4x4 Magazine - December 2023

4x4

NEWS • VIEWS • KIT • EXPEDITIONS • MODIFIED VEHICLES • GREEN LANING CAMPING IT UP The trucks at the heart of the canvas revolution

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December 2023

CONTENTS

36

'Whether you're looking at the bottom or the top Ranger is a pleasure to drive'

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64

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4x4 23/10/2023 21:40

70 75% OFF THE PRICE OF 4X4!

Six issues for the price of 12 sounds like half-price – but when you subscribe to 4x4 for a year, you actually end up getting 75% off the price on the cover 4x4 Scene: News, Products and More…

6 7 8 10 12 12 14 16 16 16 16

Toyota Hilux GR Sport II set to arrive as new range-topper next year Toyota RAV4 GR Sport trim now available on brilliant medium-sized SUV Isuzu D-Max Camping themed concepts for lovers of the great outdoors Skoda Kodiaq All-new model moves upmarket but is still a real 4x4 Nissan Hyper Adventure concept keeps you on-grid when you go off-grid Munro MK_1 Customer feedback leads to final pre-production revisions White Stones Iconic Welsh lane saved from closure yet again Traxxas New 1:10 scale TRX-4M RC off-roader could be ideal for Christmas Milltek New performance exhausts for Range Rover and Grenadier Terrafirma +2" air-to-coil conversion for Land Rover Discovery 3 and 4 Maltings 4x4 Store Beadlocked steelied for P38 Rangey and Discovery 2

Every Month 4 70 80

Alan Kidd Get ready for a big change as we take 4x4 back to its beginnings Subscribe Get 75% off the cover price of Britain's only 4x4 magazine Next Month First look at what's coming in the new-look Overlander 4x4

Driven 24

Porsche Cayenne First drive of the heavily revised 4x4 performance icon

34 Pick-Up of the Year 36 38 40 42 44 46

Ford Ranger All-new version of the long-running market leader Isuzu D-Max Reigning champion returns in facelifted form SsangYong Musso Always in the mix for the Best Value award Toyota Hilux Still the go-to choice of many for an off-road truck Volkswagen Amarok New version of the only true premium pick-up Results Two newcomers, three revised models, no also-rans

Features 28 50 56 58

Modernised Landy 109" Series IIB resto-modded into a modern work truck Prefect Pick-Up One-off classic Ford that puts in a proper shift for its living 110 Camper Demountable body makes it ideal for work and play alike Defender Chassis Swap Steps along the way as a 90 gets a new life

Travel

of the range, the new

50

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64 72

Strata Florida The history behind the name of Britain's best known green lane Alpine Trial The winter battle in 1913 from which legends were made

72

JANUARY 2023 | 3

23/10/2023 21:40

4x4 Tel: 01283 742969

Alan Kidd Editor

B

We’re taking 4x4 magazine back to its roots

ack in 1982, when David Bowyer et al got together and decided to publish an off-roading magazine, they could scarcely have imagined that in a future era of smartphones, podcasts, streaming and self-driving cars, it would still be standing firm. Their magazine was Britain’s only off-roading title at the time; rivals came and went, the Land Rover monthlies came along and turned out to be much bigger than anything all-marques could ever be and then a decade and a half later, some spoilsport went and invented the internet, but here we still are.

And here we stand, as the Fratellis said.

It’s no secret that printed publications have had it tough since the digital revolution took hold, but equally it’s no secret that like vinyl records and cars with manual boxes, there will always be a kind of person who wants the rawness and tactility of the old ways. If you drive a Defender (a proper one, obviously), you’ll know what I’m on about.

So, yes, we’ve all had it tough, and we’ve all had to adapt. And now 4x4 magazine is about to adapt some more.

Back then, back in the early 1980s when it was first launched, 4x4 wasn’t just called 4x4. It was called Overlander 4x4, and it called itself ‘the magazine for all four wheel drive owners and enthusiasts.’

That description has been about right ever since, even through a couple of name changes. And now, as of next issue, we’re taking it back to where it began. In four weeks’ time, you’ll be reading the first issue of the new-look Overlander 4x4.

The first thing to say is that we’re not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Just like it was back in the days of war in the Falklands and Queen in the Top 40, this will still be ‘the magazine for all four wheel drive owners and enthusiasts.’ Always was, always has been, always will be.

So why are we doing this?

The answer is that since lockdown, there has been a huge growth in the number of people getting into camping, the outdoors and enjoying an off-grid lifestyle. Not all of them do it in 4x4s (I’ve seen small hatchbacks and BMW estates with roof tents on them), but the two subjects are inextricably tied together.

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Edline Nov 23.indd 4

More and more, as a society we want to get away. Away from the relentlessness of a working life that has increasingly invaded our homes; away from the tyranny of always-on electronics and ever-watchful social media; away from the pressure to be busy, to be productive, to be available.

Our bosses can call or text us whenever they want, even when we’re on holiday. Our friends, family, partners can use our phones to track our every move. Peace is an illusion: our lives are not our own any more.

No wonder people yearn to get away.

Not just on years-long global expeditions (though that’s the dream) – when your every waking hour is spent feeling hunted, just disappearing into the countryside for the weekend is a blessed relief. And if you’re in a 4x4, you can disappear further away and deeper into it.

The new-look Overlander 4x4 will reflect Britain’s new-found interest in an outdoor lifestyle. It won’t become a magazine about camping, but it will become more of a magazine about the sort of adventures that involve it. Primarily, we’ll focus more on overlanding – spot the clue in the title.

The trip-of-a-lifetime expeditions will absolutely still be there, but supplemented by adventures that are more modest and, for most of us, more attainable.

We’ll continue to cover all the things we always have, in new ways which I hope will bring them up to date. And we’ll be changing the way the magazine looks and feels. As I write this, one of the country’s best and most experienced motoring magazine designers is working on its new look; there’ll be a new paper size, too, and a move away from some of the material we’ve run regularly that tends to take up a lot of space. To put it bluntly, the pressure magazines have been under for years has driven down the number of pages we can print; the new look we’re creating for Overlander 4x4 will let us pack as much into those pages as we possibly can.

It’s a time of change, but not of change for the sake of it. We’re bringing the mag up to date – by taking it back to its roots. As always with anything four-wheel drive, it’s going to be a journey worth making..

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 Design WW Magazines Tel: 01283 742970 Contributors Graham Scott, Mike Trott, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney Photographers Steve Taylor, Richard Hair, Harry Hamm, Vic Peel Advertising Sales Tandem Media Tel: 01233 555735 Faye Littlewood-Tribe Tel: 01233 220245 faye@tandemmedia.co.uk Advertising Production Colin Swaffer: 01233 220246 Jonathan Graham: 01233 220247 Jemma Heslop: 01233 555736 Subscriptions Agency WW Magazines, 151 Station Street, Burton on Trent, DE14 1BG Tel: 01283 742970 Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Moss Email: sarah.moss@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to 4x4, or renew a subscription, call 01283 742970. 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, PO Box 8632, Burton on Trent DE14 9PR

© Assignment Media Ltd, 2023

4x4 20/10/2023 00:42

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24/10/2023 15:19

NEW 4X4S

Toyota aims high and wide with 2024 Hilux GR Sport II

T

oyota Hilux. Word association gives us ‘rugged’, ‘unbreakable’, ‘practical’, ‘long-lived’ and ‘Top Gear’.

We know all that so let’s not get into the whole ‘been around since 1968,

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still going strong’ thing. Been there, done that. So what do we actually have here?

We have a new variant on the perennial Hilux that aims to bring some more modern styling as well

as performance improvements to suspension, ride and so on. Which means what we actually have is a vehicle that may be an international treasure, but it’s also one that is needing to try to keep up with others designed and launched more recently. What could that be a reference to, I wonder.

It sounds reassuring to learn that a lot of the impetus and design work for this new GR Sport II model was undertaken in Australia. After all, they know a lot about utes and have what might well be the ultimate proving ground. We’ll have to see how it copes with the rather different conditions in the UK but for now, what do we know?

The most obvious thing is it looks as though this double-cab has spent quite a bit more time than usual in a wind tunnel. There are nods here to Toyota’s T1 Dakarcross-country racer where the Hilux has won its

class for the last two years running and has been in the top ten for the last decade. But these are nods, references, allusions.

The engine, for example, is not a midships 3.5-litre V6 but the altogether more practical 2.8-litre diesel that works well enough and we know will be reliable, but it’s not exactly a sporting proposition.

Nor is that feeling enhanced when the ample 201bhp and 368lbf.ft of torque are fed through the six-speed auto. It’s the kind of set-up that builds pace without you noticing, which is all well and good but the point of sporty performance is that you want to notice it.

But look at the suspension.

Toyota certainly did. We drove the original Hilux GR Sport earlier this year and it steers and handles way better than the rest of the range, and the GR Sport II is unlikely to mess with a winning formula.

4x4 23/10/2023 19:38

NEW 4x4S Of course, it’s a fiendishly difficult compromise to create a pick-up that can carry a payload of 1000kg or tow a 3500kg trailer while also handling well on the road when it’s empty. Granted. And the Hilux is showing its age now; the current model is in its ninth year of production, which might lead you to assume that all this Dakar action is designed to attract attention ahead of the all-new model that’s bound to be in the pipeline.

So a work-ready pick-up that can do sporty is a big ask. Toyota has previous for coming up with big answers, though.

And in this case they’ve widened the track by 140mm at the front and 155mm at the rear. That is not a tiny amount and you can expect it to be felt as a more confident stance on the road, or indeed off it. Can you ex-

pect Amarok-level refinement? In a word, we wouldn’t (oops. that’s two words) but we would expect a Hilux that’s well ahead of its range-mates.

And we’d expect it to excel offroad. Where, being a Hilux, it has all the right stuff to tackle the sort of terrain that’s been making a legand of Hiluxes Various since 1968. That widened track is matched by a ride height up by 20mm, which improves approach and departure angles, so this remains the real deal.

With the Invincible trim as the base for the GR Sport II, there are also goodies inside like the fine JBL sound system, heated seats all round, dual-zone air-con and more.

Plus, as you can’t have failed to notice, there are some red and black accents throughout to remind you you’re in a version that has at least some sporting pretensions.

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31/07/2023 14:50

RAV4 joins Hilux in the GR Sport club IT’S DEFINITELY CATCHING. Now the RAV4 has come out in a GR Sport variant. You can have it as a Plug-in Hybrid should you so wish.

That gives you ‘power adjustment’ which sounds good, but it turns out that’s just for the front seat motors.

Otherwise power remains the same with 225kW, the equivalent of 302bhp, going to all four wheels. The suspension has been stiffened up although whether that is a good trade-off with ride comfort remains to be seen.

There’s a lot of new kit inside to match the exterior tweaks, with a new digital information package based on the Toyota Smart Connect multimedia system leading the charge. It all looks quite snappy and smart and a 0-60mph time of 6.0 seconds matches those looks. To look like this will cost you £48,990 OTR; you can definitely pay more to get less.

Free UK Delivery on orders over £15.00 + VAT

4x4 News Dec 23.indd 7

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|7 DECEMBER 2023 18/08/2023 15:28

24/10/2023 16:36

NEWS

Camping-themed D-Max concepts off-road travel

C

ovid did some strange things to people. Clearly it wrecked and killed many.

But others it seemed to turn deranged as they howled about how we should all be locked in our homes for years and should not be let out until ‘they’ decided.

Foreign holidays, meeting friends, Airbnbs – no, the new puritans wanted everything banned. So what has been the outcome of all that repression? Perhaps surprisingly, one of them is a massive increase in people going camping. Or maybe it’s not surprising at all.

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Once we returned to ‘normal’ everyone wanted to get out. We know that being in nature is good for us, everything from mental to physical health and wellbeing. But if you’re worried about the plague status of other people then you want to avoid them, and how better to do that than by heading off on your own? Plus of course it is the perfect excuse for the more curmudgeonly and solitary among us to justify our search for the private spot. Sorry, ‘their’ search.

Whether you’re in the US or the UK, camping is growing by impres-

sive margins. In the US, camping grew by 28% in 2022 compared to 2021. In the UK, it’s up 38% since 2020. That’s an awful lot of ripstop nylon and cagouls.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Not everyone wants to go forth and rough it like a real overlander.

Glamping may seem very Glasto, very middle-class wellies and glitter make-up, but it’s trying to bridge the gap between the previous hotel

by Lake Garda and the night under the stars which it turns out you can’t actusally see because of the driving rain, and the gap between

the seven-course taster menu and the shrapnel-grade burger with bits of salad that have now dropped into your lap in the darkness.

Which brings us – thank you for your patience to anyone still reading (you both seem lovely) – to another alternative which has also seen really rather impressive gains. Vehicle camping is very much a thing. In fact you’ve seen in past issues no end of models that have been modified to allow people to visit the great outdoors at will. But now it’s such a thing the manufacturers are offering it as standard.

4x4 23/10/2023 19:38

highlight growing popularity of

The base vehicle here is of course Isuzu’s D-Max but that now comes in either AT35 Basecamp or Expedition Edition models. Demo models but made entirely from stuff you can buy, so while they’re not on the price list they can be bought.

So if you’re thinking about maybe a weekend away on a campsite or perhaps one of those designated wild camping spots, you might need to think twice. Expedition?

Basecamp? What have we got here, a vehicle that has slots for oxygen bottles and crampons and comes complete with Tibetan prayer flags?

4x4 News Dec 23.indd 9

Oooerr, this is all looking a bit serious. And Isuzu has drawn in an Everest climber to praise it to the skies, or at least to 29,035 feet. ‘It’s a brilliant bit of kit’ says professional hard man Alan Hinkes.

Worry ye not, as Frankie Howerd used to say – where that memory came from, I don’t want to discuss.

No, missus. What we actually have is a D-Max with a tent. And stuff. Of the two models it’s the Expedition rather than the Basecamp which is the base model. So the Expedition Edition is a D-Max, which is a promising start, and to that you add a list

of ARB kit including a colour-coded canopy, roof-top tent and awning.

Inside kit includes a fridge and a functional kitchen unit in a big drawer that slides out and can be quickly and easily stowed.

The Basecamp model takes this a bit further by adding some kit by Arctic Trucks, like 35” off-road tyres and wheels with extended arches over them, plus a different grille and some other cosmetic niceties. There are loads of other accessories you can order so you can make the vehicle as ideal as possible for whatever your idea of camping is.

This is a smart idea, hopefully cashing in on a growing trend while also playing to the D-Max’s strengths of, well, strength and rugged, get-there ability. Obviously this isn’t a fully finished expedition vehicle, despite the name, and it’s not one you could just buy and jump in to head off for a trip round the world. But while it might not be finished, it’s definitely started and that is a start. For someone looking to take those first steps into independent travel without a fixed itinerary, it could be a great place to start.

Glitter not included.

DECEMBER 2023 | 9

23/10/2023 19:40

NEWS

All-wheel drive and premium high-tech cabin lead the way as Skoda unveils all-new Kodiaq

THE SKODA KODIAQ IS, IN THE WORDS OF OUR EDITOR, ‘the best vehicle never to win 4x4 of year.’ That was in 2017 and since then, Skoda has made not far off one million of the things It’s not hard to see why the Kodiaq has been (and still is) so popular.

Skoda got it right first time. And so, of course, now the company has to ‘reinterpret the essence’ of it and make a second-generation model.

That is not a risk-free activity. Particularly as Skoda has gone down the entirely traditional route of making it bigger and more complex. It wasn’t a small thing before, but now it’s 60mm longer and slightly wider and taller. This is all part of the ‘Modern Solid design language’, a language which seems to roughly translate to ‘being careful not to make big angles in the bodywork so the metal looks thicker’.

Inside, it’s also gone down the route you’d expect, with a very large free-standing 13” infotainment screen matched with Smart Dials which are both haptic and digital so you can customise them to show what you want at a glance.

Something you can make your own, or that you can jab at endlessly, depending on your willingness to engage with the modern world. The Modern Solid world, soz.

Skoda makes much of the interior being made of more sustainable materials but perhaps the most eye-catching element is that the gear lever has moved up to the steering column. Purely so the

10 | DECEMBER 2023

News Dec 23.indd 10

designers had more space to play with on the centre console, we suspect.

Said gear lever is of course the kind that operates an auto box.Our old 2.0 TDI Scout long-termer was an absolute blast with its manual box, but people want autos and Skoda has good ones so there you go.

Naturally there’s a hybrid powertrain, but there are also two petrol and two diesel options, all powering through the famous DSG transmission.

Yes, you can still get it with four-wheel drive.

So, hopefully, it’s still a Kodiaq only slightly more so. Will it be as good as the first model? That’s the almost million vehicle question.

4x4 23/10/2023 19:38

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24/10/2023 09:53

NEWS

Hyper Adventure concept from Nissan is an electric camper that can put power back in to the grid THIS ISN’T HYPERDRIVE. It’s Hyper Adventure.

How, you might ask, does this differ from, well, adventure? Hyper Adventure is for ‘people passionate about outdoor adventures and an eco-friendly lifestyle’. Apparently this doesn’t mean going off walking with a pack, camping remotely and undergoing digital detox. In fact quite the opposite.

What it means is you get in your futuristic Nissan and go crunching off into the wilderness, with enough electricity to not only power the

vehicle but also all the ancillaries that you took with you – like of course a phone, laptop and electric jet skis. To make you feel all gooey about the environment, you can contribute (that’s a good word) surplus power back into the grid. Now, where did that power come from originally, hmm?

So the big battery powers the vehicle but also operates as its own mobile power source. And it powers the e-4ORCE all-wheel drive system that really should be able to get you anywhere you want to go, depending

on suspension, tyres and of course whether that man coming over the hill on his farm quad is in the mood to wave at you or wave his shotgun at you.

According to Nissan, this concept vehicle can actually accommodate tents, skis or even a kayak inside the cabin, which would be impressive to see. The rear bench seat can swivel through 180 degrees so you can sit there and look at your tyre

tracks that have crushed the tundra, or it would be a good place to put your skis on or just veg out with a massive mojito and burritos.

Will the Nissan Hyper Adventure make it to the real world? That depends on whether the reception is ec-static or just fizzles out. But yet another 4x4 manufacturer mining the camping seam to promote its wares; it’s almost like they all know something…

Munro MK_1 becomes less basic and more user-friendly as Scotland’s only car maker gets ready to make cars YOU COULD PERHAPS DESCRIBE THE MUNRO MK_1 (as it’s known) as the MVP model: Minimum Viable Product. That vehicle has been thoroughly tested in the Scottish Highlands by some serious people and that feedback is going to work through into production versions. That’s solid, real-world progress.

Reading between the lines, the all-electric 4x4 was perhaps a bit too rugged. Now it will have better heating, better sound deadening, better adjustment for the seats and steering column and more safety features as standard.

Part of the changes have been, as you see, to the bodywork. This now looks definitely slicker but also has the advantage of offering improved forward visibility and more parts compatibility, further underlining the manufacturer’s commitment to this being a vehicle with a half-century lifespan.

At the rear you can see the ‘exoskeleton’ mounted on the Hardtop version, to which users can add all kinds of specialist kit, whether they are working in construction, disaster relief, forestry – you name it.

All of these steps look like real steps forward. Given that there is already a full two-year order book, it’s perhaps not surprising – and it is encouraging – that Scotland’s only light vehicle manufacturer is looking for more investment. Munro has just announced a round of equity crowdfunding which should allow everything to speed up. It’s the kind of story that deserves to be of the ‘success’ variety.

12 | DECEMBER 2023

News Dec 23.indd 12

4x4 23/10/2023 19:39

2024

PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

BEST VALUE

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£34,390 ex. VAT inc. optional metallic paint priced at £575 ex. VAT. Musso EX including delivery charge, Road Fund Licence & first registration charge and excluding VAT. Prices are correct at the time of going to print but may be modified or changed at any time. Warranty covers 5 years or 100,000 miles.

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24/10/2023 09:40 10:02 23/10/2023

RIGHTS OF WAY

White Stones saved as High Court quashes vehicle ban

W

hite Stones, a long and extremely scenic right of way near Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog in North Wales, has over several years become the scene of an ugly war against green lane users. Starting off with acts of intimidation, this escalated in the middle of the last decade into physical violence with the use of spike traps buried in the ground as a way of attacking 4x4s’ tyres.

Fortunately, there were no instances of walkers, cyclists or horse riders being injured by these recklessly placed devices, which were removed on a number of occasions by members of the Green Lane Association (GLASS) using metal detectors to find them. More recently, however, the criminal fringe in the anti-access faction escalated their action by vandalising the lane

14 | DECEMBER 2023

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itself on an industrial scale, digging up its surface and using earthmoving machinery to leave it completely impassable.

This led to a long period of inactivity by the local authority, whose responsibility it is to keep rights of way open. Finally, in May 2021 GLASS served notice on Wrexham Council that the highway was out of repair.

Legal action does remain open, however the last two years have seen major repairs and clearance work undertaken to make the route once again usable. Whether those responsible will simply do it again remains to be seen (the police’s reaction has tended to be to treat their behaviour as being less serious than, for example, a quad bike with the wrong sized number plate), however the tale took another, extraordinary twist this April when Wrexham

County Council decided to make an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (ETRO) which would close the lane to motor vehicles irrespective of its state of repair.

This apparent case of siding with the criminal rather than the victim was strongly challenged by GLASS and the Trail Riders Fellowship, who took the case to the High Court claiming, among other things, failure to consult in accordance with the appropriate regulation. The local authority subsequently agreed to quash the ETRO, a move which was confirmed when the High Court made an order to the same effect, meaning the route is now open once again as it should always have been.

‘While this is a significant victory in our fight against unfair exclusion of recreational users,’ says the Association, ‘GLASS are aware that local peoples’ attitudes towards

the use of this route are mixed. We wish to remind our members and other users that they are expected to comply strictly with the GLASS or TRF codes of conduct when using any green lane.’

This alludes to the anti-social behaviour by a small but deeply pernicious number of 4x4 drivers whose actions are capable of causing enormous damage to the land and nuisance to those who live close to rights of way. White Stones has seen its share of this behaviour over the years – and however unacceptable the actions of those who vandalised the lane may be, it needs to be recognised that their frustration is real. Everyone who heads here in a 4x4 needs to understand that even if not everybody wants to know, by behaving responsibly they can be an ambassador for their hobby.

4x4 23/10/2023 20:50

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All I want for Christmas is…

IF YOU’RE THE PERSON WHO’S JUST FOUND A MAGAZINE LEFT CARELESSLY OPEN AT THIS PAGE, WE APOLOGISE. Because your mission for Christmas is now to buy a Traxxas Land Rover for whoever it was that helpfully left it there.

There are many remote control models. Some are just toys, some are cheap junk, a few are pukka. And Traxxas is Traxxas. The company’s 1:10 scale TRX-4 is a bit of a legend in RC rock-crawling circles, but it costs the sort of money that would once have got you two or three (real) Series Is. The TRX-4M is smaller, at 1:18 scale, and so too is what it’ll cost you. As in, the right side of £200 rather than the wrong side of £500. So that’s a good start.

Traxxas says the TRX-4M ‘bridges the gap between the small crawler scene and 1/10 scale quality and performance.’ It has steel frame rails and four-link suspension with oil-filled shocks, and its 45° steering angle is reached by a heavy-duty 2065T servo which, and you can’t say this about the real thing, ‘delivers powerful steering authority, even on thick carpet.’

Something else you’re unlikely to say about the real thing is that it has waterproof electronics.

That’s Traxxas proud boast, at any rate – that it ‘gives you the freedom to drive through wet grass, puddles and streams that force others to turn around.’

The TRX-4M comes complete and ready to race, with a fully licensed ABS body, Titan 180 motor, TQ transmitter and ECM-2.5TM control module as well as a 7.4-volt, 750mAh twin-cell battery and 2.0-amp USB fast charger. You get all the tools you need to look after it, too.

Well, YOU don’t because you’re the person whose mission for Christmas is to buy one of these bad boys for the person who left this magazine for you to stumble on. Although having read this far, you might by now have decided to get your own back by getting one for yourself instead – in which case a visit to www.britpart.com will yield the name of a local stockist.

Milltek helps Range Rover and Grenadier blow their own trumpets

THE INEOS GRENADIER SEEMS TO DIVIDE OPINION with some thinking it’s a much-needed alternative to the Defender, while others think it’s not much more than a variation on a theme.

Well, exhaust makers Milltek have started work on the Grenadier and that should divide opinion yet further.

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the summer there was what may have been the first modified Grenadier on display. There were exterior tweaks that should become a package, but the main difference was the new exhaust system.

Given the 3.0-litre straight-six BMW engine, a 3in-bore stainless steel exhaust system should sound pretty good, and the price sounds pretty good too – starting at £872. You can have it with tips finished in Cerakote black, carbon, brushed, polished or burnt blue titanium.

This is a full exhaust following the original routing, so it shouldn’t have any impact on

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off-roading prowess, although it does suggest a route to market that may follow the G-Wagen on its path to rapper/billionaire/Kardashian musthave status.

Speaking of which, you can also get a similar system for the latest 4.4-litre Range Rover, the P530. This version comes with the Milltek Sport Valve Controller for full control, and has an ‘active centre section’ whatever that may be. This is a

bigger deal and comes with a much bigger price tag: from £3811.

Both of Milltek’s systems are designed and made in the UK, which is good, and use T304L stainless steel, which is even better. This is aircraft-grade and should last a very long time indeed. Some owners of either vehicle will be attracted, some will be repelled, so we’ll keep on dividing our opinions.

4x4 23/10/2023 19:52

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PRODUCTS

Best of both worlds at Maltings 4x4 thanks to Terrafirma’s +2” air-to-coil kit for Discovery 3 and 4 and first-generation Range Rover Sport Price: £892.22 inc VAT From: maltings4x4store.co.uk LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO BUY A LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 OR 4 only do so because there are air-to-coil spring conversion kits available for their suspension. Those made by Terrafirma, for instance, which eliminate the

danger of calamitous air suspension failures which start off by leaving you stranded helplessly at the side of the road then follow it up by leaving you, still helpless, with an eye-wateringly expensive repair bill.

Without such a thing, you’d be at the mercy of a system whose antics are right at the heart of the vehicles’ fearsome reputation for being a money pit.

But, as with the P38 Range Rover before it, replacing troublesome and complex air springs with simple, effective steel coils is a great way of turning a nightmare vehicle into a dream.

The nightmare in question could come in the shape of a Disco 3 or 4 body, or indeed that of a first-generation Range Rover Sport. This is mechanically similar to the D3, and the kit can be used on it too – just so long as it’s a version without Dynamic Response, which may be something to think about if you’re in the market for one of these vehicles.

Terrafirma already offered a standard-height airto-coil kit, which we covered in these pages a couple of issues back. But this new version is even more appealing – because it’s also designed to lift the vehicle by two inches.

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PRODUCTS The kit includes pre-assembled front and rear struts, a sophisticated air suspension override module and vehicle-specific wiring looms. That is, it comes with two separate looms, one for the Discovery 3 and Range Rover Sport from 2005 to 2009 and the other for the Discovery 4 and Range Rover Sport from 2010 to 2013. Just make sure you plug in the right one, and you’ll be well away.

We mentioned the override module, and without this the whole thing would be a non-starter. The Disco was by this time not so much an off-road vehicle as a self-propelled knot of computerised trickery, and removing the air springs would send its sensors into a frenzy. As if that’s not bad enough, these vehicles had various other systems that worked in tandem with their air suspension, Terrain Response being the obvious one – so be thankful that the module will allow all the vehicle’s original electronic functions, including the operation of the info screen on its dash, to operate without it.

Much as some traditionalists love to mock them, the Discovery 3 and 4, and indeed the Range Rover Sport, are capable of achieving pretty remarkable things off-road. Lifting them to the sort of height the air suspension would set itself to if you trimmed it for doing those pretty remarkable things is a very good start if you want to make the most of those skills it has locked within – and doing so while ridding it of a prime source of ownership woe sounds like a particularly clear case of the best of both worlds.

Hard as nails steel wheels – with or without beadlocks

IT’S NOT EXACTLY NEWS THAT THE DISCOVERY 2 AND P38 RANGE ROVER were the last of their kind to be built in the classic 4x4 mould. And while their successors do get used off-road, a bit, for many of us there’s still no substitute for proper axles.

If you’re nodding along, Terrafirma’s range of beadlock and faux-beadlock steel wheels could be ideal for the Disco 2 or Rangey in your life. These have their stud pattern and PCD designed to suit the old stagers’ live axles, and they come in a choice of 8” or 10” widths to go with their play-the-percentages 16” diameter.

The wheel’s underlying design is based on the ever-popular steel modular, with a powder coated black finish to set them off – as well as protecting them against the knocks and scrapes they’ll be getting during the course of their life. Two options are available with true and, if it’s just the look you’re after, simulated beadlock patterns.

Strong as an ox, tough as old boots but cool as you like.

You could almost be talking about the vehicle itself…

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A range of tailor-made storage solutions for pick-up owners AS A PICK-UP OWNER, YOU MAY HAVE COME TO REALISE THAT YOUR LOAD AREA GRADUALLY FILLS UP AS TIME GOES BY. BUT KEEPING IT ORGANISED AND ACCESSIBLE CAN PROVE TO BE A LITTLE CHALLENGING. Nowadays, a pick-up’s load space is regarded as one of its most desirable features. Even if your work doesn’t require heavy objects to be transported, having so much space can be very useful. But it can also have its down sides, too – after a trip to the shops, for example, you may find your goods have spread and maybe even broken.

If this has happened to you, Gearmate has a wide range of storage solutions – ensuring that whatever your needs, the company has the ideal answer.

If you’re looking to maximise your storage space, consider a well designed drawer system that allows you to pack your goods in an organised, tier-based way. Gearmate’s sliding drawers allow you to keep goods tidy while keeping all your belongings secure.

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Visit the Gearmate website to find the best storage solution for you and your vehicle. You’ll find it at www. gearmate.co.uk.

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Its unique formula offers a hermetic seal on metal surfaces, displacing salt, moisture, and oxygen. As it cures, it forms a protective barrier against rust and corrosion.

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Proudly sourced and produced in the UK, our eco-friendly product is easy to apply.

With minimal prep and no masking, our DIY kit provides everything you need. Trust Lanoguard to protect your vehicle this winter.

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More than just a wheel cover!

HERE AT WHEELCOVER.COM, WE WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU HOW OUR WHEEL COVERS ARE A ‘GEAR’ ABOVE THE REST. From outstanding designs, unique crafting methods and quality materials, you are provided with an amazing wheel cover that is crafted here in the UK. We know how important it is to our customers to purchase products for their vehicles that are of the highest quality. That is why we have made sure to use a high-quality vinyl fabric for the skirt which, comes in an excellent range of colours. Our skilled seamstresses then sew piping on to the skirt to ensure a high-quality finish.

We pride ourselves on being bespoke: that’s why we have such a range of covers to choose from. Our covers are available as screen printed designs (perfect for large quantities), cut-vinyl, printed vinyl and, a firm favourite, full-wrap covers. The full wraps are available in bespoke designs or as part of our standard colours. The wraps are applied to the disc before the skirt, which is then sewn over the top to create a seamless finish.

We also specialise in soft vinyl covers. So if you have a vehicle that you can not find a cover for due to its unique wheel size, we can still fit it with a bespoke soft vinyl cover.

Whether you want to advertise your business, step up your exterior game or simply make your 4x4 more unique, our wheel covers are bound to do the Find out more by paying a visit to Wheel Covers Top Gear Advert 124x98 JULY 2023 .pdf 1 04/05/2023 job.

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22 | DECEMBER 2023 4x4 Magazine_2023_Sep_The Sign Maker_QP.indd 1 3 x 0.5pp advertorial.indd 22

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DRIVEN

PORSCHE CAYENNE The original performance SUV gets a major mid-life facelift with new styling that will divide opinion. But with new engines and chassis settings, there’s much more to it than just the way it looks

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IT’S A BIT OF AN ICON, the Porsche Cayenne. If you don’t like it, it’s probably the number one name that comes to mind when you start ranting about where it all went wrong. If you do like it, it’s probably the number one name that comes to mind when you start trying to explain to the ranting bloke that if you take a proper look, it didn’t actually go wrong at all.

There’s actually a subculture of Cayenne owners who have built Mk1 examples for overlanding. It’s made of the same stuff as the old VW Touareg, after all, and that was a hell of a truck. Yes, truck, I said it.

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That’s not a word you’d have used about the Cayenne, even back then, and you certainly wouldn’t use it about the current third-generation model. Yet this is still an SUV that means business – especially now Porsche has given it a facelift.

Four years into production, this could have been about not much more than a new set of headlamps. And it IS about a new set of headlamps. But no, that’s not the beginning and end of it.

The bumpers, bonnet, wings and tailgate all get the treatment too. The grille is subtly different as well, with a more upright appearance to the central element and the air intakes flanking it. And those headlamps are now hexagonal – a bigger change in character than it sounds from the teardrop-shaped units they replace. Among our test team, if we’re honest, the consensus was that it looks more grown-up but less sporty and not as aggressive.

It’s about more than how they look, at any rate. All Cayennes now have Matrix LED headlamps, with an HD option available for an extra £1755. The latter has more than 32,000 pixels per lamp and their brightness can be regulated to suit the driving conditions through more than 1000 increments.

There’ll be someone somewhere who actually does this.

The biggest change, anyway, is under the bonnet. The Cayenne S now gets a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 with 474bhp, 443lbf.ft and a 4.7-second 0-62 time; replacing the old 3.0-litre V6 unit in this model, it definitely sounds like a step up in all the right ways.

The V6 still remains in the Hybrid, with a 30% more powerful motor and bigger battery giving it greater oomph and a longer range in EV mode. And it’s still the engine you get in the entry-level Cayenne, though it’s been updated and now puts out 353bhp and 369lbf.ft, the latter from 1450rpm.

That’s what we’ve got here, and the book of words says it’ll nail the sprint in 6.0 seconds flat. Keep the boot in and it’ll top out at 154mph; drive with more circumspection and as well as not getting put in prison, you’ll return a combined WLTP figure of 26.2mpg.

It does feel quick enough, though by the standards of some Porsche SUVs the Cayenne in this form doesn’t feel stupendously fast. It gets going, it builds pace and it cruises without any effort at all, but you always get the feeling that the chassis – which has also been revised, with new shocks handling bump and rebound independently through separate dedicated valves – has enough in reserve to handle much more than you can throw at it. Mind you, the last Cayenne we drove was the GT Turbo, which had the honour of dethroning the Lamborghini Urus from our Performance SUV throne in our 4x4 of the Year awards, and nothing’s going to feel particularly fast after that.

Safe to say, anyway, that unless you’re one of those Lewis Hamilton fanboi SUV drivers, the Cayenne will have enough in its locker to keep you happy.

It’s swift enough but, more to the point, it steers and handles brilliantly and its dynamic brilliance comes at no cost at all in terms of refinement.

Our test vehicle had Normal, Sport and Off-Road modes on the dial (a literal physical dial, which is mounted on the steering wheel in a very racecar kind of a way), as well as a Sport+ setting for the suspension. No matter what you do with them, it rides very smoothly; set it as extreme as you want and though it does get more taut, and you feel the bumps in the road more, it’s absolutely not harsh or at all unpleasant. They say that ride is the first element of handling, and this is a perfect example of what they’re on about.

And it certainly does handle. Turn-in is crisp and well weighted, with beautifully balanced body control as you flow through corners with the drivetrain adding rock-solid grip – not that it needs all-wheel drive to hold the road like glue. It’s Porsche doing what Porsche does so very, very well, and you don’t pay for its agility with any sort of compromise elsewhere. It cruises like a limo on the motorway, too, with just a tiny amount of road noise and no bumps or vibrations coming up to disturb you. Just relax and enjoy your surroundings in a cabin which, for this mid-life facelift, is dramatically revised from the previous model.

The dash is at the heart of this, with what we’d call a ‘premium functional’ design rather than any up-yours showiness. The sheer quality of it is evident in everything you see or touch, and the materials and equipment alike radiate class. At the heart if it is a trio of high-definition screens; there’s a digital dash binnacle in front of you, which flows into a big, wide media screen – and this in turn flows into a second media screen for the front-seat passenger. As ‘surprise and delight’ features go, it’s a definite winner.

So too is the driving position, which places you perfectly in a position

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DRIVEN

The Cayenne’s dash has been completely revised and now features a full-width array of high-definition digital displays for the driver and passenger. Talking of passengers, those in the rear are very well provided for in terms of space – as is cargo, should you want to drop the back seats to create what is a fairly epic load area that’s nice and high but also well ensconced within the cabin. The seats themselves are excellent, with leather than feels like it’s going to last and plenty of support in the base and back. It doesn’t have lumbar adjust, which seems like an aberration at this money, but it does have all the adjustment you’ll ever need to find your ideal position.

However far back this means taking it, a big six-footer will still be able to stretch out and relax behind you. Legroom in both rows really is that good. There’s plenty of head and elbow room too; a high waistline means the view out is not perfect, and the C-post is situated next to your eye line, but for space it can’t be faulted.

The same goes for the amount of room in the boot.

Even in five-seat mode this is still generous – and when

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the rears are folded down, they leave a long and near-flat floor with a volume above it that’ll take more or less anything you care to put in it. There’s no sharp lip to try and slide it over, either – and beneath the floor is a huge void which adds not just hidden space but properly useful space.

In all this, the Cayenne doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel – but it’s a perfect case of doing the simple things well. It’s very practical, very comfortable, extremely classy and, when you want it to be, a whole lot of fun.

It’s a whole lot of money too, inevitably. Base price for the vehicle tested was £67,400 when it was registered (this has since gone up to £70,400), and the options on ours (metallic paint, uprated steering and active parking support) added another £2237. The Cayenne S, with its V8 engine, move things up to £84,400.

Spend the extra and you’ll get 474bhp and a 5.0-second 0-62 time. The Turbo gets that down to 3.7 seconds but when the price for this is revealed, you can expect it to be double the tag on our tester.

So yes, there are faster models in the Cayenne range, and they may be what you really want. Even in entry-level form, though, this is an SUV that’s quick, entertaining and very, very drivable. In other words, a Cayenne.

4x4 23/10/2023 21:56

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This is the modern

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world Seeing a late Series IIA Land Rover in a nice, straight condition isn’t the rarest of experiences.

But there’s no such thing as a Landy without a story to tell, and this 109 hides a lot beneath its pleasingly straight body. Like a stretched Range Rover chassis, for example… and a 2.5 turbo-diesel engine from a Peugeot.

Not a classic in the conventional sense, then – but a fine example of what a classic Land Rover can become Words: Mike Trott Pictures: Martin Traynor

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ike an old song that’s been digitally remastered, or a 70s’ blockbuster which has been meticulously restored using the latest technology, there’s a certain kind of 4x4 that manages to look ancient and modern at the same time. These are the vehicles which have been restored – but not back to the way they were when they were new.

At some point in your life, you may have looked up the definition of the word ‘restoration.’ Well, maybe. Most likely when you were intoxicated at Christmas, because it seemed like the fun thing to do at the time.

On stumbling your way through the ‘R’ category of your dusty Oxford English Dictionary, you’d read: ‘The action of returning something to its former owner, place or condition.’ Riveting stuff. Your hazy eyes would then drift down to ‘resuscitate,’ but that’s another story.

The point is that while the Land Rover we have here certainly did start off in need of restoration, what happened to it was a little less easy to qualify. The word ‘restification’ has been coined for trucks that start out as a wreck and end up as a hardcore off-roader, but this isn’t that either.

No, here the term ‘modernisation’ (bringing something up to date using modern methods and techniques) fits the bill much better. Intrigued?

From the outside, this looks like a normal 1969 Series IIA 109. So far, so unremarkable, even if it looks in good health. Some years ago, however, this classic piece of British engineering went through a bit of a revamp, the idea being to keep it moving with the times while preserving its original looks and character.

Actually, by ‘some years ago’ we’re talking about 1997. So ‘modernisation’ might not quite be the right word. No Transparent Bonnets or Hill Descent Control in this Landy, thank you. All the same, it can be tolerated for much longer distances than it once was.

Generally, if you asked someone what their daily drive was and they replied with the words ‘Series IIA,’ you’d assume that he or she is on first

‘It never missed a beat and was just great, with plenty of power and pulling ability’

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names terms with a chiropractor. With this Landy, though, that’s not the case.

‘It’s been modified and updated to enable it to be used on a daily basis,’ says Martin Traynor. ‘The body now sits on a Range Rover chassis, which means you now have coil-sprung suspension, so it’s significantly more comfortable to drive.’

The more eagle-eyed among you (or in actual fact, anyone who’s awake) will have spotted that since the 109 is still a 109, the Range Rover chassis can’t still be a Range Rover chassis. Well, not an original Range Rover chassis. So what you’re looking at is a stretched Rangey supporting a very tidy long-wheelbase Series IIA van. It

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was the Landy’s previous owner who did the conversion, but Martin can verify that the extra comfort is definitely there. Not because he just whizzed it round the block before putting it up for sale, either.

‘As a testament to its ability,’ he says, ‘I took the vehicle down to Southern Germany some months ago to deliver a Series I on the back of a trailer. It never missed a beat and was just great, with plenty of power and pulling ability, and it happily sat on the Autobahn all day long.’

Not many people used the words ‘plenty

of power’ in relation to the 2.25-litre petrol or diesel engines that went into new Series IIAs as they came out of Solihull. And Martin isn’t bucking that trend. Under this one’s bonnet is a 2.5-litre Peugeot turbo-diesel, installed using a Steve Parker Land Rover conversion kit and mated to a five-speed Discovery manual gearbox to go with it.

‘The original Series vehicles are cracking motors,’ says Martin. ‘They have those classic looks, but often drive pretty horribly. This one

These days, putting a Peugeot engine in an original Series IIA would be sacrilege. But back when this 2.5 turbo-diesel went in, it was simply a good way of making an old Landy drive nicer. Installed using a Steve Parker conversion kit, the engine mates to a Discovery manual – making the 109 much stronger to drive as well as allowing it to cruise comfortably (and a lot more quietly) at motorway speeds

4x4 23/10/2023 21:44

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One of the nicest things about this IIA is that although it’s been changed very fundamentally in terms of its engine, chassis and suspension, nobody’s tried to make it into anything it’s not. The cabin is still a basic, robust, functional place to sit, even if it’s gained a pair of seats you can actually sit in on a journey without having to spend the next day learning how to walk again. In the back, it’s just a clean, tidy van, boarded out and ready to do a day’s work – the same sort of days’ work it’s been doing since the Beatles were still together is deceptive though – the work has been done so well, you wouldn’t realise unless you drove it. So you now have retro looks with much more modern running gear, reliability and comfort.’

The man speaks the truth. No, those seats won’t be winning any style awards, but they beat sitting on a park bench wrapped in vinyl. And then there’s the handbrake; it sits by your hand and doesn’t force you into a game of heads, shoulders, knees and toes.

As well as the logical improvements in the Land Rover’s cabin, the bodywork also received a full restoration when the new chassis and other modifications were made. Not surprisingly, it acquired a full repaint as well.

Back in the 90s, when hybrid building was in its heyday, this must have been quite a machine. It still is, actually – IIAs are rare enough now that the time for modifying them like this is in the past, so you’re unlikely to see any more getting this kind of treatment now.

At the very least, when the work was done this Series IIA would have stood comparison to the 90s and 110s of its time. You’d expect it to have been among the least punishing on your body, too.

Yes, it is hybrid, at least of sorts. But depending on your take on things it could be one of the best out there – not an off-road killer, but a straight old one revised to be more like they would have been, if only Land Rover had had access to more modern engineering back then.

‘I wouldn’t have driven it to Germany if I thought it was going to be unreliable,’ concludes Martin.

‘I couldn’t have something hindering me and it didn’t. You could do it in a big, shiny 4x4 perfectly well, but the IIA is just something different.’

Quite. Today, old IIAs are too rare and precious to chop around (and Q-plates are enough of a pain in the neck to put you off). But this one is the sort of truck it was possible to create back in those happy days of more freedom and less red tape.

It’s not original, no. But if they’d all been like this, running a Series truck as a daily driver would be as normal as anything.

DECEMBER 2023 | 33

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23/10/2023 21:44

2024

PICK-UP

OF THE YEAR ‘SOMETHING WILL BE VERY FAR WRONG IF THE EFFECT IS ANYTHING OTHER THAN GAME-CHANGING.’ That’s what we said last year about the new Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok, both of which were at the time just on the verge of being introduced to the UK market.

Something IS wrong, of course, though it’s not with either of those vehicles. The economy continues to struggle and value for money remains an absolute priority for more buyers than ever before – so while rich people are still rich, and indeed in many cases they seem to be getting even richer, now is a brave time to be asking for more of their money than ever before.

Every pick-up in the market has become more expensive over the last year. And the new models are more expensive than the ones they have replaced.

Thankfully, though, the stratospheric price rises we saw during 2022 have not been repeated.

Nonetheless, most of the action has been at the top of the market – recognising the fact that premium pick-ups are a lot more profitable than workhorses.

The Toyota Hilux and SsangYong Musso ranges have moved little; in each case, the only changes have been to their halo models, with the Hilux GR Sport coming fully on stream (and most recently the announcement of a GR Sport II which will arrive during 2024) and the Musso Rhino LWB being replaced by the Saracen+. Reigning champion Isuzu, meanwhile, has only given the D-Max a mild facelift – but it has also announced a shift in policy which will see it concentrate more on chasing premium sales.

On the face of it, this all sounds like a pretty fertile market for Ford and Volkswagen to launch in to. The Amarok was always the premium option among pick-ups, and that’s how it’s going to be again with prices that don’t even start until the low forties. The Ranger, meanwhile, is priced at £3500-£5000 above comparable versions of the model it has replaced. And guess where the demand is? Right at the top, which just shows how much we know. Value for money matters more than ever – but a great truck matters most of all.

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2024

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23/10/2023 21:58

2024 PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

FORD RANGER All-new replacement for long-time market leader • Significant price increase over old

L

ast year, we commented that the old Ranger had gone up in price by an average of 11-12% during 2022 – which was pretty unheard of when its successor had already been unveiled. Now that successor is here, and it represents another step change in what you’ll pay to put one on your driveway.

This all demonstrates that the Ranger is massively popular. You’ll have seen loads of them around since the new one went on sale, and that’s just the start.

The Ranger’s looks have a lot to do with that. Its styling is incredibly bold from the front, and just as distinctive too. It looks bluff, aggressive and powerful, almost to the extent that it can come on like a caricature of itself. Its appearance marks it out as a pick-up that’s been

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created with its lifestyle audience in mind. However it’s also important for Ford for it to be entirely credible as a work truck.

RANGE

For evidence, look no further than the Chassis-Cab model that props up the range. This is available in base-spec XL form, as are the Single-Cab and Double-Cab bodies, all powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine with a 170bhp output and a six-speed manual box.

The XL spec level includes a decent media system with DAB and Ford’s Sync4 software, adaptive cruise and an excellent range of safety kit, so while it’s basic it’s not sparse. There’s less margin in models like this than in those with all the toys, especially when you’re selling to fleets, so it speaks volumes that

Ford continues to take the utility end so seriously.

Moving up, the XLT adds alloys, air-con, better media and a damped tailgate, among other things. We’d say it would be the natural entry point for a private buyer looking for a no-nonsense truck, though even this is £38,959 including VAT Beyond this, the 170bhp engine gives way to a version of the same unit with 205 horses and a 10-speed automatic box. This powers the Tremor, Wildtrak and Wildtrak X, which between them add more and more kit until you’re sitting in leather wrapped, electrically adjusted seats and grasping a heated steering wheel while setting the sat-nav on a massive vertically aligned tablet of a media screen.

If you want to go for still more luxury, for £5460 over the Wildtrak X

the Platinum model piles it on thick with quilted leather and so on. It’s powered by a 240bhp, 3.0-litre V6 diesel, which is also available as a £5400 option on the Wildtrak.

Then of course there’s the Raptor.

This is the halo model in the range; you can get it with a 210bhp, 2.0-litre diesel, but for an extra £3000 and a lot more time spent at fuel stations the 292bhp, 3.0-litre V6 petrol option sounds like a classic case of if you’re going to do it, do it right.

CABIN

The old Ranger led the market for cabin space when it was new and basically continued to do so until it was retired from sale. So it’s no surprise that the new one is also excellent in this regard.

Leg, head and elbow room are all generous, both in the front and the

4x4 23/10/2023 21:28

model • Raptor with 292bhp V6 petrol unit

PRICING List (ex-VAT)

OTR (inc VAT)

XL 2.0 170 Chassis Cab £27,550 XL 2.0 170 Single Cab £28,275 XL 2.0 170 Double Cab £29,800 XLT 2.0 170 Double Cab £31,150 Tremor 2.0 205 Double Cab auto £34,550 Wildtrak 2.0 205 Double Cab auto £39,350 Wildtrak 3.0 240 Double Cab auto £43,850 Wildtrak X 2.0 205 Double Cab auto £41,350 Platinum 3.0 240 Double Cab auto £45,900 Raptor 2.0 210 Double Cab auto £46,300 Raptor 3.0 292 Double Cab auto £48,800

£34,639 £35,509 £37,339 £38,959 £43,039 £48,799 £54,199 £51,199 £56,659 £57,064 £60,064

CONCLUSION

back – you can easily sit a six-foot adult behind another. There are loads of stowage options up front, too, with two gloveboxes and a grippy tray in between them, and visibility is as commanding as it gets.

There are all round sensors and a surround view camera on offer as you climb the range, too – along with all sorts of other luxuries and high-tech toys.

More importantly, perhaps, the overall design is pleasing both to look at and use. The tones are mainly dark but they don’t come across as a jumble, and the materials feel good to the touch. The dash and floor console are robust, too, though there were some trim noises from the seatbelt mounts on the B-posts which is pretty poor on a brand new truck – let alone one costing upstairs of fifty grand.

4x4 2024 Ranger NEEDS MAIN PIC.indd 37

DRIVING

There’s a real feeling of presence and heft from behind the wheel. You have an excellent view of the road or terrain ahead and you feel confident of your ability to negotiate it.

The 3.0-litre engines in the range might get the headlines, but the 2.0-litre four-pot has everything you need. We drove it in 205bhp auto form and it was very willing, smooth and full of power. The 10-speed box almost never changes perceptibly – the only times we noticed it were when wading through floodwater, which had it holding on to its ratios before shifting with a shunt.

Even on the optional 20” alloys our test vehicle was wearing, the Ranger rides with the composure to match its gung-ho handling. It grips well, even in 4x2 mode – you really need to attack it for the electronic

Having established the Ranger as the firm leader in the pick-up market, Ford is cashing in with this new model. It costs enough for the trim noises in the Wildtrak we tested recently to be unacceptable, but overall its cabin moves the one-tonne game to a new level with its design and execution. It’s comfortable, well equipped and masterful to sit in – and whether you’re at the bottom or the top of the range, it’s a pleasure to drive. Obviously the Raptor is the one that gets the attention, and rightly so with the astonishing blend it offers of on and off-road skills (it almost comes hillrally ready), but every Ranger rides well, handles well, goes well and is ready to work or play for its living. aids to kick in. It doesn’t jive and jiggle its way around town, nor does its back end skip over speed bumps, and it steers with enough feel and weight to be enjoyable.

On the motorway, it cruises with acceptably little road and wind noise to disturb the peace – and plenty of torque in reserve. You could cruise all day long in it without starting to feel fatigued – something that’s aided by its excellent seats.

Take it off-road, meanwhile, and its agility and manoeuvrability can hardly help but impress you. Con-

sidering the size of the thing, it pulls well on the way up steep hills and can be driven with real precision on technical terrain. The vast majority will either see nothing but tarmac or not get used on anything worse than a set field or building site – but in each situation, it will be within its limits by a very long way.

As for the Raptor, that takes all the above, doubles it and adds a big scoop of yee-haw. It’s a tool and a half on the road – and if you drive it flat out on rough terrain, it’ll keep on asking for more.

DECEMBER 2023 | 37

23/10/2023 21:28

2024 PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

ISUZU D-MAX New grille and alloy wheels in mild facelift • Title holder thanks to restrained price rises

T

he reigning champion regained the title last year after a worthwhile second-phase launch which saw key equipment (an automatic gearbox and locking rear diff) becoming available on entry-level Utility models for the first time. The reintroduction of the AT35 halo model helped, too.

That’s a hard act to follow, especially in a year with two very significant all-new vehicles to content with. But Isuzu is very, very good at keeping the D-Max fresh, and this year has seen the vehicle gain a facelift which, despite only really amounting to a nip and tuck, has done a good job of freshening it up.

Primarily, there’s now a new, more aggressive looking grille across the range. In addition, on models

38 | DECEMBER 2023

2024 D-Max DONE.indd 38

with alloy wheels they’re now of a new design, while on the inside all models bar the Utility get upgraded upholstery – premium woven fabric on the DL20 and leather on the DL40 and V-Cross.

Add in a couple of revised paint colours and that’s your lot. It doesn’t sound like much, but it does make the newer vehicle stand out – even if this year’s D-Maxes are mechanically identical to the ones that won the award last year.

RANGE

There are three mini-ranges within the D-Max range, which is saying something considering there are only five models. The Business range covers the base-spec Utility; All-Purpose takes in the DL20 and DL40; and Adventure moves you up to the V-Cross and AT35. It sounds a

bit unnecessary but as time goes on and Isuzu starts introducing more models and special editions (which they will), the idea should come into its own.

As well as the five models, there are three cab styles on offer.

Single-Cab is available only in Utility form; Extended-Cab is in Utility and DL20; and Double-Cab can be had across the board.

Whichever you go for, you’ll get air-con, cruise control and lumbar adjust as standard, as well as DAB and Bluetooth. That’s a lot of the big boxes ticked; the DL20 adds alloys, heated seats and parking sensors, while the DL40 brings leather, climate, LEDs, chrome styling and a media system with phone pairing.

Finally, the V-Cross and AT35 give you gunmetal styling and a bigger media screen.

If you’re into accessorising, Isuzu was already arguably the best in the business in this area. And now it’s even more on-board than ever, thanks to a deal with ARB which has seen a range of the Australian offroad specialist’s adventure equipment ranged as official equipment.

CABIN

The D-Max is comfortable and roomy inside, with plenty of room for one big bloke to sit behind another without a fight breaking out (unless they’re trying to do this in the Single-Cab, obviously). Legroom is ample, though headroom is a little more pinched in the back.

With four out of the five interior trims having been upgraded in the last 12 months, the only version of the D-Max not to have changed is the Utility. Yet we still tend to feel

4x4 23/10/2023 22:00

in 2022 • Only £750 more now than last year

PRICING List (ex-VAT) Utility Single-Cab £25,004 Utility Extended Cab* £25,754 Utility Double-Cab* £26,504 DL20 Extended Cab* £28,004 DL20 Double-Cab* £28,754 DL40 Double-Cab* £31,854 V-Cross Double-Cab* £33,354 AT35 Double-Cab* £48,104 * Auto extra £1500 plus VAT

OTR (inc VAT) £31,040 £31,940 £32,840 £34,640 £35,540 £39,240 £41,040 £58,760

CONCLUSION

that the vehicle rings particularly true here, where the functional honesty of the vehicle’s design is at its least encumbered by add-ons.

Nonetheless, the woven fabric on the DL20’s seats have a greater feeling of stoutness to them than before. We’re yet to experience the DL40 or V-Cross/AT35, however Isuzu has experienced a massive surge in sales of the range-topping model this last year – and indeed the company says the lifestyle and adventure market is one which it is now targeting as a strategic objective.

DRIVING

People who haven’t driven the D-Max continue to be wary of its engine which, at 1.9 litres, is the smallest on the market. The advent of the 2.0-litre unit in the Ranger

4x4 2024 D-Max DONE.indd 39

and Amarok might help bring them into the present day, but compared to some of the bigger lumps on the market the twin-turbo unit proves that sometimes there IS a substitute for cubic inches.

Whether laden, unladen or towing, the 1.9 is always eager. It pulls smoothly and quietly; around town, it hardly seems to climb above a lazy idle and on the motorway it settles to a gentle hum, and even when pushed on B-roads it rarely becomes gruff.

We prefer the manual gearbox, however the automatic unit has its wits about it most of the time and shifts without either hesitating, jumping the gun or taking forever to make its mind up. We’ve found it much better than it was in the current model’s first year on sale; this is no doubt down to a combination of

Last year, Isuzu retook the Pick-Up of the Year title thanks in part to price rises which weren’t as steep as those imposed by the D-Max’s closest rivals. Now the company has done it again; back in the spring, it hiked its list by £750 across the board – which, in the context of what’s still going on in the country, almost counts as a price cut. That would count for little of the D-Max wasn’t a good truck, but it’s more than that – it’s very good indeed, with an enormous range of talents on and off-road and, indeed, an enormous range full stop. Isuzu is a proven player at the utility end of the market, and up top the mighty AT35 is as eye-catching as ever – but with V-Cross sales having gone through the roof in the last year, the D-Max is now building on its overall success to start muscling in on premium territory. Few would bet against it to do so with great success. chance and personal preference, but this time it didn’t spoil the experience. Damning with faint praise, possibly, but we felt it was greatly improved this time round.

In terms of both ride and refinement, the D-Max continues to impress as much as ever. It deals well with rough roads, its suspension damping out the worst of the jolts and jounces; the AT35 does have a slightly less settled ride on its much bigger tyres, but even this is very acceptable.

All models handle confidently, too, and when you take it off-road the D-Max is a very sure-footed performer with traction to spare.

Even on its standard 18” rims, it grips well and handles predictably on rough and slippery ground, whether in manual or automatic form. Its ability to climb long, steep hills is particularly impressive, with the engine’s torque able to remove the drama from almost every offroad situation – and that’s before you bang in the locker.

DECEMBER 2023 | 39

23/10/2023 22:01

2024 PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

SSANGYONG MUSSO New coil-sprung Saracen+ range-topper replaces Rhino LWB • Class-leading warranty •

R

arely does a year go by without SsangYong giving the Musso some sort of revision. Last year, the 2.2-litre diesel engine gained more power and torque as well as better fuel economy; before that, an automatic gearbox as standard on all but the entry model. This year, the range-topping Rhino has been discontinued; in its place, we now have the Saracen+.

This is relevant because the Rhino rode on leaf springs at the back, whereas the rest of the range is on coils. Now, the suspension has been standardised across the board.

As with the Rhino, however, the Saracen+ differentiates itself by having a longer load bed – by a full 12”, giving it usefully more capacity.

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Something that impressed us particularly about the Musso last year was that at a time of swingeing price rises, SsangYong kept it modest in this regard. It has always traded on value for money, and with basic prices ranging from £25,465 to £34,115 (£30,933 to £41,313 including OTR costs and VAT) it continues to do so. For the three models that remain unchanged from last year, these prices represent an increase of £1200-£1300; the Saracen+, meanwhile, costs £1450 more than the old Rhino.

Thus the Musso’s closest competitor in terms of price is the Isuzu D-Max. You could argue the toss between the two of them all day long; SsangYong’s strongest cards would be the Musso’s colossal

Gross Train Weight, which allows it to both tow and carry up to its limits at the same time, the sheer amount of kit you get and the appeal of a 7-year, 150,000-mile warranty.

RANGE

What your money gets you is a choice of four models: EX, Rebel, Saracen and Saracen+. All have the same mechanical specifications, save for the aforementioned gearbox – this is a six-speed manual on the EX, and an auto with the same number of ratios elsewhere. The box is turned by a 2.2-litre diesel engine producing 202bhp at 3800rpm and 325lbf.ft from 1600-2600rpm.

You get a decent collection of equipment wherever you look in the range. The EX has alloys, air-con,

Bluetooth and automatic lights and wipers, so while it’s not as extensively kitted as some base-speccers it’s still not sparse. Move up to the Rebel and you’re adding heated and cooled faux-leather seats, a reversing camera and an 8” media system running Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

The Saracen adds bigger alloys, nappa leather, power seats, cruise, sat-nav, all-round parking sensors, a digital dashboard and a 9.2” media screen. You also get more safety features, which is never great to hear if you can only afford a lower-spec model. The Saracen+ is then as the Saracen but with a longer wheelbase and rear overhang to provide that extra bed length; it also has a higher payload, at 1205kg

4x4 23/10/2023 22:01

Low price rises in 2022 and again this year

PRICING EX Rebel auto Saracen auto Saracen+ auto

List (ex-VAT)

OTR (inc VAT)

£25,465 £29,565 £32,865 £34,115

£30,933 £35,853 £39,813 £41,313

CONCLUSION The Musso remains an outstanding choice for value, and its warranty continues to lead the way. It looks good, it drives well and it does the job – in addition to coming loaded with goodies. The Rexton’s influence on its cabin styling means it remains startlingly SUV-like to sit in, too – and that’s not a case of flattering to deceive, because driving it really does reveal much more than just a truck with a low price and a long kit list.

as opposed to the standard-length Saracen’s 1095kg.

CABIN

The Musso’s cabin is closely related to that of SsangYong’s hugely underrated Rexton. Not only does this mean it has the most SUV-like styling and materials of any pick-up ever sold in this country, it means it’s well made and stylish – even by SUV standards.

The cabin layout is excellent, too.

You get a good driving position and an excellent view in all directions, and the controls for all its functions (and with so much kit, there are lots of them) are clear and easy to see.

Another bonus of the Rexton connection is the space in the back.

There might be a little give and take

4x4 2024 Musso DONE.indd 41

if you’re carrying a full crews, but they’ll all get on board no problem.

Headroom in the back is exceptionally good, too – and the seats in general are good and comfortable.

One area in which we’ve been surprised by the latest Musso, though, is its rear-view camera. Sounds like a detail, but last year we commented that it was sharper than the one on the Bentley Bentayga. In the most recent Saracen+ we’ve tested, this has been replaced by a disappointingly dull picture and, at night, almost complete blackness. We hope this isn’t a sign of cost-cutting in the factory.

DRIVING

We had a couple of marathon ninehour stints behind the wheel of a

Saracen+ during its week with us, and we can vouch for its ability as a mile-eater. It rides very smoothly, with just a touch of lightness at the back over undulating roads, and while there is a bit of a drone from underneath at speed its refinement is generally good.

Do its coil springs improve on the Rhino’s leaves? Hard to say, as our verdict on that model was that it was no different to the rest of the range to drive. Last year, we said it was ‘well enough damped and… hefty but not overweight’ and that describes the Saracen+ too.

Perhaps ‘hefty’ isn’t the first word we’d think of now, as there’s more suppleness to it, but it wasn’t bad then and it’s not bad now.

If you’re on the lookout for a base-spec EX, we’re not fans of the manual gearbox. That’s based on experience of a vehicle from a pre-

vious model year, though. The auto, anyway, is very smooth in every situation, responding well to hard and gentle use alike.

Both long and standard-wheelbase models handle tidily, with no ugly surprises from the steering and bags of grip. It stays well planted on fidgety surfaces, too, even really badly potholed ones – over which the ride never gets crashy, even when you’re running unladen.

We wouldn’t choose the Saracen+ for extreme off-road work, because of its extra rear overhang. And to be honest, we wouldn’t choose the Musso in general because you can’t get it with a rear locker. However its green lane abilities are there to be seen, and it’s sure footed over the sort of terrain that makes up 99% of what you tackle off-road in the real world. As a work truck, there’s nothing here to be afraid of in it at all.

DECEMBER 2023 | 41

23/10/2023 22:02

2023 PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

TOYOTA HILUX Little changed from last year • Range-topping GR Sport model now fully on sale • More

T

he 2022 champion lost its crown to the Isuzu D-Max last year, in part because of the huge price increases Toyota put on it in the preceding 12 months. Value for money has become an ever more important factor in car-buying decisions, and the pick-up market is not immune to this.

Nonetheless, demand for the Hilux has remained strong. A consequence of this has been long waiting lists, which might not be very convenient for punters but certainly shows that a vehicle is ticking the boxes.

In terms of what’s actually changed about the vehicle since last year, there’s little to report.

Mainly, even though it’s more than 18 months since the Dakar-inspired GR Sport range-topper was unveiled, they’ve only started to filter through

42 | DECEMBER 2023

2024 Hilux DONE.indd 42

the dealerships in significant numbers during 2023.

Last year’s price hikes haven’t been repeated, thankfully. The popular Invincible X model climbed by very nearly £5000 in 2022, but the last 12 months have seen it gain an altogether less horrific £1233.

With the new competition the Hilux has gained during 2023, that’s just as well; perhaps Toyota knew what was coming and got the painful treatment out of the way before the real battle started.

RANGE

A 2.4-litre, 150bhp diesel engine is the only option on work-spec Active and mid-range Icon models. It’s gutsy enough to do the job – though only in manual form, with the auto struggling to pull at higher speeds.

The only model on which you can choose either the 2.4 or the more

lifestyle-friendly 2.8 is the Invincible.

The difference in price is a trifling £355 after VAT, which leaves us wondering why anyone would want the smaller unit. You can get the 2.8 in manual form on the Invincible and Invincible X, which is nice, though it’s far better suited to an auto than the 2.4.

At the work-spec end of the range, the Active model is available in single, crew and double-cab format. There’s no auto option here, but with it being 2.4-only we wouldn’t want it.

What you do get is cruise, air-con, Bluetooth and a locking rear diff, and that’s a pretty solid spec for a do-it-all pick-up. It certainly doesn’t feel sparse – though for a couple of grand or so more, the Icon adds 17” alloys, upgraded seat fabric and a touch-screen media system with DAB and smartphone pairing, which

you may see as a good investment come resale time if nothing else. It offers an auto option, too.

The Invincible and Invincible X add further premium equipment, including a monster of a stereo. Up top, the GR Sport has rally-inspired styling outside and in – though it’s not just about looks, with retuned shocks and front springs giving it a hard-edged suspension set-up of its very own.

CABIN

As you’d expect, given Toyota’s enviable reputation, there’s a rocksolid feeling of build quality in the Hilux’s cabin. Even at the top of the range, some of the materials still feel like those of a utility vehicle – but given that that’s exactly what it is, you don’t find yourself troubled by it the way you would if it was a Land Cruiser.

4x4 23/10/2023 22:02

modest price rises after huge hikes in 2022

PRICING List (ex-VAT)

OTR (inc VAT)

2.4 Active Extra Cab Chassis £27,778 2.4 Active Single-Cab £27,185 2.4 Active Extra Cab £28,454 2.4 Active Double-Cab £29,088 2.4 Icon Double-Cab* £31,245 2.4 Invincible Double-Cab* £33,741 2.8 Invincible Double-Cab* £34,037 2.8 Invincible X Double-Cab* £37,420 2.8 GR Sport** £40,528 2.8 Invincible X AT35 Double-Cab** £60,187 * Auto extra £1270 plus VAT ** Auto standard

£34,434 £33,723 £35,246 £36,007 £38,595 £41,590 £41,945 £46,005 £49,735 £73,326

CONCLUSION Up front, the seats are roomy and very comfortable, however rear legroom in the double-cab is the poorest in the pick-up market. We tried to fit one six-footer in behind another and for either of them to be able to get in the back at all, the front seat had to be so far forward that the other one said he wouldn’t be able to drive.

In other ways, the cabin is very good. The multimedia system is the focal point of the dash on vehicles lofty enough to have the top-line system, and it looks excellent.

It’s better than most at giving you places to shove your bits and pieces, too.

DRIVING

The 2.8-litre engine transformed the Hilux when it was introduced, but the 2.4 remains an integral part of the range. It’s very capable,

4x4 2024 Hilux DONE.indd 43

whisking lower-spec models around with doughty willingness – though again, we’d counsel you against mating it to the auto box. In kickdown at speed, you get a huge increase in noise and almost no extra performance.

The 2.8, by contrast, makes it look easy whether it’s mated to the manual or auto option. In the former, its 201bhp is backed up by 310lbf.ft, while with the auto this goes up to 369lbf.ft; in each case, all the torque is there from 1400rpm, and getting the Hilux moving is every bit as easy as that makes it sound. It pulls smartly and then it pulls some more – whether you’re ducking and diving in down, going for it on a fun A-road or cruising with a trailer on the back, the response is as lively as it is instant.

Talking of fun A-roads, this is where the GR Sport comes in to its

The GR Sport adds something at the top of the Hilux range, even if that’s not something that everyone will want. If athletic road handling matters you to, though, it’s absolutely worth stretching your budget – and the same can be said of rally-bred looks, because it does catch the eye. The lack of rear legroom in the double-cab is a serious drawback, and will be a deal-breaker for some – but with build quality remaining as strong as ever, the Hilux remains the go-to for a great deal of people almost by default. own. With its tuned suspension, it gives you loads more on turn-in than the standard equivalent, making it much more biddable when you’re in the mood. We’ve previously noted that the Hilux is rather lifeless in this regard, and the GR Sport is absolutely the answer – yet it doesn’t ride with any less suppleness and refinement than the rest of the range.

Wind noise is the main impediment to peaceful progress on the motorway, however road and engine noise are as good as absent.

The suspension fidgets a little on seams when running unladen,

however you needn’t worry about pot holes around town – where others are cringing as their bump stops scream in protest, you’ll be taking the hits in your stride like a pro boxer cruising his way through a sparring session.

As always, the Hilux is a winner off-road, too. The 2.4 can do it but all that torque makes the 2.8 absolutely masterful in every kind of terrain – and when you need it, every model in the range comes with a rear locker as standard.

Extreme terrain and, given the right tyres, low-traction surfaces can be taken with complete confidence.

DECEMBER 2023 | 43

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2024 PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

VOLKSWAGEN AMAROK All-new successor to former title winner • Developed alongside new Ford Ranger • Aims

T

he first-generation Amarok was a winner in these awards, though not until Volkswagen added a proper entry-level offering to underpin its dominance at the premium level. Once again with this all-new model, which arrived in the UK during the summer, VW is aiming to position it at the top of the market – this time, there’s a base-speccer from the word go but if you don’t get your VAT back it’ll cost you £40,791.

As most people are aware, the Amarok shares its underpinnings with the new Ford Ranger. They were developed together, with engineers from the two companies working alongside each other – but the designers kept apart so that each would have its own distinctive style.

In addition, each brand’s importers were free to choose their own model line-up to suit their market.

44 | DECEMBER 2023

2024 Amarok DONE.indd 44

In the UK, this means there are loads of different choices in the Ranger line-up, with more in particular at the work-focused end. The Amarok doesn’t leave you entirely out of options, though, with four spec levels and three engines among them – though it may say something about Volkswagen’s customers that only the lower-spec Life and Style models are currently available from stock, with the more lifestyley PanAmericana and Aventura subject to lengthy waiting times.

RANGE

Demand may be top-heavy, but even the entry-level Life model is well equipped. We’re talking about 17” alloys, full-time four-wheel drive, aircon, adaptive cruise, a 10.1” media screen with rear-view camera display and an excellent array of safety kit. It’ll look after you if you have a

stack, but it probably won’t let you get in one in the first place.

The Life is powered by a 2.0 TDI engine putting out either 170 or 205bhp. The former version has a 6-speed manual box (the only model in the range with this unit), while the latter gets a 10-speed auto.

The Style gets either the 205bhp 2.0TDI or a 240bhp 3.0TDI, both with the auto box. It adds surround cameras, LED headlights, a heated windscreen, 10-way driver’s seat adjustment and ArtVelours seat trim, while the alloys go up to 18” and the media screen becomes a 12” tablet.

Quite an impressive set of extras, there, albeit for another £10,140.

Up top, the PanAmericana and Aventura notionally share the flagship position. The latter is the posh one, with things like 21” alloys and chromed exterior details, as well as its own unique leather treatment

inside, while the former plays the adventure card (it’s named after a highway, but the highway in question is the one with the Darien Gap in the middle of it). It’s not off-road ready like, for example, the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, but it comes with a locking rear diff and if want to know how important this is in a vehicle with next to no weight over its back end, just try driving one without it.

You also get enhanced frontal protection, as well as leather seats and an uprated Harman Kardon stereo (which also features in the Aventura). Both these vehicles are powered by the 3.0 TDI and 10-speed auto box; prices are £56,631 for the PanAmericana and £57,591 for the Aventura.

CABIN

The Amarok looks and feels impressively classy inside, even if its dash

4x4 23/10/2023 21:59

to retake the premium double-cab market

PRICING

2.0 TDI Life manual 2.0 TDI Life auto 2.0 TDI Style 3.0 TDI Style 3.0 TDI PanAmericana 3.0 TDI Aventura

List (ex-VAT)

OTR (inc VAT)

£34,055 £35,355 £42,505 £45,005 £47,255 £48,055

£40,791 £42,351 £50,931 £53,931 £56,631 £57,591

CONCLUSION The old Amarok had the premium pick-up market all to itself, and Volkswagen has positioned the new one with an eye to pulling off the same trick again. Everything about the way it drives is right, from the mud to the motorway, and allowing for differences in taste its cabin is very well specced and beautifully put together. It’s expensive to buy – but it does a very convincing job of being worth it. materials have been carefully chosen to disguise the fact that they’re actually made of hard plastic. Build quality is excellent, as are the controls and the seating position – and indeed the seats themselves.

Besides all that, it would be very hard for a vehicle not to appear premium when there’s a vast vertical tablet occupying the entire centre portion of its facia. This is for sure the ‘surprise and delight’ feature in the cabin; the media system it displays is as logical and easy to use as you’d expect from Volkswagen, even if its response time to commands could do with being snappier, and it also hosts an excellent reversing camera and surround view display which will be especially valuable for owners whose trucks will be fitted with a rear canopy.

So far, the only Amarok we’ve driven is a PanAmericana. Whether

4x4 2024 Amarok DONE.indd 45

the combination of dark grey and chocolate brown leather, orange stitching on both and a mixture of polished aluminium and carbon fibre effect trim is one that ever lets your eyes relax is down to personal taste, but there’s no doubting the space in the back seats. The old Amarok let itself down badly here, but a full crew of hefty lads can fit in this one no problem at all, with ample leg, head and elbow room.

DRIVING

If there’s one take-away from our week aboard the new Amarok, it’s how extraordinarily refined the vehicle is on the motorway. There’s a touch of wind and road noise in the background but the peace in the cabin is remarkable, even at speed, and there’s no vibration at all through the drivetrain or suspension. This was on the PanAmerica-

na’s 18” wheels; we can’t comment on the Aventura’s 21-inchers.

We also can’t comment on the 2.0 TDI, but with 240bhp and 443lbf.ft from 1750rpm the 3.0 V6 certainly pulls willingly. The 10-speed auto shifts so seamlessly we never noticed it once. We did notice our average fuel consumption, though, which at 22.2mpg over a typical blend of motorways, A/B-roads and urban driving was less than stellar.

Those urban roads did bring the occasional bump out of the back axle, though this was unladen and therefore shorn of the damping effect a ton of gravel would have.

Its suspension is pretty agile, with loads of grip and plenty of response from the steering and handling – yet its superb motorway ride doesn’t fall apart on bumpy or uneven roads.

Off-road, the old Amarok’s fatal flaw was that you only got low

range on models with a manual gearbox – which was almost none of them. They’ve not made the same mistake this time, however, so every Amarok is properly capable in the rough – though none more so than our PanAmericana, whose rear locker allows it to keep moving when the back gets light. Pick-ups can thrive in certain conditions, but a surprisingly mild uneven climb can make them look silly and keeping the drive from spinning its way out through a bouncing wheel is the key to defeating this.

You don’t think of pick-ups as being nimble in tight conditions, but the Amarok’s manoeuvrability makes a mockery of its hefty size.

In dense woodland, the limits will be set by how much you want to risk its body panels – with the right tyres, it will find traction where you wouldn’t expect it to stand a chance.

DECEMBER 2023 | 45

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er

W Fo IN rd N Ra E ng R

2024 PICK-UP

BEST VALUE SsangYong Musso

46 | DECEMBER 2023

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BEST INDIVIDUAL MODEL Ford Rager Raptor 3.0 V6

4x4 23/10/2023 22:03

OF THE YEAR 2024

PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

WINNER

BEST VALUE SsangYong Musso The Musso has won this award more often than we can remember, and the gap in price between it and the rest of the market continues to grow. The exception is the Isuzu D-Max, whose popularity continues to grow and when you look at what it gives you for your cash you can see why.

With its Rexton-derived cabin and an equipment list as long as your arm, however, the Musso wins the Best Value award by a nose. There’s a lot more to it than just being cheap – that wouldn’t be of any consequence if your money didn’t get you a truck worth having, and the Musso certainly is. The name still puts people off – but more than ever, more fool them.

BEST INDIVIDUAL MODEL Ford Ranger Raptor 3.0 V6 Another award in which Isuzu came close, because the AT35 is still the best way to be noticed behind the wheel of a pick-up. But the Raptor has always stood for next-level on and off-road ability – and the new one, with the availability of a 292bhp V6 petrol engine, takes things to a new level altogether.

It’s predictably thirsty, but the Raptor feels every bit as special as it ought to. There’s a real sense of occasion in the cabin, even before you go for the drive mode dial and the exhaust opens up like a hot rod’s – and at speed off-road, it’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced in your life before.

BEST OFF-ROAD Toyota Hilux Every Hilux has a locking rear diff as standard, and that matters big-time if you want your pick-up to perform properly off-road. The 2.4-litre engine needs to be worked a little more, but the 2.8 is so torquey that most of the time, all you need to do is steer. That makes it very safe and easy to drive over rough ground, and when things get seriously haggard that diff-lock means you don’t have to put the boot in. The new GR Sport model kicks things up in terms of road handling – but it’s when the tough stuff starts that the Hilux really comes into its own.

BEST OFF-ROAD Toyota Hilux

2024 PICK-UP OF THE YEAR Ford Ranger A new model is always likely to be one of the favourites for this award, and when it’s the new version of a runaway market leader it looks like a foregone conclusion. The Ranger has indeed won – but it was closer than you might expect, because the D-Max pushed it all the way.

One major reason why the new Ranger edged out last year’s winner is that its interior moves the market forward in a way not seen since – well, since the previous Ranger. Its design and execution, its classy materials, and all-round usability are outstanding. Whether it’s being bought as a family car or work truck, it’s on another level.

The Ranger is outstanding to drive, too. We know about the Raptor, and that’s part of its appeal, but everyday Rangers are very good too. The 2.0-litre engine does enough to ask if you really need anything more, and all models ride and handle with poise and sophistication. It’s superb.

4x4 2023 Results NEEDS MAIN PIC.indd 47

DECEMBER 2023 | 47

23/10/2023 22:10

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another fine mess Darren Fine is from Ulverston, the town in Cumbria where Stan Laurel grew up. But despite what Stan’s lifelong sidekick Oliver Hardy used to say, there’s nothing messy about the vehicles Darren builds.

He turned this Ford Prefect, into a pick-up, for example – because he wanted a truck to do the sort of work that makes most people turn towards a D-Max or Hilux Words: Graham Scott Pictures: Richard Hair

T

he pick-ups you probably bought this magazine to read about are the kind you buy, not build. And you put them to work, and they do it well and that’s all very good. But pick-ups are also popular in the world of hot rods and custom cars.

In this case, people tend to be building a vehicle that started life as a truck and still is one, only now it’s a show truck rather than a workhorse. But this one is a bit different. A lot different, actually, because it didn’t start life as a pick-up at all and it was built to be a work truck… though there are still plenty of little touches all around it that would get you looking if you ever did see it at a show.

It’s a Ford Prefect. They only ever did them as pick-ups in Australia… and now in Ulverston.

So. Do you consider it ‘striking, but not conspicuously handsome’? Or do you perhaps find its appearance ‘very slightly odd’?

No, of course I couldn’t get far into this article without bringing in Ford Prefect from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. You might remember (if you too are old enough) that the Douglas Adams character was ‘not in fact from Guildford but from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse’.

To someone from Guildford, this Prefect might just as well be from the same sort of distance. Ulverston, as we said, which to save you looking it up is in Cumbria. It’s most famous for being home to Stan Laurel.

Now it’s home to Darren Fine. So how are we supposed to resist making a joke about ‘another Fine mess,’ to quote Stan’s lifelong sidekick Oliver Hardy?

As you can see from the title, we couldn’t.

But this Prefect is not a mess. It’s a delight.

It’s also not in Cumbria any more. Darren sold it earlier this year, to someone who seemed keen on it. But then they instantly sold it through eBay for considerably more than they’d paid for it, so now we’re not keen on them. But Darren’s cool with that.

50 | DECEMBER 2023

4pp Darren Fine.indd 50

‘I don’t mind. I’d lost interest in it and now it’s gone to a good home, the people at Shed Racing, so that’s fine by me.’

Darren is one of those people who likes to build things but, once they’re built, he loses interest. You could argue that’s exactly the psychology of many entrepreneurs, who have the drive to build up a company from scratch but then they often prove not very good at actually running the company. Smart entrepreneurs with self-knowledge then bring in talent to run the company while they start another business.

Darren simply sold the Prefect and is now taking a keen interest in a Ford Granada. And there may be a pair of old Minis right behind it.

He’s got such a reputation locally for this that he doesn’t even need to go looking for vehicles.

People bring them to him.

It’s not as if this is even his full-time job. He’s been everything from a teacher to a mechanical fitter and fits in all the restoration in his spare time. Well, what passes for spare time. There’s also the fell walking, the metal detectoring, the climbing and much more.

‘Anything outdoors’ as Darren puts it. ‘I’ve got to be outdoors. And if I’m not outdoors I’m in my garage.’ And what he achieves in his garage is actually really rather impressive, given he just has a few tools and bits and pieces. It’s not exactly a fully fitted restoration garage.

‘I play with old cars,’ he shrugs. ‘I modify them, restore them, whatever. And they just turn up! The Prefect came from a local window company that had it sitting around. It was an absolute pile of scrap. Someone had hacked off the rear end and it was just broken.

‘I like to modify things but the Prefect was too original to alter. When we got it going it didn’t have a lot of poke and I thought about putting a V8 in there but it was too original to alter that much.

‘Well, obviously I did modify it because I made it a pick-up but on the mechanical side it’s pretty much standard.’

4x4 23/10/2023 21:42

4x4 4pp Darren Fine.indd 51

DECEMBER 2023 | 51

23/10/2023 21:42

The 1172cc side-valve engine is original to the vehicle, which is great in some ways but terrible in that it only does 32bhp. Rebuilt in the early 80s, it runs like a sewing machine, which is one reason why Darren couldn’t bring himself to fetch it out for a V8. Those wheels tell a story, too, because there’s almost nothing available to fit the Prefect’s stud pattern. Get a set of adaptors machined up? Not likely. Darren removed the centres from the original wheels and took them to a scrap yard until he found a set that they fitted perfectly into, then welded them in on a wheel balancer. And for a princely £20, he now had the world’s only Ford Prefect on Audi A6 rims So what is does standard mean in this case?

This particular model is a 1949 Prefect, although they were built from 1938 to 1961 at the Dagenham plant, with a break for WWII. Perhaps one of the more interesting facts is that this car was built specifically for the British market. Based on the 7W, this was the first Ford designed outside of the USA. It looks homely, doesn’t it, and has the ‘sit up and beg’ stance that we associate with that period. Owning a pipe was probably a requirement for the driver.

It was designed by Ford to be simple, practical, foolproof. Although, as Douglas Adams pointed out in Hitchhiker’s Guide, ‘A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.’

However, Ford also exported some models Down Under, which were then assembled in Australia to get round import tariffs. But the Aussies were looking for a small, cheap ‘ute’ and they converted some of the fourdoor Prefects to pick-ups. From 1949 to 1953 they turned out a small number of these cute utes, and perhaps it was this that gave Darren the idea to convert his chopped-about Prefect. Except he didn’t like the Aussie pick-up.

‘I was going to make it like the Australian pick-up but they are very, very ugly, so I decided to go down the American style with it. I did have some ideas and I put them up on a hot rod forum and everyone said you’ll never get it looking right.

Then afterwards they all said “Hats off, you’ve done it!”

‘I can sit in my garage on a winter’s evening, the wife’s watching the telly, and I can feel like I’ve achieved something. It was so hacked about, parts missing, I just knew it would never look right if we tried to get it back to where it was.

So I started drawing things up, visualising it, and the result is 100% mine.

‘I’ve done everything on it, bar I had a mate who helped with re-covering the seats because I’m not very good at the stitching, but everything is all mine. I managed to get the back end off a 1935 Morris 8 and grafted that on to it and all the rest I built from scratch.’

Basically everything back from the doors Darren has fabricated himself, everything forward of the doors, including the doors, is original but heavily restored. At the front is the original engine, which is a 1172cc side-valve four-cylinder. With just 32bhp at 4000rpm it was adequate but no

What also looks remarkably brilliant is the loadbed floor. This is from an oak tree that came down about five years ago. Darren roughly cut some lengths then got them planed and he fitted them in. They’re so good they do rather show up the other wood in the pick-up bed.

‘The rest of the wooden trim I’m not happy with, it’s just wood panelling left over from flooring, from B&Q or somewhere. Mind you, if you ran into the back of the vehicle you’d know it, those oak planks are about two inches thick!’

The Prefect had transverse leaf springs and that loadbed means that the original chassis and suspension would be hard-pressed if the bed was filled with, to take an example at random, cases of beer.

So Darren strengthened the C-section chassis by welding in another side to make it box-section. That still left the springs a bit hard-pressed so he jacked it up by two inches.

Did that work?

‘I never drove it after that, I sold it, but it should have ridden pretty well I think.’

While we’re down there, let’s look at the wheels.

You’ll like this.

‘The wheels are my favourite part but they’re also a nightmare because there is virtually no wheel that can fit that stud pattern. So the centres are the original wheels which were riveted in, so I took them to a scrap yard until I found a set of wheels that the centres dropped into just perfectly. They’re from an Audi A6, believe it or not.

‘So I bought four wheels, they’re steels, took the centres out of them and welded the Prefect centres in on a wheel balancer and there they were, perfectly balanced. I paid £20 for four wheels and tyres!

‘The cable brakes worked with them, it pulls up straight as a die. The only downside is they’re reversed, so the front of the wheel is the rear, which

‘I was going to make it like the Australian pick-up but they are very, very ugly’

52 | DECEMBER 2023

4pp Darren Fine.indd 52

more, and is one reason Darren decided not to keep it since it just won’t power the Prefect with the oomph he wanted.

But he couldn’t change it. ‘The engine had been rebuilt in about 1982 and then it had never been run since. So I made sure it turned on the crank handle and then it fired up and I’ve never heard such a quiet motor in my life, totally silent. That’s when I thought that I couldn’t modify things much, it was too straight.’

That didn’t apply to the back end, where Darren’s imagination and creativity delivered that shapely rear. As mentioned, a Morris 8 provided the rear panel but of course Darren wanted it to look like his vision. So he made a wooden template of the Ford logo, cut it out with a jigsaw, put it on the back panel and then covered it in body filler, while carefully sanding back the edges. As he says himself: ‘It’s come up brilliant.’

4x4 23/10/2023 21:42

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EXETER 16 Trusham Rd. EX2 8QG 01392 256 744 GATESHEAD 50 Lobley Hill Rd. NE8 4YJ 0191 493 2520 GLASGOW 280 Gt Western Rd. G4 9EJ 0141 332 9231 GLOUCESTER 221A Barton St. GL1 4HY 01452 417 948 GRIMSBY ELLIS WAY, DN32 9BD 01472 354435 HULL 8-10 Holderness Rd. HU9 1EG 01482 223161 ILFORD 746-748 Eastern Ave. IG2 7HU 0208 518 4286 IPSWICH Unit 1 Ipswich Trade Centre, Commercial Road 01473 221253 LEEDS 227-229 Kirkstall Rd. LS4 2AS 0113 231 0400 LEICESTER 69 Melton Rd. LE4 6PN 0116 261 0688 LINCOLN Unit 5. The Pelham Centre. LN5 8HG 01522 543 036 LIVERPOOL 80-88 London Rd. L3 5NF 0151 709 4484 LONDON CATFORD 289/291 Southend Lane SE6 3RS 0208 695 5684 LONDON 6 Kendal Parade, Edmonton N18 020 8803 0861 LONDON 503-507 Lea Bridge Rd. Leyton, E10 020 8558 8284 LUTON Unit 1, 326 Dunstable Rd, Luton LU4 8JS 01582 728 063 MAIDSTONE 57 Upper Stone St. ME15 6HE 01622 769 572 MANCHESTER ALTRINCHAM 71 Manchester Rd. Altrincham 0161 9412 666 MANCHESTER CENTRAL 209 Bury New Road M8 8DU 0161 241 1851 MANCHESTER OPENSHAW Unit 5, Tower Mill, Ashton Old Rd 0161 223 8376 MANSFIELD 169 Chesterfield Rd. South 01623 622160 MIDDLESBROUGH Mandale Triangle, Thornaby 01642 677881

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34476 (71) 4x4 (full) Long A.indd 1 4x4 Magazine_2023_December_Machine Mart_FP.indd 1

20/10/2023 11:28 24/10/2023 10:05

The dash used to be Bakelite brown, which isn’t going to win any beauty contests, so Darren sprayed it cream and now it looks much more cheerful. Having done that, he went on to colour-coordinate the rest of the interior. That pool ball gearstick topper is an actual pool ball, because they’re cheaper to buy than the novelty alternative means the valves are on the inside. Checking the rear tyre pressures is quite difficult.’

You may have noticed that the price of things matters here. Darren doesn’t like to throw money around. But of course that means he has to be creative. In the cabin he really didn’t like the Bakelite brown dashboard so he sprayed it cream and then had to colour-coordinate the rest of the interior. It looks good doesn’t it?

And on the top of the gearlever for that threespeed gearbox is a billiard ball. That’s pretty

hot-rod cool right? But once again it’s not just taste, it’s cost: ‘If you go and buy an end ball for the gearlever on eBay, they’re about fifteen quid. But you can buy a full set of billiard balls for a tenner and you still have all those other balls you can sell!’

Darren is pretty up-front about his desire to keep costs down: ‘I like to do things on the cheap,’ he admits (or boasts). So I went on eBay and managed to find five litres of end-of-the-line green paint for forty quid. That’s why it’s that colour!’

But let’s not get the idea that this is some bodger. Just look at the quality of the work, including the spray paint. Plus there are things you can’t see,

like the wiring loom he built from scratch, converting it from six-volt to twelve in the process.

It’s got style, this Ford Prefect pick-up, with lines that are unquestionably better than the Australian version, and there are lovely details like the spanner for the handle on the rear tailgate (‘I got a spanner from Aldi, I wasn’t going to use a Snap-On for that.’) And he had to make all the mechanism for that opening tailgate, too.

All in all, it’s a beautiful job. Darren is fine with it going to a new home where it will be appreciated, and sod the middle man. He’s not sentimental: it had to go because there’s always another vehicle to restore, modify or simply bring back to life.

He said goodbye to the Ford Prefect with a happy heart. Not so much another fine mess as another Fine work of art. And a pick-up like no other you’ll ever see.

The base of the pick-up bed is made from two-inch planks, which Darren planed up from a wind-blown oak. Crumple zones are for other people. The only problem is that they show up the rest of the bed, which is lined and boxed in leftover flooring

4pp Darren Fine.indd 55

23/10/2023 21:42

Patched up Patch is a Land Rover Defender 110 Hi-Cap with an interestingly varied set of colours on its body panels. There’s more to this Land Rover than just a comedy paint job, though – like a fully equipped demountable camping pod with everything including the kitchen sink and even its own log burner. And with the camping body removed, you can take it into the woods to collect all the fuel you need for a cosy home from home Words: Tom Alderney Pictures: Ashton Radcliffe

O

ne of the most common things you hear people saying about Land Rovers is that they’re like a blank canvas.

Whether you want to build an off-road toy or a work truck, a street machine or anything from a mobile malaria clinic to a self-propelled bar, choose a good Defender and you’re made.

The same goes for living on board. For everyone that’s done it, there’s a slightly different approach to making it happen – but while the spend-it-and-spec-it philosophy is undoubtedly popular among those who can, there’s a fantastic culture of creativity among those who, by necessity or design, do it themselves.

This 110 Hi-Cap is a case in point. Dating from 2002, it’s the base for a demountable camping rig – which might distract you from the fact that the vehicle itself is a bit of a curiosity too.

It’s called Patch (gotta love a Landy with a name) and it’s the property of Ashton Radcliffe, who explains that it was a lockdown project built by ‘a talented young engineer and his girlfriend.’

Between them, the couple rebuilt the 110 using replacement wings and other body panels – which they painted in different colours, harlequin-style.

This, as Ashton says, ‘makes it a rather distinguished and fun vehicle, much admired by many.’

Ultimately, it’s mainly blue. More could have been made of the multicoloured theme, perhaps, but at the same time you certainly do look at it and smile. The camper pod doesn’t do any harm here – though if you were to see the vehicle naked, just a 110 Hi-Cap with various colours going on and, most likely, a load of logs in the back, it would get your attention that way too.

But it does have the camper pod on it, so let’s look further into that. This contains a kitchen with a sink and cooker, the latter supplied from gas bottles, and a water pump running from a bank of three five-litre containers. Electrics are taken care of by a leisure battery running off a split-charge system with a load-sensitive relay, which in turn is hard-wired to the vehicle itself.

So much for it being demountable, you’re getting ready to say. Well, Ashton reckons it takes less than 20 minutes to fully separate the two parts of the vehicle, with five of those going on disconnecting the electrics. In other words, they’ve thought of that. The demountable body

56 | DECEMBER 2023

2pp Patch 110 Camper.indd 56

is served by a camper blade fuse box running various circuits, including those for a 12-volt light set-up including remote switches with variable brightness settings.

The real coup de grace, however, is a wood burner. This, Ashton assures us, ‘makes the camper very warm even in deep midwinter.’

There’s an area for wood storage underneath

4x4 23/10/2023 21:47

it and a detachable flue which can be removed when travelling then installed prior to use to prevent scenes involving carbon monoxide.

Looking around the inside of the pod, there’s a definite mixture of design influences. The wood burner looks wonderfully retro, as does a water tap made from gas pipe and kitchen cupboard fronts that look like they were jointed up from driftwood. The decor in the lounge area is nicely vintage, too, but then it’s centred around a fitted table that’s vintage in the might-have-come-fromMFI sense.

As with the rest of the vehicle, it was done to the restorer’s own taste. And unless you’re being paid handsomely for the job, why on earth would you do it any other way?

Taste varies, on the other hand, but what makes a good vehicle does not. And if you were to look at the various hues adorning on this 110 and assume it had been lashed up in an afternoon, how wrong you’d be.

‘Despite its colourful exterior,’ says Ashton, ‘the vehicle has been very well restored with a new wiring harness, rear light housings with new lenses, a repainted chassis (no welding required), all new copper brake pipes and flexis and new front swivel joints and seals.

‘It’s had new vented discs all round, new heavy-duty shocks and springs, new Terrafirma steering arms and steering damper and a new steering drop and ball joint. Its bearings have been cleaned and repacked, its steering box resealed and its coolant flushed and replaced with OAT.’

4x4 2pp Patch 110 Camper.indd 57

In addition to all this, everything else that could be drained and refilled has been as part of the restoration – axle oil, gearbox oil, you name it.

The 110 had a new bumper and transfer case, too, and was treated to a full engine service, including the fuel system, as well as a new wiper motor and spindles, indicator and wiper stalks, washer pump, overflow pipe and bonnet release cable. Phew.

Finally, the driver and passenger seats were recovered in material from Exmoor Trim. So, a wide variety of jobs that make up if not quite a full restoration, then certainly an extremely comprehensive refurbishment.

Nonetheless, it’s the sort of vehicle you might not take a second look at were it not for that camping body mounted on the Hi-Cap bed. And to make things even better, Ashton also has a twin-axle bathroom trailer with a hot water system (‘state of the art,’ he proudly claims), shower, basin unit and cassette toilet. Based on an Ifor Williams BV85, it goes behind the 110 to make

quite the rig – and it’s a different colour to both the vehicle itself and the live-in pod, so it keeps up the whole harlequin image.

Would it look better if the whole lot was painted to match? Possibly – again, though, it all comes down to taste. But where’s the fun in blending in.

One of the things we all love about Defenders, after all, is that they make people smile. And if this one were less quirky, it might not make them smile as much. Besides, you’d not be able to call it Patch any more.

DECEMBER 2023 | 57

23/10/2023 21:47

SWAP SHOP The time is rapidly approaching when it’s abnormal for a Defender of a certain age not to have had a new chassis. Fitting a galvanised replacement is a hugely popular way of giving an old Landy a new lease of life – and it’s the perfect time to look after all those other jobs that want doing, too, as demonstrated when AL Services got down to work on fitting a customer’s 90 with a new frame from Richards Chassis Words: Tom Alderney Pics: AL Services

R

enewing the chassis on a Land Rover is one of the surest ways to increase its value – and, of course, to keep it alive long into the future. As a result, most Land Rover specialists have done more of them than the majority of us have had hot dinners – and become very good at it in the process.

Of course, if you’re reading this there’s a chance that you’d want to do the job yourself.

And plenty of amateur mechanics have rebuilt Defenders very successfully indeed, both with and without putting them on to a new chassis, so it’s not to be dismissed.

Typically, a chassis replacement project will be seen as an opportunity to do a few other jobs too – whether it’s maintenance, modifications or just taking the chance to work on something while it’s easy to get at. Every Land Rover is different, of course – but in some ways, each of them is the same, too.

These pictures come from AL Services of Poole, which earlier this summer fitted a Richards galvanised chassis under a customer’s 90. Not a moment too soon, as you’ll see – and while the Defender was in bits, the team took the chance to prep it for a long life to come, as well as adding some enhancements its owner has asked for.

This is definitely not a step-by-step story of how to do the job. It gives you a flavour of what went on during a week in the AL Services workshop, though – and if you’ve got a Defender that’s getting crusty underneath, it’s likely to convince you that a job done properly is the best investment you can possibly make.

58 | DECEMBER 2023

4pp AL Services chassis swap.indd 58

Day 1: The 90 starts to come apart. Try to imagine these pictures with the smell of WD40 and the sound of wire brushes… accompanied, possibly, by a few grunts as an array of rusted-up fixings are persuaded that there’s only going to be one winner

4x4 23/10/2023 21:48

Day 2 (above, right): As is often the case, you can very quickly make a huge difference in the way it looks. Removing the bodywork tends to do that. Just a day in, you’ve got an exposed chassis – and the real extent of the rust becomes clear. The old chassis is showing evidence of some pretty crummy repairs done to it in the past, too. With the bodywork out of the way, the 90 is rolled out of the workshop for a serious going over with the jet wash Day 3 (below, below right): They say a Defender is a blank canvas for a world of possibilities, and so too indeed is a Richards chassis. Ready for whatever the vehicle’s owner wants it to be – and to stay that way for a whole lifetime to come. With the engine and box removed from the old chassis, it would be folly not to change the clutch (and, similarly, to save a few pennies by not using a heavy-duty replacement). Rather an enterprising bodge from the vehicle’s past cropped up at this point…

DECEMBER 2023 | 59

4pp AL Services chassis swap.indd 59

23/10/2023 21:48

Day 4 (above, right): The axles are fitted under the new chassis – complete with new powder-coated suspension arms, a full SuperPro bush kit and and +2” Terrafirma springs and shocks Day 5 (below): The engine is fitted to the new chassis, along with new fuel lines. Also new is a full set of rigid brake lines made from corrosion-resistant cunifer alloy. The old chassis has been fitted with a new rear crossmember at some point in its life (or death, depending on how you look at it), and while this was happening the wiring loom was cut and rejoined… badly, leaving it grotty and corroded, so this was repaired properly too

Day 6 (below): Down comes the body, and the mounts are bolted up. Time to bleed the brakes, add coolant and refill the fuel tank ready for the engine to be fired back up…

60 | DECEMBER 2023

4pp AL Services chassis swap.indd 60

4x4 23/10/2023 21:48

Day 7: Job done, and the 90 is ready for a shakedown test run, fresh MOT and final inspection prior to being handed over to a no doubt very excited customer. This isn’t just a case of tossing him or her a set of keys and a hefty invoice, however – the team at AL Services gave them a proper guided tour around all the work they’d done, including showing them what was left of the chassis the 90 had been riding on. Quite a sobering experience, we’d think – and a very positive one as they look forward to life with a thoroughly rejuvenated Land Rover!

“Plenty of amateur mechanics have rebuilt Defenders very successfully indeed, both with and without putting them on to a new chassis”

4x4 4pp AL Services chassis swap.indd 61

DECEMBER 2023 | 61

23/10/2023 21:49

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Strata Florida was once Wales' equivalent of Westminster Abbey. Its walls lie ruined – but its name has lived on in what is surely Britain’s best loved green lane

I

n the years following the Norman Conquest, England came to be ruled by a new nobility under King William I. Years became decades and decades became centuries as the Normans’ influence spread throughout the land, taking ever more control of boroughs and parishes in the furthest flung corners of the land.

One of these was the settlement of Mynyw, where the Earl of Pembroke (a so-called Marcher lord and Norman puppet) imposed his masters’ religion upon the Celtic peoples who had worshipped the cult of St David at the monastery named after him. Today, Mynyw is the city of St Davids – but by the early 12th Century, the pre-Norman religion that was once followed there needed a new home.

That home was founded in 1164 by a Cambrian knight called Robert FitzStephen, under the patronage of Rhys ap Gruffydd, native Prince of Wales and ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth. It was situated on the

Top: The main entrance archway is the only substantial part of the abbey still standing. It provides a hint at the magnificence of what was once here Pic: 448 Strata Florida Abbey, Dec 1973 by wilford peloquin @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 DEED

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Pic (left): Strata Florida by umbrellahead56 @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 DEED

Below: As the tarmac comes to an end, about a mile west of the abbey, a well defined Cat A track stretches out ahead of you. But you don't take it; the right of way clambers up into the wooded bank next to it, and that's where the fun starts

In its prime, the abbey would just about have been visible in the background of this picture (left). The axle twisters here are among the most technical parts of the trail, with a large drop-off to the right to help concentrate your mind

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banks of the Fflur, a river near the modern village of Pontrhydfendigaid, and named Ystrad Fflur.

Rhys ap Gruffydd was to issue a second charter, two decades later, affirming Ystrad Fflur as a monastery in the realm of Deheubarth. The Cistercian order was growing quickly and by 1201 a church on the site was ready to be consecrated.

This was a time when church and state were inextricably linked, and the monastery soon grew into a centre of political power. Lord Rhys’ successor, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, called his fellow Welsh leaders there in 1238 to acknowledge his son, Dafydd ap Llywelyn, as his rightful successor.

It was a centre of learning, too, hosting scholars who compiled the pre-eminent texts on early Welsh history, and of industry, controlling a network of agricultural estates upon whose income it grew rich.

At the height of its power, Ystrad Fflur was a thriving citadel dominating hundred of acres in the Teifi Valley. It was a grand and very visible sign of Welsh power – and so of course during the mediaeval conflicts that were to come, it was a prime target. It was occupied by an English garrison during Owain Glyndwr’s rebellion in the early 15th Century and was finally laid waste during Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries.

Today, the remains of Ystrad Fflur are in the care of Cadw, the government body charged with protecting Welsh heritage. It’s a visitor centre and an archaeological site, and it’s now known by the Latinised version of its name: Strata Florida.

It’s a name that will be familiar to anyone who explores the UK’s green lanes by 4x4. The right of way known as Strata Florida is arguably the best in the country – long, spectacular, dramatic and at times challenging to drivers and navigators alike.

As it happens, the trail’s relationship to the abbey is no more than coincidental. Yet the abbey does have a place in the green laning landscape, albeit one that’s a little more distant. Around 30 miles to the east of Strata Florida is Abbeycwmhir, a village named after what was at the time the biggest monastic building in Wales. Built some 20 years before Ystrad Fflur, is was initially prevented

from becoming by another Marcher lord, the Earl of Hereford, but then in 1176 it finally became established thanks to the intervention of the same Rhys ap Gruffydd.

The ties between the two Cistercian monasteries were inevitably close, and a route was soon established between them. It would take a full day to walk, potentially more by horse and cart as the track crossed extensive peat bogs in the Cambrian uplands. Over time, the route became known as the Monks’ Trod; it’s been closed to 4x4s for more than 30 years, but rumour (or urban myth) has it that there are two Land Rovers buried somewhere beneath the surface which got stuck so badly in the wet peat that they could never be recovered and had to be abandoned to sink into the ground.

At its southern end, the present day byway known as the Monks Trod meets Upper Claerwen, a gravel road running along the north shore of the reservoir of the same name. By a spectacular piece of incompetence, the physical tracks join up but the rights of way don’t, so you can travel for miles until you get to the Powys/Ceredigion border – then, though you can almost see where the road becomes public again (it’s only about half a mile away), in order to get there you would have to take the long way round – which in this case is about 40 miles.

Beyond Claerwen, the monks of old would have continued past the Bronze Age settlement of Bryn Eithinog, long since reduced to just a single standing stone, before joining the valley of what’s now called the Afon Mwyro and finally arriving at what’s now called Strata Florida. Here, they’d be at the western end of the byway which bears the abbey’s name.

Strictly speaking it’s not a byway but an unclassified road. Only once you come to the Powys border (that again) does it become part of the rights of way network rather than a public highway. Whatever the definition, anyway, you can drive it – though you need a decent vehicle to do so, and a bit of experience in how to use it wouldn’t go amiss either.

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The Church of St Mary stands within the grounds of ancient Ystrad Fflur. It's believed that the monastery's chapel once stood in the same spot, though in its present-day form the building dates from 1815 Pic: Strata Florida by geoff_heal CC BY 2.0 DEED

Strata Florida is best known for its water crossings, of which this one at the confluence of the Nant Gwinau and Afon Tywi is the widest and deepest. Others can be more dangerous when the water's high, however, as you're crossing perpendicular to the stream. The Bomb Hole (left) is a very well known feature, too, and the axle twister below can definitely catch you out

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The same can be said for going in convoy.

Strata Florida is beautifully scenic for a reason – which is that there’s no-one else there. This is a very good thing most of the time, but less so in you break down or get stuck. Not that the latter should happen, because the surface beneath you is a firm one. When it’s a firm with with several inches or in some cases feet of water on it, however, all bets are off.

Strata Florida is a very varied lane. But for much of its length, you’re driving in a river valley.

If fact, for much of its length you’re driving in the actual river. It’s called the Nant Gwinau and in truth it’s just a mountain stream, but try telling yourself that as the trail dives in and out of it, sometimes even following its bed for lengthy spells then fording it to and forth via crossings whose depths vary dramatically and can certainly take you by surprise.

What you don’t want to be surprised by is the flash flooding that can happen, and happen fast, when rain has been falling on the surrounding hills. Nant Gwinau is basically a drain, and one with several tributaries, and when it gets deep it gets very deep. Green laning parties have been known to get cut off, with the bothy at Moel Pysgau getting pressed into emergency action more than once as the water crossings become too deep to risk. Tragically, around fifteen years ago the lane’s story also includes an accident in which a vehicle was rolled over by the strength of the current in one of the fords and one of its occupants lost her life.

Common sense and caution are your best friends here. But even when water levels are low, some of the crossings are anything but – most notably at the confluence of Nant Gwinau and Afon Tywi, where you find yourself fording not so much a river as a small lake. By summer, it can be bonnet-deep; you might not need a snorkelt, but it’ll certainly help you to stay calm in the process.

If you’re travelling towards the abbey (that is, from south-east to north-west), this crossing is followed almost immediately by the infamous Bomb Hole. We’re not aware of any actual bombs having been involved in its creation (Ystrad Fflur

had a turbulent history, but at a time when people mainly just hacked at each other with axes and swords), but whichever direction you’re going it will test your approach and departure angles to the max. Heading towards the abbey, it will need some serious traction, too, as you scramble up a steep wall of exposed rock strata.

There’s an extreme axle twister further west from here which has the distinction of being the only obstacle our Isuzu D-Max has ever needed its rear ARB Air-Locker to get past. The lane is sunken at this point, so using momentum would have ended up with us caning its bodywork into the bank alongside us, but without it we were getting nothing but wheelspin. A perfect example of the difference a locker can make – the moment it was engaged, we were able to ease the truck through on a thread of gas.

There are various junctions to the west of this that can throw your navigation as the right of way crosses comparatively huge Cat A forestry tracks. It’s an incongruous reminder that however isolated you may be, industry is happening all around you. Just don’t expect said industry to come to your aid if something goes wrong.

At the north-western end of the trail, there’s a section which is guaranteed to confuse your navigator. Here, again, you find yourself emerging on to a Cat A track – but in actual fact, the right of way is a rough, narrow trail running high up on the embankment overlooking it. Not something you’re likely to consider a chore, but a place where it’s easy to go wrong.

If this is indeed your direction of travel, you’ll come to the abbey about a mile after finally regaining the tarmac. It’s very well worth a visit, too, if only to learn about the history behind the name of such an iconic right of way. Most green lane runs in the UK involve stitching several tracks together to create a route, but Strata Florida is very nearly all you’ll need for a very fulfilling day spent exploring. And if that day also includes some time spent exploring the last resting place of so many Welsh princes, at the site of what’s known as the Welsh Westminster Abbey, then so much the better.

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The Stuff of In 1913, a road trip around the Alps was not the breeze it is today.The Alpine Trial was a serious test of man and machine – and for one of the most famous names in the motor industry, it was to be the birth of a reputation it continues to nurture to this day Words: Graham Scott Pictures: Rolls-Royce

I

n 1913 Europe was a very different place.

Take just one city, Vienna. Working in the Daimler factory was the future Yugoslavia leader Marshal Tito. In contrast, living in a dosshouse on the outskirts was struggling artist Adolf Hitler. Perhaps he could have done with some sessions with the city’s already established psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud.

None of them would have been aware of two men who were hiding out in the city centre, young revolutionaries by the names of Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.

That was 110 years ago, and one English company is very keen to celebrate that year and that place. Well, apart from it being the year all those world-damaging men lived near each other, and the year before humanity entered its first ‘world war’.

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Because 1913 is the year Rolls-Royce entered the Alpine Trial. The event that led to the company feeling confident enough to describe its products as: ‘The best car in the world’. So what made the Alpine Trial so special? Top Gear described it as being ‘like a pre-War combo of WRC and Le Mans, but with more tweed’.

The Alpine Trial started in Vienna and took in some of the most extreme terrain in countries like Austria itself, Croatia, Italy and Slovenia. Seven straight days of battling rugged mountains, poor roads, everything from sun to rain and snow, and some engineering that took real skill to keep going smoothly.

The event had run since 1910 and big names took part – Audi, Bugatti and Daimler for three.

But for 1913 Rolls-Royce rolled out three Silver

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Top: The three vehicles assemble outside Rolls-Royce's dealership in Conduit Street, London, prior to setting out for Vienna. Sinclair and Parson are far left, behind Hives and Hancock, then to the right are Platford and Friese This picture: Having made it safely to Vienna, the three team vehicles plus Radley's Silver Ghost undergo scrutineering prior to the start of the event

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Ghost cars, the 40/50hp model that had made their reputations in earlier speed trials in the UK. Rolls-Royce threw everything at this event, forming its own ‘Works Team’ of dedicated engineers, crew and drivers. This was going to be a serious effort held in the fierce public gaze.

However good the standard car was it wouldn’t be capable of completing the event, that was an accepted truth. That was because the climbs were so vertiginous that the standard three-speed gearbox would mean grinding to a halt on some ascents, no matter how much power and torque you had. So the company developed a four-speed gearbox and then added extra fuel capacity and a better starting system.

That still left a vehicle you or I would struggle to drive. Gearchanges were double-declutch and physically hard. You had to constantly monitor

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the air-fuel mixture, especially as you reached high altitudes. You couldn’t let it get too hot or you’d be done. And, with a heavy car and epic ascents and descents, you had no front brakes at all. Only drum brakes at the rear. And they overheated.

But these were Rolls-Royce cars, backed by a dedicated team led by Eric Platford, a man who had been mechanic to Charles Stewart Rolls himself. And this was a smart team. They linked up with a privateer called James Radley, who had already entered the trial the previous year in his own Silver Ghost – only to grind to a halt due to the tall gearing on a mountain climb.

Radley wasn’t part of the club, but the team modified his car and made him their pace setter. It was a shrewd move that combined

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.uk This picture: James Radley waits in his Silver Ghost while one of his passengers appears determined to dig his way through the whole of the Pordoi Pass. This was on the way to Vienna, before the Trial itself had even got underway Below: Jock Sinclair doesn't appear daunted as he arrives at the end of the route in his damaged Roller. The car's war wounds could have been a result of battling through the tough terrain in a bid to bring home the trophy, but actually it was all down to another road user who was going too fast. Maybe things weren't so different in 1913 after all

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their knowledge and experience of the cars with his knowledge and experience of the event.

Radley himself seems like a character from a Biggles novel.

He was one of the first aviators in Britain, winning cross-country aviation races in the USA in 1910, designed and built the RadleyEngland waterplane, and took part in the Alpine Trial in 1912, 1913 and 1914 – winning it on his third attempt with his mechanic who was inevitably called ‘Tubby’ Ward.

That same year, with war starting, he volunteered and went off to France to use his personal RollsRoyce as a staff car for senior officers at the front. He died peacefully in 1959.

But back to 1913, with now four Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts poised at the start in Vienna, facing a week of extreme duress and reputational risk. June 22 was the first day of the trial, a 260-mile introduction for the 46 cars entered. As the most powerful, the Rolls-Royces headed off first, led by James Radley. And that’s how they finished the day, four cars, first four finishers. A pattern was set.

Day 2 was tougher, seeing a climb over the Tauren Pass, which meant ascending to 2900ft in just 12 miles, with a maximum gradient of 28%. It was too much for some of the other cars, beaten by the savage gradients and by the awful weather. But again four Rolls-Royces were the first across the line.

By Day 4 the British cars were showing not only enviable pace but also enviable reliability. And they were enviably comfortable too. The front bench seat looked like an enormous buttontucked leather sofa like you’d find in a grand country house, and somehow the leaf springs dealt with it all with sumptuous ease, while the 7.4-litre straight six whirred gently on. Tickover was set at 180rpm. Yes, one hundred and eighty.

Nothing vulgar and frantic here.

Which was useful as Day 4 led over the highest point of the trial, the Pordol Pass at 7400ft. Heavy rain lower down turned to heavy snow as the cars laboured up, but as other cars fell away the Rolls just rolled on.

By Day 6 they’d reached Trieste, where they had a rest day, doubtless at a rather fine hotel. Suitably refreshed, they set off again to Klagenfurt, on the way conquering the Loibl Pass which rises 2300ft in just three miles. Four cars, first four places, as usual.

However that pattern was rudely disrupted on the seventh and final day on the way back to Vienna. It wasn’t an easy day, with the 260 miles of route including the Stubalpe Pass – a route

which involved no less than 125 gullies cut across the road for drainage. Only walking pace was possible, for mile after mile, but the Rolls-Royce’s drivers probably had it easier than anyone else. However, just as they were settling in for the final drive, another road user – not in the trial and driving fast – barrelled into one of the Silver Ghosts.

Driven by Jock Sinclair, the Roller was smashed into a telegraph pole.

Sinclair was left with a damaged car and only third gear, but the build quality shone through and he made it to the finish, albeit not in the first four cars home. You do wonder if that rogue vehicle was being driven by Dastardly and Muttley.

Of those 46 starters, only 31 made it to the finish, but there was no doubt that the stars of the event were the four Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts.

Huge, road-going luxury cars had proved that they could not only conquer terrible terrain and intimidating mountain passes in dreadful rain and snow but they could also do so in style and comfort and effortless grace.

For Rolls-Royce, this was not a one-off. Exactly a century later, in 2013, a very grand total of 48 Silver Ghosts took part and finished the Alpine Trial. The route in 2013 was different to 1913, not least because much of the original route is under a motorway pass or an industrial estate.

But the spirit of the Rolls-Royce showed it hadn’t changed, it had just aged gracefully. Which is more than can be said for those other inhabitants of Vienna in 1913.

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More than 40 years on from the launch of Overlander 4x4 magazine, we’re taking 4x4 back to where it all started. With a new look and a new name, Britain’s only all-marques off-road title is evolving to reflect the massive growth of interest in vehicle-dependent travel. We’ll continue to give you well rounded and comprehenivse coverage of the 4x4 scene in general, from new vehicles to green laning, but with a greater emphasis on adventure – and with a larger number of articles packed in to our pages, we’ll give you more to read for your money.

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