4x4 Magazine - June 2023

4x4

NEWS • VIEWS • KIT • EXPEDITIONS • MODIFIED VEHICLES • GREEN LANING PLUS Driving Kia’s oneoff Sportage Mud Mode

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

THE MAGIC NUMBER

Jeep takes electric off-road performance further than ever with the Magneto 3.0 concept

Turning an urban pose wagon into a hardcore winch motor

£4.99

A huge green lane route in the north Welsh mountains

JUN 2023

4x4 of the Best: A quartet of mighty Jeep Cherokees 4x4 Cover May 23 WITH SARAH.indd 1

05/05/2023 12:59

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06/04/2023 15:18 13:04 11/04/2023

THE WORLDS BEST ACCESSORIES FOR LAND ROVER

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11/04/2023 12:32

N O I T I D E P EX

Whether your idea of an expedition is an afternoon driving some local trails, a weekend off road and wild camping or a full-on trip across Africa, Terrafirma has all the accessories you will need.

From roof racks and ladders to spare wheel carriers and snorkels, from jerry cans and sand tracks to fridges we have it covered with this extensive range of expedition accessories.

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11/04/2023 12:40

ROOF TENTS AND AWNINGS ROOF RACKS AND LADDERS SPARE WHEEL CARRIERS RAISED AIR INTAKES EXPEDITION ACCESSORIES For more information visit www.terrafirma4x4.com email sales@terrafirma4x4.com

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June 2023

CONTENTS

36

'As much as I could get my old Suzuki to people who pulling myself towards them, not pulling them out'

24 32

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Contents June.indd 2

46

4x4 09/05/2023 20:29

30 EIGHT MAGAZINES FOR EIGHT QUID! Get 8 issues of 4x4 for just £8 – yes, you read that right, a quid each! That’s 68% off – and you get them delivered to your door. Madness not to!

4x4 Scene: News, Products and More…

6 7 8 10 12 13 14 15 15 16 16 18 19

Ford Ranger Work and lifestyle models on sale to complete launch range Isuzu D-Max Mild nose-job is first facelift since launch Land Rover Famous name becomes a 'trust mark' in JLR 'house of brands' Electrogenic Conversion specialist at work to create EV solutions for Army Suzuki Jimny Twisted Automotive adds its first non-LR brand in 21 years Toyota Hilux British conversion creates a highly specialised fire tender Breasthigh Road Working together to preserve a spectacular green lane Somerset Rogue landowners causing trouble on rights of way Blind Lane Anti-4x4 fanatics aim to sabotage BOAT status in Derbyshire Britpart Heavy-duty carpet sets for Defender 110 LOF Clutches Hardcore clutch kit for Land Cruiser Colorado Lanoguard Protect your truck before taking it off-road Lego A Defender 90 that won't leak oil and only costs £209.99…

Every Month 4 30 62 80

Alan Kidd A muddy off-road truck beats a shiny supercar any day Subscribe Eight issues of 4x4s for a franky ridiculous £8.00!

Roadbook An epic day out in the mountains of North Wales Next Month Our July issue goes on sale on 16 June

Driven 20 24 28

Subaru Solterra How does Japanese 4x4 specialist's first full EV stack up?

Skoda Kodiaq vRS Petrol engine makes all the difference to hot 7-seater Kia Sportage Mud Mode A unique version of our Small SUV of the Year

Features 32 36 46 50 50 54 56 60

Jeep Mangeto Third iteration of the all-electric Wrangler concept Hardcore 90 Rescued from London and reborn as a serious winch motor Fourtrak Pick-Up Sorted playday truck helps a boy racer see the light 4x4 of The Best Four great modded 4x4s. This month: Jeep Cherokee Daily-Driven Challenge Truck A no-nonsense Jeep of all trades Seeing the Light Looking west after a succession of Land Rovers Tasting Freedom Smart trading yields a Cherokee that cost no money Getting High The first XJ in Britain to get Skyjacker's 8" lift kit

62 Nth Wales Roadbook are sharp rock Caution – there as you climb the steps to negotiate hillside

Step

Step 40: Turn left off the main embankment track, dropping then plunging down the straight into a water trough (right)

37

Step

13

Step

Strata Florida

8.75

were stuck, I was just

14

12.3 41

Abbey

track to the left Take the rocky track the main Cat A

Step

Step

38 13.1

of

More rock steps, water trough

Step

followed by a long

47

Step

15

There’s a couple of huge water troughs after the junction

13.1 Step

43

11.7 Step

16 11.8 Step

17 12.8 Step

18 12.8 88 | JANUARY 2020

It’s a steep, sharp climb up and over a bigger track – you can’t see ahead over your bonnet to start with

Caution over a steps as you short set of rocky drop down the hill

15.0

Step

4212.6

10.9

Step

48

Look out for you cross the the waymarker as ford

15.2

13.4 Step

Join the Cat A

track

44

You may find yourself driving a river bed along for a while…

13.65 Step

45

track Drop off the main the gate and immediately before trough water into yet another

14.7 Step

to clear these axleneed a bit of momentum right is much bigger to the Step 37: You might warned, the drop-off twisters – but be than it looks here

4x4

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2020 | 89

JANUARY 2023 | 3

09/05/2023 20:29

4x4 Tel: 01283 742969

Alan Kidd Editor

L

‘Built not bought’ carries the ultimate cachet

ast year, the company that owns 4x4 acquired another, even longer-running magazine.

You’ve almost certainly heard of Custom Car, and if you’re of a certain age maybe you used to buy it. Maybe not for the cars, but those were the days before Pornhub…

Anyway. These days, Custom Car is very much about hot rods. Essentially, cars built to look and sound fantastic. There’s more to it than just attracting attention to yourself, but these are cars which blur the boundaries between engineering and art.

When you drive one, you know you’re being noticed and admired and you love it.

Is it the same with modified off-roaders?

There’s a certain kind of 4x4 owner who’d deny it until they’re blue in the face, but I’ve seen enough down the years to convince me that even people with roller-painted 110s secretly revel in the attention they get.

You know how it goes, when you get the ‘is that a chimney’ question from a passerby and you can delight in explaining how deep your truck can go in water. Or the little glances from people when you’re on your way home from a day’s off-roading and it’s completely covered in mud.

To digress, in my time as a car hack I’ve driven all manner of eye-catching motors.

I’ve pulled women with them on three occasions: twice were in my old Defender 90, once in a laughable Mahindra CJ3 with canvas doors, and each time they were fresh from the off-road battle.

The point is, a good 4x4, especially with a coat of mud, grabs the attention just as effectively as any hot rod. And they have more in common than you might think, too.

I get constant abuse from a clique among Custom Car’s readership who think a Land Rover man (which they think I am) has no right to be editing a magazine about ‘their’ subject – but actually, in each case it’s about people who take pride in their vehicles and lavish time, money and skill on them. Knowledge is prized and ‘built not bought’ carries the ultimate cachet.

And in each case, if there’s one thing people love almost as much as their motors, it’s other people noticing them.

I remember once, around the time we launched The Landy, walking past a

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beaten-up old 110 at a petrol station and an instinctive ‘nice truck, mate’ came out. The guy was astonished – but delighted, too.

So, where was I? Oh yes, people look at well used off-roaders the same way they look at classic cars and hot rods – they see something relatable and, importantly, unthreatening. That’s why I’m not including supercars and things like fast Audis and BMWs in the list – you’ll appreciate them if you’re a petrol head, maybe, but to the everyday punter you look at them and the word that comes instantly to mind begins with a great big W. Even a self-consciously evil looking rat rod doesn’t do that. People still see it as art. Classics are a little harder to pull off, because the top end of that market is so famously up-yours-look-how-rich-I-am, and in recent times the off-road scene has come to be like that too.

When I say 4x4s are unthreatening, of course I’m not talking about the modern kind. In the wrong hands, a big SUV can be as threatening as they come. I’m not talking about big-money off-road builds, either. I’m talking about the traditional 4x4s you see so few of now – that Mahindra, horrible though it was, made people smile because it was small, old-fashioned and a bit silly.

You can carry that off all day long with a Suzuki LJ or SJ, one of those ‘Jeeps’ that Mitsubishi used to make, an actual Jeep if it’s old enough and, of course, a Series Land Rover. Go green laning in a Series I with the roof off and the windscreen down and you’ll encounter nothing like the grief you’d get in a hardcore 90.

The 90 and 110 are probably as new as it gets for pulling off the cute look, though.

My old 90 had a winch, a snorkel, a set of 7.50s on standard steel wheels with no lairy offset, a few stickers and, most importantly, an ever-present coating of mud. It made everybody smile and girls loved it.

If, on the other hand, you’ve got bling everywhere and a truck that says ‘look at the size of my 37x14.50s’, guess what the reaction will be? Clue: it’s the closest most of us will ever come to driving a supercar…

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, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney, Gary Martin, Mike Trott Photographers Steve Taylor, Richard Hair, Harry Hamm, Vic Peel Advertising Sales Tandem Media Tel: 01233 555735 Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 742969 Advertising Production Sarah Moss Tel: 01283 553242 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 09/05/2023 17:32

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04/05/2023 10:40

NEWS

Ford completes Ranger launch with of work and lifestyle models

S

martest, most capable, most versatile ever, bold and confident.’ Why doesn’t anyone describe us using language like that? We’re all those things aren’t we? Yet what was the last word used to describe you? Yeah, me too, or at least it rhymed with that.

But, no, people only describe your vehicle like that, if you’ve just bought the latest Ford Ranger. Let’s face it, though, it’s probably had more thought, more research and way more investment put into it than you’ve had recently. Hell, it’s had more of all of that than the house you live in.

Before Ford even built it they went off and talked to 5000 customers, interviewing owners and potential owners around the planet. Apparent-

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ly, given the slick look of the latest pick-up, they didn’t ask the opinions of some people we’ve seen in pickups over the years, but there’s a lot at stake here. Ford took nearly 45% of market share in the segment right across Europe in 2022, a figure that keeps on going up. This latest version plans to continue that trend.

So what has Ford done to continue the upward trajectory of that sales graph? One of the most basic things is that it talked to people who tow heavy loads and need extreme off-road ability. Music to our ears.

The result, or one of them, is a range of uprated engines, focusing particularly on the new 3.0-litre turbodiesel V6 which is now added to the pickup range.

That V6 unit makes 237bhp and 442lbf.ft of torque, which is quite

a promising start. The promises should get real as all that feeds through a 10-speed auto transmission. Further downstream there’s a new full-time electronic four-wheel

drive system mated to an on-demand transfer case with electronically controlled torque.

If all that is a bit much, there’s also a range of in-line four diesels

4x4 09/05/2023 19:19

NEWS

roll-out

with either a single or double turbo.

The single-turbo option is the only one offered with a six-speed manual option, should that be how you still swing. The front end has been broadened out so it can handle the new V6 but also ‘other propulsion technologies’, and we know what that means.

In fact, the front end has had quite a bit of work done on it, with new grille, lights, bigger wheelarches and a general move towards that bold and confident thing. It’s not all done just to make you feel more rugged though, as the front wheels have gone forward 50mm and there’s increased track so there’s the benefit not just of improved articulation but also improved approach angle.

In the cabin, before anyone starts adding tabloid newspapers, flasks

4x4 Scene News June 23.indd 7

and packets of buns, the move is more towards a luxury car vibe. If you want to pamper the occupants you can go up to Wildtrak 2 level which gives you things like heated front seats, heated steering wheel, more leather, ambient lighting and more stuff than your living room has (well, mine anyway).

Behind the cabin, the load bed has also been spruced up so there’s a plastic moulded bedliner to protect the steel bed from sharp objects and to protect your knees when you’re moving around back there. It’s possible – with the V6 engine – to tow up to 3500kg, but there’s also some useful real-world thinking in the loadbed. A system of spring-loaded cleats helps it be compartmentalised into smaller spaces so stuff, even like toolboxes, that would have had to go in the cab can now be safely stowed behind without the worry of it all flying around the place on rough tracks.

Further, there’s lighting back there for when you need to finish up in the dark, plus zone lighting around the vehicle so you can keep working when the light goes or, at the very least, not lose bits of kit scattered around. The tailgate is strong enough to double as a mobile workbench with integrated ruler and clamp pockets so, despite the luxury car vibe Ford seems to be aiming for, there’s no doubt that this is one practical rig.

Naturally that car vibe is encouraged by a plethora of electronic commands, accessed now through a central screen. For those interested in what it can do off-road, hitting the screen with pudgy fingers will allow information on driveline, steering angle, pitch and roll and also bring up a 360-degree camera showing what the ground is doing – or where that bollard is lurking in the car park.

It has to be said that the new Ford Ranger, built at the company’s plant in South Africa, does seem to tick an inordinate number of boxes, probably enough to ensure that graph keeps going up. Of course the only way to be sure of that is us testing it, which we will. So far we’ve only driven the Raptor version, and we’re still grinning like idiots now; Ford will be boldly confident that the everyday range won’t wipe the smile off our faces either.

Minor nose job is D-Max’s first facelift since 2021 launch

WE LIVE IN A SHALLOW WORLD where appearances really matter. (You can tell the person who wrote that looks like someone whose appearance scares children can’t you?) Vehicle manufacturers are no more immune to this than a teenage influencer on TikTok. That teenage influencer might try to quickly change things up by putting on new make-up or new eyelashes. Manufacturers do the same thing because it’s easy and cheap compared to changing what’s underneath, which is a lot harder work. Ditto the teenage influencer.

And so we have the refreshed Isuzu D-Max. Yup, we’re not exactly building expectations too much with this so far, are we? Good, because even Isuzu itself says ‘the alterations for the 2023 model [are] primarily cosmetic’. There was nothing wrong with this rugged 4x4 in the first place, to be fair (and it has the 4x4 of the Year crown to prove it), and maybe it will attract a few more sales if it looks vaguely different to what’s gone before.

In this case the vague differences are centred around a new front grille. The equivalent of a nose job. All-Purpose and Adventure models also get a new design for their alloy wheels while the Business range keeps the steels. Business models don’t see any changes to the interior but DL20 models get better fabric for the seats and DL40 and V-Cross get new leather upholstery.

Isuzu refers to this as the New Look Isuzu D-Max but we’re not exactly convinced about that title any more than we are about the use of capital letters in it. Still, it’s probably enough to attract a bit more interest on social media and keep sales going. After all, what’s underneath it all remains a solid, dependable workhorse and they’re making no effort to mess with that thank goodness. It’s not all about appearances. (Yes, he would say that wouldn’t he?)

JUNE 2023 | 7

09/05/2023 19:19

NEWS

Land Rover name relegated to ‘trust mark’ status as JLR becomes ‘house of brands’

J

aguar Land Rover, henceforth to be known as JLR, has a lot of brands, and there’s nothing crazy about trying to separate those brands out so they stand on their own four wheels. After all, Range Rover is a strong brand name in its own right and so too is Discovery, among others. But you have to think something’s gone seriously wrong when the Sunday Times writes a feature entitled: ‘LAND ROVER BRAND WILL NOT BE KILLED OFF, SAYS SPOKESPERSON’.

The alarming use of shouty capitals indicates this is a branding and PR exercise that has been carried out with all the forethought and skillsets shown by Bud Light.

Also, rule one of journalism, is that if something is denied then it’s true.

Rule two is that you never repeat the claim you’re trying to refute. More own goals for JLR. This response was caused by headlines which included: ‘Land Rover name killed off after 75 years.’

‘JLR drops “Land Rover” brand.’

And, our favourite: ‘JLR dealers “flabbergasted” by plan to axe Land Rover brand.’

So what is actually going on?

The answer is perfectly simple. So long as you don’t think about it too much, just keep moving, nothing to see here. Sigh, look, we’ve made it

perfectly clear that we’re rebranding under the JLR umbrella, making more of the individual brands, and of course we’re not getting rid of the Land Rover brand.

In fact JLR has gone so far as to say that: ‘Land Rover will remain the trust mark that underpins the world-leading capability offered across Range Rover, Defender and Discovery vehicles.’

The trust mark, that’s a nice title, with all those vehicles appearing under a House of Brands. That seems perfectly sensible when you consider you will now refer to the

Range Rover rather than the Land Rover Range Rover. And it’s got muddled over the years with Range Rover Sport/Evoque and so on. But what about Defender?

It looks like it’s going to be known simply as Defender. There may be a small Land Rover badge on the rear.

In a nutshell, it looks like the company – and don’t forget it’s no longer Jaguar Land Rover, it is simply JLR – is going to make the Defender a brand identity on its own, just like Discovery and Range Rover are. That means a downgrade of the Land Rover element of the vehicle, and its extensive Land Rover DNA. For marketers, that’s great. It’s no longer – deep breath – the Jaguar Land Rover Land Rover Defender. It’s the Defender, made by JLR. We hope

we’ve clarified this situation for you.

And we haven’t even used shouty capitals. You’re welcome.

As part of this House of Brands, the Halewood plant is to become a facility making only electric vehicles.

What was the Engine Manufacturing Centre becomes the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre. And that rebranding exercise is to be called the Reimagine Strategy.

We’re wondering what their new brand name will be for the people who buy into this utopia. People formerly known as customers, drivers, enthusiasts. We don’t need to wonder about the name those enthusiasts have come with for said utopia, though, because we’ve heard it often enough. Probably best not print it, though.

The Defender will henceforth be just the Defender. By JLR. There’ll still be a Land Rover badge on it, because that counts for something in terms of trust, but the company’s legendary title will no longer be part of the vehicles’ names

8 | JUNE 2023

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4x4 09/05/2023 19:19

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NEWS

British Army contractors team up on devopment work as MOD seeks to put electric vehicles on the battlefield

THE BRITISH ARMY, MOST OF IT HAVING RECENTLY BEEN USED FOR MARCHING ABOUT AT THE CORONATION, has any number of threats and situations to consider. And just one of them is to become nice, and kind and to worry about the planet. And one of those worries is going to be how to keep electric vehicles moving on a battlefield.

As that old saying goes, when looking at an army, an amateur counts the tanks while a professional counts the trucks. Getting supplies to and then on to a battlefield is something that’s become even more critical and challenging over the last couple of centuries. And now the British Army is

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looking at adding another element to that – how will they get electricity or electricity generation to the battlefield?

It’s a very difficult question they’re going to have to find an answer to since they’re already trying out electric Land Rovers. Babcock International, the defence company, has teamed up with Electrogenic, one of the main players in electric vehicles, to trial four electric Defenders.

These are current serving vehicles, and two of them are relatively standard Army trucks while the other two are armoured and therefore heavier.

The idea is that they take out the diesel engines and replace them with a drop-in kit and a heavily modified battery system.

In this way they’re keeping as much standard as possible, since that’s the best way to ensure the quartermasters don’t go completely insane.

It’s called Project Lurcher, so hopefully they won’t make a dog’s dinner of

a project aimed at testing battlefield scenarios including steep terrain, wading and towing in a variety of climates. Clearly the electric powerplant could have some advantages. Not belching out tell-tale smoke, being quieter, these are all positives to anyone trying to move on a battlefield.

As is the lack of filters that continually clog with sand or dust and all the other fun parts of elderly turbo-diesels, plus fewer moving parts should extend life expectancy and make routine servicing that much simpler.

Importantly, these tests are not being carried out in isolation but will be done using diesel and hybrid alternatives to see what works in the real world – or on a battlefield, which is a very different thing altogether.

Chris Spicer, MD of Babcock’s Engineering and Systems Integration arm, takes the bigger picture: ‘This is a great opportunity to investigate alternative engine technology, which will enable the British Army to extend the life of its Land Rovers as diesel becomes obsolete.’

This is a one-year contract and the results will be fascinating. One of the advantages of Electrogenic is that the company is in control of every element of the electric drivetrain. It’s hard to over-estimate the levels of stress that a battlefield places on people and equipment. It’s been estimated that a truck in a combat zone wears out in just over 20% of the time it would normally take for this to happen under non-combat conditions.

How electric vehicles perform in these circumstances will be fascinating to see – as will the plans to deliver electricity or the means to generate it to the front lines.

4x4 09/05/2023 19:19

All Models Welcome | People’s Choice Award

SUNDAY 9 JULY 2023

Get your wheels dirty on our very own

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04/05/2023 10:36

NEW 4X4S

You’re Twisting my Jimny, man…

IT SEEMS THERE ARE FEWER AND FEWER THINGS WE CAN COUNT ON THESE DAYS. As you’ll see in another story, it’s not even clear if ‘they’ are going to call the Defender a Land Rover anymore.

Whatever next?

Well, next is the Twisted team deciding, after 21 years, that they’re not going to be working only on (Land Rover) Defenders.

If this story didn’t include a photo I’d be asking you what other marque you think they’d choose to work on.

The clue would come from Charles Fawcett, MD and founder of Twisted. He got all misty eyed and said: ‘It’s a pure, proper little off-roader.

It’s evocative, engaging and endearing. It’s almost a miniature Defender with similar architecture, driveline and analogue feel.’

But you already know he’s talking about the Suzuki Jimny. And of course he’s right. Although it must also be said that the Jimny hasn’t always been a small box of delight.

A long motorway journey in an earlier iteration, a vehicle with the automatic transmission, remains one of those experiences that made me want to give up testing vehicles

12 | JUNE 2023

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and instead retreat to a Tibetan monastery where I could practice my Tummo breathwork.

However, the latest model has proved to be an unprecedented hit with everyone. But Twisted has a particular sub-section of ‘everyone’ in mind. Is this you? ‘[It] will appeal to anti-ordinary people of all ages that want to inject fun into their day-to-day driving.’

Despite the rationale for this vehicle, it’s clear that Charles Fawcett has a genuine enthusiasm for the diminutive Suzuki. He has previous: ‘My first 4x4 was a Land Rover 109, shortly followed by a brown Suzuki SJ (the Jimny’s predecessor),’ he explains. ‘I adored it. A few years later, I had a little LJ80. Land Rover runs through my veins, but I’m lucky enough to have fond memories of other simple 4x4s. The Jimny is one of the very few vehicles still in production with the same driving essence as when its predecessors were launched over 40 years ago.

It still makes every journey fun and induces an immediate smile.’

The model anti-ordinary people are going to be buying will be based on the two-seater Jimny LCV version

at first, although other variants may follow. Twisted will add more sophistication overall and more performance, both to engine and handling, although the company is still working on exactly how that will be delivered.

For now, Twisted has opened up its diary so people can register their interest in limited build slots.

Of course, you’ll need to be antiordinary since ordinarily most people wouldn’t consider spending ‘sub £50k + VAT’. But if you fancy something really different and are taken with the idea of what the company calls ‘the Little Twisted’ then at least you have a choice other than a Land Rover Defender. Sorry, a Defender by JLR.

4x4 09/05/2023 19:20

NEW 4X4S

British expertise helps turn Hilux into specialised fire appliance for electric vehicles burning in multi-story car parks A THERMAL RUNAWAY HASN’T BEEN A ‘THING’ FOR MOST PEOPLE BEFORE. But that was because we were happy in our innocent lives that didn’t include the infestation of electric vehicles.

A thermal runaway is when an electric vehicle catches fire – as they seem wont to do – and then if you don’t put the fire out quickly it just gets out of hand fast as the lithium-ion cells release their energy in a rush.

There have also been some massive car park fires, such as the one at Kings Dock car park in Liverpool and Stavanger Airport in Norway – the Liverpool fire on New Year’s Eve 2017 saw more than 1000 cars destroyed. The Stavanger fire, although started by a turbo-diesel Opel Zafira, was made worse by Norway’s high take-up of electric vehicles. And in many car parks the fire services simply can’t get their vehicles in because of height restrictions. So, what to do?

The answer may well be the HILOAD Rapid Intervention Vehicle. This 6x6 emergency vehicle is being made by Prospeed Motorsport in York. It’s based on the Toyota Hilux – where would the world be if we hadn’t had the Toyota Hilux for the last 55 years?

A new chassis is fitted along with a torque-splitter, offering a payload almost triple that of the standard Hilux. With the chassis ensuring a longer load space, Prospeed has ensured there is enough cargo space to allow for a low roof height. As many of us who drive large SUVs know, many concrete multi-storey car parks can be quite a nerve-wracking challenge to enter. One of the many clever things about the Rapid Intervention Vehicle is that it’s lower than many large SUVs, so car parks are easily accessible.

All this also means there’s a lower centre of gravity for safer handling, and ground pressure is lower thanks to the six-wheel drive system. So the vehicle can get to the fires, carrying water, crew and equipment, whether it’s in a tight multi-storey or out on the moors.

But that’s still only half the battle. Now you have to put out a fire that is rapidly gaining in ferocity and temperature.

Believe it or not, one of the standard ways to deal with an EV fire is to immerse the whole battery or vehicle in water for some days. Naturally this takes thousands of gallons of water. Per vehicle. In a car park full of burning vehicles. Prospeed’s solution is to use the Coldcut Cobra system, where an ultra-high-pressure lance using abrasives suspended in water cuts through the floor pan and the battery pack and injects water at extreme pressure.

When they say extreme, they mean extreme, like 300bar. For reference, many cars run their tyres at about 2.0 or 2.5bar. Tests in Sweden show that this can work in just ten minutes, using less water than you’d use for a normal bath. Impressive huh?

Prospeed is building the vehicles in York but you can also buy it as a kit for assembly abroad or even maybe licence the vehicle for higher volume sales.

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It’s an imaginative, clever solution to a problem which is only going to get more common as EVs proliferate. Another smart British initiative – and another life-improving use for the Toyota Hilux.

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09/05/2023 19:20

RIGHTS OF WAY

Tree planting project completes remedial work on Breasthigh Road

B

reasthigh Road, an epic hilltop lane near Tebay in Cumbria, has recently reopened after a year of extensive work to repair its fragile surface. Years of exposure to the harsh environment, combined with a succession of inadequate repairs, had left it in a poor condition which finally led to the Lake District National Park, in consultation with other stakeholders, resolving to do something about it once and for all.

Work to improve the trail’s surface sustainability, drainage and flood resilience began in May 2022; we’ve reported on its progress during that time. To help keep the area stable for the long term, the plan also included a programme of tree planting aimed at increasing biodiversity and reducing the impact of flooding.

Thus a working party was assembled to visit the site earlier this spring, made up of various LDNPA staff and volunteers from the Green Lane Association and Trail Riders Fellowship. Those from GLASS were Andrew Clay, Tom Newbury, Gary Miller, Duncan Allen, Patrick Lacey and Cumbria rep Peter Apps.

The are being planted was on Borrowdale Edge, the most exposed part of the landscape around Breasthigh Road, overlooking the point at which the route fords Borrow Beck.

When they become mature, the trees will help to screen the electricity pylons which run up the opposite side of the valley – these belong to the National Grid, which was a major contributor of funds towards the work.

The working party was led by the project manager, LDNPA Ranger Mike Tattersall, and the Ranger responsible for the area, Suzy Hankin. ‘After a short briefing,’ says Peter, ‘we headed on foot across the large and precarious historic

stepping stones over the Beck, while the Ranger team ferried vehicles and equipment across with their two Land Rovers. Those who know the route will understand how happy we were that the water was quite low!

‘All was good at first, until one of the National Park Land Rovers could not get up the track while towing the heavy trailer full of what we were planting. So we all traipsed back down and brought up armfuls of kit, while much of it was off-loaded into a quad bike trailer and ferried up in several loads.

‘We needed to climb about 200 metres up the track and then work across the fellside for about another 250 metres, carrying all the equipment, plants and materials required for the work. Mike and his team had carefully laid out pegs showing where he wanted trees planting.

‘The tree whips needed to be planted on a slightly levelled base, with recyclable twin-wall plastic shelter guards and posts over coir mulch mats. The planting was then to be completed using rather vicious Cactus Tree Guards which, as the name suggests, are a wire mesh formed with vary nasty spikes sticking out of the mesh frame. These in turn, needed to be stapled to two strong wooden posts. This is designed to deter any deer, sheep, cattle or other wildlife from damaging the tender trees until they are large enough to cope by themselves.’

In total, 17 volunteers split into smaller teams to get 50 trees into the ground and made safe. ‘Under Mike’s guidance,’ says Peter, ‘a few of us worked together putting the cactus guards together while others broke off in pairs to prepare the

ground and get to work planting the tree whips with tubes, stakes and finally the guards fitted.

‘Meanwhile, three experienced dry stone wallers from LDNPA, GLASS and TRF were forming a new opening in the wall of the bridleway that runs across from Huck Bridge to Breasthigh Road.’

Work continued until about 3pm, when the teams reconvened at the side of the track for a debrief from Mike and Suzy. ‘Big thanks go to Gill Mitchell from North Yorks TRF for providing her home baked cake for young NPA Field Team member Finn to distribute,’ says Peter – no doubt a view echoed by all!

Plans were drawn up for a follow-up visit to the site a few weeks later, at which the rangers would check over the whole route ready to sign it off for reopening.

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RIGHTS OF WAY

Delinquent landowner illustrates the importance of supporting GLASS EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, we come across a social media thread which has started with someone asking if there’s an app ‘that shows where the lanes are.’ The comments will invariably include one saying that Trailwise2 is the best… followed up by people moaning about how much it costs.

For the uninitiated, the site (it’s a website, not an app) is owned by the Green Lane Association and is available only to paid-up members. It’s the best tool by far for finding and researching lanes, and your GLASS subscription funds an organisation without which countless lanes (potentially all of them) would no longer be open. Yet even then, we’ve seen people online asking if anyone knows a cheat code for getting round the password.

If you’re a green lane user, subscribing to GLASS is the most worthwhile money you’ll spend all year. Here’s a little tale, told by the association’s Somerset rep Charlie Moore, which demonstrates the sort of effort the association is putting in, day in, day out, for the benefit of every lane user – not just those on four wheels, but all of us: ‘A lane near Wincanton had been brought to my attention as needing clearing,’ says Charlie. ‘So on a glorious sunny day in early April, I went to walk it, starting at Higher Clapton Farm – where I had a very informative conversation with one of the residents regarding the history of the lane and the associated court case.

‘Finding a gate that was off its hinges (deliberate?), I managed to rectify the problem.

‘The section of lane that runs downhill to Lower Clapton Farm is overgrown. The area around the field gateway at the farm is partly flooded and very muddy. The land belongs to a farmer who previously tried to have the lane removed from the Definitive Map. ‘Knowing there were issues recorded against the footpath running south from the farm, I went to investigate. It was while I was climbing over the gate to follow the footpath that I was challenged by someone who claimed a footpath did not exist. After a brief exchange of opinion over the existence of the path, I continued with various insults and obscenities ringing in my ears.

‘The footpath has an open slurry pit across it. This and issues with the byway have been logged with Somerset Council. I will be making a visit to Taunton to inspect the Definitive Map and Statement for the byway and footpath.

‘My next step will be to meet the rights of way warden on site to agree a plan of action to resolve the problems. I am also planning to contact the Ramblers regarding the footpath.’

The latter organisation isn’t exactly famed for its willingness to co-operate with motor vehicle users, even if its rank and file members are often far happier to share the countryside than their leaders want them to be. For a rights of way vandal to bring the two users groups together certainly would be an achievement of some note – not to mention irony – and the effort GLASS reps put into cases like this absolutely demonstrates the importance of helping fund the cause by signing up.

Blind prejudice threatens Blind Lane BLIND LANE IS AN UNCLASSIFIED ADOPTED HIGHWAY near Grindleford in Derbyshire. Also known as Excelsior, it was the subject of a Definitive Map Modification Order claim some years ago – which Derbyshire County Council has been investigating ever since.

Having established the facts of the route’s history and usage, the authority recently confirmed that sure enough, it should be recorded as a Byway Open to All Traffic – giving official recognition to its status as a right of way to motor vehicles.

The decision was made on the basis that the lane was reasonably alleged to be a public carriageway, but needless to say the usual self-interest groups and hate campaigners immediately objected, saying it should only be recorded as a bridleway. The case is therefore set to go to a public enquiry, which will be held on 15 August at Hathersage.

The purpose of a public enquiry is to review the available evidence and make a decision based on the balance of probabilities. Logically, then, it will ratify the conclusion already reached by the local authority. But the capacity for greed and malign influence to make a mockery of logic runs deep and wide (and high, as the House of Lords demonstrated with NERC in 2006), so the Green Lane Association is calling on all motor vehicle users to rack their brains as to whether they may have used the lane in the past.

‘It’s sensible for us to seek additional evidence and maximise the user evidence available to the inspector covering use of motor vehicles in the 1980s onwards,’ explains Derbyshire rep Chris Mitchell. ‘If you have driven or ridden Blind Lane in a motor vehicle or on a motorcycle, especially in the 1980s, 1990s and/or early 2000s, I would urge you to contact me (derbyshire.rep@glass-uk.org) so I can send you a blank user evidence form to complete.

‘Any photographs or club records showing vehicles using the route in those days would also be useful,’ Chris adds. ‘To jog your memory, the lane’s ID on Trailwise2 is SK2376-04.

GLASS is also keen to hear from anyone would like to appear at the public inquiry to give verbal evidence regarding use of the route. ‘Such evidence is invaluable and inspectors often appreciate it even more than signed user forms,’ says Chris. It should be an open and shut case – but there’s never any room for complacency.

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PRODUCTS

Heavy-duty carpets tailored for the Defender 110 Price: £90-£115 plus VAT Available from: Britpart dealers THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE WORDS ‘DEFENDER’ AND ‘CARPET’ belonged together like the words ‘fish’ and ‘bicycle’, but these days it’s almost quite rare to see a 90 or 110 project that doesn’t involve the vehicle’s interior leaving its hose-out roots behind.

These carpet sets from Britpart are for the latter. Made from heavy-duty black 5mm woven pile carpet with pre-cut holes for a precision fit, they’re hard-backed to keep their shape over many years of rugged use.

Britpart says the carpets are easy to fit, with no glue being required – just some strips of double-sided

tape, which are supplied where applicable. So no hassle and no mess, either.

The carpets won’t fit over the top of a rubber moulded mat set, however they generally can be used with Dynamat and other soundproofing kits. As well as looking smart, they add further sound deadening too.

There are two kits for the rear parts of the 110. One, which covers the second row area, comprises a floor carpet and forward facing rear pieces; the other, for the rear of the vehicle, takes care of the floor and wheel boxes. Where relevant, the mats come with an edged finish to keep things smart.

Heavy-duty clutch for late Land Cruiser Colorado Price: £195 plus VAT Available from: lofclutches.com LAST MONTH WE TOLD YOU ABOUT LOF CLUTCHES’ POWERSPEC KIT for the current Toyota Hilux. Now it’s time for an older model from the same maker, in the shape of the 1998-2002 Land Cruiser Colorado.

The 90-Series, as it’s known to code-sniffers, tends to either rust itself into oblivion or last forever. If you’ve got one now, two decades on, chances are it’s the latter. LOF says its POWERspec clutches are ideal for vehicles with mapped engines, which old Cruisers tend not to be, or for hard-worked off-roaders. Bingo.

With a clamp load of 40% over the original, the clutch is designed to cope with heavier loads. Hardcore off-roaders have been known to overwhelm their handbrakes and roll away when parked, even in gear, so this is a worthwhile investment in safety if nothing else.

Engine braking will be more reliable too, and of course you can expect the heavy-duty clutch to outlast the standard unit. It all comes without any noticeable extra weight in the pedal.

The clutch comes as a full kit with everything you need for fitting it, and is backed by a two-year manufacturer’s warranty.

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4x4 09/05/2023 19:34

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11/04/2023 11:52

PRODUCTS

Is your 4x4 ready for adventure?

SPRING IS FINALLY HERE and that can only mean one thing – it’s the perfect time to get your vehicle ready for the warmer driving season! It’s important to ensure that it’s in top-notch shape, inside and out. Now is great time to ensure your vehicle’s underbody is protected and prepared for any environment, even in the harshest conditions and off-roading adventures.

Lanoguard is an easy, low-prep, effective DIY protection for your underbody, which stops and prevents costly rust and corrosion repairs. Protect and nourish your whole 4x4 underbody, including internals and box sections, with a proven and trusted product – used by tens of thousands of vehicle owners. Minimal mess, with no masking up, can be used on all rubbers and plastics, as well as over surface rust.

Developed alongside industrial partners, Lanoguard uses the power of nature, enhanced with science, to provide a complete hermetic seal which stays in place tenaciously and keeps protecting, even when jet-washed and from road spray – it won’t evaporate nor dry out, and keeps your vehicle in great condition all year.

We designed our products to protect heavy-duty commercial vehicles and now have a community of vehicle owners across the UK who enjoy the same industrial-standard level of protection, with a quick spray application which is safe to apply, eco-friendly, non-flammable and long lasting.

Find out more about our small family business and products at https://www. lanoguard.co.uk/ or feel free to contact our team today on +44 (0) 330 100 1959, we’d be happy to help you protect your valuable vehicles.

‘Excellent product – it’s second to none, out of all the products I have ever used. I applied it to our Hyundai and old Land Rover Discovery. Their underbodies now look as if they have just come from the factory. Excellent product and excellent service. Why wouldn’t you?’

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www.lanoguard.co.uk 4x4 Magazine_2023_June_Lanoguard_HP.indd 1

18 | JUNE 2023

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04/05/2023 10:47

4x4 09/05/2023 19:34

PRODUCTS

No rust or oil leaks from Lego’s Land Rover 90 Price: £209.99 From: Lego stockists

BEFORE THE NEW DEFENDER WAS LAUNCHED, Lego did a sort of sneak peek of it which those in the know said was actually a pretty accurate replica of how the real thing was going to look. Whether they were on a deliberate 11/04/2023 12:01 wind-up, or just deranged, is unknown, but now there’s a new Lego model of4x4 Magazine_2023_May_4x4 Maer ATS Ltd_QP.indd 1 Tyres cheap. Not cheap tyres!! the original Defender – whose accuracy has to be seen to be believed.

The Lego Icons Classic Land Rover Defender 90, to give it its full name, was created to cash in on Land Rover’s 75th anniversary. It measures 32cm when built and has a two-in-one format, allowing you to create an everyday roadready model or one that’s been customised for off-road adventures.

For the latter, the kit comes with a roof rack, raised air intake, front bumper with working winch, side rails and toolbox, plus traction plates for crossing mud and sand. There’s a functioning winch to go on its front bumper, too.

The model has working steering and suspension, which sounds like a bit of an authenticity fail in the case of some Defenders we could tell you about, as well as opening doors and bonnet. No seized release cable here, thank you.

The doors in question are fairly certain not to rot from the inside, too. The interior, meanwhile, is ‘based on the full-size Classic Defender,’ so look out for someone’s trousers hanging from the door catch and a dashboard that’s been eaten by a dog.

Lego launched the set with a challenge worthy of Land Rover itself. The Main supplier of company parked a real Defender in the Scottish Highlands and used it to and all major 4x4 tyres house what it calls the hardest-to-reach Lego Store in the world. Then it set adventurers Raha Moharrak and Aldo Kane (you know, them) the task of racing to be the first to find the vehicle and build the new set. There’s a film of the whole caper at www.lego.com/Defender.

‘Bringing the Classic Defender to life in bricks was no easy challenge,’ says Groundcare • Car • ATV • Tubes • Mobile Tyre Fitting Lego Design Master (an actual job title) Kurt Kristiansen. ‘Defender can take Puncture Equipment & Repairs • Four Wheel Alignment you anywhere, so during the design process we wanted to infuse the set with that sense of adventure. We can’t wait to see fans’ reactions.’

Durrants Farm, Rushlake Green, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 9QB The full kit contains 2336 pieces, which ironically is the same as our old 90’s Workshop: 01435 830664 Mobile: 07710 372672 Email: chris@rlgtyres.co.uk CV joint ended up in one morning after we’d left it parked up for the night. It’s not cheap, but they did promise it would be authentic. www.rlgtyres.co.uk

RLG Tyres OFFICIAL STOCKIST

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| 19 JUNE 2023 11/01/2023 17:23

09/05/2023 19:34

DRIVEN

SUBARU SOLTERRA Developed alongside the Toyota bZ4X, Subaru’s all-electric SUV costs a lot more than the XV, Forester and Outback. Does it have the talent to convince customers that plugging in is worth the extra money?

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4x4 09/05/2023 18:05

SUBARU HAS BEEN STEADILY MOVING ITS RANGE FROM PETROL TO HYBRID POWER OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. That’s a step on the road to an electric future – but more recently it brought that future into the present with the launch of the Solterra.

This was developed jointly with Toyota, who provided the expertise in EV platform development while Subaru made it drive like a Subaru. Which means it has two motors, one at each end, to give it all-wheel drive.

There are two models in the range, Limited and Touring. They’re priced at £49,995 and £52,995 respectively; the extra three grand on the Touring gets

4x4 3pp Solterra.indd 21

you an uprated stereo, panoramic roof, faux-leather seats, wireless charging, follow-me-home lighting and bigger alloys (20” in lieu of 18”), as well as a wider range of paint finishes. Our tester was a Touring model, complete with pearlescent paint and a contrasting black roof which between them would lob another £945 at the invoice.

So it’s a £53,940 car we’re in here. The XV, Outback and Forester, by contrast, start at £33,290, £36,990 and £37,990, so you need to be pretty strongly invested in electric power.

Talking of power, the Touring model has an 80kW motor at each end, with a 71.4kWh battery pack providing a range of 257 miles on the WLTP combined cycle. The Limited, which is 25kg lighter, improves this to 289 miles, so depending on your definition of ‘touring’, and indeed ‘limited,’ you might think Subaru got their names the wrong way round.

Each motor’s output is 107bhp, backed up with torque of 124lbf.ft. Add them together and you have a decent if not spectacular turn of pace: 6.9 seconds from 0-62 is pretty good, to be fair, and a top speed of 100mph is more than you’re ever going to need, so while there are other more spine-tingling electric SUVs vying for your attention, it’s brisk enough – especially around town, where you can whisk it about with real vigour.

Also in town, you do feel its 2040kg kerb weight when you hit the inevitable pot holes. The thumping is well enough damped (we told you they made it drive like a Subaru), but the worst holes in the road do move its body around as you crash through them. Low-profile tyres can be scary things when the road has turned itself into an urban parody of a rocky green lane, but there was never any actual harshness in the impacts. There’s no fussiness to its ride, either, and its steering has a nice, natural feel which makes it very easy to drive around town.

At higher speeds, once again it’s like a Subaru. There’s grip aplenty, good steering response and some real agility to its chassis, allowing you to throw it around in corners with it ever threatening to get ragged. Its overall poise and front-to-rear balance send confidence flooding through your veins, even in the cold, wet, slushy conditions of our test drive.

It’s similarly trustworthy on the motorway, where it settles to a very planted cruise with no need for fiddly steering inputs to keep it on track. There’s a bit of suspension noise from down below, and those low profile tyres sing a song of the road, but wind noise is kept pretty well at bay; overall, it’s a refined, civilised vehicle in which to cover long distances.

Long distances, let’s talk about that. We’ve already mentioned the Solterra’s official range, which is 257 miles in this form, and who are we to doubt the word of the WLTP? During our week with the Solterra, we charged it up to 87% (our local CCA charger is in a car park with a 90-minute time limit, which is a truly great example of joined-up thinking when there’s always ten minutes of faffing with the app before you can get started) and as we pulled away the meter on the dash said our range was now 193 miles. That’s more like 75% – not spot-on but not a million miles away either.

But then we switched on the heating. And boom, our range instantly dropped to 145 miles. Suddenly, our 87% charge was only giving us about 57% of the vehicle’s quoted range.

This isn’t a criticism of the Solterra so much as a rude awakening to an awkward truth about EVs. In a traditional petrol or diesel-engined vehicle, heat is a by-product of running the engine. If you want to keep warm inside, all you need to do is turn a dial and let in as much as you want. By contrast, electric motors create almost no heat – so to maintain a comfortable climate inside, they run a combined heating and air-con system using a condenser powered directly from the battery.

The result? Switch on the heating and watch your range plummet. You’re faced with the choice of driving around in a non-stop huddle of shivering misery – or watching your precious range collapse the moment you do something about it. Except it turns out not to be much of a choice, because when you try the man-up option it turns out to be the steam-up option.

It goes without saying that heating a car’s interior is going to require energy, so this isn’t a criticism of the Solterra per se. And in every EV we’ve driven, switching on the heating or air-con causes the range to drop. Never anything like as dramatically as this, though.

We don’t for a minute believe that the vehicle has an unusually inefficient heating system. So our supposition is that the Solterra is more honest than most about how far you’re going to get on whatever’s in the battery. We’ve driven EVs that proudly boast of an epic range when they’re fully changed,

JUNE 2023 | 21

09/05/2023 18:05

DRIVEN Solterra’s cabin feels modern and is very well made, with rock-solid fixtures and fittings and excellent touch points everywhere. It’s extremely roomy up front and capable of accommodating four tall adults in spacious comfort, and when the back seats go down it will punch well above its weight for cargo-shifting ability. It’s not the very most exciting place to be, but for general usability it’s very hard to fault

only for the figure on the dash to do a burlesque mime of Chelsea’s league position as soon as you get up to speed. And leaving the business with the heater to one side, the display in the Solterra comes pretty close to getting it right as the miles roll by. It’s demoralising, but better that than save up a rude shock for later.

As well as the heating, anyway, the Solterra has good, powerful heated seats which are very comfortable and have plenty of adjustment to let you find your position. Legroom is good and elbow and head room are outstanding, the latter in spite of this model having a pan roof.

In the back, there’s ample room for one six-footer to sit behind another even if the one up front is being greedy for space. And for load-hauling, the rears drop easily to lie adequately close to flat. The boot aperture is nice and big, too, so you can load up with bulkier items than you’d believe possible just to look at it from the outside.

You also might not look at it from the outside and expect it to have offroad skills, but Subaru’s now-familiar X-Mode button is there to set it up for action. We weren’t about to try too much, not in blizzard conditions and lying snow, but considering the 20” road tyres under its arches the Solterra

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certainly does know how to find traction. It’s surprisingly agile when you start clambering over things, too; naturally, ground clearance will be an issue, but drive to within its capabilities and it’s open your eyes to what those capabilities actually are.

And this really is a capable vehicle. We see it as a halfway house between an urban SUV and an adventure wagon but, as every multi-purpose motor should be, it’s good at both. It’s all-round competent on the road, sure-footed on moderately rough ground and generally very pleasant to travel in.

It’s a good, practical family vehicle, too – one whose deliberately edgy design doesn’t really start to hint at how effective it is at doing the simple things right. If those things include being honest about what happens to its range when you switch on the heating, so be it – however alarming it might be, you certainly know what you’re getting. Which, whatever your feelings on electric power and the price you to pay for it, is the hallmark of a true Subaru.

4x4 09/05/2023 18:05

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33710 (70) 4x4 (full).indd 1 4x4 Magazine_2023_June_Machine Mart_FP.indd 1

05/05/2023 09/05/2023 14:59 10:31

DRIVEN

SKODA KODIAQ vRS The performance variant in the Kodiaq range dishes up far more entertainment than the diesel-engined model of old – while remaining a rock-solid candidate for anyone seeking a do-it-all seven-seat SUV

24 | JUNE 2023

4pp Kodiaq vRS.indd 24

4x4 09/05/2023 18:03

IT’S WELL DOCUMENTED THAT WE LOVE THE SKODA KODIAQ. And we’re quite partial to going fast. So a fast Skoda Kodiaq should be right up our street.

The vRS came as music to our ears, then. But we were never that partial to the original version, which was diesel engined (something else we like) but, thanks to its automatic gearbox, never really pushed our buttons. It was quick enough, and Kodiaq enough, but nothing like as engaging to drive as the less powerful manual model we ran as a long-termer a few years back.

So the second incarnation of the Kodiaq vRS brought new hope when Sko-

da first announced it. It’s the same sort of deal, with a high-powered engine sitting on a tuned chassis with loads of kit on top, but this time that engine burns petrol rather than oil.

In doing so, the 2.0 TSI unit produced 245bhp, which is a little more than the old diesel. It’s another story with torque, where 273lbf.ft for the new engine plays 369lbf.ft from the diesel, but the roundabout to that swing is a 60kg weight saving. You pays your money and you takes your choice (or rather you doesn’t, because the diesel was the only option then and the petrol is the only one now).

Money, that. The vRS currently lists at £49,335, which says something about the world we now inhabit. A world in which the price of cars has become unrecognisable and seemingly inexplicable, but more importantly a world in which a Skoda is a very desirable thing.

And the vRS is a very desirable thing indeed. Ours came with a panoramic sunroof and winter pack from the options catalogue, adding £1705 to the invoice and knocking the ball comfortably into the £50k+ court – but what you get for your money is a car that does an excellent job of marrying the do-it-all practicality of a premium seven-seat SUV with the focus of a performance exec.

It says something that we’re using the word ‘premium’ without feeling the need to justify it. Skoda might not be trying to muscle in on the likes of Land Rover with its design, but in terms of quality it’s absolutely up there with the best.

When you get into the vRS, it’s like getting into a Kodiaq. That’s just about the highest praise we could possibly give it. It’s the same spacious, flexible cabin as always, with a rock-solid fixtures and fittings and a cleverly thought out range of stowage opportunities to make it as usable as possible. The seating position is excellent, with loads of room in all directions, and the seat itself holds you snugly and very comfortably with excellent visibility all round. There’s plenty of adjustment in it, too – as there is in the second row, meaning you can get two six-footers behind two more of the same or, if you’ve got more bodies to carry, give away a little to let the third row accommodate more than just the smallest of children. It’s not able to swallow seven adults the way something like a Discovery or Merc GLS can, but it’s not far short of those much bigger vehicles in this area – and with the last two rows dropped flat, you get a long, tall boot space whose 2000-plus litres makes it very usable indeed as a van.

Up front, the dash is as you expect from a modern Skoda, with excellent switchgear whose layout makes it effortless to locate and operate. It’s centred upon a high-definition virtual dash display and a big, bright media screen whose crisp graphics are backed up by a clear, intuitive interface and instant responses to inputs. Typical Skoda, and a classic case of doing the simple things well.

Elsewhere, the cabin has had the go-faster treatment with quilted microsuede and leather seat trim that’s monogrammed with the vRS logo. The leather edgings have a kind of carbon-fibre effect to their finish, which you

The original Kodiaq vRS had a 2.0-litre diesel engine, but ever since the vehicle’s 2001 facelift this has been replaced by a petrol unit of the same size. It’s a lot less torquey but a little more powerful and usefully lighter, and it’s much better suited to the 7-speed auto box that sits behind it. Whereas the old one always used to leave us wanting more, today’s vRS does its job brilliantly

4x4 4pp Kodiaq vRS.indd 25

JUNE 2023 | 25

09/05/2023 18:03

DRIVEN The vRS is, first and foremost, a Kodiaq inside. This is a very good thing to be. It’s spacious enough to carry seven adults, if they’re all willing to co-operate on how they adjust their seats, and the build quality evident in its fixtures and fittings is absolutely sky-high. The carbon fibre look to its dash trim and leather seat edging won’t be to everyone’s taste, but the whole hot-hatch image sets it off without getting in your face.

Much more importantly, when the rear seats go down you have a total hero of a load lugger

might find a bit cringeworthy but it does go with the whole performance theme. You’ll find the same styling on the upper glovebox, facia surface and door cards, anyway, so best get used to it. The upper dash is clothed in leather with contrasting red stitching, too, adding a bit more in the way of the GTI image – it’s not jarringly in-your-face the way it can be, but there’s enough going on to keep you from forgetting what you’ve got.

Not that this is likely to happen anyway. Unlike the old vRS, this one has a vibe that sets it apart from the rest of the Kodiaq range – one which, when you get fruity with the drive mode buttons, cranks up the intent with an intensity that zooms your attention right in on the road ahead.

Dynamic Chassis Control is standard, allowing you to tune the shocks to suit your mood. Combine this with the Sport setting in the drive mode palette and you have an SUV whose ride and steering response has the potential to match the urge from its engine and, a huge improvement over the old diesel version, the lustful rasp from its exhaust.

This is, in fact, the work of a sound symposer programmed to treat your ears to the snarl of a V6. It’s pretty effective most of the time – plenty of motoring journalists who take themselves too seriously look down their

26 | JUNE 2023

4pp Kodiaq vRS.indd 26

noses at such things, because it’s just not the same as that Ferrari I drove on a press junket to Malibu last week, darling, and by the way did I mention that I drove a Ferrari on a press junket to Malibu last week, but for a normal driver the noise will keep you enthused. You can enjoy watching a Marvel flick even though you know it’s a work of fantasy, so why can’t you enjoy a driving soundtrack you know is aided by a synthetic exhaust note? You can switch it off if it really bothers you that much, but first try lightening up.

The result, anyway, is that the vRS sounds quite interestingly throaty even in everyday-pottering-around-town mode (not its actual name). Put it into Sport mode, meanwhile, and it joins the throttle, steering and suspension in springing to life. There’s never any shortage of urge around town, either, though pleasingly it doesn’t stray into being troublesomely over-eager the way some performance vehicles do at low speeds, but it’s when the boot goes in that the vRS earns its spurs. Ride quality tautens up and steering feel multiplies, body roll disappears (not that there was ever so much in the first place) and away you go. How much of this theatre is actually necessary on a come-hither B-road is open to conjecture, because the Kodiaq’s chassis and 4x4 system give it plenty of agility and grip to spare, but it adds up to an SUV with real cross-country pace.

4x4 09/05/2023 18:04

A 235/45R20 wouldn’t be our first choice for any kind of off-road work, but the Kodiaq vRS can do it, within reason – it even has the fabled Off-Road button for trimming its drivetrain to suit the terrain.

Wrapped around a suitably edgy set of wheels, they do a sterling job of turning the 4x4 system’s output into traction – and when you’re going for it on an entertaining B-road, they hold on like glue

Is it as fast as things like the Lamborghini Urus and Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT? Of course not: these are super-SUVs costing three or four times as much. But you need some real skill to get the best from them, plus the associated balls of steel. The Kodiaq vRS is one of those vehicles that make you feel like a hero, because it’s so incredibly good at being easy to drive fast enough to turn on 99% of people who’ll ever drive it.

In particular, you can tackle a series of corners almost without feeling as if you’re going between the gas and the brakes at all. You can scrub off the speed with no drama and put it back on again with no effort, and with all the grip and poise its chassis gives you there’s a lovely, linear nature to the entire experience. It manages to make the drama seem undramatic; you’re giving it non-stop inputs but it never feels like you’re working for it.

It’s often said that if you get two everyday drivers, one in a Golf GTi and one in a Ferrari, the guy in the GTi will get there first because its performance is so accessible and so approachable. And the Kodiaq vRS is like that; there’s nothing intimidating about it at all. We mused while driving it that it comes across a bit like an Impreza WRX or Lancer Evo, because it makes going fast so easy – obviously it’s not that fast, but it does do a great job of making you feel like a rally driver.

It’s little short of incredible, then, that this is still a proper SUV with built-in off-road ability. Yes, we might select a different Kodiaq for a bit of green laning (if nothing else, 235/45R20s are never going to be in their element on loose ground) but in context it’s a sure-footed 4x4 with impressive tractability. Mud and wet grass won’t feel like its natural habitat, but on sandy surfaces in particular we’d expect it to thrive.

Literally no-one who buys a Kodiaq vRS is ever going to find this out for themselves (we’ll make that bold claim in the earnest hope of being proved wrong, but we won’t be holding our breath), but the good news is that where it matters it softens up well enough in Comfort road to draw the sting of the pot-holed disaster we live in – and where it really matters, it’s a very good all-rounder with the added spice of being able to charge when you want it to.

4pp Kodiaq vRS.indd 27

It does like a drink, which is pretty much inevitable when you’re asking a petrol engine to shift a large chunk of motor about the place at speed, but 30-35mpg on a long (and very comfortable) motorway journey says it’s nowhere near the thirstiest quick 4x4 we’ve driven. The figure is in the midteens around town, and a spirited cross-country thrash returned something in the low to mid 20s; while this equals a throbbing wallet if you routinely enjoy all it has to offer, using at as an everyday family SUV won’t cause anything like the same level of pain.

Not that owning a Kodiaq will ever cause you pain. Skoda recently released the first teaser pics of a new model, as it gets set to bring down the curtain on the original after seven years as one of the best 4x4s money can buy – and though this means it’s now in the early stages of winding down, the vRS remains a hugely appealing prospect if you’re after a fast, entertaining SUV that will do everything you ask of it. A fast Skoda Kodiaq is, indeed, right up our street.

09/05/2023 18:04

DRIVEN

KIA SPORTAGE MUD MODE Kia hits on an innovative way to demonstrate the potential of its accessories range – and in the process creates a one-off Sportage designed to make the most of the most of its off-road abilities

YOU TEND TO THINK OF OFF-ROAD VEHICLES AS BEING BIG THINGS. But in the SUV market, quite often it’s the smaller vehicles that have more intent than the larger luxury wagons.

The Kia Sportage is a case in point. It doesn’t have low range these days (it hasn’t for two decades, to be fair, but at least the first one did) but the latest Mk5 model, which was launched last year and promptly took the Small SUV class honours in our 4x4 of the Year awards, comes in all-wheel drive form armed with a palette of mud, sand and snow modes.

To celebrate the fact, late last year Kia created three one-offs called Mud Mode, Sand Mode and Snow Mode. Basically, each of them adds a few bits of equipment from the options catalogue, adding something useful on top of what the vehicle can already do.

In the case of the Mud Mode, which is what we’ve got here, that something is a set of steel cross-bars supporting Kia’s pro bike carrier. The vehicle is also fitted with side steps, to make life easier while loading a bike on to said carrier, and a variety of items to keep the mud away from where you don’t want. These include all-weather floor mats, exterior mudflaps all round and, a very simple but very nice touch, a heavy-duty rubber flap which you can fold down from the boot when you open the tailgate, protecting the bumper from scrapes when you’re loading grubby toolbags and so on.

The flap also provides an informal back seat that’ll be ideal when you’re donning your cycling shoes. Dog walkers will see the benefit in it, too – it’s very simple, but isn’t that always the way with the best inventions?

Less simple is the fact that you can’t actually buy a Mud Mode. It’s just a demo car. But if you like the look of it, you can always buy a Sportage and spec it up this way. How much it’ll cost you to do so is down mainly to your dealer, but looking at prices online we’d think if you budget about a grand you won’t be far off. That’s on top of the actual Sportage itself, obviously.

So what’s it like as a car? Having won its class in this year’s 4x4 of the Year awards, obviously the Sportage itself is a very fine SUV. And if you want

28 | JUNE 2023

Sportage Mud Mode.indd 28

what this one has, it’ll be a very fine base for it. The cross bars and bike rack do make things pretty noisy on the motorway, however, by provoking an ever-present buffeting whistle of noise at anything above about 60mph, so you this particular form of practicality takes a bite out of its refinement.

That buffeting says you’re using more energy to push the vehicle through the air, too. This is negligible compared to the effect of a heavy right foot, though – we got 33.2mpg after a long motorway journey, which went up to 34.4 following a couple of days’ urban trundling before a spirited 50-mile cross-country thrash brought it back to 26.3. This then improved back to 33.3 after the motorway journey back home, so it’s looking like 30-35 in normal use would be a reasonable assumption. Not quite as good as what the official figures say, but not calamitous either.

We should add that the cross-country fun was also followed by a bit of off-roading, mainly on wet grass, which demonstrated that mud mode itself is more than just a gimmick. It softens torque delivery and enhances the effect of the traction control system while delaying shifts in the automatic gearbox, the purpose being to maintain momentum through a more constant tractive effort. One thing the Mud Mode model doesn’t have is non-standard tyres, and we all know what a road pattern likes to do most on wet grass, so the fact that we kept moving the whole time with no drama says to us that the system works. Unusually for something governed by traction control, it’s actually more effective on a thread of gas than when you boot it.

Elsewhere, it’s a similar deal to the Sportage we tested in the February issue. Which is to say that it’s pleasingly brisk and willing, enjoyable to throw around and very sure-footed whether it’s holding on in fast corners or staying together through typically embarrassing British pot holes. It doesn’t fidget on scruffy roads or crash on fully broken ones, and there’s as good as zero vibration from the road or the drivetrain. We said last time out that it glides in a way that’s reminiscent of hundred-grand luxury SUVs, which is quite a claim but, this latest experience confirms, is a justified one.

Inside, it’s pleasingly spacious all round and the seating position is excellent – as is its luggage-carrying ability, thanks to flat-folding rear seats which drop down to leave a huge cargo bay. Build quality is right up there too and, to cut to the chase for an awful lot of buyers, the infotainment set-up is the absolute business. What was that we were saying about hundred-grand SUVs? The screen looks and works more like something from one of those.

And best of all, we got to operate it while sitting with our feet on a set of heavy-duty floor mats. The Sportage Mud Mode is an exercise in publicising Kia’s accessory range, yes, as well as being a pretty neat way of reminding the world that this is more than just some lame shopping cart of an SUV, but the kit Kia has put on it adds genuine usability if that’s what you’re after. And if it’s not, this was already one of the most usable 4x4s you can get.

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THREE OF A KIND With the launch of the Magneto 3.0, Jeep may have created the first ever concept car to Words: Graham Scott Pictures: Jeep

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t’s strange when you think about it. What was the last car to have a magneto on board? I’m quite sure someone here can answer that question. But it’s been many years since cars had magnetos instead of coils and now we have electric vehicles which don’t have them either.

But Jeep decided to name its futuristic electric concept after that very bit of ancient kit.

Or maybe it’s named after the naughty Stan Lee character of Marvel fame. He was a mutant.

Hmm, maybe not then. Or what about Magnetogorsk in Russia, which started off being named after iron ore and ended up being named among the world’s most polluted cities. Wrong message, just possibly.

However, when you get into the magnetic world of magnetos it gets equally strange. It isn’t long before you’re discussing ‘bipolar magnetos’ and ‘self-exciting magnetos’. Sorry, should have started that paragraph with a trigger warning.

But Jeep is so invested in this idea that we’ve had Magneto 1.0 and Magneto 2.0. And here’s the third one, and you know what it’s called. For those who like things nicely aligned, the first one came out in 2021 and so, yes, this one appeared this year.

Will there be a Magneto 4.0? Jeep has certainly been exploring all kinds of ideas and themes with the Magneto, but at some point surely it has to decide to make a production version or at least incorporate many of the elements into production vehicles. Not least because you can’t keep on upgrading a machine at a tremendous pace for ever.

It shows with this latest version. In many ways Jeep made it difficult for itself with version 2.0.

You get the sense that Magneto 1.0 was very much an attempt not to alienate the public.

Making the all-American iconic Wrangler into an electric vehicle is a course fraught with potential for PR disaster. So the first iteration was in some

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have a mid-life facelift. It’s just a warmed over version of the 2.0 – but we still want it

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It’s only running a 3” suspension lift, but those are 40” tyres under there. Not that the Wrangler’s body is exactly standard, with its sky-high arches and steeply rakes windscreen giving it the look of a beach buggy crossed with a race truck. The front axle you can see there is a Dynatrac 60, and there’s an 80 out back, both equipped with lockers. Overkill? Not when you’ve got this much torque being delivered via a throttle pedal which is, to all intents and purposes, an on-off switch ways comfortingly similar to the V6 version, right down to the amount of power and torque. There was also, most unusually for a BEV, a six-speed manual gearbox.

And, of course, Jeep chose not to get Dylan Mulvaney to jig about behind the wheel.

So a relatively cautious beginning paid off and various Jeep executives probably let their breath out with a sigh of relief. Partly because the concept was a pretty impressive vehicle all round.

Emboldened, the Jeep team clearly let the designers and engineers off the leash for Magneto 2.0.

To fabulous effect.

In one big leap, the amps soared to 600, which in real terms meant 625bhp and 850lbf.ft of

torque at your instant disposal. Where we’re used to seeing small and careful increments in output, this more than tripled the torque output for example. Or, to throw in another statistic, this very capable rock-crawling 4x4 can accelerate from zero to 60mph in just two seconds – faster than a Bugatti Chiron.

That’s all pretty epic and it ensured that the Magneto 2.0’s outing, at the traditional venue of the Moab Easter Safari in 2022, was a major event. The trouble is, how do you follow that, especially as it’s still a concept vehicle for the third year running?

For Magneto 3.0, the launch venue was once again the stunning landscape around Moab in

Utah. It really is the ultimate backdrop. And in that landscape the Jeep sits tall, which is only partly down to the 3” lift kit fitted as standard. It’s actually quite a big rig now. Version 1.0 grew by a foot in length for version 2.0 and version 3.0 is just as big, with the cabin standing at chest height as you approach.

But the interior seems more spacious as the B-pillar has gone backwards and the opening where the door would be is 6” bigger. The windscreen is the same size as it was but it’s been raked back 12 degrees to give that slightly chopped profile, without actually impinging on interior space. Fitted in there are a pair of blue leather seats with red stitching, but the rear pair

It takes a lot of confidence to give your car a see-through bonnet. It’s the sort of thing Ferrari has been known to do, and of course hot-rod owners are prone to leaving the bonnet off altogether. Not because they’ve got an electric motor to show off, it’s safe to say

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of seats has gone, replaced by a Rhino lining for more versatility.

Ahead of the new windscreen, there’s a clear section in the bonnet so you can see down and look at various things you don’t really quite recognise. Is that a magneto? But down there, front and rear, there is some electronic trickery that is new to the latest iteration.

Jeep claims a 20% increase in useable energy and range with this new version. Part of that is the addition of three modes that the driver can choose from. You can choose between two power settings, offering 285bhp or 650bhp, with torque figures to match. Second is a two-stage regeneration mode so you have normal mode off-road but you can enhance braking regeneration which uses the electric motor. Third mode is what they call ‘aggressive hill descent mode’. This works on low range so you can focus 100% simply on the accelerator as there is so much ‘engine braking’, as it were – a bit like what’s come to be known

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as B-mode in the world of electric cars, thanks primarily to the Nissan Leaf, but more fun.

All of this adds to the sense of control, and really you do have a lot of power and torque to control.

But the six-speed manual helps further, and you have the confidence of beefy Dynatrac axles, a 60 on the front and an 80 on the rear, both with lockers. Add in whopping 40” mud-terrain tyres and you have a combination that can handle anything from high-speed highway to very low-speed rock-crawling up and down vertiginous hills and valleys.

But there’s no doubt that Jeep simply couldn’t replicate the massive step forward from 1.0 to 2.0 with the 3.0. Basically there have been some upgrades in the electronics, some minor changes to the bodywork, the interior has lost the rear seats and that’s largely it. Is this the first concept car ever to have a mid-life facelift?

I does look the part though. Okay, any production version is unlikely to have all-carbon bodywork, but the overall vibe is very smooth and sophisticated yet rugged and practical too. For some that might be a bit of a stretch. The effect of the fairly modest whining from the go-department plus the slightly remote feel you get when you drive it is not going to appeal to ‘seat

of the pants’ drivers who want to feel part of the machine, part of the landscape.

The Wrangler Magneto 3.0 is perhaps a little sanitised for those who favour heroic moustaches and Stetsons, but nobody could argue with the levels of performance on tap. And it does seem to have been generally accepted, which perhaps was as much part of the concept programme as the actual performance figures. So what now? Will there be a Magneto 4.0 or will we see some sort of production version? Or as Jeep moves ever onwards towards an all-electric future, with the launch of the Avenger earlier this year, is this series of eye-opening Wranglers-with-batteries just doing a very good job of winning over doubters who struggle to believe that EVs can ever be cool.

Certainly, an inbred redneck would ICE the EV charging spots at his peril with this thing around, when its driver could simply park it on top of his silly little petrol-engined pick-up.

There’s a distinct possibility that the engineers in Jeep’s skunk works are having such a good time, they’ll simply want to showcase a new variant every year until the end of time. But for the rest of us, let’s hope the company actually makes this in the metal for us to buy and run. Now THAT would be a way to make electric vehicles sexy…

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There was a time when Paul Rose was a loyal Suzuki man. But his taste for winching developed into a job as a recovery marshal at Kirton – where his little SJ kept dragging itself forward rather than pulling the other guy out. It was about that time that a modified V8 90 came up for sale at the sort of price you can’t ignore…

Words: Kenny Tucker Pictures: Vic Peel

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id you hear about the guy who came back from holiday with a bug that almost killed him? You’re thinking of someone going to an exotic land and picking up a dose of some rare, powerful virus, aren’t you? Or one of those innocent bites from a tiny insect that ends up with millions of the things breeding in your squidgy bits.

Paul Rose caught his bug in Turkey. He was on his hols with the family, and the list of things to do included an off-road day. He came home with a new hobby – then, years later, suffered a massive roll in a Suzuki SJ without a cage.

It was definitely one of those moments where your life flashes before your eyes. But Paul lived to tell the tale (and to get on the phone to Richard Wattam and order up a roll cage in double quick time), and before long both he and the Suzuki were back in action. But still, there was a problem.

‘I’d been going to Kirton for a long time and got to know a lot of the guys there, and they asked if I’d like to start doing some marshalling.

But as much as I could get my Suzuki to people who were stuck, I was just pulling myself towards them, not pulling them out.’

This SJ was the third Suzuki he’d owned, and he reckons that but for their shortcomings as recovery trucks he’d never have strayed. ‘I moved over to the Land Rover for its weight. If I wasn’t marshalling, I think I’d probably still have a Suzuki. But then again, I do love this truck!’

This truck is a 90, which he bought some years ago from an altogether unlikely place.

London. Its previous owner had taken it on with the idea of travelling in it to off-road playday sites but, though there are enough of these

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SUSPENSION 1

1, 2] Since we first photographed Paul’s 90, he’s fitted a new suspension kit from Extreme 4x4. So we went back to photograph it again in all its tube-towered and dislocating glory

2

3, 4] Photographed before and after the new suspension went on, the front axle is an early 10-spline Discovery unit with Qt radius arms correcting its castor angle and the same company’s diff guard armouring it against rocks 5] At the back, Extreme 4x4’s cranked trailing arms add yet more articulation to a truck that already had lots 6] A 90 of this age wouldn’t normally be expected to have disc brakes on the back.

Though actually, given the popularity of slinging Discovery and Range Rover units underneath them, a pretty fair proportion probably do by now. Seeing them with Qt guards in place is hardly the rarest of experiences, either

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4

5

6

within striking distance of the capital, the cost of keeping a 3.5 V8 in petrol on the way there and back turned out to be a deal-breaker. Paul says he paid £4500 for the 90, compared to the £6000 it had cost the previous guy. We can guess who was happier with the deal…

Obviously, buying a truck that someone else has already modded is fraught with dangers. But Paul knew what he was looking at, having already built two SJs and a Vitara himself . ‘The base of the build was already there,’ he says. ‘And that’s why I bought the truck.’

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Riding on a +2” suspension kit with X-Springs at the back (Paul changed this for a dislocation set-up), the 90 had reasonably enough been advertised as a challenge truck. Paul wasn’t bothered about putting that to the test, but he did take it trialling with fellow KORC regulars Roger Neal and Johnny Jacques, just to see what that was all about. ‘It wasn’t really my cup of tea, as it turns out’ he admits. ‘I prefer the recovery side of it to using the trucks for what they were made for.’

You’d think challenges would be right up his street, in that case, but no – he’s talking about the

sort of recovery you get to do as a marshal. Not that his winches, a Red Winches Hornet up front and a twin-motor, wide-drum Gigglepin GP84 with +60 gearing at the back, would look out of place on any challenge truck.

Such things don’t come cheap. Paul admits that while he might have got the 90 for a bit of a song, the amount he’s spent on it since then is anything but little, however the stuff he’s bought has been chosen to keep it running right and working well rather than trying to turn it into anything it’s not.

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There’s a 300Tdi where the V8 once lived; look carefully and you might spot the twin-alternator set-up. Since it went in, hot running has become a thing of the past – which is why Paul hasn’t needed to fit a fan behind the rad. He won’t find himself short of space if he changes his mind

Left, above: A pair of steel boxes bolted into the rear tub carry everything from cable ties and ropes to an ARB compressor and two Optimas

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PROTECTION 1

2 1, 2] Paul does a lot of recovery as a marshal at Kirton, so reliability, speed and ease of use are all musts in his winch. His most recent acquisition, for a truck that gets a lot of them, is a Hornet from Red Winches

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4

3] It’s not as showy as some of the winch bumpers you’ll see on hardcore 90s, but you wouldn’t want to go drunk skateboarding anywhere near this thing. Seen with the Gigglepin GP84 the Hornet replaced, it mounts an extra-large winch without adding much to the truck’s approach angle 4] Seen here before the new suspension went on, the track rod was a Sumo Bar and the C-guard on the underside of the diff case wasn’t there any more

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6

5] Separate from the bumper, but flowing neatly down from it, is a steel steering guard which won’t bend for anything.

Combine this with another Sumo Bar just behind it, and you can safely say that this is a 90 whose front wheels will both be pointing the way ahead come what may 6] Replacement sills use a combo of box and tube to create the familiar shape of a tree and rock slider. Note the high-lift jacking points – these things are mounted to the chassis on proper outriggers and will take the weight of the whole vehicle if asked. More protection comes from the chequer plate guard folded beneath the fuel tank, and note the mole grips clinging on tenaciously where they’ve rusted themselves into an immobile state.

If anyone ever nicks this Landy, that’ll have them bang to rights…

7] You know those ugly graunching noises you hear on the way over crests sometimes? The ones you try to ignore because it’s just the gearbox crossmember doing its job? Well, turns out that’s exactly what it is…

7

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Above left: Paul started with a budget winch on the back, but then he added a Warn 8274. This is not that. Having splashed out on a Hornet for the front, what you’re looking at here is a Gigglepin GP84 with +60% gearing Above right: Another modded Defender, another Raptor dash. This one is loaded with auxiliary gauges, ARB controls and Carling Tech switchgear, though pride of place obviously goes to the funky new bucket seats Paul recently bolted in

Talking of the engine, this is no longer the V8 he first fired up when he took the truck home. No, it’s a 300Tdi – much more sensible all round, less likely to be nobbled by deep water and generally pretty dependable as far as it goes.

It also manages not to spend all its life trying to overheat, which is a nice change. In fact, Paul’s never even bothered fitting a fan to pull air through the radiator, simply because it doesn’t need one. He couldn’t get the old temperature gauge to marry up, but the Raptor Dash in his cabin provided the perfect opportunity to instal one tailored to the Tdi, and it provides constant

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reassurance that the rad’s doing its job. No small matter in a truck that sees most of its heaviest use at very low speeds.

For the future, as if to help the truck with that heavy use Paul says a set of heavy-duty Ashcroft halfshafts are ‘a must when I can afford it.’ Looks like he doesn’t plan to back off on that whole spending money thing he’s had going on since the Landy came into his life, then.

He does do all his own spannering, though, thus cutting out by far the most expensive part of any modding job, and that’s no small matter as he’s a butcher by trade, not a mechanic. ‘I do all

my own work – I just do it with a lot of advice! I’ve got to thank my mate Westy – whenever I’m in the workshop and I’ve got problems, he gets probably four or five calls a day, and he’s always willing to come over and help.’

Further thanks go to AP Spares in Scunthorpe, and to Paul’s wife – ‘she really does put up with a lot!’ But most of all, perhaps, he should thank the twist of fate that took them off-roading in Turkey that time. It might have led to him having a huge tumble in his SJ years later, but what don’t kill you makes you stronger. And there’s not a lot much stronger than this Land Rover.

4x4 09/05/2023 19:46

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On the right trak A 400,000-mile Daihatsu Fourtrak is not the most obvious choice of vehicle to go for when you’re getting into off-roading for the first time. Though when your previous ride was a boy-racer Corsa that’s already made three attempts to kill you, anything is bound to be a step up Words: Gary Noskill Pictures: Steve Taylor

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his is the story of a Daihatsu Fourtrak.

A particularly nice Daihatsu Fourtrak, too, one that’s been modified and upgraded and turned into a lot more than the sum of its parts – and a lot, lot more than the old farm hack it was once the typical Fourtrak’s lot in life to be.

Where shall we start? As you’d expect from a story about a Daihatsu Fourtrak, we’ll start with… a Vauxhall Corsa.

‘When I passed my driving test,’ says Rob Eden, the man behind the truck, ‘my first car was a Vauxhall Corsa Sport. I modified it extensively, with big wheels, a loud exhaust and lowering springs. You know, the usual things that boy racers do to their cars.’

But two years into hot hatch ownership, Rob felt unfulfilled. It can do that.

‘I’d carried out loads of modifications to the Corsa and it was great fun to drive, but it seemed no matter how fast I went, I just wasn’t getting the buzz I wanted.

‘I was turning into a bit of a hooligan, pushing the car to its limits… and on more than one occasion, past its limits. I had front ball joints break on me on three separate occasions, each time causing damage to the car and resulting in me nearly crashing. It was getting ridiculous, not to mention expensive.’

Rob took the Corsa to Vauxhall, who told him the recurring damage was due to the car being too low, which put increased stress on the suspension components. But after three trips to the garage – and three near-death experiences – Rob had had enough.

‘I’d spent around £6k on the Corsa and was really fed up with fixing it and spending money,’ he says. ‘I decided to get rid of it and get something else, before I ended up either broke or dead in a ditch somewhere.’

Growing up, Rob always had a spanner in his hand. His father, who worked at Iveco, had taught Rob well when it came to tinkering with engines, and basically anything else that featured a greasy metallic motor.

‘I’ve always been into the outdoors,’ he says.

‘I’ve got a couple of motocross bikes and two speedboats that I’m always mucking around with. I also love a spot of fishing and shooting.

So trading the Corsa for an off-roader seemed like the natural solution.’

With his mind made up, it was actually a Shogun-driving friend of Rob’s that spotted the car that was to become his newest project and plaything. ‘My mate saw a Daihatsu Fourtrak looking very sorry for itself on a local garage forecourt,’ he laughs. ‘He told me it was up for good money and that I should go and have a look at it.’

Without delay, Rob and his dad headed over to the garage to take the Fourtrak out on a test drive. ‘It was a 1991 2.8-litre EL turbo-diesel model with nine previous owners and just over 400,000 miles on the clock – and it still had the original engine!’ Rob exclaims. ‘I know, I couldn’t believe the mileage either, but it was all backed up with full service history, so I decided to take the plunge.’

After a successful test drive, where the first thing Rob and his dad did was test out the Daihatsu’s four-wheel drive system in a nearby farmer’s field, Rob did the deal. He traded in his ground-scraping Corsa plus an extra £900 for the high-rise lifestyle of the near half-million mile Fourtrak. And it’s been a decision from which he’s never looked back.

‘My mates thought I was mental, buying a car with so many miles on it,’ Rob laughs, lifting the Fourtrak’s bonnet to reveal an engine bay that looks more factory fresh than clappedout high-miler. ‘They were especially concerned, as it was to be my daily driver.

But it’s just been so reliable. It’s now done more than 450,000 miles and it’s still going strong.’

The Fourtrak’s uncanny reliability record could have something to do with Rob’s strict maintenance routine. Every month he treats Daihatsu’s legendary 2.8-litre four-pot to a complete oil and filter change, and it’s a practice he’s sticking with, even if the cost is somewhat excessive. ‘When your car has done enough miles to get to the moon and back, you’ve got to look after it,’ he says. ‘And anyway, I now love it too much to let it go bang.’

Now with a car that far better reflected his interests and outdoors lifestyle, Rob set about getting down and dirty with his first foray into the world of 4x4 driving. ‘I started off just doing a bit of green laning on the tracks in and around the Cheshire area,’ he says. ‘But as time went by, I began to get more and more adventurous with the terrain I was tackling.’

His first mod was a Superwinch X3 – though with a line pull of just 4000lb, it won’t surprise you greatly to learn that by no means was it the last. ‘The Superwinch was a bit weak really, but at the time it served its purpose – it was there just in case I got stuck, really,’ admits Rob. ‘It helped me pull my mates out of a few sticky situations too, so I guess it earned its keep.

‘I’ve since upgraded to a 12,000lb wireless item, which is invaluable. I even pulled a police car out of a ditch once. I reckon that must’ve earned me some Brownie points with the boys in blue!’ Or atr least redeemed him for those Corsadriving days…

Harking back to Max Power mode, indeed, Rob wanted to bling up his Fourtrak with a better

Does this look like an engine that’s been to the moon and most of the way back? Maybe, but only if it’s been tucked up in a crate, not chugging away beneath the bonnet of a 4x4 – let alone one that did 400,000 miles as a farm hack

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Above left: 12,000lb winch, complete with wireless control, is neatly mounted behind a proprietary bull bar. Rob’s first winch was a mere 4000lb unit – he’s learned fast Above right: Super-neat DIY pick-up conversion was templated then fabricated in sheet steel – a throwback to Rob’s days as a blingmerchant. Original rear door window is now in the back of the cab; rear door frame was cut down to create the tailgate set of wheels. So he bought himself a set of second-hand factory alloys to replace its ageing steel rims. ‘Although lighter, the alloys didn’t really aid the car’s off-road ability much,’ he reports. ‘They came with a set of General Grabber all-terrain tyres, but they were still too skinny to be of much use. They looked the part though, so I was happy!’

His next modification, however, had no links with the bass-bin brigade and was fitted purely to improve the Daihatsu’s off-road ability, rather than its on-road presence. ‘I fitted a three-inch shackle lift to improve the ground clearance and give the wheels more room in the arches when the axles’ articulation reached their limits,’ says Rob. ‘It was a really good modification, and allowed me to progress my driving to the next level.’

A roof-mounted light bar with four Ring spotlights was next up on Rob’s list, to improve vision and visibility when winching in poor lighting conditions. But it’s the unique pick-up conversion that really sets his Daihatsu apart from the crowd.

Back in the day, Daihatsu did offer the original leaf-sprung Fourtrak in truck form. But that’s not what you’re looking at here. ‘The Fourtrak originally came with seven seats: two in the front, three in the rear, with an additional two flip-out seats in the boot area,’ explains Rob. ‘But as it was generally just me in the car for the majority of the time, I really didn’t see the need to be able to seat an additional six people. So I decided to get rid of them.’

Having always liked the look of Nissan’s Navara Outlaw pick-up, but never having the money to be able to afford one, Rob decided he would make his own.

He began the conversion by simply unbolting the fibreglass rear roof hatch. ‘Removing the roof was probably the hardest part,’ he says. ‘Not because it was difficult to do, but because I had to lift it off on my own – and it’s bloody heavy, I can tell you!’

With the roof removed, the rear seats could also be taken out and consigned to the skip. This

left a roughly pick-up-shaped flat-bed, into which Rob then welded steel panels to construct the side walls and new rear bulkhead.

‘I started by making cardboard templates of all the panels to get a perfect fit, and then re-made them in sheet metal,’ he says. ‘I then removed the window from the rear door and cut the door frame down to make a pick-up tail door. The window was then relocated to rear bulkhead, which involved cutting the aperture in the steel panel and sealing it into place.’

With the panels all welded in and appropriately sealed to make the pick-up bed watertight, Rob gave it a lick of black non-slip paint and topped the edges with chequer plate to finish it off. ?

His Fourtrak now five seats lighter, Rob turned his attention to the suspension, adding a set of Ironman shocks from West Coast 4x4. ‘The shackle lift meant the suspension was topping out on some of the more extreme trails and I needed more travel,’ he explains. ‘The Ironman three-inch shocks, along with some heavy-duty

‘My mates thought I was mental, buying a daily driver with so many miles on it!’

Snorkel is a Mantec unit designed for a TD5 Land Rover but modified to suit the Daihatsu intake. Plumbing job is done to perfection – Rob’s past as the owner of a blinged Corsa has served him well

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Above: Springs provide an extra couple of inches of lift, and are paired up with Ironman plus-three shocks from the same company Right: Three-inch shackle lift was an early modification, adding valuable ground clearance and allowing more room for the tyres to move unfettered beneath their arches two-inch lift springs, gave me the height I needed.’

Having extra clearance also meant that Rob could splash out on some proper rolling stock, so he invested in a set of 15x12” Silverline rims with 33x12.50R15 Mastercraft Courser MT tyres. ‘The tyres needed 35mm spacers to allow them to fit without fouling the arches,’ he says. ‘However, even with the spacers, I still had to remove all the inner arches and some of the outer arch lip to make them fit.’

With much bigger tyres, Rob’s ability to drive over the terrain was improved dramatically.

So, unfortunately, was his ability to attract the attention of those nice gentlemen of the law.

‘The tyres sat around four inches out from the

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bodywork on each side,’ he recalls. ‘One day, when I was driving home from work, the Police stopped me and gave me a “conditions of use” producer. It’s illegal to have your tyres protrude from under the bodywork, so I had to get it sorted or I’d be fined.’

The solution to Rob’s dilemma was to fit some arches from a Land Rover 90, which he sourced through the Internet. These do the job perfectly, and look factory-fitted. Other neat fixes he’s conjured up include the snorkel, which was originally destined for a Land Rover TD5, but which he modified to fit the Daihatsu.

‘I also made my own axle breathers, which join with a T-piece under the chassis and run up

to the top of the snorkel,’ says Rob. ‘The Fourtrak has a very limited supply of parts for modifying, and they are a bit of a nightmare to get spares for. That’s why many owners have to make up the parts themselves.’

Does that sound to you more like a nightmare or a dream? Building this Fourtrak may have been a lot harder than the Corsa that came before it, but that’s what you’ve got to do if you want a vehicle you’ll truly bond with. It’s a modded motor for grown-ups, and one that was born to run and run: 450,000 miles and counting.

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t s e b e h t f o 4 x 4 el from the 4x4 world. representing a particular make and mod A quartet of great modified off-roaders of the much-love Jeep Cherokee This month: Harking back to the heyday

every box ticked

T

he sad fate of so many XJ Jeep Cherokees was to be turned into, to use the popular and very descriptive (if rather uncharitable) term, shitboxes. Especially in America, where they used to be a dime a ton, the combination of robustness, simplicity, cheapness and real off-road ability meant that for many a good ol’ boy they were the truck to trash.

But it was still possible to make the most of that off-road ability without allowing your Jeep to descend into being a self-propelled ball of scrap. Tony Willetts’ Cherokee is proof of that – a veteran of many, many winch challenges, and bearing the scars to prove it – but still as good a daily driver as ever.

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Words: Gary Noskill Pics: Steve Taylor

Tony bought the Jeep because he needed a vehicle for work and, in his words, it was ‘dirt cheap.’ All good, but a friend with a Discovery was going off-roading one day, he decided to tag along and he found to his surprise that his Jeep was able to do most of the same stuff.

That’s all it took for the bug to bite. ‘I’ve been building it ever since,’ he says, ‘and there’s plenty to do yet!’

Building a Cherokee tends to start with a suspension lift. They’re among the most agile 4x4s ever, but ground clearance is their achilles heel and their standard tyres looked like they belonged on a go-kart.

Not counting the extra diameter of its 34x11.50R15 Simexes, Tony’s Jeep is 5” higher than standard. Up front, a pair of +3” coils is

augmented by +2” spring spacers, while the Mansfield +3” leaf packs at the back are fitted using +2” shackles. Being leaf-sprung, the back axle locates itself, but keeping the front in order are heavy-duty upper and lower control arms of the correct length for the height of the lift.

That indicates a level of subtlety that’s all too often missing on down-home vehicle builds, and one which the Cherokee’s somewhat rough and ready appearance might not lead you to assume you’ll find here. But Tony is willing to go a long way to achieve small advantages over the vehicle’s standard spec.

He’s swapped out the back axle, for example.

Not for the far stronger Dana 44, which is a rarity in the UK and priced accordingly, but for a Chrysler 8.25. ‘It’s slightly stronger than the

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t Above left: A 5” overall lift is achieved at the front through +3” coils and the +2” spacers you see at their top mountings Above centre: Ask any Jeep builder what the Cherokee’s biggest failing is and they’ll point to the Dana 35c back axle. If they try that on this one, however, they’ll find themselves pointing instead at a Chrysler 8.25 unit; like its counterpart up front, this has 1:4.1 gearing and has thus far lived with the treatment it gets, though a limited-slip diff means it leads a less brutal life than a full locker would. A Ruff Stuff diff cover helps protect the diff against rocks, while a St George’s flag helps protect it against dragons Above right: A Rockcrusher diff pan cover is the external clue to the fact that this isn’t your average Dana 30 front axle. A high-pinion unit with 1:4.1 gearing, it’s fitted with an Aussie Locker – and despite not being famed for its strength, it hasn’t yet been provoked into failure by the big, aggressive tyres it wears Below: Even with a 5” lift, the Cherokee won’t accommodate 34” tyres unless you cut a load of bodywork out from its wheelarches. So Tony did exactly that. The bolt-on flares that tidy it up and keep it legal were chosen because they’re as cheap as chips and can therefore be treated as disposable: when you’re caning them into trees on challenge events, short of building whole new arches out of steel tube it makes no sense to do anything else Right: You could get snorkels for petrol engined Cherokees, but they still weren’t big fans of water. Being a diesel, and used in winch challenge events, this one is a natural for one. The air it breathes in goes to the engine via a Green cotton filter, but aside from that and an extra fan on the radiator the engine is totally standard

Dana 35c,’ he says, which might sound a bit underwhelming but when you’re dealing with an axle which is most famous for being so easy to break (and awkward to fix), that’s a little that can go a long way.

Besides, the mods he’s made elsewhere in the drivetrain are pure commonsense. There’s an Aussie locker in the front, but only a limitedslip diff in the back – keeping the pressure off those halfshafts.

‘It’s not so bad if you break a front one,’ he says. ‘You can pull the hub off, have the UJ out and still drive it home. But if you break a back one, it’s held on with a C-clip, so it’s not a five minute job. That’s one of the reasons why I’ve not put a locker in the back yet, because it’s still on standard halfshafts.’

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Above left: The steel winch bumper might not be the last word in prettiness, but it’s plenty strong and has absolutely no unnecessary metal to it, which is about as good a definition of efficiency as you’re going to get. Some winch mounts are described as ‘discreet,’ but the ComeUp ds9.5i plonked on top of the bumper is very much the other thing Above centre: The Cherokee’s standard rear bumper is stronger than it looks, but that doesn’t make it man enough to cope with the rough and tumble of winch challenges. This heavy-duty steel affair, on the other hand, could hold up the vehicle on a pointed rock (and probably has), and provides somewhere dependable to hook a tow rope The Cherokee’s sills are quite nicely tucked away out of trouble, but you won’t half regret it if you do sit it on one. Hence these box-section rock sliders, which Tony fabricated himself Even as we spoke to him, a set of heavy-duty halfshafts was on its way from the States. But right there you have a perfect example of how, if you have to take it in stages, you need to take it in intelligent stages. How many people have thrown in an ARB, kept the halfshafts standard and ended up wishing they’d waited and done it all at once?

With so much still standard on the vehicle, you wonder what Tony might do if he was starting again from scratch – or, to put it another way, what’s still on his wish list for the future. More power from the engine, perhaps, or funkier suspension to go with the rear locker when it comes?

Not a bit of it. ‘We’ve just bought a tube bender, basically just to protect the sides a bit more. And I’ve still got to fit the slip-yoke kit on the back.’ Get the impression that he’s a man who’s happy with his car?

Let’s try it another way. If money were no object, what would he build? After all, every time he goes punch-hunting he’s surrounded by people who’ve made more conventional choices in the 4x4 they drive.

‘I’ve had Defenders and Discoverys, but this was my first Jeep and I prefer it. You can build a Discovery as big as you want for next to no money, because there’s a load of second hand parts out there for them. But doing a Jeep is a bit different.

‘You could get a Grand Cherokee to do the same as mine, for the same purpose. But only if you don’t mind wrecking it a bit. I don’t think I’d go for a Wrangler – I’ve had a go in a JK, and I’m not that keen on them.

‘So I think I’d stay with something like my Cherokee. I like the room you’ve got in it. I like the slightly longer wheelbase. Sometimes it is

a bit hard when you’re on a tight switchback or something like that, but at other times, on long climbs, it does better than a short-wheelbase.

So if anything I’d throw a load of money at something like mine, but I’d get a newer one, and I’d probably go for the petrol. But having said that, the engine braking on mine is superb – I get queues forming behind me!’

It says a great deal when you ask someone what he’d have insteºad and while he’s trying to answer, he comes back to raving about what he’s already got. Quite simply, this Cherokee ticks all the boxes. Apart from the kind we mentioned in the opening sentence…

We know from bitter experience just how vulnerable the Cherokee’s gearbox crossmember can be. This one, on the other hand, is reinforced, so instead it’s the ground below it that’s vulnerable. Behind it is a Warn transfer case guard, while also just visible in this picture are heavy-duty control arms whose length corresponds to the height of the suspension lift to correct the front axle’s castor angle

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| 53 JUNE 2023 11/01/2023 11:04 09/05/2023 12:44

4x4 of the best

GO WEST

W

Words and Pics: Dan Fenn

hen Richard Morsley was looking for a new vehicle, he was drawn towards the Jeep Cherokee. He liked the fact that it has two live axles and a proper transfer case. He liked the fact that few 4x4s of any kind can beat it for manoeuvrability over rough ground. And

in particular, he liked the fact that (controversy alert) it wasn’t a Land Rover.

‘I went with the Jeep mainly to be different,’ he admits. ‘But also for its reliability.’

And for something else, too, as it turns out: ‘I’ve had a Defender 90 200Tdi, a Range Rover 3.9Efi soft-dash and a Disco 200Tdi, all modded up for off-roading. And to be honest, I’ve found

its off-road capabilities to be the best out of all of them.’

When you hear people say that kind of thing, nine times out of ten they’re talking about how they chose something Japanese. But despite being cheap to buy when it was new, and having a typically American approach to interior quality (that is to say, putting it at the bottom of the list),

Above left: Despite riding 3” higher on its suspension, the Cherokee retains its original propshafts. There’s enough capacity in them to handle a lift of this size, but you can see that the slip yoke at the transfer case end is partially extended with the springs at rest Above centre: Up front, the 3” lift comes from longer coil springs. Axle location remains standard, as does steering Above right: The rear springs are original, but the suspension is still lifted thanks to a pair of 3” extended shackles

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Above left: There are some very complex and flashy bumpers available for the Cherokee, which make the most of its monocoque body to convince you that you need to spend a small fortune on somewhere to put your winch. Then there are ones like Richard’s, which simply replace the original unit with an unpretentious piece of metalwork that won’t come off however much stress it gets from the 12,000lb winch bolted to it Above right: Rock and tree sliders are made from the familiar combo of tubular extensions on a length of steel box. They run to the main frame rails via simple mounting arms rather than full outriggers, but there’s still loads of strength in them the Cherokee is actually a pretty dependable truck. The 4.0 straight-six petrol engine is bomb-proof, its transmission only tends to suffer problems if it’s never put into four-wheel drive for years on end and though the Dana 30 front and 35c rear axles aren’t famed for their strength when you take them crawling on supergrippy slickrock, you’d have to hit them with a combination of absurdly big tyres, a crass right foot and some properly haggard terrain to find them out in typical British conditions.

Being American, of course, the Cherokee benefits from there being loads and loads of kit available for modding it. And Richard’s has… actually, not all that much. It looks pretty hefty, with a set of 33x12.50R15 Hankooks looking nice and menacing beneath their extended arches, but this is actually a good example of a truck that’s had a sensible minimum done to get the best from it without going mad.

You can get some pretty barmy lifts for the Cherokee, for example (see elsewhere in these pages), but Richard has contented himself with just 3”. This is achieved using longer coil springs up front – but at the back, where Cherokees of this era ran on leaves, the standard springs simply mount on dropped blocks to gain the extra height.

You wouldn’t call this a shoestring build by any means, but Richard certainly doesn’t believe in spending lots of money when spending less money is an option. The 4.0 engine’s crippling thirst is offset by an LPG conversion, for example, and the back axle runs a Spartan Locker – an auto unit closest in character to something like a Detroit or Lock-right, whose primary reputation back home in America is for dishing up a great performance at a supremely good price.

The front bumper, too, is simply a proprietary unit carrying a 12,000lb winch, all basic design and heavy-duty manufacture. There’s no frills to it, but it does the job. At the back, meanwhile, you’ll find the standard factory bumper – strong enough to take a knock, but if the truck gets beached in ruts it wouldn’t be up to a lift-and-slew high-lift

recovery. As we discovered one time when we tried it on one of our own…

One of the main advantages of a hardcore back bumper is that you can put a swing-away spare wheel carrier on it. The Cherokee left the factory with its spare mounted upright on one side of its boot, which did nothing for cargo space and makes life very uncomfortable if you’re running a bigger size. Richard’s solution is to carry it on a roof rack, which isn’t ideal in terms of access or weight distribution but does the job perfectly well considering what the next cheapest alternative would be.

Beyond this, the list of what’s original goes on and on. Chassis, engine, gearbox, transfer case, props, brakes, steering – all are untouched. In the latter case, a steering guard aims to keep that as it is, and there’s a pair of rock and tree sliders to keep the sills honest. Protection is a big deal for Richard, and he carries a range of tools for when he’s off-roading and things go wrong.

There’s a snorkel on the list to provide yet more peace of mind, and beneath those lavish extensions the original wheelarches have been trimmed back to make way for the big tyres. The Cherokee’s monocoque construction means a body lift isn’t possible, of course, which leaves just this and the taller suspension to create whatever extra room is called for.

It’s not the sort of never-ending spec list you sometimes see in articles like this, but what Richard has done to the Cherokee is enough to enhance an honest off-road machine almost beyond recognition. And as we’ve already established, he’s very happy with the results. ‘The only downside is the cost and availability of parts.

With Land Rover, you can get anything secondhand or cheap, but with Jeep it’s difficult to find.’

There it is, Land Rover again. Albeit this time a point against Jeep rather than for it. Enough to turn a man back to the down-home delights of Solihull? Don’t hold your breath…

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4x4 of the best

a taste of freedom

E

veryone has their own set of rules for when you’re buying a car. Never view one at night, never in the rain, avoid anything with its number plates blanked out in the pictures, steer clear of THAT town up north (you know the one, right?), oh and that one down south (ditto), and the one in the middle too (etc). It varies. But most of us would agree that you should always go into it with your eyes open.

Bart Middleton didn’t. His eyes were very much shut when he bought his Cherokee. Because he was asleep.

It went like this. Having had a few to drink, Bart spotted a 1998 4.0-litre XJ Cherokee Limited one night on eBay. It was being sold by a trader and the auction ran out during the small hours. Bart was smart enough to realise he’d be in no fit state at that point, so he threw in a bid of £300 as it was sitting at £260 at the time.

Words: Gary Noskill Pics: Steve Taylor

Why was it so cheap? You’ll see in a minute.

The bidding duly expired while Bart was in the land of nod. The following morning, perhaps feeling a little groggy, he surfaced to the news that, at £280, he was now the owner of the Jeep. All he had to do was go and get it.

This, it won’t shock you even slightly to learn, is where we tell you the reason it was so cheap.

The Cherokee had no tax or MOT. Nor a battery.

And it had been parked up for two years under a tree. Not only that, but the catalytic converter had been stolen. The dealer had replaced the ECU and CPS and serviced it ready for its MOT two years previously, but then the cat had been nicked and he’d lost heart.

Bart towed it home, wondering if his eyes had been closed in more ways than one.

The plan was to turn the Cherokee into a decent off-roader as cheaply as possible. This plan looked a bit shot when he then picked up a scrap

31-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains on 15-inch Scorpion alloys sit beneath flared arches from the donor 2.5-litre Cherokee. And between them all, they cost Bart precisely nothing

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Above: The 4.0-litre straight six petrol engine is a famously reliable old thing, and with just a K&N filter by way of mods it’s as unstressed as ever. Even though the vehicle only cost £280 and had been sat under a tree for two years, it fired up first time and has been as good as gold ever since Right: Gas indeed, but not as our American cousins quite meant. Behind the original fuel flap, a boot-mounted 90-litre LPG tank is accessed by that black filler cap. The stencils are what Bart calls ‘generic US military graphics’ Rear bumper is a custom-made recovery job, fabricated by one of the members of the RockzN’Rutz community – and what a community it turned out to be old 2.5-litre petrol Cherokee for £250. On the other hand, he had thought ahead enough to get the scrapper because he wanted its 4.1:1 axles, which would be perfect for the 31-inch tyres he planned on running.

Taking these off, he then stripped down the donor vehicle and sold many of the parts. By the time he’d done that, he realised that not only had he recouped his £250 and therefore got the axles for nothing, he had gone one further and actually make a profit.

You can see the light bulb glowing dimly. Bart had a cunning plan. In fact, it worked like a charm, and he’s flogged off enough spare kit from both vehicles to mean that his newly rebuilt and reinvigorated Cherokee has come to him absolutely free. That assumes he doesn’t put a price on his own labour, of course, or indeed that of his off-roading mates who pitched in to help, but if you love spannering as much as you love driving

you’ll understand why they were happy to do it for the fun.

And fun it no doubt was, because it all happened on one big Build Day when they all turned up en masse to Bart’s house and descended on the Cherokee like a swarm of benevolent worker ants.

As well as the scrappy 2.5-litre Cherokee, Bart also had a previous 2.5 TD which had been heavily modded, and some of that was also cannibalised to go on the new vehicle.

The first things to go on though were a suspension lift and the new axles. At the rear,

on went plus-three leaves from Mansfield 4x4, and up the other end went a pair of Pro-Comp coils, also adding three inches. These were boosted by an extra 1.75-inch Fusion coil spacer set taken from his old vehicle, and the whole lot went

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Left: Uprated and polybushed Skyjacker lower control arms are, it sez ‘ere, the ‘bear of suspensions.’ Don’t leave food out at night near this vehicle. Rough Country shocks work with spaced-up Pro-Comp springs up front Right: Extended Rough Country shocks and taller Mansfield 4x4 leaves give between four and five inches of lift

on alongside extended Rough Country shocks front and rear.

The front also got a pair of Skyjacker lower control arms, four of which Bart sourced from an online forum. Since he only needed two, the other pair went on Ebay and recouped the cost of all four. He’s good at this.

The rear axle was a Chrysler 8.25, re-geared to 4.1:1, which is stronger than the original Dana 35c. Up front, meanwhile, was the familiar Dana 30. While the axles were being changed, Llama 4x4 extended braided brake lines were fitted.

Also from his last vehicle came the Old Man Emu steering damper and front diff guard.

Next came a set of wheels, 15-inch Scorpion Racing alloys with a slight offset. On to these went 31x10.50R15 BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains and, since he wisely believes that if you go high you should go wide, some 0.75-inch wheel spacers.

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That all sounds sensible, but it becomes more so when you see that the alloys were bought with tyres on. Bart paid £80 for the wheels and tyres, sold the tyres for £120 then bought cheap BFGs through the RockzN’Rutz forum. Which is also where his friends came from who turned up for Build Day. Did we mention that he’s good at this?

Underneath the vehicle went some more protection, all lifted from the 2.5-litre scrapper.

Genuine Mopar guards for the steering, transfer case and fuel tank went on quickly, although the tank guard needed slight modifying to fit.

Above all that, the bodywork got a small amount of attention. At the back, his old vehicle also donated its recovery bumper; good, but it left a rather weird gap at the rear, so the flared arches from the 2.5-litre scrapper went on to smooth it all over. And then there’s the paintjob. Bart has holidayed in the USA quite a lot and seen this military look over there, so he decided to bring it over here.

On top of the olive drab finish went decals that were specially cut for him. Of course, brush painting is not to everyone’s taste, but it does mean it has that rugged look and of course any over-enthusiasm off-road can be quickly painted over and hidden. And, of course, it’s a cheap way of covering metal.

On the economy front, as if Bart hadn’t done enough by now, we have one more bit of fiscal

belt tightening to tell you about. This was an LPG conversion, his thinking being that the 4.0-litre engine is the only one to have for power and torque.

It’s also just about the most reliable thing in the world, but it takes a drink – so fixing it to drink own-brand lager rather than craft ale is a good way of, in effect, more or less doubling its mpg.

So where did that system come from? Bart is disarmingly honest. ‘I received a nearly new LPG system, complete with a 90-litre boot mounted tank, from a friend.’ Note the word ‘received’. That was nice of his friend, why did he do that? ‘In lieu of a small debt.’ Okay, we’ll ask no more.

So, one way or another, Bart has built something he really likes taking off-road with his mates and which performs faultlessly without any vibrations or noises. What does he like about it most?

‘The fact that I’m driving a completely free off-roader! I still can’t quite believe it can be done!’

JUNE 2023 | 59

09/05/2023 17:52

4x4 of the best

high and mighty

O

ne of the things about off-roading in Britain is that unless you make a real balls-up of proceedings, you can be reasonably sure that you’ll be able to cope with most of the terrain Mother Nature throws your way. And even if you can’t, you’ll be able to walk out without starving, freezing or getting eaten.

This is a good thing, unless you’re an adventure seeker. And you bought that 4x4 because you’re an adventure seeker, right?

And that’s one of the rules: everything is better everywhere else.

Head for the wilderness in parts of the USA, for example, and unless your truck is built right you might never see your front door again.

All of which explains why British off-roaders with a taste for extreme modifications often go shopping on the far side of the Atlantic.

Especially if their vehicles are Jeeps – for which the aftermarket over there makes ours look like it doesn’t exist.

60 | JUNE 2023

10pp 4x4 of the Best June 23.indd 60

Words: Gary Noskill Pics: Steve Taylor

There are Jeep specialists here, of course, some of them very capable indeed. And some even make their own parts and accessories.

Mainly, however, the Jeep business here is about importing stuff and bolting it to your customers’ vehicles.

That’s not a problem on the face of it, because it means the kit you’re getting has a formidable depth of pedigree. If you want an extreme build, you can literally end up with a like-for-like copy of the Jeeps used by hardcore rock-crawlers on the toughest trails in Moab and beyond.

So you just buy the kit, bolt it on and drive happy, right? Well yes, sometimes you do – but it’s not always as easy as that.

That’s what Ged Wade found out when he set out on a mission to transform the suspension on his Cherokee. ‘I wanted to fit an eight-inch Skyjacker lift,’ he says. ‘But the kit is only made for vehicles with left-hand drive. That made the upgrade a pretty demanding task.’

The XJ-era Cherokee was leaf-sprung at the back, which is nice and simple, but up front it ran a coiled set-up with radius arms and a panhard rod. And this was the first issue – the one that came with the Skyjacker kit was no good, because coming from the wrong side it wouldn’t clear the front diff on Ged’s Jeep.

A key component was effectively useless, therefore – and the only way to replace it was through a process of trial and error.

It was a similar story with the steering linkages, which took three workshop a full days to perfect. ‘The mechanics would modify the angles and then take the car for a spin to see how they worked,’ explains Ged. ‘It was certainly a test of their patience, but they got there eventually!’

In the end, the solution they hit on was to create a hybrid set-up blending the Cherokee’s existing components with some of the replacement parts provided by Skyjacker. This saw them cutting and shutting the factory-fitted

4x4 09/05/2023 17:52

Skyjacker’s 8” Rock-Ready kit used extremely long coils up front, with a dedicated subframe mounted on top of the axle. Steering is a major issue with such a big lift; you’d expect most builds using the kit to go the whole hog and use hydro to bridge the gap, but with this being a daily driver that was never an option. To make things even more challenging, the kit was designed only for left-hand drive, meaning some components such as the panhard rod were unusable on Ged’s Cherokee. The message is clear – the more you modify, the more you’ve got to modify to live with it. The results can be fantastuc, but you’ll really have to work at it to get there steering arms along with parts of those in the Skyjacker kit – sounds fearsome, and definitely not a job for the faint of heart, but they got there in the end. Don’t try this at home.

The pitman arm on the Cherokee’s PAS box was changed, too, as was its steering damper.

Look at the pictures and you’ll see that the entire structure of the front axle has been revised to accommodate the lift – the Skyjacker kit includes an entire subframe that bolts to the top of it, but beyond that you’ll also see the results of many long hours in the workshop when you get undeneath Jed’s truck.

This might all sound like a great deal of hassle for one vehicle – especially when you consider that Ged had a perfectly effective twoinch kit in place before and that he originally wanted to limit himself to six inches this time so that his young children might still be able to get in and out without a ladder.

But you know how it goes. The opportunity was there and it seemed too good to miss.

‘By putting in the extra effort,’ comments Ged, ‘I’ve got a vehicle that is pretty much unique in this country.’

It’s also incredibly capable off-road, as you’d want it to be after putting this much time and money into a project. The Skyjacker Rock Ready kit was made for serious action on the sort of terrain you see in America and dream of in Britain, so there’s not a lot over here that’ll trouble it.

Nonetheless, the Chezza was also built to be Ged’s daily. The access issue that comes from the extra eight inches of ride height (more like eleven if you include the extra sidewall beneath the arches) is addressed by means of secondhand rock sliders that were previously fitted to a Wrangler – and it really is an issue, because without actually standing next to it it’s hard

to comprehed just how far up in the clouds it actually is. ‘I borrowed a friend’s Mazda MX5 the other week,’ Ged laughs, ‘and its roofline didn’t even reach my Jeep’s windows!’

Despite a centre of gravity that would make a design engineer cringe, Ged reckons the Cherokee handles like it’s on rails. That’s partly to do with the rigidity that comes from a leaf-sprung rear axle, but also the effect of the anti-roll bars included in the suspension kit. Additionally, Ged adopted what he calls a ‘pyramid principle’ to the build, fitting 30mm wheel spacers and offset alloy rims to give it a footprint to match its height. The tyres he went for are 33x12.50R15 Kumho muds, and he was very happy with them – saying they have excellent traction on tarmac and give a genuine

sense of control, even under hard acceleration.

And he loves a bit of hard acceleration.

A stage II JetChip and K&N induction kit help here, getting some more out of the Cherokee’s legendary 4.0-litre straight six. When we spoke to Ged, he was about to swap the axles for a lower-geared set from a 2.5-litre Cherokee in a bid to boost acceleration still further while also easing the load on the automatic gearbox that came as standard with the bigger lump.

If any other vehicle moved as quickly as Ged likes his Cherokee to, there’s a risk it would blur into the background. But with the Jeep’s adornment of PIAA lights, Daystar front and rear bumpers and sponsors’ decals – not to mention its epic height, of course, there’s little chance of that happening.

4x4 10pp 4x4 of the Best June 23.indd 61

09/05/2023 17:52

ROADBOOK

NORTH WALES

A beast of a route in the mountains of Wrexham and northern Powys USING OUR ROADBOOKS Our roadbooks guide you through the countryside on a mixture of surfaced and unsurfaced roads.

The tracks we use are public rights of way, either Byways Open to All Traffic or Unclassified County Roads, all commonly referred to as green lanes.

NAVIGATION

We’ve deliberately made it as easy as possible to follow the route, using a mixture of instructions, tulip diagrams and grid references. We normally only include junctions at which you have to make a turning or don’t have right of way, so stay on the main road or continue straight ahead unless we tell you otherwise.

You’ll find a guide to using grid references on the legend of any OS map. Our aim is for you to be able to do the route without maps, whether paper or online, but you should certainly take a set with you.

SAFETY

The notes on thee pages advise you of how suitable the route is for your vehicle. These are just guidelines, however. We’ll warn you of any hazards or difficult sections, but the nature of any green lane can change quickly. Wet weather can make a huge difference to the conditions underfoot, and what’s wide open in winter can be tightly enclosed and scratchy in summer.

The responsibility is yours!

Our roadbooks are designed to be safe to drive in a solo vehicle. We do recommend travelling in tandem wherever possible, however. The risk of getting stuck can be greater than it appears – and even the most capable of vehicles can break down miles from anywhere.

RESPONSIBILITY

Irresponsible driving is a big issue on green lanes. In particular, you must always stay on the right of way. Never drive off it to ‘play’ on the verges or surrounding land, even if you can see that someone else has; doing so is illegal and can be tremendously damaging.

This kind of illegal off-roading is a key reason why green lanes get closed. If you see others doing this, they are NOT your friends. They’re criminals, and you are their victim.

If it’s safe to do so, film them in the act and pass it to the police.

Elsewhere, let common sense and courtesy prevail. Keep your speed down, be ready to pull over for others and show the world that we are decent people just like them.

ANTIS

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

These organisations are beyond being reasoned with, but it’s rare to encounter real hostility even from their rank-and-file members. If you’re friendly towards the people with whom you share the countryside, the vast majority will respond in kind. There are always bad apples, but no more so than anywhere else.

Likewise, most local residents will accept your presence if you’re driving sensibly. What suspicion you do encounter is likely to be from farmers worried that you’re there to steal from them, so be ready to offer a word of reassurance. Once satisfied that you’re not after their quad bikes, their mood will lighten.

DO…

• Keep your speed right down • Pull over to let walkers, bikers and horse riders pass

• Leave gates as you found them • Scrupulously obey all closure and voluntary restraint notices

• Ensure you have a right to be

there. We research the routes on our roadbooks very carefully, but the status of any route can change without notice Be prepared to turn back if the route is blocked, even illegally If you find an illegal obstruction, notify the local authority Stick absolutely scrupulously to the right of way Always remember that you are an ambassador for all 4x4 drivers

• • • •

DON’T…

• Go in large convoys: instead, split into smaller groups

• Drop litter. Why not carry a bin bag pick up other people’s instead?

• Go back to drive the fun bits, such as mud or fords, again

• Cause a noise nuisance, particularly after dark

• Get riled up if someone challenges you. Be firm but polite, stay calm and don’t let them turn it into a fight

Insurance for your 4X4

68 | NOVEMBER 2020

Call 0800 085 5000 or visit adrianflux.co.uk 13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 62

4x4 Authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

09/05/2023 17:54

ROADBOOK The North Welsh hills and mountains have some of Britain’s very best rights of way. Wild and scenic, remote and at times tricky to drive, they’re typically firm but rough, making for slow and often splashy going. The trails are often long, too, so you can settle in and enjoy the terrain and the landscape alike. This roadbook is adapted from one we ran in late 2020, just as the second lockdown arrived; you might recognise the pictures, but the route itself is very different, with several extra lanes to enjoy on a long day amid a glorious landscape

Pictured is our Isuzu D-Max GO2. The vehicle is insured by Adrian Flux Insurance Services, which specialises in cover for modified 4x4s.

Many of our project trucks have been given their five-star service over the years as they are one of very few insurance companies that can cover our 4x4s when we’re off-roading and green laning – and at an affordable price too.

Get a quote by calling them on 0800 085 5000.

4x4 13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 63

JUNE 2023 | 63

09/05/2023 17:54

ROUTE GUIDE

is it suitable?

START FINISH HOW LONG? TERRAIN HAZARDS

TYRES

OS MAPS

Llangadfan (SJ 012 107) Glyn Ceiriog (SJ 201 377) 53.75 miles / 7-8 hours Hilly farmland and forestry Steep hills and drop-offs; occasional ruts; surface water; some isolated areas Landranger 125 (Bala & Lake Vyrnwy) Landranger 126 (Shrewsbury & Oswestry)

Step

1

0.0 Step

2

0.05 64 | JUNE 2023

13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 64

SJ 012 107

Start at the Cann Office Hotel on the A458 in Llangadfan, which is the perfect place to stay the night.

Zero your trip as you turn left out of the car park, then immediately left again on the A458 heading west.

If you’ve not been a resident, just zero your trip as you pass, and don’t use it as a meeting point – it’s not a public car park There’s a village shop on the right shortly before the junction, which is hard to spot as you approach – it’s immediately before the Wesleyan chapel on the right

WEATHER LOW BOX SOFT-ROADERS SCRATCHING DRIVING DAMAGE

Step

3

At least an all-terrain preferable.

Not suitable for low-profile sizes Avoid when icy, foggy or very wet Essential Unsuitable One or two very scratchy sections Some technical parts. Discipline and concentration essential Could happen if you’re careless

Don’t turn left into Blowty farm – the junction you’re looking for is further ahead

0.4 Step

4

This is a particulary narrow road, and its surface is such that it barely deserves to be called a road at all

0.9 4x4 09/05/2023 17:54

Step

Step

1.4

3.85

13

5

Step

6

SJ 023 129

The track starts easily enough but does get rutted further along

7

The ruts get deeper as you drop down towards the bottom of the field, then there’s likely to be a flood as you roll up to a gate. Fortunately it’s a pusher, so you can drive right up to it

2.6 Step

8

Step

14 4.05

2.0 Step

Step

15 4.2

SJ 032 136

Step

16

2.8

4.4

Step

Step

3.05

5.0

9

Step

10

17 Fork left between the old wooden gate posts

Step

Step

3.7

6.25

Step

Step

3.75

7.35

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SJ 056 150

18 6.05

12

Llanwddyn 5

Step

3.45

11

This is a big, wide ford and the river is fast-moving. It’s not normally deep (the flow is controlled by a dam upstream), but if the water level is up you shouldn’t attempt it. There’s a tight left-hander as you climb out at the far side, and a steep step up – use whatever lockers you have so as to minimise wheelspin

19 20 Village Centre

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09/05/2023 17:54

Step 29: The track drops off the side of the valley more or less straight after leaving the road. Get into low box early…

Step 34 (right): The junction isn’t signed, but it’s pretty big by the standards of the road you’re on so you shouldn’t miss it Step

21

In the village, stay to the right of the war memorial then through the gate with a sign on it reading Penisarllan

22

Turn left just ahead of a gate that looks like it might be protecting a secret nuclear installation or something like that

8.55 Step

23 8.95

70 | NOVEMBER 2020

13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 66

24

You might find a pile of branches and so on dumped on the track as you approach this junction

9.05

7.95 Step

Step

Step

25

ZERO TRIP

9.15 The surface gets a bit cut up at the bottom of the hill, and it’s not very effectively drained so you’re likely to be splashing through standing water

Step

26 0.2

4x4 09/05/2023 17:54

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04/05/2023 10:44

4x4 Magazine_2023_Feb_Graham Sykes Insurance_HP.indd 1

11/01/2023 11:02

4x4

4x4 Magazine_2023_June_Composite Page_FP.indd 67

JUNE 2023 | 67

09/05/2023 12:45

PUBLISHED 18 Nov 2022

Whatever your taste in Land Rovers, there’s one annual publication you can’t afford to miss. The Land Rover Yearbook is an eclectic blend of classics, modified motors, new Landies, product reviews, travelogues and more.

This year’s Yearbook includes a range of 90s and 110s that have been brought back to life with a twist. And a 107” Station Wagon, too, restored and modified into a Series I like no other. If you prefer your classics to be more, well, classic, you’ll find an 88” Series IIA rebuilt with a devotion to originality that borders on the fanatical. And how about one of the very earliest Freelanders? Not everyone’s idea of a classic, but everything about Land Rover’s history since then says it’s one of the most significant vehicles the company has ever made.

The Discovery, for example, was a truck in the pre-Freelander era. Now it’s a premium SUV. We’ve tested the current model in entry-level D250 form in a bid to find out whether you really need to stretch all the way to a top-spec engine.

And we’ve driven the basic Defender 90, too – steel wheels and all. Not just on any test drive, either, but a mighty green lane trip on some of the best trails in the country.

That’s one kind of travel story.

Getting up close to Africa’s wildlife is definitely another, and so too is the Dakar Classic. Loads of historhistor ic Range Rovers and Series trucks were involved in this marathon desert rally – yet not one of them had a British driver. So be warned spend a day or two poring over the 2023 Land Rover Yearbook and you might come away on a mission to put that right!

–

£8.99 in whsmith

or order online at

www.amedia-shop.co.uk Yearbook 2023 FP Advert.indd 4x4 Yearbook 2023.indd 1 1

22/11/2022 15:39:41 14/03/2023 14:42

Step

Step

0.6

3.85

Step

Step

2.3

5.1

27

32

28 Step

29

33 SJ 078 201

3.4 Step

30 31 3.8 4x4 13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 69

34 6.0

If you’re not already in low box, you’ll want it after the right-hand corner – the track ahead is going to drop steeply down the valley side

SJ 099 232

The junction is quite big by the standards of this road, though it’s not signed. It’s shortly after you’ve passed a couple of houses set back slightly from the road. Note that the turning is very tight back over your shoulder – you’ll probably need a shunt

Step

35 6.15

3.45 Step

Step

You’re going straight on, but there’s no indication of whose right of way it is so approach with caution

Just a tiny ford, though it might not always be…

Step

36 7.8 JUNE 2023 | 69

09/05/2023 17:55

Step 44: The junction is easy to spot – just look out for the big red brick house to the left as you leave the village

Step 55: Turn right at the crossroads with a pair of tracks, which isn’t signposted in any way

Step

Step

37

Caution – there’s a sharp washout across the track

7.55

7.85 Step

38

43

Immediately after the cattle grid, stay on the same track

Step

44

8.15

7.85

Step

Step

8.6

8.8

39 Step

40

Step

ZERO TRIP

46 9.05

Step

Step

Llanfyllin B4391

6

Step

13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 70

SJ 137 273

Turn left on a scruffy looking little road at the bottom of the hill

9.8 Step

42 70 | JUNE 2023

This is immediately after the national speed limit signs as you leave the village. There’s a big house in the middle of the junction, so you won’t miss it

47

41

4.95

Llansilin Llanarmon DC

45

9.05

4.9

Fork left in the centre of Llanrhaeadyr-ym-Mochnant, with the Wynnstay Arms to your right

48 Llanrhaeadr- 212 ym-Mochnant

The track becomes sort of surfaced on and off for a while as you climb

10.1 4x4 09/05/2023 17:55

Step

Step

10.5

2.05

Step

Step

49

53 54

50 51

ZERO TRIP

Step

55

11.4

4.75

Step

Step

52 0.45 4x4 13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 71

This is in the middle of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog. If it’s lunchtime, The Hand pub will make a good day even better

Rhiwlas Llansilin Oswestry

3.75

10.8 Step

Caution – this junction is almost impossible to spot and totally unmarked as you approach

56 Llanarmon DC Glyn Ceiriog

SJ 171 326

Don’t turn too early. There’s a similarish looking crossroads a little way before the correct one, with a “no 4x4s of motorbikes” sign to keep you right

Get into low range early – the climb ahead is long and at times bumpy and uneven

4.8 JUNE 2023 | 71

09/05/2023 17:55

Step

Step

5.0

6.75

63

57 Step

58

The track gets quite rutted for a spell

59

Caution round the side of the fallen tree – it looks like it’s been there for a while and won’t be going anywhere soon

5.3 Step

60 61

Definitely stay in low range – you’re coming in to a long descent which includes a steep drop down into a sharp washout

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13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 72

65 Step

66 8.8

There’s a tiny ford on the way through the sheep pens. There were also about a thousand sheep when we passed through, plus a farmer – we had a chat with him and he’s one of the soundest people we’ve ever met on a green lane

6.1 Step

Step

7.1

5.65 Step

64

You probably do have the right of way here, but don’t assume anything

7.05

5.2 Step

Step

This is a tight turning – you might well need a shunt

Step

67 10.1

The track gets a little enclosed after the house on the left

Rhiwlas Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog

Llanarmon

Step

68 12.0

Tregeiriog

4x4 09/05/2023 17:55

Step

69

SJ 176 335 ZERO TRIP

12.75 Step

70 0.6 Step

Step

0.9

1.05

Step

Step

0.95

1.35

71 72

4x4 13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 73

73 74

There’s a steep and uneven climb up to this junction – an area of tarmac has been laid to try and smooth it out, but the ground has been eroded around it so it only makes things worse

NOVEMBER 2020 | 59

09/05/2023 17:55

Step

75

Caution – there’s a sharp step down as you join the track ahead

1.45 Step

76 77

79

The track going left looks like the bigger one, but in fact it’s just a field entrance

2.9 This is just a small ford at the bottom of a shallow dip, though it collects into a bit of a pool as it crosses the lane – after a lot of wet weather, you can imagine if being more of a lake

Step

80 3.25

2.55 Step

Step

Fork left on a slightly smaller track into the woods. The one to the right used to have a no vehicles sign, but someone with an innovative approach to good citizenship has seen to that

Step

81

2.7

3.7

Step

Step

2.85

3.8

78

82

Through a small splash then up the hill towards the buildings

Dead slow through the farmyard

Step 75: There’s a sharp step down as you approach the junction with another track

74 | JUNE 2023

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4x4 09/05/2023 17:59

Step 77: The right of way forks left into the woods – it’s still a good, clear track

Step

Step

3.9

5.65

Step

Step

86

83

87

84 5.15 Step

85 5.2

4x4 13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 75

Oswestry

SJ 242 307

312

The turning is immediately before the ‘Welcome to Shropshire’ sign

6.95 Step

88

Turn right immediately after the gate and straight into an everpresent flood. You can see where rocks have been placed to stop people from going round the side – and there’s no need to do that, as the surface beneath the water is perfectly fine

Another junction immediately after a gate

7.85

JUNE 2023 | 75

09/05/2023 17:59

Step 87: Turn right through the gate and straight into a flood.

Don’t worry – it’s well surfaced beneath the water

Step

89 7.95 Step

Step

8.75

9.7

Step

Step

9.05

11.4

90 91

76 | JUNE 2023

13pp June 23 Wales Roadbook.indd 76

92 93

Arrive in the middle of Glyn Ceiriog for the end of the route

4x4 09/05/2023 17:59

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the

LAND ROVER CLUBS: Book a free stand and receive 20 free weekend wristbands and 25% off camping pitches

T A E R G H S I T I W BR O H S R E V O R D N A L HOW NEXT S

WEST & H T A JULY, B 0 3 9 2 – HEADLINE

SPONSOR

.co.uk

drich www.bfgoo

JOIN US FOR THE WEEKEND THIS SUMMER

BOOK IN ADVANCE FOR THE BEST PRICES! Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet, BA4 6QN NEW Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th July 2023 Stoneleigh Park, Coventry, CV8 2LG Sunday 19th November 2023 Find our exhibitor list online at

www.gblandrovershow.co.uk

Join our Facebook page for all the latest news about the show www.facebook.com/gblandrovershow

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Land Rovers are returning to Shepton Mallet this July for a summer weekend filled with Land Rovers. Take your 4x4 around the Off-Road Course with the AWDC, camp over and enjoy drinks and food in the sunshine with old friends.

Exhibitors old and new will join us, selling everything from parts & accessories to tyres, clothing and toys. Talk to overland adventure specialists about your next trip, discuss modification options with companies with the know-how and other experienced Land Rover owners.

Exhibitors Indoor & Out

ADVANCE TICKETS NOW ON SALE AT shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk Ticket Type Advance Price On The Day Price Adult Show Entry Weekend £12.00 £20.00 Adult Show Entry Saturday £7.50 £15.00 Adult Show Entry Sunday £5.00 £12.00 Off-Road Course (In Your Own Vehicle) £10.00 £15.00 Camping Pitch (includes 2 evening tickets) £24.00 £35.00 Evening-only Ticket £8.00 £12.00 VIP Parking (Advance Booking Only) £10.00

See website for more details and to buy tickets!

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Off-Road Course & Trials Event

Saving 40% 50% 60% 33% 30%

Live Music Saturday Night Kids Rides & Inflatables Under 14s go FREE Dogs Welcome FREE Parking

33% HEADLINE SPONSOR

www.bfgoodrich.co.uk SPONSORED BY

#GBLRS2023

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THE NEW-LOOK ISUZU D-MAX

THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES

DRIVEN TO DO

PICK-UP OF THE YEAR

2023

SEE WHAT’S NEW AT ISUZU.CO.UK All fuel consumption and emission values are based on the new WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) test cycle which uses real-world driving data. Official fuel economy for the standard Isuzu D-Max range in MPG (l/100km): Low 25.1–27.6 (10.2–11.2). Mid 31.4–36.4 (7.8–9.0). High 36.0–39.4 (7.2–7.8). Extra-High 29.0–30.8 (9.2–9.7). Combined 30.7–33.6 (8.4–9.2). CO2 emissions 220–241 g/km.

Visit Isuzu.co.uk or contact your local Isuzu dealership for more information.

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