the cheap option.You can still get high-spec ones, of course, but what excites me is that at last, you can buy a short-wheelbase work truck at a price that makes sense. They’re even doing a van version, and with the VAT back that means a price in the mid-£20,000s.

The Land Cruiser Utility reminds me a lot of the old Nissan Patrol S, in that it does have the essentials but leaves out the full-on luxuries. I had a Patrol S for many years, and it was a wonderful old thing – and I fully expect the Cruiser to be every bit as good.

The Wrangler is a very fine vehicle, but this new version of the Land Cruiser has filled a big hole in the 4x4 market. If you’re searching for the spiritual successor to the Defender, it’s a Toyota.

Tel: 01283 553243 Email: enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk Web: www.totaloffroad.co.uk www.4x4i.com Online Shop: www.toronline.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/totaloffroad www.facebook.com/4x4Mag Editor Alan Kidd Assistant Editor George Dove Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Mike Trott, Gary Noskill, Paul Looe, Dan Fenn Photographers Harry Hamm,Vic Peel, Richard Hair, Steve Taylor Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244 Advertising Sales Manager Peter Topley Tel: 01283 553245 Advertising Production Sarah Kidd Tel: 01283 553242 Subscriptions Manager Catherine Martin Subscriptions Assistants Emma Emery, Kay Tunnicliffe, Abi Dutton Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Kidd Email: sarah.kidd@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to 4x4 incorporating Total Off-Road, or renew your subscription, call 01283 742970. Current prices for 12 issues: UK £42 (24 issues £76); Europe Airmail/ ROW Surface £54; ROW Airmail £78 Distributed by Marketforce; www.marketforce.co.uk Every effort is made to ensure the contents of 4x4 are accurate, but Assignment Media accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these. When responding to any advert in 4x4, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred from responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC BY 2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org 4x4 is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House G11, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby, Derbyshire DE15 0YZ

© Assignment Media Ltd, 2018

4x4 29/03/2018 10:52

Bowler Motorsport Accessories Add that extra special touch to your Defender

Lightweight Steering Guards Used in the Defender Challenge, the lightweight steering guard will offer protection to steering arms and linkages, but also offers access for maintenance. It uses existing mounting points and comes with 2 x red towing eyes for recovery work.

Lightweight Sill Protectors Made from lightweight aluminium and available in black and graphite, these sill protectors are used in the Defender Challenge. Supplied with a fitting kit, they bolt onto existing mounting points and do not require welding.

Compatible with XS side steps.

Lightweight Front Bumpers – Road & Race Both lightweight and high strength, the aluminium bumpers are handmade at Bowler. They use the existing bumper mounting points and are available in black and graphite. Note - Excludes spotlights shown.

A selection of great looking, high quality accessories from Bowler Motorsport.

Bowler is a market leader in the production of racing and high performance all terrain vehicles, and has been since 1985. Based in Derbyshire in the UK, they use both technology and craftsmanship to deliver vehicles and accessories with style, strength, performance and an unrivalled spirit of adventure.

Spectre’ Wheel Arches Produced in the UK and inspired by the JLR Special Vehicles produced Defenders for the film Spectre, these arches are identical in terms of size and shape, are finished in gloss black and come complete with fitting templates.

16” & 18” Lightweight Wheels Made in the UK exclusively for Bowler, these lightweight, high strength wheels are TÜV tested and are used in the Defender Challenge. They have a manufacturers guarantee and are used extensively in motorsport.

Maximum load rating 1,250kg. Black & anthracite available.

Rear Step Bumpers Designed to be practical, robust and stylish, this is the Bowler version of the popular NAS rear bumper. Available in black and graphite. The original tow bar and electrics are kept in the same place, and the step, with durable rear treads, conveniently attaches to the rear cross member.

Find more images and part numbers online at www.britpart.com/bowler

GALLERY In pictures: 4x4s and off-road action from around the world. This month, when all’s said and done it’s all about the legend that is the Land Cruiser

Above: A 200-Series powering up a sand dune in Dubai – this has got to be one of the most iconic images in the entire world of off-roading Desert Safari!, by Oiva Eskola @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Left: Even in the parched climate of the Middle East, 40-Series Land Cruisers are capable of rusting. No wonder so few of them survive in Britain without serious care…

Dr._Colleen_Morgan @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Below left: No gallery of 4x4 adventure pics from around the world would be complete without one from the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia. This one’s a bit different to the traditional salt-flat shot, though – apart, obviously, from the fact that there’s a Land Cruiser in it vincentraal @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Below: ’Turns out Toyota has a monopoly on the 4x4 tourist-mobile market,’ is the pithy observation here.

It’s not the case everywhere in the world, but sure enough we’re back at Uyuni… and sure enough, it’s yet another 80-Series Land Cruiser, by Reuben Strayer @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Above left: In Australia, you often see Land Cruisers with absolutely enormous roo bars attached to them. This, however, is more of an absolutely enormous roo bar with a Land Cruiser attached to it

Toyota Landcruiser LX, by FotoSleuth @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Above right: Another lovely looking Aussie 40-Series, another roo bar you could use to anchor the Ark Royal. This is the very definition of a work truck – just as a classic Cruiser should be

Classy Toyota Landcruiser Ute - Brisbane, by brewbooks @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Right, above: A vehicle as heavy as a 100-Series, sunk this deep in wet sand… that’s going to take some recovering. Two other trucks lashed together didn’t move it, so it won’t come as a great surprise that in the end, it was a job for a tractor. And, if the driver had his wits about him, a very, very long session with a hose Some Danish beaches have quicksand!, by John Nuttall @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Right, below: If you spotted this on the street, you might not even realise it was a Land Cruiser at all. The FJ55 is a real rarity – and judging by the state of this one, it’s going to be getting rarer still Toyota Landcruiser, by dave_7 @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Below: This is how they get vehicles across water in Madagascar. It gives a whole new meaning to the idea of a roll-on, roll-off ferry, but they people on board look pretty chilled. Still, if this was your own Land Cruiser, you’d kind of die a thousand deaths watching this. Good to see that the snorkel top is turned round to keep it from sucking in spray, though…

Car Ferry, by Rod Waddington @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

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GALLERY

Above: Somewhere in Africa, the unsurprising news is that it was a Land Cruiser that turned up to rescue the driver of this old Dutch-registered Merc estate. Somewhat more surprising is the news that he thought it would be alright to pilot it into this position in the first place The Land Cruiser was there to tow, by Jurgen @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Left, above: This doesn’t look like a good place to have a bonnet-up moment. But you know what they say about choosing a vehicle in which to go exploring: ‘if you want to come home again, drive a Toyota’ White desert near to Baharia, Egypt, by neiljs @ flickr.com CC BY 2.0

Left: There’s an old myth that for more than half the world’s population, the first vehicle they ever set eyes on is a Land Rover. We wouldn’t mind better that if such a stat can be true for anything, it’s going to have a Toyota badge on its bonnet. This 120-Series is outside the Hotel Tomboctou – which, naturally, isn’t in Tomboctou, or even in Mali at all, but in the Moroccan town of Tinerhir The Hotel Tomboctou, Tinerhir, by Joni 1973 @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Left, below: Beautiful… they get old, they get battered, but they never give up. This was taken in 2008 in Washington’s Rainer Valley, but it could be almost anywhere in the world Ben Tesch @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Below: Not many things dwarf a Troopie. But two things that do are a man-sized termite mound and the landscape of Northern Australia, in this case the parched red semi-desert of Kakadu National Park 4WD and termite mound, by Steve @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

8 | APRIL 2018

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FORD RANGER INTEGRATION KIT

DISCOVERY 4 INTEGRATION KIT

VW AMAROK INTEGRATION KIT

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4x4 NEWS

WORK-SPEC LAND CRUISERS SET TO TAKE OVER THE UK

Utility and Commercial models • From £26,636 plus VAT

T

oyota’s recently facelifted Land Cruiser is to be brought to the UK in Commercial form. The van-bodied version of the current 150-Series vehicle will be available in short and longwheelbase form, with a base-spec equipment level similar to that of the Utility model now being brought to Britain as an entry point into the passenger-carrying Land Cruiser range.

The Land Cruiser Commercial will be unveiled officially at the NEC’s Commercial Vehicle Show in April, and it’s not yet included in Toyota’s UK price list. However

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information from car market analyst JATO Dynamics indicates that it will cost £26,636.67 in SWB form and £27,599 for the LWB model, in each case before VAT. On the road prices including VAT will be £32,995 and £34,150 respectively.

An equipment list for the Commercial model is yet to be released, however Toyota’s prelaunch images show it with roof rails, a mesh cargo guard and the same 17” steel wheels as the Utility. This model in turn marks a dramatic new direction for the Land Cruiser by offering a choice of work-orientated vehicles in addition to the usual high-spec models.

While it is shorn of equipment in comparison to the rest of the range, the Utility stops short of being completely stripped out. As well as the roof rails mentioned above, it comes with cruise control, air-conditioning, front fogs, dusk-sensing headlamps, smart entry, push-button start and a six-speaker stereo with CD player, Bluetooth and aux and USB ports.

All passenger-carrying models are five-seaters, whether with three or five doors, and this is the only model in the Land Cruiser range to be available with a manual gearbox.

Prices for the Utility are £32,795 (three-door), £34,095 (five-door)

and £35,795 (five-door auto).

Thus the vehicle undercuts the current Jeep Wrangler, which is its closest competitor in the present 4x4 market, and costs usefully less than the entry price INEOS Automotive has set as a target for the Grenadier off-roader currently in development.

With Land Rover reportedly preparing to pitch the nextgeneration Defender as a premium product rather than a working vehicle, that leaves the Land Cruiser looking like the most affordable option in the long-term for buyers seeking a true off-road vehicle large enough for typical

4x4 29/03/2018 00:14

4x4 NEWS

Lexus has revealed the UX, a new compact SUV labelled as an ‘urban explorer’. Like the company’s other SUVs, this will be available in petrol-only and hybrid forms, with the latter being the one you need to go for if you want all-wheel drive.

Dubbed 250h, the hybrid model has a 2.0-litre engine driving the front wheels and an electric motor at the rear. Lexus’ latest electronic power steering is fitted, and suspension is by single struts and wishbones at the front and rear respectively.

Safety features on the vehicle will include a pre-collision system, lane assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic headlights, road sign assist and a pre-emptive parking brake. Inside, the seat leather is made using traditional Japanese quilting techniques and the dashboard has been inspired by the grain of Japanese paper.

The UX is yet to be confirmed for the UK, but is expected to go on sale here early next year. Prices are some way from being finalised – however it will need to compete with the BMW X1 and Mercedes GLA, which suggests 4x4 versions will cost in the low £30,000s.

SPECIALIST 4X4 VEHICLE DISMANTERS JEEP - LAND ROVER AND MOST MAKES AND MODELS QUALITY GUARANTEED USED PARTS SOME OF THE VEHICLES WE HAVE RECENTLY DISMANTLED:

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everyday life. A five-year warranty looks like reinforcing this – and there are many people in the 4x4 world who will argue that a Land Cruiser is the best vehicle you can buy at any price.

British buyers have long been denied the opportunity to choose a basic Land Cruiser, and some are sure to note that the vehicle’s introduction here comes at a time when the hole left by the end of Defender production in January 2016 is being filled mainly by double-cab pick-ups. With the Hilux now facing much stiffer competition in that market than it once did, particularly from the Ford Ranger,

and traditional off-road station wagons becoming increasingly expensive even in basic form, the case for a no-nonsense Cruiser is not hard to make.

With the once-buoyant market for 4x4 vans also now short of options, the introduction of the Commercial model looks to a great extent like a return to what many will see as the good old days.

Nissan struck gold with its Terrano van a decade and a half ago – and in today’s value-conscious market, these cut-price Land Cruisers look like an outstanding option for people wanting a vehicle with real off-road engineering

4x4 May News NEEDS AD FOR P11 PDFS DONE BAR 11.indd 11

2010 JEEP 2007 LAND ROVER CHEROKEE MK4 DISCOVERY 3 2.7 KK 2.8 CRD TDV6

2008 HONDA CRV 2.2 CDTI

2006 JEEP GRAND 2006 NISSAN CHEROKEE WK PATHFINDER 2.5 5.7 V8 HEMI DCI Charlton Recycled Auto Parts Vehicle Recycling Centre, Gravel Pit Hill, Thriplow, Cambridge, SG8 7HZ Tel 01223 832656 Email parts@charltonautoparts.co.uk PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHARLTONAUTOPARTS.CO.UK MAY 2018 | 11

29/03/2018 10:57

4x4 NEWS

EYE-CATCHING LOOK FOR LIMITED-RUN L200

SVP Barbarian II special-edition • 250 examples • From £29,830

Honda’s new CR-V will be available as a seven-seater, and with a hybrid powertrain. The European model, which still looks familiar despite its fresh styling, also offers a traditional petrol engine; either way, all four wheels are still driven. First deliveries are expected in the autumn, with hybrids coming next year.

M

itsubishi’s Special Vehicle Projects division has created its second take on the L200. The imaginatively named SVP Barbarian II is a special-edition model featuring a range of styling upgrades over the model on which it’s based.

From the outside, the vehicle be identifiable by the metallic orange detailing on its pearlescent Diamond Black or Atlantic Grey paintwork.

Custom orange 17” alloys with black highlights, along with extended wheelarches and an SVP grille, further differentiate it from other L200s.

The vehicle’s interior is also adorned with orange detailing, and each example will have its series production number embroidered into its headrests. Standard equipment includes an SDA infotainment system, rain-sensing wipers, Bluetooth, xenon headlamps, LED running lights, cruise control and reversing camera.

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Only 250 examples of the L200 SVP Barbarian II will be made, split 50:50 between each colour. The vehicle is available to order now with a choice of six-speed manual and five-speed automatic gearboxes, priced from £29,830.

4x4 29/03/2018 00:14

Extreme performance and durability on all surfaces

The General Tire X3 delivers outstanding off-road performance and superb road-going capabilities.

• Designed with an aggressive tread and sidewall pattern for enhanced traction in mud, dirt, sand, snow and gravel

• An efficient self-cleaning tread pattern • The complete range has a speed capability of a Q-rating (99mph) – highly unique for this pattern type

• Provides a 3-ply construction on all sizes* with a tough compound for durability and ultimate stability (DuraGen™ Technology) General Tire. A brand of Continental.

Visit our website for further technical information and details of your nearest 4X4 stockist

WWW.4SITE4X4TYRES.CO.UK | 0870 112 9401 TESTv2.indd 2

10/01/2018 15:43

4x4 NEWS

NEW MUSSO PICK-UP HERE THIS SUMMER

Five-year unlimited warranty • 2800kg trailer weight • Price TBA

S

sangYong’s Rexton won our 2018 4x4 of the Year title, and the company will soon introduce the Musso – a double-cab pick-up based on the same platform. The Korean marque’s rugged new pick-up boasts body-on-frame assembly and is powered by the same 2.2-litre diesel as its SUV sibling.

Developing 181bhp and 309lbf.ft, the latter from 1600rpm, the engine will be available with a choice of six-speed manual and automatic gearboxes, each mated to a parttime four-wheel drive transfer case with high and low range. Unlike the Rexton, which is independently sprung at the back on models with an automatic box, the Musso will

have a beam axle as standard across the board.

This will allow it to carry the requisite one-tonne payload, and to tow a braked trailer of up to 2800kg (3000kg on autos). The pick-up bed is sized to carry a Euro pallet, and houses 12V/120W power outlets plus rotating hooks to help when strapping down cargo.

Eight-point body mounts, rubber engine mounts and polyester wheelarch linings are in place to add sophistication to the vehicle, making the cabin quieter and more comfortable. Bluetooth and DAB radio are present across the range, while an 8” media screen, wi-fi and smartphone mirroring via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are available on higher spec models. Air-conditioning and electric windows are standard, too.

As with the rest of the SsangYong range, the Musso will be sold in the UK with a five-year unlimitedmileage warranty. Full specifications are yet to be announced, as are prices, however there will be a three-strong model range when sales begin this summer – and SsangYong promises that as before, pricing will be very competitive.

With an all-new Dacia Duster on the way, the Romanian manufacturer has updated the current model by adding a couple of new trim options.

The new Air spec has DAB, Bluetooth, air-con and electric front windows, and has a starting price of £10,995. Nav+, meanwhile, adds a 7� touchscreen multimedia system, rear parking sensors, 16” alloy wheels and rear electric windows. It also has a trip computer and a leather steering wheel.

The new models take the range of spec levels in the Duster range to seven – all of which are available with four-wheel drive. The engines you have available depend on the model you go for: lower-spec models are fitted exclusively with a 115bhp, 1.6-litre petrol unit, but as you move up the range your choice is between a 1.2-litre turbo with 125bhp and a 1.5-litre, 110bhp diesel.

Dacia dealers are taking orders for the new models now, with anticipated delivery times of just a few weeks after you sign on the line. Don’t forget, though, that the all-new Duster will be here during the summer – promising greater refinement and a much better interior without losing the bargain price tag for which the vehicle has become famous..

SsangYong’s e-SIV concept describes itself as an ‘electronic smart interface vehicle’. It aims to combine efficiency, driving capability and an advanced approach to connectivity, with many features operable from a mobile app.

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The new Polaris General 1000 ABS, which we tested in last month’s issue, is now available from the company’s dealers. The first Polaris vehicle to feature anti-lock brakes, it’s priced from £23,899.

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4x4 NEWS

Nissan has added the new Platinum Edition SV to its X-Trail model line. This is in effect an option pack on the N-Connecta model, which includes chrome mirror caps and tailgate trim, front, rear and side styling plates and a front over-rider as well as sport pedals and foot rest, 18” metallic black alloys and a double USB socket for the rear seats. It costs £1999 to upgrade an N-Connecta model to Platinum Edition SV, saving £800 against the cost of buying these accessories individually. In addition, customers will receive a £750 deposit contribution on finance plans. The vehicle is on sale now while stocks last

295bhp Cupra Ateca here by Christmas

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he first model from Cupra, the new brand which was once the sporty part of Seat, is a performance version of the Ateca. A 2.0 TSI engine, coupled to a seven-speed auto box driving all four wheels, whisks the 295bhp SUV to 62mph in 5.4 seconds, and dynamic chassis control helps you make the most of the opportunities this gives you for on-road thrills.

As is to be expected for a highperformance model, the Cupra has more aggressive styling than its Seat counterpart, with bronze

badging, black detailing and four tailpipes. Inside there’s lots of Alcantara, covering the door panels and seats, and aluminium pedals further the image. There’s an 8” touchscreen for the navigation system, a wireless charging pad, 360-degree top-view camera and parking assist.

Subaru’s new Viziv Tourer concept is designed to let you ‘fully savour the enjoyment of travelling by car.’ It features nextgeneration autonmous functions which will feature on future production models.

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We’re still some way from knowing what all this will cost, however the Seat Ateca range currently tops out at £31,590, so you can take it from there on the Cupra model. It’s going to feel like a lot of fast SUV for your money, anyway, when sales begin at the back end of this year.

WE TOLD YOU LAST MONTH about the Peugeot Rifter, a van-derived SUV with enhanced traction to its front wheels. Now, Peugeot has created a 4x4 Concept version of the vehicle – hinting that a properly capable all-terrain version may become available somewhere down the line.

As is normal with Peugeot and Citroen vehicles, the 4x4 conversion was supplied

by French specialist Dangel, whose selectable system is mated to the standard 1.5-litre BlueHDi 130 engine and sixspeed manual transmission.

Adding a dash of adventure are an Autohome Overland roof tent and an electric mountain bike – an eM02 FS Powertube made, naturally, by Peugeot.

‘THE FIRST STEP towards full electrification’, is what Bentley is calling ist new hybrid version of the Bentayga.

This uses a new V6 petrol engine in conjunction with an electric motor and like the rest of the range has all-wheel drive, however CO2 emissions are far lower at 75g/km.

The vehicle will have the same Sport, Comfort, Bentley and Custom drive modes as other Bentayga models.

However is will also have three electrified modes: EV Drive, Hybrid and Hold Mode. In the first of these, it will be able to cover around 30 miles on electric power alone.

The Bentagya hybrid will go on sale in selected markets in the second half of this year.

Land Rover’s 2018 vehicle bursary, in support of the Prince’s Countryside Fund offers five young rural entrepreneurs the opportunity to win a year-long vehicle loan. Applications close on 30 April at 5pm.

MAY 2018 | 15

29/03/2018 11:24

4x4 NEWS Jaguar’s all-electric I-Pace SUV now on sale JAGUAR’S THIRD SUV is now on sale – and this one’s all-electric. The I-Pace runs a pair of electric motors which between them deliver 400bhp and 513lbf.ft, the latter from zero rpm, to all four wheels, giving it a 0-60mph time of 4.5 seconds and thus making it one of the hardest-charging 4x4s of all time.

On the subject of charging, Jag says that with rapid charging facilities, the I-Pace’s batteries can be taken from flat to four-fifths capacity in just 85 minutes. In what might be more practical terms, a 30-minute charging session with yield 80 miles on the road.

The I-Pace is available in S, SE and HSE trims, and right now there’s also a First Edition. Prices start at £63,495.

Mitsubishi unveils new PHEV MITSUBISHI HAS REVEALED a second-generation version of the Outlander PHEV. This uses a 2.4-litre petrol engine in place of the old 2.0-litre unit, with back-up from two electric motors. The outputs of the generator, rear motor and drive battery are 10% higher than those of the outgoing model, while the drive battery’s capacity has grown by 15%.

In addition to the Normal and 4WD Lock modes from the outgoing PHEV, the new model will gain Sport and Snow options in its drive palette.

The vehicle’s exterior has been tweaked, with new headlights and grille and redesigned two-tone 18” alloys. The interior sees the addition of quilted leather seats and revised switchgear and instrument panel.

Pricing is yet to be finalised, however the revised Outlander PHEV is expected to be on sale here early this autumn.

Nissan has refreshed its ever-popular Juke for 2018. The funky little SUV gains an updated grille, headlights and fog lights, and Chestnut Bronze and Vivid Blue body colours join new customisation packs to provide more personalisation options than ever.

Front and rear bumper inserts, door sills and mirror caps can now be highlighted in Energy Orange and Power Blue – as can the interior, diversifying the already diverse scope to make the Juke your own.

There’s also two new 16” alloy designs, and the 18” alloys on the Tekna trim have an option of coloured inserts.

In the model range, N-Connecta has been replaced by a new Bose Personal Edition trim, in conjunction with the introduction of a Bose sound system featuring speakers in the headrests. As before, there are just a couple of 4x4 models, powered by the DIG-T 190 and DIG-T 214 petrol engines. The updated Juke is on sale from May. A quarter of a century after the original Kia Sportage went on sale, the Korean company has just sold the five millionth example. The medium-sized SUV, which helped carry Kia into the mainstream, is now into its fourth generation.

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According to figures from Accident Exchange, there was a 37% rise in accidents involving 4x4s during the week of the Beast from the East. However, 40% of all crashes involving 4x4s were caused by other cars driving into them…

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It doesn’t matter when – or where.

Earn the title ‘Driver Enough’ when you drive on our tyres. #DriverEnough BFGoodrich.co.uk

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13/07/2017 14:19

4x4 NEWS

VW UNVEILS NEW TOUAREG

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olkswagen has revealed the all-new thirdgeneration Touareg – featuring technology which moves the brand further upmarket than ever before.

Unveiled in China (alongside a trio of new SUVs exclusive to that country), the Touareg is wider and longer than the model it replaces – but weighs less, thanks to 48% of its bodywork being aluminium. The extra size makes for more space inside, which is utilised for greater passenger comfort and a 113-litre increase in luggage capacity.

It will be powered by a choice of V6 diesels developing 231 and 286bhp; in certain markets these will be followed by a petrol version (340bhp) and a powerful diesel V8 good for 421bhp.

There will also be a plug-in hybrid model, which is due to be released first in China. A European launch date for this option has still not been set.

Inside, the Touareg is the first model from the German marque to feature Volkswagen’s new Innovision cockpit – a spectacular looking infotainment system which consists of 12” and 15” media screens mounted alongside each other to create the image of one massive digital flight deck. The smaller of the two is a virtual dashboard behind the steering wheel, combining sat-nav and driving data, while the bigger screen sits centrally on the dash and to a great extent removes the need for physical buttons. This screen controls everything from on-board entertainment to the comfort settings and, VW says, makes it easy to personalise the vehicle.

There’s also as wide a breadth of driver assistance and safety features as you’d expect, including a night vision system which detects people, animals and obstacles in the dark using thermal imaging. That’s on top of lane assist and front cross

traffic assist, head-up display and automatic LED headlights.

Dynamically, Volkswagen promises a strong combination of comfort and handling prowess. The Touareg is stabilised by electronic anti-roll bars, and four-wheel steering is also featured – in effect, adapting the vehicle’s wheelbase to the driving conditions by making it more stable during lane changes and more agile in tight corners.

The availability of four-wheel steering could aid the Touareg’s off-road ability, though Volkswagen hasn’t yet gone into that subject in any great depth. There will be an

off-road pack available, however, and previous models certainly have performed well here – as well as being able to tow with great competence, which can be expected to be the case once again as the new model is rated to hail the legal maximum 3500kg.

Prices for the Touareg are yet to be revealed, however it’s unlikely to cost much more than the current model – meaning an entry-level model is likely to stand you something in the £45-50k bracket. All will be revealed before sales commence, which in the UK is scheduled for mid-summer.

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29/03/2018 00:14

QUITE CLEARLY, IT JUST WORKS

£199

ISUZU D-MAX EIGER FROM ONLY † PER MONTH +20% VAT

INITIAL RENTAL £1,790.91 +VAT

BUSINESS CONTRACT HIRE 23 MONTHLY RENTALS OF £198.99 +VAT. EXCESS MILEAGE CHARGE OF 9.75p PER MILE AND RETURN CONDITIONS APPLY. PROVIDED BY ISUZU CONTRACT HIRE.

CALL 03303 335126 OR VISIT ISUZU.CO.UK TO BOOK A TEST DRIVE #Over 40 MPG figure applies to manual transmission models. MPG figures are official EU test figures for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results. Official fuel figures for the Isuzu D-Max range in MPG (l/100km): Urban 30.4 - 38.7 (9.3 - 7.3). Extra Urban 40.9 - 50.4 (6.9 - 5.6).

Combined 36.2 - 45.6 (7.8 - 6.2). CO2 emissions 163 - 205g/km. For full details please contact your local Isuzu dealer or visit isuzu.co.uk †Important Information. Business users only. Rental amounts shown are for an Isuzu Eiger Double Cab Commercial Vehicle On The Road with manual transmission, excluding special paint finish.

Contract based on 8,000 miles per annum, non-maintained. Vehicle must be returned in a good condition to avoid further charges. Provided by Lex Autolease Ltd trading as Isuzu Contract Hire, Heathside Park, Heathside Park Road, Stockport SK3 0RB. Excludes motability and fleet sales, not available in conjunction with any other offers (including the Work Pack offer) or with BASC or NFU member discounts. Available until 30th June 2018. Finance options available at participating dealers only, subject to status. *3.5 tonne towing applies to all 4x4 models. **125,000 miles/5 year (whichever comes first) warranty applies to all new Isuzu D-Max models. Terms and conditions apply. Visit isuzu.co.uk

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29/03/2018 14:51

4x4 NEWS

99 CORNERS IN TEN ROVER SPORT SETS TIANMEN ROAD

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Range Rover Sport SVR, piloted by Le Mans class winner Ho-Pin Tung, has set a new record for the ascent of the spectacular Tianmen Mountain in the north-west of China’s Hunan Province. The 575bhp super-SUV, whose supercharged 5.0-litre V8 engine slingshots it from 0-62mph in a mere 4.5 seconds, climbed the

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seven-mile Tianmen Road in a time of 9 minutes and 51 seconds.

That time equates to an average speed of 42.75mph – hardly anywhere close to the SVR’s 174mph top speed, but stilll startlingly fast when you consider that the Tianmen Road contains a staggering 99 corners, many of them hairpins. To put the record in context, the previous best time of

10 minutes 31 seconds was set by a Ferrari 458.

Hard as it is to believe that an SUV of any description could so comprehensively demolish a record set by a fully fledged supercar, the SVR has been very heavily reworked by Land Rover’s SVO department to give it the sort of agility its pace demands. Key to this are high-performance dampers

which create more mid-corner grip and body control.

‘I am used to the high speeds of racing,’ commented Tung after the record run, ‘but this was even more demanding. Maintaining concentration was the biggest challenge as the road twists and turns constantly, with huge drop-offs to the side. The consequences of getting it wrong

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4x4 NEWS

MINUTES: RANGE NEW RECORD ON

would have been really serious so I focused on establishing a rhythm and the Range Rover Sport SVR made this easy – it may be an SUV, but it has the performance and agility of a supercar.’

We don’t know of anywhere in Britain where you have to spin your steering wheel 99 times in the course of such a short distance (apart from the Magic Roundabout

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outside the County Ground in Swindon, obviously). And attempting to replicate Land Rover’s record-breaking exploits is likely to get you into trouble with the law, or indeed with gravity. But the good news is that you can at least drive a Range Rover Sport SVR dayto-day. Well, you can if you have £99,680 to spend.

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DRIVEN

FORD RANGER 2.2 TDCI Smaller-engined version of our 2018 Truck of the Year makes a strong case for itself in modestly equipped lower-mid-range form DRIVEN Ranger 2.2 TDCi XLT Double-Cab

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ince its introduction in 2012, the current Ford Ranger has been a massive success in the UK. Among private buyers and one-man businesses, that’s down in no small part to the presence of a 3.2-litre engine option at the top of the range.

Among those who modify their vehicles into off-road playthings, expedition wagons or blinged-up street machines, you’d think the 200bhp 3.2 TDCi is the only one to have. But more modest versions of the Ranger come with a 2.2-litre unit, which at 160bhp is hardly a slouch itself.

The smaller engine only costs £800 less, which may be one reason why so many people go the whole hog. The 3.2 is the only with an auto option, too. But the 2.2 is about 20% lighter on fuel,

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with the improved emissions and lower running costs that brings – and, while the top trim levels are reserved for the bigger engine, those you’re likely to go for if what you want is a good, sensible 4x4 truck to do a shift of work can only be had with the 2.2.

And these lower trim levels are hardly sparse, either. We found out as much thanks to the vehicle in these pictures, a 2.2 TDCi model in XLT spec.

The XLT model represents the second step up on a fiverunged ladder, and in double-cab form it lists at £22,595 (£28,005 including VAT). Ford dealers are a competitive lot, however, and they know what they must to to get the numbers – the upshot of which is big discounts if you play the game.

We’ve seen online brokers quoting almost £5000 off this model, which

makes it a pretty commanding proposition – especially as the options you’re likely to want are very reasonably priced too.

Not that you need many. As it is, all Rangers have DAB and Bluetooth, and the XLT adds cruise, air-con and phone connectivity. It gets alloys, too, and they’re a good, sensible 16” diameter, so there’s no shortage of tyre options if you want to use your truck off-road.

On that subject, one of the options you will want is the Off-Road Pack: this adds a locking rear diff as well as bash guards for the engine, transfer box and fuel tank, and at £300 it’s a no-brainer.

We’d take Ford up on the offer of a plumbed-in 150W power inverter, too, at a princely £60 – not least because this as a three-pin socket, not the usual Euro-style job.

Good, solid, usable stuff like this is

what a truck should be all about – yes, leather and fancy stereos are nice, but it’s great to see a doublecab that brings out what matters at a price that makes sense. So, based on its price and spec alone, we’re off to a good start.

CABIN AND PRACTICALITY The impression is a good one from the word go. Many trucks, including higher-spec versions of the Ranger, set out to impress you with an array of equipment and fancy looking materials; most manufacturers do also offer more modestly equipped and soberly finished models like the XLT, but few if any manage to carry it off as successfully as Ford.

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Plastics dominate in the cabin, but they’re of a high quality and as well as being tough and stout even have a soft-touch element to them. The dash is well put together, stowage opportunities are plentiful enough and the controls for a well judged array of standard equipment are positive and logically laid out Sometimes, lower-spec trucks can feel like the poor relation that was left behind when their manufacturer set out to conquer the big-money lifestyle ground.

There’s no trace of that here – the cabin looks attractive, not sparse, in its simplicity.

The materials are good, too. It’s all plastic surfaces, but they feel stout and dense, not cheap and brittle, and the upper and even lower dash surfaces are almost softtouch in their finish. Certainly, that nasty, scratchy feeling you can get

from hard plastics is totally absent.

Overall build quality is similarly solid, though the floor console is a bit wobbly when manhandled. The seats, meanwhile, are absolutely excellent, with very good base and back support, grippy fabric upholstery and all-round manual controls including adjustable lumbar support. We’d take that over the usual froth of leather and electric toys any day, especially when it’s done this well.

The seats give you an excellent driving position offering expansive

views in all directions, though the fast slope of the windscreen means the A-posts do obscure your view a bit at junctions. One thing the XLT model doesn’t have that we’d have liked to see is reversing sensors; the view over your shoulder is fine, so this isn’t the end of the world, but with a big old loadbay canopy in place it would make things kind of awkward.

The vehicle we drove was coming to the end of its time on Ford’s demo fleet, which may explain why its glovebox door had been

knocked slightly out of true. We’d certainly not be expecting that from a split-new one, at any rate.

The space behind it is amply sized, as is the cubby box to your side, and there’s a deep stowage bin at the front of the floor console with a couple of USB outputs in it. The door pockets are only average, but you’re certainly not short of places to stash your stuff.

You’re also not short of room in the back seat, which are quite simply the best in the pick-up market. The front seat-backs are

Above left: Front seats are extremely comfortable and provide plenty of room. Most impressively, so too do those in the back – rear legroom is a common shortcoming among double-cabs, but the Ranger can accommodate one six-footadult behind another in surprising comfort Above right: People rave about the 3.2-litre engine, but the 2.2 TDCi proves more than capable of hauling the Ranger around. It’s smooth and quiet, too, and revs with a free willingness that mates it perfectly to the six-speed manual box

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DRIVING All eyes were on the 2.2 TDCi engine prior to our test. In the world of modified off-roaders we tend to inhabit when we’re not tarting around in other people’s 4x4s, there are times when you might find yourself wondering it this engine exists at all, such is the popularity of the 3.2 – but 160bhp at 3700rpm and 284lbf.ft at 1500rpm is more than enough to be going on with. And, admittedly without a heavy load in the back to drag it down, our XLT proved very lively indeed.

The engine spins with a freedom the figures don’t even start to hint at. With the six-speed manual box providing slick, precise gearchanges, you can whisk it up through the ratios with ease, and with all that torque behind you from down in the guts of the rev range you never need to make it raise its voice – which contributes to what

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is a genuinely surprising level of refinement at all speeds.

Our test drive with the Ranger included two very length crosscountry stints featuring hours on the motorway and, at either end, fast yomps on quiet, winding B-roads. This combination was perfect for demonstrating how flexible an engine the 2.2 TDCi is.

At a steady, fast cruise, it’s very smooth and settled, allowing you to make undisturbed and thoroughly relaxed progress – something that’s helped by a similarly settled ride quality, the likes of which you barely have a right to hope for from a one-tonner. Without having them to compare side-by-side, we’d say it rides as well on rear leaf-springs as the Nissan Navara does on coils.

On the fun stuff, once again the engine and suspension combine well. The Ranger steers very pleasingly, too, allowing you to throw it into corners with confidence and pin its weight down with the throttle as the springs load up. As with all pick-ups, the secret is to work with the body roll rather than spending your time wishing it wasn’t there – get your head around that, and it’ll always be able to put a smile on your face.

Around town, needless to say there’s a bit of lumbering over speed bumps and the sort of jagged, never-ending broken road surfaces that make Britain great. A tonne of

sand in the back would calm this down, no doubt, though again you just need to accept it for what it is – certainly, the Ranger doesn’t feel its size around town.

Our test truck was fitted with the optional Off-Road Pack, whose underbody guards afford an element of protection – though for serious work, we’d be looking to the aftermarket for a full set of heavy-duty items. Also included (and again, let’s remind you that this only costs £300) is a locking rear diff, and as is so often the case with one-tonners this transforms what the Ranger can do off-road.

It’s already very capable, but thus equipped it can take on extremely rough terrain with a sure-footed agility which, once again, totally defies its size. Breakover angle

and rear overhang will obviously be issues, as with any truck, but tractability is never in doubt – and, as we mentioned earlier, the XLT’s standard 16” rims lend themselves to being shod with a wide choice of mud-terrain tyres.

The engine is perfectly suited to off-road use, too. It may be the smaller of the options in the Ranger line-up but, don’t forget, it’s the same basic lump that used to power the Land Rover Defender, which is hardly a bad pedigree.

The standard dual-ratio transfer case gives it all the flexibility in the world in low range – for some reason, there’s a hill descent control button on the floor console, but with this hardware to hand there’s simply no reason you should ever need it.

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VERDICT

well sculpted to accommodate a pair of knees, and one sixfooter can sit comfortably behind another with neither having to yield territory. There’s plenty of headroom in the back, too – whether for carrying work crews or families, the Ranger is as generous with its space in the back as it is up front.

Ford Ranger 2.2 TDCi XLT DC The best truck on the market – and this is arguably the best version of it The Ranger’s massive popularity is no fluke. It’s a superb truck in every way, and the 3.2 TDCi engine gives it added appeal at the top of the range. But this more modest model shows the Ranger has the common touch, too. It has pretty much all the equipment you need, a handy range of options to let you tailor it to yourself – and, under the bonnet, an absolute peach of an engine and drivetrain. This is a world-class double-cab.

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4X4 FACTFILE

VOLKSWAGEN Tiguan Allspace ON TEST Tiguan Allspace 2.0 TDI 190 4Motion SEL

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he idea behind the Tiguan Allspace is simple. It’s a Tiguan, only more so.

As the name suggests, it has more space. And in that space are more seats – seven in total, making it the latest vehicle to offer this very popular option in the medium SUV sector.

This means the Allspace will be up against the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Nissan X-Trail – as well of course as a certain Skoda Kodiaq, class winner in 2018’s 4x4 of the Year awards and a notvery-distant relative of the Tiguan.

Some tasty competition, then.

It rises to the challenge in typical VW fashion, with an interior that oozes quality. The company’s cabin design has for many years tended to be classy but conservative, but this latest take on the theme is a little livelier – thanks in no small part to the very slick and very high quality multimedia screen that dominates the dashboard. It still doesn’t go allout to grab your eyes the way some manufacturers do, but most of us would consider that a good thing.

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Material quality is as good as you’d expect, as is the standard of build, with excellent switchgear and just a little creaking from around the media screen shroud and upper vents when manhandled. There’s plenty of places to stow your stuff, with the door pockets in particular giving you loads of room, and the seats are excellent – something we appreciated heartily when the Beast from the East turned a fifteenminute drive home into three and a half hours of crawling traffic.

The driving position is very good, too, though a rather complicated C/D post design means the view over your shoulder is pretty limited – you definitely find yourself relying on the vehicle’s reversing aids. There’s no shortage of space, though, in any direction – even with an optional panoramic roof, headroom up front is plentiful.

It’s terrible in the back, however, where anyone even vaguely tall will be unable to get comfortable.

Even with the seats here reclined, a six-footer’s forehead will still be pressed into the roof lining. Seating

one tall adult behind another is going to run you into legroom trouble, too – the passenger in the back will have their knees pressed into the seat-back ahead of them, and in our test vehicle that meant being rammed into a hard plastic picnic table.

The second row is fine for children, however, though depending on their height they might struggle for a view out over what is quite a high waistline. That problem gets much worse in the third row, where the waistline climbs dramatically – the space in these seats is really suitable only for younger kids, but even in a booster seat they’ll be boxed in by the side of the vehicle and, right in front of their face, the back of the second row.

For load-lugging, both rows fold nearly flat to create a floor with two slight slopes in it but no steps to fight with. There’s no step at the tailgate, either, which opens to reveal a tall, wide aperture with an excellent low lip. There’s not much you won’t be able to carry in a Tiguan Allspace.

On the road, it’s outstanding – if anything, even better than the standard Tiguan. The model tested has the 190bhp version of the 2.0 TDI engine, mated to a sevenspeed automatic gearbox, and power delivery is exceptionally smooth. Gearshifts are seamless and absolutely imperceptible, and the engine always feels as if it has something in reserve, even under hard acceleration. You can try to make it raise its voice, but the refinement throughout the drivetrain is exceptional.

So too is the smoothness of the vehicle’s ride, even on the 235/50R19s with which our test vehicle was equipped. It handles angry pot holes comfortably, and pattery corrugations might as well not be there.

Predictably, the Allspace cruises with enormous stability on the motorway, where you rarely need to make any adjustments to your line while holding it in its lane.

It remains pleasingly quiet here, too, with no more than a muted hum from the road and no wind

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Both rows of seats fold near-flat to create a big and very usable luggage area, albeit one with a couple of slight slopes in it. Even with the vehicle in seven-seater mode, there’s enough space for a decent load of shopping or engine noise to speak of. Again, power delivery is perfectly smooth.

On winding roads, the vehicle remains planted – if not agile to the point of being exciting. The extra 210mm in its wheelbase gives it a degree of stability that’s very confidence inspiring, but while its steering is well weighted and positive there’s an incision it lacks in comparison to its shorter siblings.

We’re talking details here, though – anyone who’s in the market for a seven-seat family SUV will be absolutely happy with what they get.

They’ll appreciate the vehicle’s ability away from smooth, dry tarmac, too. Versions of the Tiguan

equipped with four-wheel drive have already proved themselves off-road, and the extra wheelbase does nothing to change what it can do – apart, obviously, from giving it a shallower breakover angle. As we mentioned above, though, we hit some serious snow (by British standards, at least) during our week with the Allspace, and it acquitted itself admirably. With snow mode engaged on the drive dial, it never faltered for traction, even on hills that were making life awkward for other 4x4s.

It was still a torrid journey home, especially with two little boys in the back. But we’d defy anyone to

have that same experience without agreeing that upgrading to a 4x4 model is worth every penny. As it is, the Allspace is phenomenally

competent in a huge range of areas. It may have its limitations as a seven-seater, but it is indeed a Tiguan only more so.

VERDICT

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VW Tiguan Allspace 2.0 TDI SEL More practicality for what was already one of the best medium SUVs With a new Touareg on the way, the Tiguan Allspace bridges the gap very effectively between VW’s medium and large SUVs. Like other sevenseaters in its class, however, it faces an inevitable compromise, and the second row is best left for kids – as of course is the third. So long as that doesn’t break the deal for you, however, the Allspace is a superb family vehicle combining class and practicality in equal measure.

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SNOW-HOW

The chilly blast of the Beast from the East is now just a blast from the past. But while Britain was getting its knickers in a twist about about a bit of snow and ice, up in the Arctic Circle a fleet of Skodas was showing us how well the company’s latest technology can cope with real winter conditions WORDS: GEORGE DOVE PICTURES: SKODA

R

emember the Beast from the East? It got a bit cold for a few days, some snow fell and Britain turned into a scene from Laurel and Hardy.

Ironically, a few days previously we had been to Lapland, courtesy of Skoda, whose UK importer took us to Rovaniemi, and beyond that to the other side of the Arctic Circle, to try out its latest generation of 4x4 systems. The self-styled ‘official hometown of Santa Claus’ is a place where the east IS the beast – where snow

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lies feet deep in the forests and lakes stay frozen over for months.

If a vehicle can cope with the conditions up here, rest assured it can breeze through anything Britain can dish up. Nobody aims for adequate when making a car – and that, ladies and gents, is why we’re in Lapland.

Skoda has long since offered all-wheel drive variants of the Octavia and Superb, as well the Kodiaq and now the newly launched Karoq.

The company’s fifth-generation 4x4 system is

common to all, though it receives minor tweaks to tailor it to each model.

The system features a new multi-plate clutch that’s mechanically simpler than on previous versions – meaning it’s significantly lighter and easier to maintain. Add to that a host of digitally operated driver aids and the result is a system that can assign up to 85% of the engine’s torque to a single wheel faster than the human mind can work. It isn’t just quick in extreme conditions, but it’s clever in everyday use too, giving more

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power to the rear wheels when taking off from a standstill and running only the fronts in normal mode for efficiency. Other modes across the range include eco, comfort, sport and – thankfully – snow.

Around 600 kilometres north of Finnish capital Helsinki, the roads in Rovaniemi are icy and flanked by waist-deep banks of snow. Not everything on the road is an SUV, but most are at least 4x4-capable – a few pick-ups are even equipped with snow ploughs.

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Getting as low as -20ºc overnight, the roads are given no chance to defrost. So simply leaving the car park is enough to get the 4x4 system working. In calm and grown-up driving situations, the Karoq handled the icy town centre and highway well, transferred torque into traction without issue, comfortably stopping at traffic lights and building speed on slip-roads smoothly and sans irony.

Leaving the tarmac behind and heading on to the snowy woodland roads, the Karoq continues to grip as if we were still on tarmac. Occasionally, it’s noticeable when the system shifts power, with a short, sharp grunt from behind, getting itself back on track in a no-nonsense manner, but most of the time it works seamlessly. This is already building confidence for the challenges we’ve been told are to come.

On the icy tracks, both the Kodiaq and the Karoq grip comfortably with their traction control systems left in standard mode, though both can easily be provoked into stepping out of line. While this is proficient in summoning a grin, it would summon something very different in an icy car park.

With snow mode engaged, acceleration is dampened and the 4x4 system holds back on torque as the gearbox selects higher ratios than usual for the speed. The ABS is also restrained, allowing more wheelspin before kicking in, which causes a build-up of snow in front of the tyres that assists braking.

These changes make snow driving more manageable and surprisingly simple. The system earns your trust in an effortless manner. Under cornering, the XDS+ system, which imitates a limited-slip diff, actively holds the vehicle inline.

The backdrop for the day was breathtaking.

Being in Lapland, merely kilometres from Santa

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Claus Village, the tall trees and woodland doused in a healthy few feet of snow is akin to the backdrops in Christmas films and children’s storybooks. And we were able to enjoy it, too – because in off-road mode, both the Kodiaq and Karoq meandered along the snowy track through the woods in complete comfort. The driver assists mean that even when you’re climbing hills with next to no traction, you can drive efficiently and with minimal effort.

Obviously, that’s not to say you can drive without concentrating. But the four-wheel drive system means that off-road driving feels simple in both of these SUVs. The hill-hold control does what it says, stopping the vehicle from rolling backwards on a hill, and the hill-descent control impresses too. Before there was any chance to panic about skidding into the wall of trees at the bottom of one of the slopes, it kicked in and the Karoq calmly edged its way down – as did the somewhat heavier Kodiaq.

Climbing steeper, more challenging surfaces did mean turning the traction control off, though. In most conditions, the shifting of power between the wheels is positive, as it maintains stability and ensures progress, however in tougher situations it can actually become a hindrance.

There were a few moments on the off-road course where this came into play, fixing one problem while creating another. But with it turned off, all four corners share the torque.

In this state, while it isn’t as reactive to the terrain, there’s a back-to-basics dependability to proceedings. The DSG coped well for almost all of the off-roading we did, but the biggest challenge – a steep, snowy climb – didn’t flatter it. Even though the DSG boxes can be overridden, tackling the same route in a manual

Karoq served as a reminder of the prowess of clutch control.

Now, to address the logical question at the forefront of everyone’s mind: how does the new Karoq fare in high octane activities on snow?

Like, I don’t know, perhaps a drag race? Fairly well, actually. To definitively prove that having power to all four wheels is superior, our 4x4 Karoq was pitted against a front-wheel drive sibling in a snowy sprint. Which it promptly destroyed, pulling off without much drama, while the front wheels a lane across burrowed like a puppy.

Another irrelevant gobbet of consumer advice is that the Karoq is bizarrely adept at drifting, too. It was poised and, while the DSG was often shifting up back and forth, the mass of the SUV maintained momentum. Even with a driver in hoon mode, the Karoq felt confidently planted.

Back in the real world, the 4x4 system impressed outright. It’s quick and no-nonsense, yet its work often went under the radar. At times, it makes sense to overrule the driver aids and take control yourself, but despite the hysteria around impending autonomy, we’re still in the here and now – where WE drive the car.

Under these conditions, the new Karoq was a cocktail of capability, comfort and composure.

And much like the dual-clutch gearbox and its electrical horde of help, it performed in the toughest of conditions.

The experts said that the snow was very hard, which favoured grip, and all the vehicles we drove were fitted with studded tyres. But the conditions at hand dwarfed those in Britain – yes, even when the Beast from the East came to visit.

If a 4x4 can do it in Lapland, it can do it in Britain at an absolute stroll. And Skoda’s latest can certainly do it in Lapland.

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Atturo Jeep ad

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EXHIBITORS INCLUDE 4X4 MANUFACTURERS | PICK-UP MANUFACTURERS | 4X4 CAR DEALERSHIPS | PICK-UP TRUCK DEALERSHIPS | HARD TOP MANUFACTURERS AND WHOLESALERS | SUSPENSION MANUFACTURERS / WHOLESALERS | SUSPENSION BUSHES | WHEEL MANUFACTURERS AND WHOLESALERS | TYRE MANUFACTURERS AND WHOLESALERS | TOOLS | LIGHTING | UNDERBODY PROTECTION | WINCHES | BRAKES | OFF ROAD EQUIPMENT | TOWING AND TRAILER MANUFACTURERS | ONBOARD STORAGE SOLUTIONS | ROOF RACKS | ROLL CAGES | SEATS AND TRIM UPGRADES | PERFORMANCE EQUIPMENT | SOUND PROOFING | ENGINE OILS AND LUBRICANTS | SERVICING | GARAGE UPGRADES | CUSTOM VEHICLE BUILDERS | OVERLAND EQUIPMENT | COMMERCIAL AND PERSONAL INSURANCE

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PRODUCTS

ICARUS BLUE APP TURNS YOUR SMARTPHONE INTO A MULTI-PURPOSE REMOTE CONTROL C&C HYDRAULICS has introduced the Icarus Blue – an app allowing you to use your smartphone as a remote control for winches, vehicle lights and more. Using the phone’s Bluetooth functionality, the system has four programmable outputs, allowing hands-off operation for a wide variety of accessories.

Capable of operating on either 12 or 24-volt electrics, the system has an effective range of 25 metres.

The company says it’s easy to instal in a vehicle and that customising the functions you require is equally simple – and that by using the phone already in your pocket as a transmitter, it’s more cost-effective than traditional remote control

systems which require dedicated hardware at each end.

‘The smartphone is a device that we have all become familiar with,’ says Yorkshire-based C&C of the system, ‘and its functionality can be greatly increased by the use of the Icarus Blue system. The phone is transformed into a remote control for vehicle mounted accessories such as lights, a winch or any other device activated by an electrical switch. Unlike traditional remote control systems which comprise remote control and receiver, the phone when used with the Icarus Blue app already provides the platform for the remote control at no cost, making the system very affordable.’

There’s only so many winches you can have on a vehicle without looking silly (or so we’re told), but the sky’s pretty much the limit as to what else you could do with one of these units. In particular, with winter still fresh in the memory, waking up in the morning

and using your phone to start up a preheater in your vehicle sounds very appealing. Whatever you can dream of doing with one, anyway, visiting www.cchydraulics.co.uk is the next step towards turning it into reality.

IRONMAN SNORKEL FOR L200 YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED this product in last month’s issue, but when you came to read the story we seemed to be waffling on about something completely different. That’s because we were daydreaming about going bush in a prepped-up L200… terribly sorry ‘bout that, and here we are again only this time with the right wurds.

So as we were saying,. Ironman’s range of off-road accessories for the current Mitsubishi L200 has grown to include this Air-Force snorkel. Designed to protect the engine from water and dust ingress by supplying it with clean, dry air from its raised position, this makes it better and more durable in challenging environments – and, of course, cooler to look at around town.

Made in Australia from firstuse low-density polyethylene, the snorkel features a 4” ram head with a built-in deflector to prevent it from taking in rainwater. Ironman says the design was dyno tested for optimum airflow, and that the snorkel’s body has the highest possible UV rating to keep it looking and working like new even when it spends its life in the glare of the Outback sun. Ought not to be a problem in Accrington, then.

To find out more, go to www. westcoastoffroad.co.uk.

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Turn your smart phone into a remote control with the Icarus Blue app and receiver module!

See us at the 4x4 and Pick-up Show Stand 1G9 SHOW SPECIAL: Icarus Blue System for £120+vat

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PRODUCTS

SEALEY PROMO ON VEHICLE CARE KIT WHAT’S BETTER THAN a load of vehicle care products on promotion?

Only a load of brand new products joining the party as well, that’s what – and Sealey has just done exactly that.

First up is the company’s fluid transfer syringe. This provides a simple and effective way of transferring oil and other fluids, simply extracting on the pull stroke and then ejects on the push stroke. Easy.

Next is Sealey’s brake fluid tester. Capable of reading DOT 3, 4, 5 and 5.1 spec fluids, this this examines the water content in your vehicle’s system by finding its boiling point then displays the results on an LED screen.

Last but not least comes a digital tyre pressure and tread depth gauge, which can read treads of up to 20mm and has a pressure scale of 3-150psi. This new model incorporates a work light, is button operated and also has a clear LED screen on which results are displayed.

Sealey’s Vehicle Services Promotion runs until the end of May. To find out all you need to know about these items, and a whole lot more besides, go to www. sealey.co.uk.

• Also on offer in Sealey’s Vehicle Service Promotion is a range of mini air compressors. The biggest of these is the MAC07, which can inflate a tyre from 0-35psi in 45 seconds. The air output hose features a quick-release coupling and the range comes with a variety of attachments to make the job quick and easy. Once again, it’s all at www.sealey.co.uk.

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PRODUCTS

BOND BADDIES’ WHEELS – DIRECT TO YOU FROM WELLER WE ALL LOVE JAMES BOND. He’s probably the coolest guy ever. Yeah okay, he’s fictitious, and Jim Skafish is even cooler while also being real. But fictitiously speaking, Bond is still very cool.

He is, in fact, the embodiment of the universal truth that a man is only as cool as his tools. In which case, he is currently cooler than ever. In the latest Bond movie, Spectre, 007’s Aston Martin DB10 was out-cooled – not by the specially made Jaguar CX75, but by a trusty Land Rover Defender.

The Spectre 110 looks the business, for sure. We’d all love to have one – though we might get carried away and try to run Aston Martin drivers off the road, which wouldn’t be very sporting of us.

Anyway, one feature we can take from the star of the silver screen is its wheels. Weller has produced its Spectre Mach 5 Faux Beadlock rims so your Defender can have the same boots as its favourite film star. It’s road-legal, too, though at £289.99 a pop direct from the manufacturer, you may find yourself feeling more shaken than stirred.

They’re cool, though. Not as cool as Jim Skafish, but definitely cooler than James Bond. To get your slice of the villainy, visit wellerwheels.com. After first Googling Jim Skafish to see what we’re on about, obviously.

We develop practical, hard wearing and stylish accessories, for 4x4 vehicles, that helps you work and play smarter! www.gearmate.co.uk

Compatible with all pick up trucks and a variety of SUV’s

For more information call 01789 595 200 or email us at info@gearmate.co.uk Unit 15, Kinwarton Farm Road, Arden Forest Industrial Estate, Alcester, Warwickshire, B49 6EH

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PRODUCTS

WIDE RANGE OF SAFARI SNORKELS NOW IN STOCK AT MILNER OFF-ROAD MILNER OFF-ROAD has announced that it is now a supplier of the iconic Safari Snorkels range of raised air intakes. The company promises very competitive prices along with a delivery time of 2-3 working days when you order direct, and is currently stocking units for the following vehicles: • Ford Ranger Mk2 • Ford Ranger T6 • Mazda BT50 • Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2 (2006-on) • Mitsubishi L200 (2006-2015) • Nissan Navara D40 • Nissan Pathfinder • Toyota Hilux Mk4 and Mk5 • Toyota Hilux (2006-on) If your ride is on the list, and a snorkel is on your list, Milner Off-Road can be found at www. milneroffroad.com.

THERE ARE MANY work lights in the world. Not all of them have four light settings, a 700-lumen output and rechargeable batteries able to go up to eight hours on one charge, though. But the NightSearcher i-Spector 700 does.

This is a potent work light which promises not only high performance but the robustness necessary to survive a few workshop traumas. It’s waterproof, chemical and solvent resistant and capable of shrugging off the sort of impacts that would put lesser units out like, er, a light.

With a magnetic base and the ability to fully rotate on its swivel hook, the i-Spector is both practical and versatile. Its 3.7V li-ion battery can be fully recharged from totally flat in four hours, too.

Sounds like a handy tool to have around when you’re out and about, not just in the workshop.

Now you’ve seen the light, paying a visit to shop. nightsearcher. com would be a bright thing to do.

HEADREST HAPPINESS FROM BRITPART WITH MORE AND MORE Land Rover Defenders being turned into custom road rides, it stands to reason that less and less are being used as work trucks.

But if you head out into the countryside, you’ll still see plenty of farmers going about in them.

Working trucks, and therefore by definition working people. People who spend their days leaping in and out of their Land Rovers while caked in mud or soaked from a great British summer.

This is sure to take its toll on the vehicle’s seats – including its headrests, which are often overlooked because with it being a farmer’s Land Rover, the notion of such things even existing still seems like a bit of a novelty.

To help you breathe new life into your headrests, Britpart offers re-trimming kits which include both the cover and new foam for pre-2007 Defender. These are available in four styles – black, grey, vinyl twill and Techno. To find out more, you can track down your local Britpart stockist at www.britpart.com.

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WE’RE SIMPLE BEINGS. All we need to be happy is a 4x4, somewhere to drive it and somewhere to fiddle with it. The only downside is that workshops and garages aren’t the cosiest of environments.

The new MeacoHeat Motion heaters are key players are here to remedy that. Thanks to their in-built motion sensors, they kick in once they notice movement and stop once you leave the room. Their compact design means there will still be plenty of room to work on your truck, too – but to do so in cosiness.

A thermal cut-out and tilt safety technology ensures that if they are knocked over the heat cuts out – and a fan function means they can perform cooling duties in the summer months too.

There’s two sizes available, both of which have temperature controls and can be set to run on timers. This gadget is so convenient that you’ll forget you even bought it, so those nights in the workshop will be just like before, but better. Spannering is so much more effective when you can feel your fingers, too. You can read the full spec online by visiting meaco.com/heaters.

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MILNER EST. 1981

Roll Bars:

Body Lifts:

Air Assist Kits:

Fuel Saver Kits:

Load Liner Sprays:

Snorkels:

Skid Plates:

Winches & Winch Bumpers:

Tyres:

-Call-Click-Collect-

www.milneroffroad.com Old Road, Darley Dale, Matlock Derbyshire, DE4 2ER

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PRODUCTS

XTREME SALES BRINGS PRO EAGLE OFF - ROAD TROLLEY JACKS TO UK YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD of ProEagle. But if you’ve watched the Dakar, Baja or King of the Hammers, you’ll have seen plenty of the company’s products in action.

That’s because ProEagle makes specialist off-road jacks. And now, thanks to Xtreme Sales 4x4, they’re coming here.

There are two jacks in the ProEagle range, both of them heavy-duty and loaded with features aimed at off-road users.

The first is a two-ton big-wheel unit called The Beast, while the second, known as Kratos, ups the ante to three tons.

Starting with the two-tonner, this is fitted with extra-duty axles and large, non-pneumatic wheels to let it roll over rough ground. If you’ve ever had to wrestle a standard trolley jack over tiny bits of gravel on your driveway, you’ll know what a good idea this is. Of course, it’ll still do its job on a smooth workshop floor – but it’ll also live with conditions which would otherwise leave you struggling.

The jack has a 2’2” lift as standard, but can be used with adjustable 8” or 13” extensions for vehicles with extra-high ground clearance and wheel travel. It has sealed ball bearing to keep it rolling smoothly in grimy conditions, and a full-length steel skid plate to prevent it sinking into the ground.

‘This is not a bolt-on wheel kit,’ stresses Xtreme Sales. ‘This jack did not start with standard wheels.

It is built at their factory as a big wheel monster!’

Obviously, a monster of any kind, let alone a 52lb one made of metal, is the last thing

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you want to have sitting in your cabin if things get a bit upsidedown. That’s why it’s good that ProEagle also makes a dedicated mount for keeping it in place; the company says this will ‘hold up to any amount of abuse you can throw at it’, which sounds like a bit of a challenge.

If all this mighty stuff still isn’t enough, let’s move on to the Kratos. This was designed from the ground on an all-new new three-ton chassis, again with solid axles and large non-pneumatic wheels. This time offering a 2’4” lift in standard trim, it has the same range of features as the Beast and again comes with an 8” adjustable extension with its own rubber grip pad.

If that’s not enough, the Kratos can be used with the same 13” extension as the Beast. Its higher

capacity means it weighs 60lb, so once again mounting it securely will be essential – no doubt someone will decide a bit of old bungee is enough, but really you’d like to think that anybody buying one of these will hold it down with the right kit too.

On the subject of buying one of these, it’ll cost you £385 for the the Beast (£485 with the mounting kit), or £429 for the Kratos. That’s including VAT, which may come as a relief, but while these are not cheap they’re a very fine case of getting what you pay for. To both get on and pay for it, visit xs4x4.parts.

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2mm steel; 4mm and 6mm Aluminium underbody protection

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A DV E RT I S I N G F E AT U R E

GENERAL: GREAT TY R General Tire has a firm grip on the replacement 4x4 market and is a leader in the sector, as consumers enjoy benefits from what the brand delivers in quality and value for money. The well-known Grabber™ line offers one of the most comprehensive ranges of durable 4x4 products on the market. The range delivers a robust and long-lasting tyre for every application, on and off-road. But don’t just take our word for it! Here are the views of the people that really matter – General’s customers, and the tyre trade that supplies them:

THE DRIVER’S VIEW More than just a tyre man, Paul Boxall, the owner of WG Tyres in Billingshurst, near Horsham in West Sussex, has a wealth of technical prowess from his days in motorsport and performance tuning. Nowadays, he’s enjoying life as a 4x4 driver. ‘After buying and driving my first 4x4, a Mitsubishi L200, I soon realised the mudterrain tyres that had been fitted to the truck were noisy and the vibration through the wheels was terrible.

I decided to change them for something more suitable, so I went for General Grabber AT3s.

‘All I can say is wow! They have completely transformed the way the L200 drives, not only in noise levels but also in overall comfort.

The traction they offer is outstanding on all surfaces, including snow.

I am so impressed by the AT3s that I would now recommend these tyres to my customers.

‘I have been rallying at a national level for many years and been in the motor trade since I left school, I know how tyres work – and these are among the best!’

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A DV E RT I S I N G F E AT U R E

Y RES, GREAT DEALERS THE DEALER’S VIEW Andrew Winn, proprietor of Peter Winn Tyres in Pocklington, Yorkshire, is an experienced tyre retailer. He carries a reputation for his extensive knowledge of 4x4 tyres for both on and off-road use. This is what he has got to say about General Tire: ‘Choosing the correct tyre for your vehicle is always important. There is so much choice within the market place, and at times with so much varying advice it can be confusing.

‘It is important to realise that the tyre is one of the most important components on the car and is responsible for allowing the car to function to its full potential. If you have poor tyres or the wrong tyres fitted, the car’s braking and road-holding capability can be dramatically affected. If you consider the size of the tyre’s contact surface area in relation to the road, you may take fitting the correct tyres more seriously!’

HOW GENERAL TIRE DEFEATED THE BEAST FROM THE EAST ‘Based at the foot of the Yorkshire Wolds,’ says Andrew Winn of Peter Winn Tyres, ‘we are subject to huge variations in weather conditions. Recently, in a matter of hours we had snow drifts of up to eight feet in places, and hard packed snow and icy roads. Although these conditions could be regarded as freakish, using the correct tyres in winter is hugely important.

‘A common misconception is that winter tyres are only useful on snow and ice, which is not the case. Winter or all-season tyres provide increased performance in cold conditions by enabling better road-holding and reducing braking distances.

‘A long-standing friend and customer asked me which tyres he should fit on his 4x4 so he could continue delivering his goods throughout the winter months, as he had issues previously on conventional summer tyres. The obvious choice was to fit a set of General Tire’s Snow Grabber Plus – and after his first journey, my client phoned me to say how delighted he was with them!

‘One of the most surprising characteristics he mentioned was ride quality, and how quiet the tyres were on the road. Having never used a winter product before, he was expecting a lot more road noise. He even suggested that he preferred the ride quality of the winter tyres over standard summer tyres – and this was in October, when the weather conditions were still more favourable to a summer tyre, so it truly did point out the quality of the product. He told me was hugely delighted with how responsive the vehicle was on these tyres, too.

‘More recently, I contacted this customer again to ask his opinion of how the Snow Grabber Plus tyres had performed during the ‘Beast From the East’ and the cold conditions we had experienced before it in December and January. Once again, he said the tyres had proved their worth in both the snow and icy conditions – he pointed out the ability they gave him to manoeuvre past other vehicles, including other 4x4s that could not traverse hills or low-lying icy roads with the ease he was able to drive. This customer is now a convert to General’s Snow Grabber Plus!’

General Tire is available exclusively through the 4SITE 4x4 Tyre national network of more than 250 approved 4x4 tyre specialists. 4SITE has been operating in the 4x4 market for over 30 years and is the largest and only dedicated supplier of 4x4 tyres in the country, stocking premium and high-quality brands such as General Tire. Offering expert and impartial advice, 4SITE’s customer service team together boast more than 120 years of industry experience.

For further technical information and details of your nearest 4x4 specialist and the General Tire product range, visit WWW.4SITE4X4TYRES.CO.UK or telephone 0870 112 9401

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MISSION:

Every year, Jeep creates a group of concept vehicles for the Easter Safari in Moab, Utah. With 2018 bringing a new Wrangler to the party, this year needed to be a good one…

WORDS: GEORGE DOVE PICTURES: JEEP

SANDSTORM

A

ll manufacturers have their own traditions. One favourite one is to give it about a few years years then stick a different bumper on to a mechanically unchanged vehicle and call it new. Another is to preview forthcoming models by building impossibly exciting concept cars and showing them to the world as glittering motor shows.

Jeep does things a bit differently. It hosts the annual Moab Easter Safari, where fanatics descend upon Moab, Utah, for a week of out-

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4SPEED

J-WAGON

of-this-world off-roading amid the sensational scenery of Canyonland National Park.

To celebrate this, each year Jeep produces a batch of concept vehicles which get their first airing at Moab. These do a fine job of reminding the company’s most devoted fans that it cares about them as much as they care about it – while also promoting the accessories offered through Mopar’s Jeep Performance Parts operation.

Any car maker with a strong enthusiast following has to contend with the fact that

there’ll be an army of small businesses designing parts and accessories for its vehicles. Some respond by sending out lawyers’ letters: Jeep’s answer is to position itself right at the heart of the family, and each year the Moab concepts reminds everyone of that.

The vehicles themselves are a mixture of badass, retro and hardcore visions of past and present favourites. In previous years, we’ve seen pretty much everything. Last time out we got the mental Quicksand (a Wrangler hot rod

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MOAB B-UTE

JEEPSTER

NACHO

WAGONEER ROADTRIP

that you need to see, and hear) and the Safari, with its see-through doors and rooftop drone.

Further back we saw the Mighty FC Concept – a near-perfect and beautifully patinated replica of a forward-control Jeep from the 1960s based on the chassis and running gear of a Wrangler.

But the highlight that captured everyone’s heart last year was the Grand One. A 1993 Grand Cherokee ZJ with 100,000 miles on the clock, this was given a period makeover that included including a wired-in carphone,

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a Gameboy and, obviously, a sticker of David Hasselhoff. It was lifted and gifted with massive tyres, too, naturally, but it was those delightfully witty nods to the nineties that made it such a hit.

So, what concepts were there this year at the 52nd Easter Safari? As always, there was a beguiling blend of mud machines, all-terrain adventurers and sleek trucks – and, of course, they breathed new life into an old boy too.

Needless to say, the star of the show this year was always going to be the new JL Wrangler.

This is still to arrive in the UK, but already the accessories market on the other side of the Atlantic is in full swing as America’s Jeep aftermarket gets to grips with its new toy.

Last year was a vintage one for the Moab series, and 2018 is a vintage one for Jeep. All eyes were on the new JL concepts, as everyone sought the answer to the big question: could Jeep’s creative geniuses come up with something even better. After all, it takes something big to hassle the Hoff…

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4SPEED

THERE HAVE BEEN a few concepts in the past which have championed lightness as a means of enhancing off-road prowess. That’s what the 4SPEED is.

This also makes it quicker. Get it? Built ‘4SPEED’. Make of that what you will…

The lightened JL Wrangler derivative follows on from 2011’s Pork Chop and 2013’s Stitch, and has carbon fibre everywhere – the bonnet, wing flares and rear tub are all made of the stuff, while the tailgate appears to be some form of mesh – a substance not famous for its weight. The elongated door openings are just that – openings, with no doors – and the custom roll cage is all that sits between inhabitants and the bright blue sky… which, coincidentally, matches said roll cage and the interior trimmings.

Most remarkably of all, the overall length of the concept is 22” shorter than a Wrangler off the production line – yet it still retains the same wheelbase. That’s bit what you call a small job, but it was worth doing for the sort of approach and departure angles the vehicle now features.

Dana 44 front and rear axles robustly command the 18” monoblock wheels, with a 4.1:1 diff ratio matched to 35” BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain tyres.

Under the bonnet, and this is a sign of the times with the advent of the new Wrangler, is a 2.0-litre straight-four turbocharged engine. Mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, this sends out a clear message – even if speed is what you want, the days of big V8s are in the past. Welcome to a thoroughly modern traditional Jeep.

B-UTE

THIS RENEGADE CONCEPT looks a little modest compared to the epic Wranglers all around it, but it’s pegged as an overland adventure truck designed to let people explore the world in comfort.

Not much has changed on the outside. There are tweaks to the grille, and to the back and, plus heat extractors on the bonnet and wider flared wheelarches.

Additions from the Jeep Performance Parts range include a 1.5” suspension lift, a roof-rack and rock rails. So it’s more practical, less likely to hit the ground and more likely to shrug off the impact if it does so.

Inside, changes are again subtle. The seats are trimmed with custom ‘mineral’ inserts, whilst carbonite finishing on the gear knob, speaker and vent surrounds add to the sleek interior. A Molle load system in the back offers more practicality, as the Mopar all-weather floor mats bring durability.

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NACHO

DESPITE THE INEVITABLE JOKES about it being unattainable because it’s NAT YO Jeep, this actually could be YO Jeep. PS it gets the name from the paint.

Which is the same colour as Nacho cheese, yeah? Just as well they’d not seen the new Swindon Town manager, or they’d have called it the Phil.

Jeep describes this Wrangler as a ‘rolling catalogue’. It started life as a Wrangler Rubicon and was then heavily magnetised and driven through the Mopar Jeep Performance Part warehouse – evidently with a degree of finesse.

There’s so much added to this Rubicon, if you ordered it from a menu you’d ask for the 18-cheese* nachos. As such, it’s hard to know where best to begin.

There’s an aggressive looking bonnet housing a cold air intake, a matte black grille and Mopar’s own tubular doors. Up front, the Rubicon bumper houses a Warn Winch to help you when its crunch time. Note the Nacho joke there? Good. Hope it wasn’t too cheesy.

Inspired in part by last year’s Luminator concept, the Nacho has gone all out on the lighting front. Mounted on both the A-pillars and brush guard are Magneti Marelli LEDs, and two header light bars are sealed to the inside of the windscreen. But the award for the Best Off-Road Lighting System That Will Irritate Everybody In Traffic goes to the rear off-road scouting system. These four-colour LEDs shine red when you’re stationary, amber when you’re moving at up to 3mph and then green at up to 25mph. It has a rear-facing spotlight, too.

Of course, the suspension has been lifted a couple of inches, and fortified aluminium shocks have been installed. Mighty 37” BFG Mud-Terrains sit on 17” beadlock wheels which carry the Nacho’s one subtle faux pas – their satin-carbon finish is the only conceptual aspect of the recipe.

Getting back to the Performance Parts inventory, we have bigger, wider rock rails and a reinforced tailgate hinge to accommodate the weight of the cumbrous spare tyre.

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JEEPSTER

AGAIN BASED ON the Wrangler Rubicon, this concept channels the spirit of the 1966 Jeepster. Taking cues from that legendary vehicle’s two-tone colour scheme (as well as its name, obviously), it sports Firecracker Red bodywork with solid white accents on the roof, wheelarches, door-tops and windscreen surround.

The hard-top has been trimmed by two inches and, while the windscreen has been raked backwards to metch, it still retains the ability to fold down.

In the current landscape, it’s inevitable that we’d get a truck aimed at the premium end of the market. And that’s what we have here with the mysteriously Germanic sounding J-Wagon.

Beginning out as a Wrangler Sahara, this is designed to fit in both on the trails and in the city. The Warm Neutral Grey paint, which isn’t a production option, works well with the similarly conceptual but rather more entertainingly named Brass Monkey finish to the 17” slot design wheels that debuted at the 2017 SEMA show. A black Mopar grille further adds to the suave image.

It more than just a Sahara with bling, though. Off-road ability has been enhanced with a Performance Parts bonnet, snorkel, roof rack and rock sliders. The wheels are wrapped in 35” BFGs, too.

J-WAGON

IN THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE, it’s inevitable that we’d get a truck aimed at the premium end of the market. And that’s what we have here with the mysteriously Germanic sounding J-Wagon.

Beginning out as a Wrangler Sahara, this is designed to fit in both on the trails and in the city. The Warm Neutral Grey paint, which isn’t a production option, works well with the similarly conceptual but rather more entertainingly named Brass Monkey finish to the 17” slot design wheels that debuted at the 2017 SEMA show. A black Mopar grille further adds to the suave image.

It more than just a Sahara with bling, though. Off-road ability has been enhanced with a Performance Parts bonnet, snorkel, roof rack and rock sliders. The wheels are wrapped in 35” BFGs, too.

Inside, the J-Wagon is lush. Camel coloured Katzkin upholstery is piped with brown edging, with inserts mimicking the triangulated grille. As with the exterior, the trimmings are finished in Brass Monkey – and if there’s one car in the world that’s so cool it could live up to the old saying about brass monkeys and freezing, it’s this one.

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WAGONEER ROADTRIP

IF YOU LOVE ‘EM RETRO, this could well be the pick of the bunch. The Wagoneer Roadtrip is a reworking of a Jeep Wagoneer, made from the mid-sixties until the early nineties, and utilises an original steel body. The chassis has been tweaked somewhat though, as has the drivetrain.

That’s if you count a 5” chassis stretch as a mere ’tweak’, at least. As well as its longer wheelbase, the Roadtrip has a wider track, and of course the bodywork has been adapted to suit.

There are other mods, too, but you’d have to be an old Jeep fanatic (or just old…) to notice them. Both the front and rear bumpers have been reworked to integrate rock rails, and the wheel wells have been reshaped. Also, that razor-sharp grille looks like the ones from the sixties, but it hasn’t just been polished – it’s actually brand spanking new, and new tinted glass has freshened up the retro cool, too.

To enhance the vehicle’s off-road ability, a few adjustments have been made to its chassis and axles. A new four-link suspension set-up with coil-over springs work with the reinforced boxed frame, and the axles are Dana 44s with locking diffs. Beadlock rims wrapped in 33” BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains add grip to the equation and help put the power down.

During its original lifetime, the Wagoneer was the first all-wheel drive vehicle to adopt an automatic gearbox, so it makes sense that this one has kept to that. The engine the four-speed unit works with has changed, though – instead of its original 230 Tornado straight six, the concept adopts a 5.7-litre V8. The original motor hasn’t been completely discarded, though, as there is a tool box created from its valve cover in the back. Gotta love touches like that; there’s a cooler in period attire back there, too.

The Roadtrip certainly isn’t as gung-ho as some of the other concepts here, being essentially a restification project. But just look at it.

You wouldn’t want to drag it over rocks or bash it off trees – but with a picnic packed in the back and all your family on board, you can rest assured it would be able to take you to whatever glorious alfresco dining spot you fancy, however inaccessible it might look.

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SANDSTORM

THIS RUGGED BEAUTY is inspired by Baja desert racers, and as such it is all about tearing down long stretches of sandy terrain.

But it’s still made for daily driving duties – though if you were to try and use it for the school run, you’d probably collect less glances if you somehow managed to borrow the Mean Machine from Dick Dastardly and Muttley.

To ready this Wrangler-based racer for dune-bashing, the aptly named concept is fitted with an extreme-duty suspension system and a 6.4-litre Mopar V8 with a six-speed manual box. Dynatrac 60 axles replace the standard units, with a 5.68:1 diff ratio allowing it to turn the 39.5” BFGoodrich Krawlers which dwarf their 17” beadlock rims.

The front axle is mounted four inches forward, while the rear stretches the wheelbase by a further two.

The set-up at the front consists of heavy-duty, long-arm, four-link suspension, while the rear is a triangulated trailing-arm four-link layout. Bypass shocks and custom coil-overs allow 14” of travel up front and 18” at the back.

Inside, there’s more inspiration from Baja racers. The dash is adorned with a 7” off-road GPS unit and racing inspired clusters, and there’s on-board rocker switches for electrics, air compressor and diff lockers. Out back, the concept houses a bedlined floor and low-back bucket seats, while above it all a custom roll cage is integrated into the chassis.

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STANDARD ISSUE As always, the plan was to keep it standard – and as always, it was doomed from the start. So when a fatal fault on Ben Langley’s Shogun presented an opportunity, the lure of the spanners was all too strong WORDS: GEORGE DOVE PICTURES: HARRY HAMM

S

ome sleepers are subtler than others. The often-German estates with huge engines and masses of power aren’t really a shock anymore. Then there are some more dormant cases, though – like a Mitsubishi Shogun you’d expect to be amicable off-road and great as a family taxi, but which drops your jaw when it throws down half a tonne of horsepower and leaves you standing on its way to amble along Strata Florida.

Ben Langley has modified vehicles before, but none catch glances like this one. Well, it would if people knew what he’d done to it. But it wasn’t always this specced up.

‘I had a Defender before I got the Shogun,’ says Ben. ‘But it wasn’t the most reliable of things and I got fed up of the general Land Rover-ness of it to be honest. It was great off-road but wasn’t comfortable enough.’

Having decided it was time for something new, Ben looked around for a vehicle that would cope with family life and the occasional off-road dalliance on the side. He opted for a 3.2-litre diesel Shogun.

‘It had previously been owned by two older ladies, and they’d really looked after it. It came

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with a full service history – if something had needed replacing then they just paid for it. I intended to keep it as a family car.

‘I was going to take it off-road occasionally,’ he admits. ‘But I was just going to put a half decent set of tyres on it and use it as standard.’

But the tyres he chose were Maxxis Bighorns, and paired with the 18” Mitsubishi rims they did cause rubbing issues that required a suspension lift. No stranger to spanner work, Ben happily saw to this himself.

‘I lifted it two inches using Triton strut spacers at the front,’ he says. ‘And I made custom spring spacers for the rear.

‘I was impressed with how well it coped offroad, to be honest,’ he adds. ‘It can do almost everything the Defender did. It does lack some flex in comparison to the Land Rover, but because it has the factory rear locker it can actually be better in certain circumstances.’

Still fairly standard and performing well as both a family bus and part-time plaything, Ben was more than satisfied with the Shogun. All was going well and there were no plans to change it further – plainly because there was no need to.

But then all that changed.

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Above left/right: Ben has no problem admitting that the Shogun’s all-independent axles have less flex than the Land Rover Defender he used to own. But with the locking rear diff that was standard on UK models, he reckons it’s very nearly as good – and can even be better in some situations Below, from left: The suspension remains basically standard – all Ben has done is install a 2” lift, using spring and strut spacers, to make space for taller tyres. He’s planning to replace this set-up with something more sophisticated, but he won’t go any higher simply because he doesn’t need to Below right: And here’s why the lift was necessary. With a set of Maxxis Bighorn M/Ts wrapped around its 18” alloys, the Shogun’s arches were fouling. Or being fouled, if you prefer. Either way, a couple of inches made all the difference.

As they do

Behind the alloys, MTEC drilled brake discs and Mintex pads would have been ludicrously OTT had the Shogun’s original engine survived. But with 500bhp on full boost, they’re just good sense

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‘The fuel pump went on the original engine,’ explains Ben. ‘And when I priced up the replacement, it was going to be about half of what I paid for the car. So, I looked at my options.

‘I really like the Shogun, so I was definitely sticking with it.

I knew the Lexus V8 engines were well thought of, so I looked about for people that had put them into Shoguns.’

The results of Ben’s research were limited, and initially it looked like he would be pioneering this one entirely on his own. He did find two cases where it had been done in the UK – but both were on automatics and therefore were a much simpler task than his.

But then Ben stumbled upon a game-changer.

‘I finally found a case where one had been put into a manual in South Africa, and fortunately on the website they even had CAD drawings.

I took them in to work and made an adapter hub, so I could use the Shogun flywheel with the Lexus V8.’

Using the equipment at work and the plans he’d found online, Ben was able to manufacture the parts necessary to get the Shogun’s V8 heart beating. But once it was mobile again the ball was rolling, and Ben had regained the taste for getting his hands dirty.

‘I ran it like that for a bit before I put the turbo on it,’ he smirks. ‘When that went on it boosted it up to about 400bhp, at which point it needed new engine management and valve springs. Then I re-tuned it to increase the boost and linked in the engine management and ECU, so at low boost it has 420bhp and over 500bhp at high boost.’

Having learnt about engines by the unbeatably effective method of working on them over the course of many years, Ben decided to learn

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‘You can really put it about offroad – it just pulls at tickover.

And it frightens the life out of boy racers on the road, too!’ something new. He consulted Clint Gaskin at Brands Hatch Performance on how to tune the Link G4+ engine management, enabling the Lexus V8 to work in harmony with the Holset HX50 turbocharger. The majority of the changes Ben

has made to his Shogun live under the bonnet, and the list isn’t a short one.

Alongside the turbocharger, the V8 has been bolstered by a fuel pressure regulator, a Bosch fuel pump, a two-stage boost controller

By the time water gets anywhere near this air intake, the engine’s electronics will be well drowned. But drying them out would be nothing compared to dealing with the results of a hydraulic lock under load, which is why we all have snorkels even though we never mean to use them. The ‘Pajero’ motif refers to the Shogun’s global product name, and is always good for a laugh if you happen to speak Spanish

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Opposite page: Surely this is in with a shout of being the busiest engine bay ever in a Shogun? It’s certainly one of the best installations we’ve ever seen.

The Lexus V8 unit, which runs Cometic MLS head gaskets, is joined under the bonnet by an Aeromotive adjustable fuel pressure regulator, Bosch 044 fuel pump, Holset HX50 turbo, GReddy boost controller and intercooler, Direnza alloy radiator, Link engine management and HKS blow-off valve. The detailing and finish are right up there with the quality of kit, too, and between the engine and gearbox is a Drivetorque Stage 3 eight-puck paddle clutch. If you’ve got a 3.2-litre diesel Shogun and the fuel pump lets go, take a good look at these pictures before spending the king’s ransom it’ll cost to replace Left: What would the point be of putting all that lovely extra stuff under the bonnet if you couldn’t use make the most of it by filling the cabin with lots of extra gauges?

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and front-mounted intercooler from GReddy, an HKS SSQV blow-off valve, a Direnza alloy radiator, custom turbo manifolds and pipework and a stainless steel 3” exhaust. Sceptics may be inclined to laugh at the idea of putting all this on to a twenty-year-old off-roader, but this Shogun fires back defiantly.

‘There haven’t been any transmission issues,’ says Ben. ‘It’s coped with the extra power without a problem. Because I’ve kept the original parts where I can, it drives like it came out of the factory this way.’

Okay, so it runs. But all of that power off-road just sounds like an endless loop of wheelspin waiting to happen, right? Wrong.

‘You can really put it about off-road – it just pulls at tick over. The added power hasn’t hindered performance off-road at all,’ Ben states proudly, before continuing with a chortle. ‘And it also frightens the life out of boy racers on the roads, too!’

Even with all of the mods stuffed under the bonnet, the Lexus V8 has been impeccable – worlds away from the Defender that drove Ben

mad. He’s pushed it off-road and had not had any problems – except for one case, and it might be a predictable one.

‘There was a slight misfire after I went through some deep water,’ admits Ben. ‘I got out the other side and it just stopped. But after a few minutes it got going again and didn’t look back – I’ve had no problems since.’

While the newfound power means the Shogun pulls through anything, Ben has also lent his hand to the exterior to mould the Mitsubishi into an off-roading machine. First off, to directly counteract the V8, he fitted MTEC drilled brake discs with Mintex pads for the required stopping power. The body has been covered in a black Full-Dip liquid wrap, while all the body mouldings and trim have been removed. Jaguar style bonnet vents have been installed alongside bush cables, a bull bar with an LED light bar, roof mounted spotlights and a roof rack that’s home to a highlift jack.

The interior has seen a few changes too.

Aftermarket gauges that monitor the various engine ancillaries have been added, along with a new double-din sat-nav unit. The third row of seating has been removed, and under-boot storage has been reapplied to house the battery and a 76-piece toolkit and recovery equipment.

The overhauled Shogun has proved itself a force to be reckoned with. It has coped with everything Ben has thrown it at on the green lanes around Salisbury Plain with Greenlaners Reloaded, and despite its chequered relationship

‘Because I’ve kept the original parts where I can, it drives like it came out of the factory this way’

Left: Brush wires help protect the paintwork from scratching… as does the fact that it’s covered in a Full-Dip liquid vinyl wrap Below: There’s a lot more heat trying to escape from under the bonnet than there would have been originally. Hence these Jag-style vents, which have the welcome side-effect of looking really funky

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Above left: Ye olde metal bull bar gives away the Shogun’s age somewhat. But it also provides a very useful home for some of the many LED spotlights that have gone on since the vehicle was built, which go together nicely to make up its game face. Bring it on!

Above right: ‘It’ll be nice when it’s finished’ is one of those things people say about stuff that looks like it’s been destroyed or just generally lashed-up. In the case of Ben’s back bumper, on the other hand, it’s completely accurate.

When we took these pictures, he was working on a custom steel – and already planning to do the same at the front, too with water it’s been along Strata Florida more than one with complete success. But regardless of this, Ben isn’t finished yet.

‘I’m working on a custom back bumper,’ he explains. ‘It’s currently only got the side pieces fitted, because I’m making a steel bumper myself and also looking into a custom one for the front.

‘After the bumpers, the suspension is the next thing I want to do. I don’t want a lift because I don’t need that. But the parts are currently very basic on the suspension, still stock really.’

Looking back at how the Shogun’s story has panned out, Ben has no regrets. He readily

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admits things didn’t go to much of a plan, but regrets none of it.

‘You could say I spiralled out of control,’ he chuckles. ‘I am looking into tuning it some more – it will be pushing 600bhp by then.

‘If the fuel pump hadn’t gone on the 3.2, I probably would have remapped it a bit and added a hybrid turbo. I admit I did get carried away!’

To many, this will all be great, but even so thinking about how the Shogun must work in the real world might still confound you. As you’d expect, though, Ben has no trouble in justifying his mechanical indulgences.

‘The only downside is the fuel bill,’ he says. ‘But it’s not really a bad thing because it’s my hobby.

I’m more than happy to pay it. My daily commute isn’t that far, and if I really need to go somewhere further I just jump in my wife’s Skoda!

‘I love the Shogun, it’s great fun! In a way, I’m glad that it turned out this way.’.

We photographed Ben’s Shogun at Whitecliff 4x4, which offers driver training for everyone from juniors to professionals in a superb site near the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire. To find out more, pay a visit to www.whitecliff4x4.co.uk

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EALES’ WHEELS

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John Eales is one of the most respected names in the Land Rover business – and perhaps the world’s leading authority on the Rover V8. He helped create the Dakar conversion to the Range Rover Classic – and the prototype, which he’s owned from new, has recently been restored back to its former glory WORDS AND PICTURES: MIKE TROTT

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T

here’s something that has always pulled me towards the Range Rover family tree.

And clearly I’m not the only one out there, what with the Evoque coming along and becoming Land Rover’s fastest-selling vehicle of all time, as well as a model history which is closing in on half a century. Even Land Rover has started to conceive the original twodoor Classics again as part of its Range Rover ‘Reborn’ programme.

Anyway, I’m not here to discuss births and birthdays with you; instead it’s the actual old collection of metal we’re interested in. I guess one of the attractions to the more vintage versions of the Range Rover is that these are classic vehicles you could and would willingly drive on a day-to-day basis.

Specifically, even fixing your gaze on a pristine Range Rover Classic today shows a sophisticated figure, capable of still looking the part at a country house or Boxing Day shoot just as it did all those years ago. Range Rovers age well: fact.

I think of the Range Rover Classic in much the same way I think of Dame Helen Mirren: they both still tickle my fancy. Whether she would appreciate such a comparison, I’m not too sure.

But perhaps she would be more satisfied with the analogy if she found out that it’s not just any Classic I’m talking about.

The rich red, suave Rangey in these pictures is as jaw-dropping as the aforementioned Dame Helen on the red carpet at The Oscars. However, the morsel of information that will make you want to take this stunner home is that this was the first Classic Range Rover to receive the Dakar conversion.

Allow us to fill in the blanks.

John Eales is the owner of this masterpiece.

Yes, that John Eales. The John Eales. It was he who worked on the original Dakar conversions of the Range Rover Classic while running what was formerly known as JE Motors, back in the ‘70s and ‘80s.

Some of you may be picturing a Dakar conversion being some sort of rally-prepared monster with a ridiculously flexible suspension and tyres that look like they would kill kittens just for fun. But no, the Dakar package was something designed to appease an appetite that had become evident in the 1980s – namely a thirst for more performance and a Range Rover with enough clout to match its class.

The pedigree was certainly there, as JE Motors was responsible for supplying the factory Range Rover team that competed in the Paris-Dakar Rally through the late ‘80s. And with quite some success too.

‘In the first year we did Paris-Dakar, we had 23 engines and 23 finishers,’ smiles John. Anyone who took their Range Rover Classic in for the Dakar treatment was clearly in safe hands.

Starting with a basic 3.9 V8 Classic, the Dakar conversion involved increasing the displacement of the engine up to 4.5 litres. Then came better brakes and suspension, an uprated exhaust and improved wheels and tyres. Perhaps we could think of this as a Range Rover Classic SVR? Either way, John’s Classic that we have here was the first to undergo the surgery and, while it

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A lot of work went in to the Dakar-converted power plant of the Range Rover Classic, with one of the first points being to bore out the engine to 4.5 litres. It also had a new crankshaft, pistons and bearings installed, as well as a new camshaft. With the engine balanced, its output was pushed north of 250bhp looks fantastic today, it wasn’t that long ago that this car was in need of some real attention.

‘Around ten years ago I stopped using it and it just sat around and deteriorated,’ admits John.

‘I even had it up for sale at one point, but there was no interest in it, even with all the history.’

Fortunately it wasn’t sold, because it now means we can marvel at it together. The Classic was transformed back to showroom condition thanks to Twenty-Ten Engineering, an independent Range Rover Classic specialist that works closely with John’s business today, JE Developments.

‘I’ve known Phil (owner of Twenty-Ten) for a good many years. He came over for the engine and said, “How about rebuilding this?” So it all went from there. Phil knew the history of the vehicle and knew he could rebuild it,’ says John.

When it was first bought back in 1989, John picked up the Range Rover from the dealer on the Friday, with a reworked 4.5-litre V8 promptly being fitted thereafter. It was the first of its kind and, as such, it became very popular with people like me.

‘Every scribe under the sun had thrashed it,’ laughs John, ‘It’s been around the TT course;

was used as the back-up car for Tour Auto in 1991 and has been whipped around England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – everyone used to borrow it!’

It had done 120,000 miles prior to the rebuild and was original apart from the Dakar DNA running through the vehicle. According to John, it had always been well looked after; never needing anything done, and he can’t even recall it breaking down on anyone. Is he a mechanic or a magician, we ask ourselves…

It was this history that made it so well worth restoring. Phil worked his magic on the Range

The restored interior is nothing short of glorious. It’s also a very good advert for Twenty Ten Engineering, who were tasked with the rebuild

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‘I’ve always liked the Range Rover. It’s always been Rover V8s for me – it’s all I’ve done for 50 years’ Rover with a new chassis and brought the bodywork back up to perfect condition. The chassis has been Waxoyled and the vehicle is now very cherished, dry stored in a warm garage with a warm cover.

‘I daren’t use it now,’ chuckles John. ‘My everyday cars always get hard use, with engines in the back and so on. It seemed like a good idea at the time, though! It’s such a nice car, so it only gets used for the odd nice day and holidays.’

Rare as its outings may be nowadays, when the sun does shine and John takes out his Dakar-inspired beauty, the experience is like watching your favourite rock band, live, playing out all their greatest hits on a summer’s evening when everything and everyone seems to be on top form.

The raucous V8 fills your ears and widens your pupils, with all that upgrading and tweaking starting to make sense.

Statistics back at the time of the conversion’s emergence claimed that top speed was taken from 102mph in the 3.9 to more than 120mph with the Dakar 4.5, while acceleration was slashed from 12.3 sec to 8.1 sec. That’s a decent turn of pace even by today’s standards.

A standing quarter-mile, meanwhile, was achieved in just 17.26 sec. Rapid.

John continues: ‘We improved the handling, too. Back in those days, we carried out the changes with Harvey Bailey.’

Part of the improvement came from the installation of anti-roll bar kits, front and rear, to minimise body roll in the corners. New springs and shocks were installed, too, to ensure that these Dakar Classics delighted rather than disappointed on-road.

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‘My mate was a service manager at Porsche, working near the A45 at the time and he span once trying to follow me,’ grins John. ‘It’s a really nice vehicle to drive and I’ve always liked the Range Rover. It’s always been Rover V8s for me – it’s all I’ve done for 50 years.

‘And with this car, the performance is improved and the road holding is much better.

There’s a really lovely balance between the performance and handling.’

Being a manual as well – in fact, John believes it was the first manual 3.9 off the line – it gives him all the more involvement when driving his Classic. And this is a Range Rover you truly want to drive.

The only downside was that it used to chew its way through tyres rather more quickly than you might hope. But then, that could be down to the exuberance of all those young hooligan hacks wanting to see what all the fuss was about.

The flipside was that most owners actually claimed the 4.5 V8 to be better on fuel than the 3.9 when driven the same, while John says the

air-con system in this Classic is the best he has ever experienced in a car: ‘It’ll literally put frost on your watch!’

I’ll admit that I have been rather taken with John’s Dakar Rangey. The colour, the performance, the whole driving experience – it’s all there. John may think the air-con system is cool, but this is a car I’m happy to label as just outright cool.

‘It took over two years to complete the build, but I wasn’t pushing Phil to get it finished,’ says John. That’s the respect of knowing how busy each of them can be, particularly in the current climate.

‘Now it’s finished, though, I’m certainly going to look after it.’

It may have been a bit of a wait for the Range Rover to be finished, but such a vehicle was deserving of time and patience. The Dakar conversion took an already brilliant car and, with the help of John’s technical nous, turned it into a fantastic on-road driver’s car – and a legend in its own right.

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A HUNDRED-GR A With a combination of sensational scenery and technically challenging terrain, the Lake District has some of the best rights of way in the whole of Britain. The perfect place, then, for the Mercedes G-Class to demonstrate that after all this time, it still has what it takes – just so long as you don’t mind wrestling with the rocks aboard a £97,300 off-roader…

WORDS: ALAN KIDD PICTURES: RICHARD HAIR

Y

ou can drive the same bit of ground twice in five minutes and it can be different each time. That’s one of the most basic rules of off-roading, and one of the things that makes it such an endlessly fascinating hobby.

But we know the lanes in the Lake District.

We’ve been up here many times, savouring the fabulous combination of scenery and tricky, rocky driving that makes it so enduringly popular among Britain’s rights of way users. We’ve done them in all sorts of vehicles, and we know where we’re at.

We’ve done them in a Defender, a Discovery, a Patrol and a Land Cruiser. Some standard, some modified. But we’ve never done them in a hundred grand’s worth of someone else’s Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

To be fair, the list price for a G 350 d is only £88,800. (‘Only,’ ha ha ha.) But this one has just under ten grand’s worth of off-road equipment on it, including a Warn Zeon Platinum winch, Lazer Triple-R LED bar, ARB Deluxe roof rack and 255/55R19 Atturo Trail Blade mud-terrain tyres on AMG alloys. Add it all up and it would cost you £97,300 – so it might not quite be a hundred-grand off-roader, but who’s asking?

Not us, certainly. In the world we inhabit, that hundred grand might as well be a hundred million. Which is approximately what it feels like it’s going to cost if things go wrong on one of the many temptingly hard and sharp outcrops waiting to get us on the Lakeland trails which, surprise surprise, have become way more extreme since we were last here.

We ought to have seen that coming. Not least because we’re always telling people to see things like that coming, but also because there’s been the small matter of a freakishly intense wet winter in Cumbria since then. The kind that washes bridges away, as you might recall.

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R AND DAY OUT

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So this was very much a case of don’t do what we do, do what we say. But then, ‘go laning in the Lake District’ is something we’d say to anyone with a good 4x4 and a sense of adventure, so figure that one out.

And the G-Class is more than just a good 4x4.

It’s a brilliant one. A brilliant one which just happens to cost a small fortune, but you do get an awful lot of truck for your money. The original G-Wagen, as it used to be called, was a much more basic truck, and with that vehicle’s 38-year-old design still providing the underpinnings for the current model, there’s an element of making do about where the controls, dials and so on are located – but that doesn’t half make for a flight deck of a cabin. And the

stuff you’re controlling is spot-on – how many other new 4x4s give you a full set of locking diffs (proper ones, not an ABS-banging alternative) installed within proper live axles? There’s a dualrange transfer box too, of course, and the sevenspeed auto upstream of it does what you ask when low range is engaged. It’s a clever vehicle, but one you can properly drive.

It also has a fantastic driving position. People who think all cars should be Ferraris will hate it the way they hate a visit to the dentist, but you sit wonderfully upright, a little closer to the steering wheel than you might want but with the road (or track) ahead laid out before you like the view out of a low-flying aircraft. It makes the G-Class incredibly relaxing on the motorway

(when cruising up to the Lake District for a day’s laning, for example) and puts you in position of power from which to survey the terrain. If ever there was a truck to remind you how valuable it is to be able to see what you’re doing, this would be it.

Ironic, then, that I want to close my eyes as we edge our way past another of these jagged looking outcrops, just as a malevolent looking side slope leans us over towards it and our nearside wing mirror starts brushing the ground.

This is going to be close.

The ground itself is nothing the G-Class can’t handle at a stroll. There’s plenty of grip, and it’s nowhere near uneven enough to flex out the axles, let alone call for the lockers. But what a

‘By the time my old Nissan Patrol found its new owner, there wasn’t a lot of straight metal left on it.

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reminder of why I like green laning in vehicles whose bodywork I don’t need to worry about.

The Nissan Patrol we mentioned earlier was my own property back in the day, so while I didn’t set out to put dents in it I didn’t have to answer to anyone else for it if they happened. And oh, they happened. None in the Lake District, but by the time it found a new owner there wasn’t a lot of straight metal left on it.

I definitely, definitely don’t want the G-Class to go the same way. It’s the same every time I get behind the wheel of a vehicle a manufacturer has loaned us for test driving, but never before have I gone laning in one worth this much. Not in the sort of terrain the Lakeland lanes can throw at you, at any rate.

The thing is, you’re never more than a few inches away from bedrock round here. Some combination of nature and human intervention may in places have smoothed it off to the point where it’s drivable, but it’s right there – and if nature comes back to wash away whatever material has been filling in the gaps, you can find that what’s left is very uneven indeed.

There’s a long and fabulously scenic right of way that runs round the north side of the Tarn Hows lake, for example. Time was that you could just about drive it in an everyday car, but water erosion has changed that. We came across a group of walkers – which happens a lot in this area, but they don’t normally congregate by an exposed crag of rock to watch you pick your way over it. By and large this is still one of the gentler right of way in the area between

Coniston Water and Windermere, but right now it has technical sections which definitely had us thinking about the Merc’s 112” wheelbase.

We were also in mind of the tyres on this particular G-Class. The Atturo Trail Blade is a very good mud-terrain, but 255/55R19 is not the size we’d choose for any kind of offroad use. Surely a vehicle like this deserves something taller than a 30-incher? Even a modest 265/75R16 would only add about 1.5” in height while making a huge difference in terms of the all-important sidewall height; we’ve no idea if a 16” rim would make it round the vehicle’s brakes, but you get the point. Lowprofile tyres and off-roading are like chalk and cheese, and apart from anything else we think they look silly on a big 4x4.

Not that we were ever embarrassed by the size of the tyres on our G-Class, anyway. And without having to air them down, the Atturos did an excellent job of gripping on to a mixture of rock, both wet and dry,

loose stones and, in between times, the sort of general sloppy crud you tend to get in higherlevel woodlands.

The track through Grizedale Forest Park is a good example of this. It’s also a good example of the opportunities you get to do your bit for the local economy when you go out for a day on the trails, as the cafe in the visitors’ centre at the west end of the right of way does what remains one of the best picnic lunches we’ve ever had.

Another good reason to drive the Grizedale track is that it’s home to some interesting works

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Above left: Repairs made to this wall on the Tilberthwaite right of way a couple of years ago were paid for by donations from motor vehicle users Above right: Grizedale Forest is famous for its art installations. This wooden statue of a fox stands near a junction in the unsurfaced road over the top of Furness Fells, and forms a useful landmark as you look for the correct route of outdoor sculpture. Since 1977, leading artists have been contributing to what’s known as the UK’s first Forest For Sculpture, a project run under the auspices of the Forestry Commission which has helped give the place a unique fascination. You can see a few of these works from the track itself, though the way to really get to grips with them is to go on foot, as most are in locations that are out of bounds to vehicles.

Even so, one of them actually provides a useful landmark as you follow the right of way through the forest. Having climbed the hillside away from the visitors’ centre (watching out for mountain bikers coming towards you at warp speed), you merge on to a much bigger, smoother track then filter out of it again – next to an enormous

wooden fox. Very handy, though it might put you in mind of Monty Python and the Holy Grail…

Things get very uneven on the way down the hill, to the extent that wheels are likely to lift.

Our G-Class just about managed to keep all four on the ground through the steep axle-twisters, but we could certainly feel its weight shifting as the rears took it in turn to lighten up.

That was nothing compared to the way its body was moved about later in the day, though, on the trail running north towards Langdale from High Tilberthwaite. You’re in serious all-terrain territory almost from the start, here – though first, there’s some courtesy to be extended to the farmers who live at the southern end of the right of way. Access is right through the middle

of the farmyard, and green laning protocol round here asks vehicle users to walk ahead and open the gate in advance rather than sitting among the buildings with their engines running. Particularly important if you’re in a convoy, obviously.

The trail climbs quickly from here, and it’s rocky from the start. Actually, it wasn’t as uneven as I remembered, which filled me with what turned out to be false confidence. Further on, there are proper axle-twisters, outcrops to be scaled and one particular side slope that had my guts churning as I eased the G-Class along, inch by inch, with its bodywork getting ever closer to the exposed rock to its left. Having made it through, the last thing I wanted to do was have to turn round and go back.

Good news, then, that a retaining wall further along from here has been repaired. A couple of years ago, Tilberthwaite faced closure because the wall’s footings were getting undermined and the local authorities couldn’t find the two or three grand it would cost to repair it. To save the lane, this was raised via donations by motor vehicle users, principally through the Green Lane Association and Trail Riders’ Fellowship.

In truth, as a right of way the lane should be maintained at the taxpayer’s expense. But we all know how stretched public funds are, and in this case paying for the repairs was simply a matter of what would actually work. Not something you’d want to be taken as a precedent, however – and a few weeks after the donation had been made, green lane users were less than happy to hear in the news that a quarter of a million pounds of taxpayers’ money had been spent on repairing damage caused by hillwakers’ boots on a Welsh mountain. One law for the the rich, powerful masses, another for a tiny minority… surely not?

Let’s leave such distasteful thoughts to one side. We’re high up now and there are glorious views ahead of us, even in the gloom of an

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overcast day. But there’s not much time to enjoy them, because after one massive off-camber axle-twister comes what feels like a sheer drop off the face of a cliff. It’s not, of course, nothing like it, but try telling yourself that when you’re easing a large, valuable piece of someone else’s property over the edge.

Happily, the G-Class is much less easily shaken by such things than the humans on board.

But further on, approaching the junction with another track, we come to a bigger obstacle still.

It’s a massive, angled slab of smooth rock giving on to the jagged edge of outcropping rock strata that makes up the embankment on the far side of the track – and if things go wrong here, we’re toppling sideways into it.

I get out and recce it on foot. I figure out the line I’d take. I look at each bit of ground and yes, I can picture the Merc’s wheels gripping, keeping it upright and moving the whole way through.

But I already know what’s coming next. I ask myself ‘what if’ and the answer is obvious. If I get this wrong, if we lose grip, if it doesn’t stay upright, we’re either going sideways into those rocks or, worse, rolling over on to them. Either way, maybe I’d give it a try if the vehicle was my own and there was someone here to tow it back from the brink (or beyond) – but up here on our own, the G-Class must be denied the opportunity to prove its ultimate off-road abilities. Sorry Mercedes, but I don’t want to break your car.

Thankfully, this doesn’t mean turning round and retracing our steps back to the farm. The junction is shown on the OS map to have a diagonal short-cut to the other track – and while this is very faint on the ground, it’s visible and it allows us to skirt round the section that would have been a rock face too far. Soon (well, soonish, as there are more axle twisters still to come), we’re taking the G-Class back out of low box and, a few very deep breaths later, piloting it back

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on to the tarmac. It’s been a scary session on the rocks, but Merc’s best has been unflappable; we’re through, and we’re through unscathed.

With that, it’s time once again to enjoy the heated leather seats, the premium entertainment system and the peerless view of the traffic all around as we head back down the M6 for home. The G-Class might not be the last word in refined cruising the way something like the S-Class is, but it glides along with the same graceful poise and overwhelming confidence that it brings to dealing with jagged, uneven rocks.

And then something happens that’s never happened to us before and will almost certainly never happen again. You know how rap artists like to drop the names of expensive cars in their songs? Well, on the radio someone called J-Hus says something about a G-Wagen, and just for a moment there he’s talking about our car.

A car which, of course, will shortly go back to Mercedes, so it’s not really ours at all. But it’ll go back in one pieces, and after taking on some of the trails we’ve driven today that says a lot for its design and off-road ability alike.

It might be priced like a rap star’s bauble – but the G-Class is, absolutely, the real deal. If you can afford to think about a Range Rover or whatever, the same sort of money could put you into the most competent, most heroic, most achingly authentic off-roader ever to cost a hundred grand. And if you can afford to buy one, you can afford not to worry about scratching it. Perfect.

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OUR 4X4S: SKODA KODIAQ

Ready for Action

The Skoda Kodiaq was one of 2017’s very best new 4x4s. It’s more than just a family wagon, though – it’s properly built for adventures, especially with the off-road enhancements added to the Scout model. As ours is all set to prove…

O

ur Editor bumped into a long-lost childhood friend recently. Probably around three and a half decades had passed since they last saw each other, and here they were both grown up, married, bringing up families and so on. A subtle difference being that he lives on a housing estate in Burton on Trent and she lives on the other kind of estate, the kind with an acreage that makes your head spin.

We’re all just people deep down, though, and we’re all into cars, and that subject didn’t take long to come up. You think we’re about to say something about Range Rovers here, and in a manner of speaking we just have, but what does

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the modern estate-owning working mum drive?

‘I’ve got a Skoda Kodiaq,’ she said. ‘I absolutely love it. It’s brilliant.’

Now, we all know the other kind of person. The kind who, shall we say, is forever striving to prove how well they’re getting on in life. The kind who, if you tell them about Skodas, are still most likely to sneer. Yes, dinosaurs still exist. And, nothing at all against Jags and Beemers, but that’s the sort of thing you’ll find them driving.

But you can’t buy class, however much of it your car might have. And as it happens, Skodas have lots. The Kodiaq, which was one of the biggest winners in the 2018 4x4 of the Year awards, is good enough for absolutely anyone.

It’s certainly good enough for us – which is why we’re rather looking forward to the next twelve months, as we’ll be spending them with one of them on our fleet.

Our long-term tester is a Scout model, which means it’s enhanced for off-road use with toughened bumpers and added protection underneath.

It comes with four-wheel drive, naturally, as well as an off-road function with which you can set the vehicle up for low-traction work, and we specced ours with Dynamic Chassis Control – a £990 addition which adds selectable drive modes.

That’s one of several options on our vehicle, which is a 2.0 TDI 150ps model. It’s going to be tested as a family car first and foremost, so

4x4 29/03/2018 14:43

we went for a variety of safety and practicality kit – lane assist, blind spot detection and every available airbag, as well as a powered boot lid, reversing camera and picnic tables for the second row. Add a heated windscreen, upgraded stereo, metallic paint and self-parking function, and to be honest we’d been greedy. List price for our Kodiaq is £34,205 but, by the time we were finished ticking the options (which, we have to confess, we did while sitting next to an open fire and quaffing brandy in a rather grand Lake District hotel), we’d upped that to £39,865. Were it our own money, we’d have been less extravagant.

As we mentioned above, anyway, our Kodiaq will spend most of its time doing family duties.

But the point of a car like this is that you’re not limited to school runs and missions to the tip.

Where will we take it first, we wondered?

Up to Yorkshire, or maybe the Derby Dales?

How about Wales, or up to the Lake District?

Anywhere with good green lanes is alright by us – they need to be suitable for a smart SUV on 19” rims, obviously, so absolutely no deep mud or scratchy undergrowth, but as you probably know that leaves plenty to go at.

So where did we decide to go first? Oh, the tip, obviously. Because one of the other things about having a do-it-all vehicle is that you become incredibly popular with all your friends. Sure enough, someone we knew had the builders in and there was a load of wet, grubby plasterboard, wet, grubby carpet and wet, grubby furniture to get shot of. Wet and grubby very much the theme, then, which is something we rather like here at 4x4 magazine but ideally beneath our wheels rather than lurking behind us. Still, it proved just how good the Kodiaq is at swallowing big loads when its back seats are down.

It also proved that the powered boot lid is a good one to tick on the options list. It only costs £185 and, when you’re going back and forth with armfuls of crud but not wanting to leave your vehicle unsecured in between times, you don’t need to make many trips to appreciate being able to zap it open before setting off.

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We’re loving the upgraded stereo, too, which comes on top of an already excellent standard system featuring DAB, sat-nav and smartphone mirroring. One thing we’ve found particularly good in the Kodiaq is the sound quality when making hands-free phone calls – every word comes through clearly. As it’s being used for long commutes a couple of times each week, during which that feature comes firmly into its own.

All of which is fine and dandy. But adventures, dammit, we want adventures! Always a bit galling when you were on your way to celebrate the reopening of Kiln Bent Road with a day on the trails but then a mate needs help because his life has become wet and grubby as discussed.

Not to worry, we’ll put that on the slate for a little further into spring. And on the way home from the tip, let’s take a detour via a few of our local lanes. These are the kind that are used every day by farm traffic and don’t require a hardcore off-roader to get down. One of them is best tackled by submarine during the winter months, but that’s a different story.

Not surprisingly, the Kodiaq was well within its comfort zone here, with traction to spare.

We can’t say with our hands on our hearts that pressing the Off-Road button made any appreciable difference, but we did it anyway and in future, we’ll endeavour to put it to a proper test, but so far so good. We did find the vehicle surprisingly easy to cross-axle to a standstill when testing its articulation, however – in the picture below, we had reversed it as far as it was willing to go before two wheels started spinning.

Having seen what the VW Group’s all-wheel drive technology is capable of, however (see elsewhere in this issue for more on that), we’re not discouraged. Quite the opposite, actually. There’s some terrain we’ve got in mind, from lane guides that have appeared previously in the magazine, which will give the Kodiaq every chance to prove itself. And dish up adventures by the bucketload in the process. For now, though, so long as the bucketloads of soggy plasterboard are done with, we’ll be happy. With this car parked outside, in fact, make that overjoyed.

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OUR 4X4S: SSANGYONG KORANDO

The Beast from the Far East

Our SsangYong Korando was well and truly put to the test when the Beast from the East swept in. But Ssangyong’s tough little SUV took the worst of winter comfortably in its stride

I

t’s not often we get snow in the UK, which means it’s rare that we get to try out vehicles in the stuff. So unlike most British drivers, we were actually excited when the Beast from the East threw life as we know it into turmoil. For a few days, anyway.

It’s safe to say that in the midst of the wintry madness, our Korando was a capable steed.

There were very few situations in which its AWD system kicked up a fuss, and to be honest we rarely needed to push the button that locks the centre diff.

Every morning routine is different, and without fail mine entails backing off my drive. In the bleak weather, this wasn’t just snowy but icy too. Thankfully, and reassuringly, this posed no issues for the Korando, as it remained sure-footed and found

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the traction to ease its way out on to the road without any drama.

The squelchy sludge on the busier but smaller roads came the closest to unnerving the Korando, causing it to understeer once or twice. For the majority of the time in the snow, though, it calmly put down its torque and continued comfortably.

Borderline nonchalantly, in fact. It remained as composed as if there wasn’t any snow – and the same goes off-road too, for that matter.

Being a 4x4 that was designed in the days when selectable driving modes were still largely the stuff of premium brands, it was remarkable how the Korando continued to make unflustered progress on the chaotic roads. As you’ll recall, most roads were soon cleared and, despite people’s worst fears, a trip out wasn’t necessarily akin to an

arctic expedition. However, when they hadn’t been excavated and the surface under its tyres was purely snow, manoeuvrability wasn’t affected.

Traction control occasionally kicked in if we were at all generous with the throttle but, as always with any car, you learn where the limits are and how to drive within them. And if you play to the Korando’s strengths, the AWD system will do all the work while the electronic helpers sit quietly in the background.

In the dire depths of all the anarchy caused by the Beast from the East, we actually used the Korando on a rescue mission. This wasn’t actually anywhere near as exciting as it sounds, admittedly – we did offer to help tow a stranded 44-tonner up a hill the way you see in all those viral clips on Facebook, but the driver pointed out that he was

4x4 29/03/2018 12:04

no stranded, actually, he was just having his sandwiches, and and politely asked us to get out of the way. So instead, we ferried some recovery gear (well, a broom) to where a stricken hatchback needed four inches of snow knocked off it before it could set off for home. Then we had another go at getting the tow rope out so we could give it a bump start, but the driver turned the key and it fired up first time. So we gave up and went off for a spot of snowy green laning instead, which felt less noble but just as heroic.

Of course, when you’ve got a vehicle like the Korando in snowy conditions, while getting about should still be perfectly viable it can take an awful lot longer than normal. That’s not because you’re

struggling for traction, but because everybody else is. So it’s good that while we were waiting for them all to sort themselves out, the Korando was a welcoming enough place in which to simply take refuge from the extreme weather. The heated leather seats were comfortable and warmed up quickly as we slumped into them, as did the steering wheel. The climate control isn’t quite as enthused by the prospect of thawing you out, but the outlets aimed at the steering wheel saw that our hands were toasted from both sides. It was soothing to climb into after involuntarily skating across frozen car parks, and the boot has more than enough space for all the panic-bought bread and milk you could possibly want.

On the whole, the Korando dealt brilliantly with the mini-winter. Despite the hysteria it caused, the Beast didn’t faze it, or us when we were on board – except the constantly wet reversing camera, but yeah, first world problems.

The snow didn’t kick any major chunks out of its ride or performance. If you’re an off-road snob or brand fanboi, you might have looked at the Korando and assumed it would have no more than a fair-weather 4x4 system – but if that’s you, our experience says you’re wrong.

And that was in record-breaking weather that sent Britain into a frenzy. Not that it takes much to achieve that, mind. Beast from the East 0, Beast from the Far East 1.

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MAY 2018 | 77

29/03/2018 12:04

OUR 4X4S: PROJECT 90

Krown Jewels

W

ith two very different Defender 90s now on our fleet, it can be complicated to describe what’s happening to which one. Both are late Td5s, but one is a modified off-roader and the other is more of a pavement princess.

It’s the latter we’re looking at here. Much of this project has concentrated on keeping it in as good a condition as possible – which is where we’re at again this month.

The pictures on these pages find us at the home of Krown Rust Control Ltd. Anything that helps with the prevention of rust has got to be worth paying attention to when you hold the keys to a Land Rover of a certain age, and Krown’s rust prevention systems have long been used on serving military vehicles in its home country. The fact that its home country is Canada, where conditions aren’t famed for being particularly benign, says this is good stuff. The company’s products have been used on the UK forces’ hardware, too, which once again isn’t something that tends to happen with kit that doesn’t work.

Our Defender paid a visit to receive the full Krown rustproofing treatment, using the company’s T40 product – a liquid that hardens and solidifies into a jelly. This can be purchased in a simple aerosol can, but applying it is not a simple process – or at least, it’s not quick.

That’s because a full treatment will focus not only on the chassis but the underside of the body, inside the door cavities, the inner wings and anywhere else that can do with a helping hand.

What you’ll find here is an image of the process your vehicle will go through should you decide that this Krown business sounds like a good idea for your 4x4. It all starts with a hoist up on to the ramps and a clean-down of the subject surfaces – because while it’s blindingly obvious, applying any sort of treatment on to a layer of mud is going to create a right royal mess. Far better to go for Krowning glory…

If you own a Land Rover Defender, it’s probably no less precious to you than a rare jewel would be. We’ve got two of the things – a rough diamond, in the shape of our off-road wagon, and the polished pearl you see here. And now it’s more polished, and more of a pearl, than ever, thanks to a dose of rust-proofing treatment from Krown 78 | MAY 2018

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Above left: The vehicle is lifted onto the ramp ready for inspection and preparation prior to the treatment being applied. Generally, the process requires little preparation, but if necessary the team will hot jet wash the underside to remove excess dirt or loose rust Above centre: You can see where the old side steps used to hold on to the chassis, before we treated the 90 to its new Masai jobs. Krown’s T40 is hygroscopic and penetrates through any other coatings to get right to the very surface Above right: While the 90 is in very good condition throughout, there is no hiding what ten years can do to a vehicle. In one or two places, there is just a hint of rust attempting to break out

Above left: The T40 product is sprayed in a fine mist using specially designed tools Above right: It’s not just the chassis that gets attention. The team drill a hole in the side of the door so its internal cavities can be sprayed with the hot rust inhibitor Below: And it’s not just doors, either. Sills and box sections won’t escape the application, nor will wheelarches and inner wings. Krown will even spray behind your 90’s rear benches and on to its rear quarter panels, as well as inside the hinges and door locks and at the wiring loom and battery terminals

Below left: This is a good indicator of how Krown’s rust inhibitor works: the crossmember has recently received treatment and then been sprayed with water. You can see how the water is streaking off with no chance of settling and penetrating the surface now that the T40 has been applied Below centre: Here’s the grommet installed after all the spraying has finally finished Below right: If you needed any extra proof that this stuff does what it says, check out this old car that’s been set up to act as a demo for Krown’s products. One side was treated and the other was not; this picture was taken around eight months after the application went on. We’ll leave you to work out which is the neglected side…

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OVERLOADING IS COMMON

YOUR INSURANCE COULD BE INVALID IF YOU’RE OVERLOADED

4x4 Overloading – a problem easily solved What would your thoughts be if you were told your vehicle, trailer and everything carried on it and in it were not insured?

Scary thought isn’t it, but of all the vehicles stopped and checked by DVSA (2015-2016), over 80% were found to be overloaded and/or exceeding the driver’s licence entitlement.

When was the last time you checked your vehicle weights?

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Try using SvTech’s free Load Distribution Analysis program to check your weights. www.svtech.co.uk/lda

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DAMAGED LANE REPAIRED BY 4X4 CLUB VOLUNTEERS

VOLUNTEERS FROM the Green Lane Association (GLASS) have repaired a right of way near Bainton in East Yorkshire – after it was damaged by what locals said was a stuck military vehicle.

The lane, which passes next to a children’s playground at its western end, winds along a series of field edges and is typically well drained and quite smoothly surfaced – however during the second part of last year, a small rutted section turned into a large, deep hole.

With Bainton Parish Council expressing its concern about the lane’s condition, local GLASS rep Sam Jones met with the East Riding 4x4 Club to discuss what repairs could be feasible given the

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time of year. Having been granted permission by East Riding Council, a group of around a dozen volunteers from the two clubs went to work to try and fill the hole.

Sam takes up the story: ’Due to the softness of the ground and not wanting to cause further damage, it was decided on the day that all we could do was fill in the large hole and cut back some blackthorn that was encroaching in one section.

Filling in the hole took most of the day. First, a grip was dug to relieve the water and then bricks that had been brought by the volunteers were placed into the ruts to bring the height back up. Finally, we were able to tip a load of hardcore, kindly provided by a local land owner and

delivered by one of the volunteers, into the hole to build on the base that had been created and make a suitable surface.’

The materials for the repairs were brought to the site aboard the volunteers’ vehicles, but further repairs to some of the smaller ruts in the area were carried out the old-fashioned way – using ‘many wheelbarrows and lots of shovelling.’ In addition, some flytipped rubbish was removed from the right of way and taken to the local tip.

‘This lane will need more work in the summer months once it has dried out,’ continues Sam. ‘Another local landowner has offered help in the way of more bricks and rubble,

so hopefully the damage this next winter season will not be as bad and we will see the lane kept open for all users.’

Interestingly, during their day on the lane the working party met several local residents – including some Parish Council members.

‘All were pleased to see that some action was being taken,’ says Sam, ‘and assured us that they wanted the lane to stay open for all users. By repairing the damage to the lane, it might just stop motorcycles from riding down the footpath, making it a nicer experience for all.’

The locals also told the team that the original damage had been done when a convoy of large military

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vehicles had gone down the lane and one of them had got stuck, requiring a heavy recovery truck to winch it out. This left, in Sam’s words, ‘significant damage that was not repaired.’

Sam also speculates that the deterioration in condition of the lane’s surface following this initial incident may possibly have been

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exacerbated by the seasonal TROa used widely on other rights of way in the area. Most of all, however, it’s for the 4x4 community in general to thank him, and the other volunteers from both GLASS and the East Riding 4x4 Club, for putting in the effort it took to prevent a fine lane from slipping into longterm disrepair.

A classic right of way in West Yorkshire has reopened to through traffic after a year as a dead end. Kiln Bent Road, which winds though a valley south-west of Holmfirth, was closed due to construction work on one of several reservoirs close to its course – preventing it from being used as a means of access to the magnificent Ramsden Road byway which joins at its eastern end. With the work now complete, the two rights of way can once again be used as a through route – allowing vehicles to take a superbly scenic journey from the village of Arrunden to the A6024 near Holme without touching tarmac.

OFF-ROAD CALENDAR

UK Convoy Tours 15 April

5-7 May

Ardent Adventures Lake District

Compass Adventures Wales

16-17 April

6 May

UK Landrover Events Cumbria/Yorkshire

Ardent Adventures Lake District

21 April

Protrax East Midlands

UK Landrover Events Durham Dales

UK Landrover Events Yorkshire Dales

21-22 April

7 May

Atlas Overland Wessex

UK Landrover Events North York Moors

Compass Adventures North Wales

12-13 May

28-29 April

UK Landrover Events Wiltshire

Onelife Adventure Wales

19 May

Protrax Wales

Ardent Adventures Westmorland

2 May

19-20 May

Ardent Adventures Yorkshire Moors

Trailmasters Yorkshire

2-6 May

20 May

Ardent Adventures Whitby to the Lakes

Ardent Adventures Westmorland

4 May

26-27 May

Ardent Adventures Westmorland

Protrax Wales

5 May

2 June

Ardent Adventures Lake District

UK Landrover Events Tyne and Wear

UK Landrover Events Eden District

3 June Protrax East Midlands

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BONKAS 4X4 TO THE RESCUE AS JURY SERVICE THREATENS TO LEAVE LOCAL CHARITY STUCK

VOLUNTEERS FROM Welsh off-road club Bonkas 4x4 have stepped in to help a local charity – after it was left without transport by a call to jury service.

The charity, called Hungry Herds, is devoted to feeding the many herds of wild ponies which live on Gelligaer Common, near Merthyr Tydfil in the Welsh valleys. Grazing for these animals is plentiful by summer – but during the winter, when conditions are harsh, they

struggle to find enough to eat. Thus the charity’s members and volunteers spend the summer raising funds to pay for feed, then by winter they travel up to the common three days a week to deliver it to the herds.

Come early March, however, a problem cropped up. The 4x4 owner who normally helps the charity was called up to jury service – meaning they had no way of getting the vital supplies to the ponies who needed them.

That was when Hungry Herds’ Barbara Jones hit on the idea of asking Bonkas 4x4 Chairman Tony Vincent for permission to post on the club’s Facebook page asking for volunteers. The club’s members are no strangers to helping out in their local communities – its page was buzzing with people offering their services during the Beast from the East – and Barbara was soon hearing from members wiling to give up their time.

This resulted in a series of forays on to the Common in which club members helped the charity do its essential work. ‘On behalf of all us at Hungry Herds,’ said Fundraising Coordinator Tracy Lowther-Jones, ‘I would like to thank Chris Gayle for transporting the haylage up on to Gelligaer Common. Because of his kindness, we have been able to feed more than 200 hungry horses and ponies.

‘Also, we would like to thank Lewis Morgan for his help. We found these two great guys at Bonkas 4x4 Wales – and thanks to Tony Vincent for allowing us on to the site to ask’.

By the time you read this, the spring grasses will be close to coming through and Hungry Herds’ work will be done for another winter. The charity will then go back

to raising funds to help it look after Gelligaer’s ponies towards the end of this year – if you’re in a position to help, whether by donating your money or your efforts, they’d love to hear from you via www. hungryherds.com.

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PLACES STILL AVAILABLE ON CHARITY LAND ROVER RUN

If your 4x4 of choice is the kind with a green oval on it, the Welsh Festival of Land Rovers might be up your street. It’s scheduled for 19-20 at the Royal Welsh Showground, where it will run as part of the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society’s (RWAS) Spring Festival.

South Wales Land Rover Club (SWLRC) is co-ordinating a Land Rover display and 30-minute parade during the festival, and the club is seeking expressions of interest from others – whether they’re Welshbased or national. The club says it is especially interested in vehicles which portray the heritage of Land Rovers past and present, and also in vehicles which have been modified to a high standard. Which we think sounds like a politely put ‘no sheds’ policy.

The RWAS’ spring show averages 22,000 visitors over the two days – and if this inaugural Festival of Welsh Land Rovers is a success, there’s talk of adding something to the main Welsh Show in future.

This runs over five days and averages more than 240,000 visitors, so plenty of opportunity to get yourself in the public eye if it comes off.

SWLRC already has interest from a number of clubs and is working on finalising details. But it’s certainly not too late to join the action. To do so, contact Marc Andrews at marc@swlrc.co.uk, or for general information about the event please contact Andy Kendall andy@swlrc. co.uk or pay a visit to www.rwas.wales/spring-festival.

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THE ANNUAL CHARITY LAND ROVER RUN combines two great feelings – being out and about in a convoy of fine old 4x4s, and helping a great cause. And another great feeling may just be the one you get when we tell you that at the time of writing, places were still available on this year’s trip.

Classic Landies taking part in 2018’s event will head from Kent to the Belgian town of Veurne. There are currently 24 classic Land Rovers that will be starting the trip at the Battle of Britain Memorial, on the cliffs overlooking Folkestone, and catching the ferry to Calais on 1 June, with another seven joining those from the UK along the way.

Once on the road, the convoy will head through France towards their destination in Veurne.

The second day on the trip will take in the locks and canals as the cavalcade ventures towards Ypres. Back in Veurne, the following morning will see a full vehicle line-up in the main square

before the annual auction and rally awards, after which it’ll be time to head for home.

The Queen’s Regiment Memorial Woodland (QMRW) is the chosen charity for this year’s classics run. Based near Dorking, the charity offers support to those leaving the armed forces who find themselves having trouble readapting to civilian life.

Homelessness is another issue for which the QRMW provides emergency support and assistance to ex-forces personnel who need it. When required, they offer short-term bed and breakfast accommodation and clothing upon referral to QMRW Trustees, to help people get steadied before they’re moved on to proper care authorities. A noble cause, then, which could be helped by the participation of yourself and your noble steed.

To book a place on the 2018 Classic Land Rover Run over the weekend of 1-3 of June, contact organiser Peter Wales by emailing peter.wales@identitye2e.com.

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Classic British 4x4s set to descend on Gaydon on 12-13 May In its fourth year, the newly-christened Gaydon Land Rover Show will take place at the British Motor Museum on 12-13 May. Despite its name, the event is about more than just Landies – they’ll be in the overwhelming majority, of course, especially as this is Land Rover’s 70th birthday (just in case you’ve been living on Mars and hadn’t heard yet), but the organisers also promise that it will feature a select few vehicles from rival brands such as the Austin Gipsy and Champ.

When you’re done tracking these down, the Land Rover exhibits will include an array of vehicles ranging from 1948 to the current crop – and there’ll be a special focus on the Lightweight, as this is celebrating its 50th anniversary too.

In the arena, Diana Tigwell (now into her second quarter-century as a commentator at 4x4 events) will lead a team providing an opportunity for owners, restorers, motorsport crews and everyone in between to share their stories from the Land Rover world with the audience at large. Old favourites from previous shows which will be back again include the ever popular ‘best dressed’ competition, in which exhibitors dress from specific eras or as characters from Land Rover’s history.

There will also be a parade for young enthusiasts to showcase their mini Land Rovers, as well as the hotly contested team quiz that will name the Land Rover Academician of the Year 2018.

My Favourite Things will provide live music on the Sunday, with the trio having proved a hit at last year’s show, and the British Motor Museum – home of ‘Huey’ amongst other Landies – will be open as usual all weekend. There’ll be camping, too, which is always a bit of a prerequisite at a summer 4x4 show.

‘The Gaydon Land Rover Show is an absolute must for fans that want to come along and help celebrate 70 years of this iconic marque,’ says show boss Tom Caren. ‘We’re expecting thousands of enthusiasts and club members to enjoy a great family day out. Along with fabulous displays, live music, Parades and Club celebrations, the atmosphere at the show is second to none.’

Tickets are available in advance, at £10 for adults and £6 for kids aged from 5-16. You’ll be able to pay on the day, too, but prices will be higher, so britishmotormuseum.co.uk/events is the place to go.

OFF-ROAD CALENDAR

Pay-and-play events 15 April Devil’s Pit Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire Explore Off Road Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent

Frickley 4x4 Frickley, South Yorkshire

Parkwood 4x4 Tong, Bradford Picadilly Wood Bolney,West Sussex

13 May 4x4 Without a Club Harbour Hill,West Berkshire

Hill N Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Devil’s Pit

Muddy Bottom

Frickley 4x4

Minstead, Hampshire

Mud Monsters East Grinstead,West Sussex

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire Frickley, South Yorkshire

Essex, Rochford and District 4x4 Club Rayleigh, Essex

21 April Burnham Off-Roaders

Slindon Safari Fontwell,West Sussex

Tring, Hertfordshire

20 May

22 April

Explore Off Road Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent

Burnham Off-Roaders Tring, Hertfordshire

Protrax Yarwell, Northamptonshire

Slindon Safari

Muddy Bottom Minstead, Hampshire

Mud Monsters East Grinstead,West Sussex

Fontwell,West Sussex

26 May

28 April

Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

27 May

29 April

Cowm Leisure Whitworth, Lancashire

Avalanche Adventure Sibbertoft, Northamptonshire

Frickley 4x4

Cowm Leisure Whitworth, Lancashire

Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Devil’s Pit

Protrax

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Frickley 4x4 Frickley, South Yorkshire

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Yarwell, Northamptonshire

Slindon Safari Fontwell,West Sussex

Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs It won’t all be Land Rovers at the Gaydon Land Rover Show – other classic British 4x4s like the Austin Champ will be on display too Austin Champ, by Barry Skeates @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

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6 May Muddy Bottom Minstead, Hampshire

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Overland Travel

OFF-ROAD CALENDAR

20 April

29 June – 15 July

16-27 August

1-14 October

Peru Safari Peru

Atlas Overland Sacndinavia

Onelife Adventure Spain

Atlas Overland Morocco

5 May

5-19 July

24 August – 4 Sept

3-16 October

Compass Adventures Spain

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Trailmasters Morocco

Trailmasters Morocco Draa Valley

7-18 May

13-27 July

25 August

11 October

Onelife Adventure Portugal

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Compass Adventures Corsica

Peru Safari Peru

9 May

14 July

25 Aug – 8 Sept

14 October –1 Nov

Peru Safari Peru

Compass Adventures Corsica

Atlas Overland Portugal

Protrax Morocco

19-27 May

14-29 July

2-15 September

25 Oct – 7 Nov

UK Landrover Events Pyrenees

Onelife Adventure Iceland

Atlas Overland Morocco

Trailmasters Morocco Atlantic Sahara

24 May – 2 June

17 July – 31 August

8-16 September

28 October –15 Nov

Atlas Overland Corsica

Venture 4x4 Iceland

UK Landrover Events Pyrenees

Protrax Morocco

26 May

19 July – 2 August

8-29 September

15 November

Peru Safari Peru

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Protrax Iceland

Peru Safari Peru

28 May – 2 June

22 July

15-26 September

17 Nov – 2 Dec

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Peru Safari Peru

Onelife Adventure Bulgaria

Onelife Adventure Morocco

4-14 June

27 July – 10 August

16-29 September

3 December

Atlas Overland Corsica

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Trailmasters Morocco Marrakesh Classic

Peru Safari Peru

12 June

2-16 August

16-30 September

April 2019

Peru Safari Peru

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Atlas Overland Morocco

Venture 4x4 Iceland

16 June

4-18 August

17 September

19 April – 3 May 2019

Compass Adventures Corsica

Atlas Overland Italian Alps

Peru Safari Peru

Trailmasters Morocco Marrakesh Classic

88 | MAY 2018

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EVERY MONTH IN 4x4

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GREEN LANE G Step-by-step routes on Britain’s unsurfaced rights of way • Four a

USING THESE GUIDES Our routes use a mixture of surfaced and unsurfaced roads. The tracks we use are public rights of way, either Byways Open to All Traffic or Unclassified County Roads, all of them commonly referred to as green lanes.

NAVIGATION We’ve tried to keep our notes as clear as possible. It may be that they sound confusing at first, but when you’re out on the trails with the junctions coming and going, they should all make sense.

We try to include instructions only where you need them. That means junctions at which you have to make a turning or don’t have right of way. So just stay on the main road/track or take the most straight-ahead option unless we tell you otherwise.

Our notes include six-figure grid references. You’ll find a guide to using these inany OS map. Our aim is for you to be able to do the route without maps, but we do recommend having them.

SAFETY We’ve included notes with each route on how suitable it is, and areas where you need to take care. These are just guidelines, however. We’ll warn you of any hazards or difficult sections, but the nature of any green lane can change quickly. Wet weather can make a huge difference to the

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conditions, and what’s wide open in winter can be tightly enclosed and scratchy in summer. The responsibility is yours!

The routes are designed to be safe to drive in a solo vehicle, and most are suitable for standard 4x4s on road tyres. We do recommend travelling in tandem wherever possible, however (though long convoys should be avoided as they can make life hard for other users). The risk of getting stuck can be greater than it appears – and if you break down, having help at hand can make the difference between it being inconvenient and dangerous.

Where our notes mention the routes’ suitability for soft-roaders, we’re referring to vehicles like the Freelander and X-Trail. Crossovers and car-derived vehicles are excellent on smoother tracks but will ground out too easily to be of real use for green laning.

RESPONSIBILITY Irresponsible driving is a massive problem on green lanes. In particular, you must always stay on the right of way. Never drive off it to ‘play’ on the verges or surrounding land, even if you can see that someone else has; it’s both illegal and tremendously damaging, both to the land and to 4x4 drivers’ reputation.

The fact that you can see where it’s happened shows how much harm it does. It’s no excuse to say you’re just following where another driver has already been.

Most green laners have taken to confronting anyone they see behaving like this, or videoing them and passing the evidence to the police, which shows how much anger there is towards the criminal element. If you want to ‘play,’ go to a playday site.

Elsewhere, simple common sense and courtesy should be your watchword. The do-and-don’t list below should always be in your mind, but keep your speed down, be ready to pull over for others and make it your aim to show the world that 4x4 drivers aren’t the hooligans they think we are.

ANTIS Anti-4x4 bigotry is less common than you’d think. By and large, it’s limited to organisations who want the countryside all to themselves.

These organisations are beyond being reasoned with, but it’s rare to encounter real hostility even from their rank-and-file members.

If you’re friendly towards the people the vast majority will respond in kind. There are always bad apples, but no more so than anywhere else.

Likewise, most local residents will accept your presence if you’re driving sensibly. What suspicion you do encounter is likely to be from people worried that you’re there to steal from them, so be ready to offer some reassurance.

This is particularly true if yours is a standard-looking Japanese vehicle.

It only takes one vandal to tarnish a person’s view of all 4x4

drivers, and once the damage is done it tends to be permanent.

But if enough of us resolve to be ambassadors for the hobby we love, it might make a difference to the way we’re perceived by society in general.

DO’S & DON’TS • Keep your speed right down • Pull over to let walkers, bikers and horse riders pass • Don’t travel in large convoys: split into smaller groups to avoid hassling others • Leave gates as you found them • Don’t drop litter • Don’t go back to drive the fun bits, such as mud or fords, again • Scrupulously obey all closure and voluntary restraint notices • Don’t cause a noise nuisance, particularly after dark • Ensure you have a right to be there. We research our routes very carefully, but the status of any lane can change without notice • Be prepared to turn back if the route is blocked, even illegally • If you find an illegal obstruction, notify the local authority • If someone challenges you, be firm but polite. Stay calm and don’t get into a slagging match • Stick absolutely scrupulously to the right of way • You have as much of a right to be there as everyone else. Which of course means they have as much right as you • Harrassing a legitimate right of way user is a criminal offence. Just so’s you know…

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E GUIDES

our a month, helping you explore the whole country in your 4x4

THIS MONTH 94

South Gloucestershire

98

Yorkshire Dales

Leighterton to Miserden West Witton to Hawes

102 South Devon Knowle to Bowd

106 Southern Gwynedd Dolgellau to Dolgellau

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25.75 miles

3-4 hours

32.75 miles

3-4 hours

16.6 miles

3-4 hours

31.2 miles

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SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE Mainly gentle lanes, but with a few tricky sections, amid the rolling scenery and picture-postcard villages of the Cotswolds

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ROUTE GUIDE ROUTE OS MAPS NOTES

Leighterton to Miserden 25.75 miles; 3-4 hours Landranger 162 (Gloucester and Forest of Dean) Landranger 163 (Cheltenham and Cirencester)

The rights of way on this route are a real mixed bag. Most are simple farm tracks, but there are some steep hills to be tackled – and some very uneven surfaces, including one rocky climb which is definitely suitable only for vehicles with low range and good ground clearance. At least an all-terrain is recommended, though as long as you’re sensible the route should be usable in any weather.

• Before driving this route, or using any public rights of way in your 4x4, please read and pay attention to the notes on page 92

1

28/07/2017 0.0 ST 823 912 Start outside the Royal Oak in Leighterton.

With the pub on your right, pull forward to the T-junction, zero your trip and turn right for Westonbirt and Tetbury. Carry on across the crossroads at 1.85 miles, signed for Tetbury

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2.9 ST 862 922 As you pass a couple of buildings, just after the road coming in from the right signed for Westonbirt, turn left on a track. At the end of the track at 3.15 miles, the track becomes more enclosed as it enters the woodland

3

3.2 There’s a set of quad bike ruts at the bottom of the hill; they’re likely to be flooded, but the ground is good and firm underneath. Follow the main track round to the left at about 3.4 miles, ignoring the one ahead; it’s likely to be wet here, but then the surface becomes much firmer as you enter the village at 3.8 miles. Carry straight on at 3.9 as the track becomes a road

4

3.95 Turn left at the crossroads, watching out for traffic. Turn right at the crossroads with the traffic lights at 5.6 miles, on the A46 for Stroud

5

8.7 ST 849 993 As the road starts to swing left on the way down the hill into Nailsworth, turn right on Tetbury Lane – it’s signed as a no through road. As the road starts to turn into a track at 9.2, follow it round the back of the posh looking house on your left, ignoring the various other tracks going off to the left and right. You’ll see an ‘unsuitable for motors’ sign once you’re past the house

6

9.5 Turn left at the T-junction with another track. Just after this, fork left where the track splits. Follow the main track as it bears gently right at 9.9, ignoring the narrower one to the left, then follow round to the left when you reach the farm buildings at 10.4, ignoring two tracks coming in from your right. After the buildings, the track turns into a road

7

11.4 Fork left where the road splits, ignoring the one on the right signed for Tetbury. Turn left at the T-junction in the village at 11.6 miles, then at 11.7 turn right, back over your shoulder, on Rectory Lane

8

11.8 ST 882 982 As the road swings gently right, turn left up hill at about 90 degrees (not over your shoulder). The road soon becomes a track, then at 12.5 turn left at the T-junction with the road

9

12.7 Bear right for Minchinhampton Common and Stroud. At 13.7 miles, turn left at the T-junction for Minchinhampton and Stroud

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SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Left: The quad bike ruts at Step 3 look troublesome, but it’s firmly enough surfaced underneath Centre: Also at Step 3, follow the main track left rather than taking the one ahead Right: Slow down and signal early as you approach the traffic lights at Step 12 – traffic behind you won’t understand what you’re doing as you get ready to dive off into the undergrowth

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28/07/2017 14.4 SO 875 012 Turn right at the crossroads on to The Knapp. The road narrows and starts to drop steeply as the surface begins to break up at 14.7 miles, then at 13.8 follow it round to right. Soon after this, it becomes very narrow and scratchy

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15.0 Turn left, back over your shoulder, at the T-junction. After passing under the road tunnel, turn left at the T-junction with the road at 15.4

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16.3 SO 880 035 As you approach the traffic lights, opposite Bussage Hill on the right, turn left on to a narrow track. Indicate early, as traffic behind you won’t have a clue what you’re doing. Caution over the causeway at the bottom of the hill – there’s a huge drop-off to both sides. After this, you’re into a steep, uneven climb

13

16.4 Follow the main track left up the hill, ignoring the one on the right. The track gets very narrow indeed between a couple of trees at 16.65, then again at 16.7 as someone’s built a domestic wooden structure halfway across the right of way. The track becomes a road after this, then shortly afterwards follow it round to right

14

16.8 Turn right at the T-junction. Straight on at the crossroads at 18.0 miles, then turn right at the T-junction at 18.3. Turn left for The Camp and Birdlip at 19.5, then left at the T-junction at 20.0

15

20.5 Turn right for Througham. Follow the road round to the left for Througham at 20.7 miles, then turn right at 21.2

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21.5 SO 920 078 As the road swings hard left, turn hard right on to a track. Dead slow past the houses at 22.4 miles, then at 22.7 miles follow the main track as it swings round to the right

17

22.8 Carry straight on after the cattle grid shortly after the house, ignoring the track on the left. At 22.9 miles, as the track you’re on starts to swing right at the top of the hill, turn left over your shoulder just after another cattle grid

18

23.4 Join the larger track at the top of the hill, swinging round to the right as you do so. At 24.1 miles, turn left at the crossroads with the road, following the sign for Miserden and Whiteway

19

25.55 As the road starts to swing left, turn right on the second of the two roads; it’s signed for Miserden. Follow the road into the village, then at 25.75 miles arrive at the Carpenters Arms on the left for the end of the route

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YORKSHIRE DALES Easy but exciting driving on high-level tracks amid some of the most spectacular landscapes anywhere in Britain

ROUTE GUIDE ROUTE OS MAPS NOTES

West Witton to Hawes 32.75 miles; 3-4 hours Landranger 98 (Wensleydale and Upper Wharfedale) Landranger 99 (Northallerton and Ripon)

The driving on the route is easier than the foreboding landscape might have you assume – indeed it’s suitable for soft-roaders on standard tyres, with only lower ground-clearance vehicles in danger of struggling.

It’s likely to be blocked after snowy weather, however, and wouldn’t be any fun in fog, and on one lane in particular you’re likely to spend a lot of time surroudned by sheep.Watch out for farm vehicles, and for tourist traffic on the road sections.

• Before driving this route, or using any public rights of way in your 4x4, please read and pay attention to the notes on page 92

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1

0.0 SE 061 884 28/07/2017 Start outside the Fox and Hounds, on the A684 through West Witton. Zero your trip with the pub on your right and set off east, then at 0.05 turn right on the road between the cottages

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0.7 SE 062 876 As the road swings hard round to the left, turn right on to the track. Turn right on another track at 1.85; this turns into a road at about 2.6 miles, then at 2.9 turn left at the T-junction with the main road

3

4.05 SE 043 891 Turn left immediately after the cottages in Swithindale. It starts as a road and ends as a track, with a mish-mash of surfaces over the next half-mile or so. At 4.9 miles, turn right at the T-junction with another track, then continue ahead between the dry-stone walls at 5.0

4

5.45 Fork right down the hill where the track splits. Carry on ahead on to the surfaced right of way at 6.3 miles, then shortly afterwards swing right over the bridge. Turn left when you get to the T-junction just after this, then at 7.75 turn right for Thoralby. Follow the road through the village then turn left for Bainbridge and Hawes at the T-junction at 9.35 miles

5

13.95 As the road starts swinging right and dropping into Bainbridge, turn left for Semer Water and Stalling Busk

6

14.4 Turn left for Carpley Green. At 16.0, dead slow through the farm and on to the track ahead.

This is dramatic looking but easy to drive, though you’ll be sharing it with lots of sheep. At 18.25, turn right at the T-junction with another track

7

19.2 Watch out for the raised lip as you exit a tiny part-time ford. Follow the main track ahead at 20.0, then at 21.45 turn right for Bainbridge at the sort-of staggered crossroads

8

22.75 SD 925 895 Turn left, back over your shoulder, on to a track with a wooden sign for Beggarmans Road.

Continue ahead over the crossroads with a road at 24.2 miles – visibility is rubbish here, and there’s an awkward step up on to the road itself.

After this, the views get ever-better as you climb, and though it’s steepish and quite rocky in places there shouldn’t be any shortage of grip

9

27.55 Turn right when you reach the T-junction with the road. Follow this road all the way into town, crossing the river bridge at 32.55 miles, then at 32.75 arrive at the Wensleydale Creamery visitors’ centre on the right for the end of the route

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SOUTH DEVON A rambling route in the heart of holiday country on rights of way that are mainly easy to drive but at times quite enclosed

102 | MAY 2018

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ROUTE GUIDE ROUTE OS MAPS NOTES

Knowle to Bowd 16.6 miles; 3-4 hours Landranger 192 (Exeter and Sidmouth)

Some of the lanes on this route are likely to be bumpy, wet and rutted – in one or two places potentially enough to pose problems. By and large, it’s suitable for soft-roaders, however you should be ready to turn back; ideally, we’d recommend a proper 4x4 with at least an all-terrain tyre. By far the biggest hazard, though, is road traffic – there are several junctions with fast and/or busy roads, and a number where visibility is as good as zero as you emerge. Some scratching is likely, especially during the summer; whatever the season, while most surfaces are allweather you should stay away in particularly wet conditions.

• Before driving this route, or using any public rights of way in your 4x4, please read and pay attention to the notes on page 92

1

0.0 SY 051 827 28/07/2017 Start on the B3178 in Knowle, outside the Dog and Donkey next to Knowle Garage. Zero your trip with the pub on your right and set off heading north-east to start the route, then turn right at 0.75 miles for Kersbrook

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1.15 SY 067 831 Turn left opposite house number seven. The road becomes a track at about 1.25 miles; it’s a little scratchy, but nothing drastic. At 1.6, cross the road and take the gate ahead – extreme caution here, as it’s a fast, busy road and there’s no visibility as you emerge. The track is gated, too, so get your navigator to open it and then spot for you. At 1.9 miles, turn left at the T-junction with the road – it’s tight over your shoulder, and once again visibility is limited

3

2.1 SY 064 838 Turn right on the track next to a tree. Turn left then immediately right again when you reach the staggered crossroads with another track at 2.6 miles, then at 2.9 turn left at the T-junction with the road

4

3.15 Turn right on the road; there’s a small parttime ford at 3.3 miles, but blink and you’ll miss it. At 3.5, turn right then, after a few car lengths, first left. Turn right for Colaton Raleigh at the crossroads at 4.15 miles, then follow the road round to the right at 4.95

5

5.35 SY 075 870 Extreme caution as you emerge to cross a very busy road and take the track ahead. Take it easy on the way down the hill towards the house at 5.8, then follow round to the left as the track becomes a road. Just after this, follow the track along the river bed (as far as we can tell, this is the line of the right of way), then swing left as you exit the water and regain the road

6

6.15 Turn left at the T-junction in the village, then after maybe 100 yards take the first road on the right. At 6.85 miles, turn left at the T-junction then immediately right again for N.Poppleford and Sidmouth

7

6.95 SY 079 882 Fork gently left on to a smaller road which immediately becomes a track. At 7.5 miles, turn left, back over your shoulder, on to another track, then at 8.15 turn right at the T-junction with the road

8

8.9 SY 065 881 As the road swings left, turn right on to a track. There are similar looking turnings before it, so don’t go too early – yours is after a big posh farm building, then past a road on the left and on the way up a hill. Turn left at the T-junction with another track at 9.15 miles, then right at the T-junction with the road at 9.4

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SOUTH DEVON

Left: The first track at Step 2 is typical of the area – sunken and grotty on top, but firm enough underneath Centre: The road follows the stream bed for fifty yards or so at Step 5 Right: It’s not a footpath at Step 14, it’s a public highway. You must keep to it all the same. The ruts here are the deepest you’ll encounter on the whole route, but they’re not as bad as they look in this picture

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9

28/07/2017 9.55 Turn right on the road opposite an old shed on the left – once again, take care not to go too early. Turn right at the T-junction with a busy road at 10.3 miles

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11.1 SY 068 895 As you come down the hill, turn right on a no through road after the 30mph signs. The road swings hard right at 11.25 miles; immediately after this, turn left on to a track. Turn right at the T-junction with the road at 11.65 miles, then left at another T-junction at 11.75

11

12.0 SY 079 883 Caution as you cross a fast, busy road to take the track ahead – visibility to the right is terrible as you emerge. Turn left at the T-junction at 12.4 miles

12

13.05 Turn right at the T-junction with a major road in the village – it’s very busy. At 13.4 miles, shortly after the bridge over the River Otter, take the first road on the right

13

13.65 SY 093 895 Turn left on the track immediately before Northmostown B&B. At 14.1 miles, turn right at the T-junction with another track, signed for Bolverton Hill (Back Lane)

14

14.45 At the five-way junction, take the turning at about 11 o’clock – there’s another Back Lane sign, as well as a red waymarker pointing up the hill. At about 14.6 miles, turn left over your shoulder at the T-junction with another track at the top of the hill, then immediately turn right again down the other side of the hill following a sign for Mutters Moor Road. It gets quite rutted a little way after this, and also runs right through the middle of a golf course!

15

14.95 Ignore the road out to the right and keep going on the track ahead. At 15.35 miles, turn left at the T-junction with a road

16

15.4 SY 115 886 Just 100 yards or so after the previous step, turn left at the crossroads with a track. At the top of the hill at 15.5 miles, follow the grassy track between the hedges, then at 15.8 miles turn right when you reach the road

17

15.85 Turn left at the T-junction with a busy road. At 16.55 miles, get into the right-hand lane for Lyme Regis and Ottery St Mary, which swings hard right to the T-junction with a major road.

Extreme caution as you emerge here to turn right, then immediately left again for Tipton St John, Wiggaton and Ottery St Mary. Straight after this, at 16.6 miles, arrive at the Bowd Inn on the right for the end of the route

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SOUTHERN GWYNEDD A varied and in places challenging set of rights of way amid the austere landscape of the Welsh mountains

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ROUTE GUIDE ROUTE OS MAPS NOTES

Dolgellau to Dolgellau 31.2 miles; 3-4 hours Landranger 124 (Porthmadog and Dolgellau)

Mainly quite straightforward, well surfaced tracks, but with some tricky passages and the odd hazardous bit thrown in.Watch out for sheer drop-offs close to the edge of the track in places, and some unbelievably narrow gates and bridges which could definitely leave one on your bodywork.While the surface is mainly good, too, there are ruts in places – which could get deeper very quickly if the trails are used thoughtlessly, whether by recreational or agricultural traffic • Before driving this route, or using any public rights of way in your 4x4, please read and pay attention to the notes on page 92

1

0.0 SH 727 178 28/07/2017 Start in Dolgellau, in the Marian Mawr car park on the north side of the town centre. Zero your trip as you turn left out of the car park to cross the river, then left again at the T-junction.

Caution as you turn right on the A470 at 0.8 miles, then at 1.8 take the second exit at the roundabout, following the A470 for Porthmadog

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5.6 SH 727 247 At the 40mph signs as you leave Ganllwyd, fork right alongside the stone building. Cross the bridge at 5.7 then immediately turn left. The road becomes a track at about 6.3 – watch out for walkers and cyclists all the way along here

3

6.6 Continue ahead as another track swings in from the left, then again over the next mile and a half as various tracks come in from the left and right. At about 8.3 miles, the smooth gravel surface peters out and the going gets narrower, steeper and quite rocky and uneven in places

4

8.6 The surface gets still rougher towards the top of the hill, then you need to squeeze through a very narrow gate. The track becomes firmer after this, then at 9.0 there’s another extremely narrow gate to get through

5

9.45 Take the turning on the right where the track splits. Turn left when you reach the road at 9.9, then right at the T-junction at 10.1

6

15.55 SH 759 264 Just after a track over your left shoulder (you’ll see a footpath sign), as the road bends into the dip, turn left on a no-through road. At 16.0 miles, continue ahead at the crossroad with three tracks. Follow the track through a ford and over two crossroads with other tracks; it turns back into tarmac at 17.7 then at 18.7 arrives at a T-junction, where you turn left

7

19.1 Take the road that forks left and follow it to the T-junction at 20.6 (SH 786 218). The road becomes a track as you head up the valley, through sheep pens and over a rock field with a drop-off to your right. When you get to a T-junction at 23.4 miles, turn right on another track

8

23.7 Continue ahead on to the tarmac as another track joins from the right. Follow to a T-junction at 25.45 and turn left; this takes you to another T-junction at 26.0, where this time you turn right

9

30.5 Get into the filter lane as you pass the brown sign for Dolgellau, then turn right for the industrial estate. Turn left for the town centre at 31.2 miles, then after crossing the bridge turn right and arrive back in the Marian Mawr car park for the end of the route

4x4 14pp Lane Guides May.indd 107

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Propshaft Problems?

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4x4 TOR Folios and classifieds.indd 51

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MAY 2018 | 109

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4x4 29/03/2018 13:16

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4x4 TOR Folios and classifieds.indd 49

MAY 2018 | 111

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NEXT MONTH IN 4x4

On test: Fiat Fullback Cross, Jeep Cherokee DV8 Works’ high-rolling Ford Rangers Touring Europe – in leaf-sprung Land Rovers Brilliant Wrangler and Suzuki/LR hybrid TRAIL GUIDES: Cambridgeshire, NE Powys East Yorkshire, The Ridgeway

ON SALE: 11 May

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