4 X 4 Magazine - October 2022 by Assignment Media Ltd

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4x4

BRITAIN’S BEST ALL-MARQUES 4X4 MAGAZINE FOR 40 YEARS! PLUS Jeep Compass Trailhawk relishes life in the dirt

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

SWINGING SIXTY!

Ultra-rare 60-Series Land Cruiser reborn as an heirloom off-road hero

Exploring the wild post-industrial landscape around the great northern forest of Slaley

Gnarly Disco from the early days of winching

D-Max AT35 takes on Salisbury Plain

What makes this Defender 110 worth more than £225,000?

£4.99

Glorious roadbook in the mountains of North Wales

OCT 2022

Jeep celebrates 20 years of the Rubicon Wrangler 4x4 Cover Oct 22 AK.indd 1

30/08/2022 13:59

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19785 Allmakes Ltd 4x4 Magazine - 3 page advert - Discovery.indd 1

21/08/2020 10:39

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19785 Allmakes Ltd 4x4 Magazine - 3 page advert - Discovery.indd 2

21/08/2020 10:39

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19785 Allmakes Ltd 4x4 Magazine - 3 page advert - Discovery.indd 3

21/08/2020 10:43

October 2022

CONTENTS

‘We took the worst possible line through the rough the name of testing, of course’

24 52

2 | OCTOBER 2022

Contents Oct.indd 2

4x4 30/08/2022 17:20

62 BIG SAVINGS WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE! A copy of 4x4 normally costs £4.99 to buy at the shops. So why not pay just £8.00 to have FIVE issues delivered to your door instead? Mad not to! 4x4 Scene: News, Products and More… 6 7 7 8 10 14 15 16 17 17 18

Land Rover Another year, another £225,000 Defender… Jeep Now you can get a purple Defender. Called ‘Reign,’ obviously Dacia Duster Commercial the latest model to get the company’s new look GLASS Green laners winning over hearts and minds in the Lake District Odyssey Challenge Hardcore hillclimbs in the promisingly named Devil’s Pit Terraﬁrma More kit than ever in a huge new catalogue AlliSport New radiator ﬁtment for Land Rover’s 19J engine Roamerdrive New overdrive now in development for LT95 gearbox Machine Mart New welding kit aimed at automotive and fabrication use GRP 4x4 Bolt-on replacement bumper adds DRLs to your Defender ARB Major collaboration yields accessory range for new Ford Ranger

Driven 24 28

Jeep Compass Trailhawk Hardcore version of mid-size family SUV Isuzu D-Max AT35 Got a pose truck? Best take it laning on the Plain, then…

Every Month 4 62 64 80

Alan Kidd Twenty years later, the Wrangler Rubicon still hasn’t been surpassed Subscribe Get ﬁve issues of 4x4 for just eight quid Roadbook Leave your paintwork on a tree in North Wales… Next Month A Defender 90 remade into a hardcore wagon for every occasion

Features 34 40 46

Anniversary Wrangler Jeep celebrates 20 years of the Rubicon in ﬁne style Old-school Disco Gnarly Tdi built back in the day to win at winching World-class Cruiser A restiﬁed 60-Series that will make your jaw drop

Travel 52

Forest enterprise Exploring the wild byways of Slaley and beyond

64 Clwydian Roadbook Step

Step

12.3 41

Abbey Strata Florida

8.75

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

Step

38 13.1

More rock steps, water trough

Step

followed by a long

Step

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

13.1 Step

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

and bumpy bits. All in

are sharp rock Caution – there as you climb the steps to negotiate

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

Step

Look out for you cross the the waymarker as ford

15.2

13.4 Step

Join the Cat A

track

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

13.65 Step

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

46 14.9 4x4 JANUARY

2020 | 89

4x4 Contents Oct.indd 3

OCTOBER 2022 | 3

30/08/2022 17:20

4x4 Tel: 01283 553243 Email: enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk

Alan Kidd Editor

The Wrangler Rubicon’s 20th anniversary is very signiﬁcant

ome anniversaries are more significant than others. Last month, I was going on about how it’s 20 years since we first launched Total Off Road, which was eventually to merge with 4x4 and create the magazine that’s sitting in your hands right now; and this month it’s another twenty, as we put the spotlight on the concept vehicle Jeep debuted at Moab to mark two decades of the Wrangler Rubicon. Opinion is divided among Jeep fans as to whether the Rubicon is better or worse than doing your own build based on a standard Wrangler. My personal view is that whoever came up with it was a genius. The best ideas, after all, are the simplest ones. For years and years, companies ranging from Ford to BMW, from Chevrolet to Jaguar, have been building highperformance versions of their saloons, coupés and cabrios and doing incredibly well for it. You just need to look at BMW’s M-cars, Fords RS and ST models, Merc’s AMG and Volkswagen’s R derivatives, Chevy’s Corvettes and Camaros with Z06 and ZL1 badging and many, many others besides to see what I’m on about. People love them. People buy them if they can afford them and if they can’t, they buy something else from the same manufacturer instead. So, from a business point of view, doing the off-road equivalent of something like the Focus RS was probably a no-brainer before the Focus RS ever existed. What’s baffling is why no-one had ever done it. Even more baffling is why no-one has done it since. The Rubicon has been a sales success and a brilliant halo vehicle for Jeep; obviously, the number of other similar vehicles, let alone manufacturers, is rather small, but you’d have thought that building an enhanced version of the Land Cruiser, shall we say, would be a very good way of drawing attention not just to the vehicle itself but to Toyota’s stellar reputation as a maker of cars you can depend on. Yes, I know, there’s homologation to think about, and emissions rules, and all the 101 other depressing ideas they’ve come up with to make living in Britain a little worse. There’s sales volumes, there’s factory

4 | OCTOBER 2022

Edline Oct.indd 4

allocations, there’s… sod it, we love cool trucks, why not just go and make some?! Can you imagine the SWB Land Cruiser Utility they brought in for a bit, until WLTP strangled it, built factory-fresh with +2” suspension, underbody protection, heavyduty axles, 32” tyres and a locker in the back? That would have been a devastating prospect. Or the old-shape Defender 90, built the way people actually wanted as opposed to being tarted up to make fat profits from people who never drive it? The closest thing there has been is probably the Nissan Navara AT32, which in addition to its big suspension and tyres could be ordered with a snorkel, LED bar, front locker and so on. That was manufacturer-approved, so it counts as a showroom model even if the mods were done after it left the factory. Of course, you look at the new Defender and you see what is possibly the most optionable vehicle ever sold. Between the various spec packs and accessories,, there’s almost nothing you can’t do with Land Rover’s new superstar. Except turn it into a Rubicon, right? That’s how I feel, but perhaps I’m wrong. Interestingly, when I ask Defender owners about this, many of them think it already is one; those with a little more knowledge say it can be made to go anywhere but they wouldn’t want to do it in theirs because of the nice paintwork and alloys. As for Wrangler owners, ask them the same question and they just laugh. That, perhaps, is the confidence that comes with having been at the top of the tree for 20 years. The Rubicon has been the world’s most capable turn-key off-roader since day one, and that title has never really been challenged. Jeep itself moved the game on when it created the even better Rubicon 392. That’s another example of being British getting that little bit worse, because needless to say you can’t buy it here . But it’s also an example of making the best better. Twenty years on, the anniversary of the Rubicon is looking as significant as ever.

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 Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney, James Watts Photographers Harry Hamm, Steve Taylor, Richard Hair, Vic Peel, Tomasz Jarecki Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244 Advertising Production Sarah Moss Tel: 01283 553242 Subscriptions Sarah Moss Tel: 01283 553242 Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Moss Email: sarah.moss@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to 4x4, or renew a subscription, call 01283 553242. Prices for 12 issues: UK £42 (24 issues £76); Europe Airmail/ROW Surface £54; ROW Airmail £78 Distributed by Marketforce; www.marketforce.co.uk Every effort is made to ensure the contents of 4x4 are accurate, but Assignment Media accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these. When responding to any advert in 4x4, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred from responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC BY 2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org 4x4 is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House 1.08, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby, Derbyshire DE15 0YZ

4x4 30/08/2022 14:05

Off-roading Protecting Carrying Towing Enhancing Repairing Diagnosing Improving Winching Lighting

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NEW 4X4S

Overland travel the inspiration for Land Rover’s £225,000 Defender Works V8

LAND ROVER’S DEFENDER WORKS V8 TROPHY was a sell-out, despite being priced well into the stratosphere. So here’s the Defender Works V8 Trophy II. Last time, the inspiration for the vehicle’s design came from the Camel Trophy. This time, it’s the Defender’s status as an iconic image of overland travel. Specifically, the limited run of just 25 vehicles will be finished in a unique camouflage design featuring 23 locations from significant expeditions in Land Rover’s storied history of global exploration and adventure. The design also has silhouettes of Defenders and Series vehicles hidden within it, just in case anyone’s wondering what it is they’re looking at. As you’d expect, perhaps slightly wearily, the vehicles’ original Puma engines have been replaced by Land Rover’s 5.0-litre V8, giving them 405bhp at 6000rpm and 380lbf.ft at 5000rpm. Top torque halfway to

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five figures, how very Defender. Fuel consumption and emissions figures are not quoted, but if you’re in the market for one of these you don’t care in the slightest. The engine is mated to the now equally familiar eight-speed ZF automatic transmission. This does still drive all four wheels (we felt if might be relevant to confirm this) and in case that’s not enough, the vehicles

come with a winch. Other off-road kit includes a full-width LED light bar, rock sliders, exo roll cage and rear recovery point. The run of 25 vehicles will include 20 Station Wagons, split equally between the 90 and 110, and ﬁve 110 Double-Cabs. Prices? From £225,000. From, mind. That cheeky little sum gets you a vehicle that’s been rebuilt in the SVO workshop and equipped inside with two-tone Windsor leather on the dashboard, trim and two-tone Recaro sports seats, as well as Land Rover’s Classic infotainment system and an Elliot Brown clock face. We hadn’t either, no, but the same company is getting its share of bunce from the deal by marketing a

limited-edition watch inspired by the Works V8 Trophy II. It’s also making a special Competitor’s Edition watch exclusively for the 25 customers who buy the vehicle. Competitors? Yes. Sort of. Buy one of these bad boys and you’ll get a personal invite to take part in Land Rover Classic’s second specially devised three-day Trophy event. ‘Customers will create lasting memories and get acquainted with their vehicles in the most amazing way possible,’ says Land Rover. Before putting them into heated storage along with their limited-edition Astons and Ferraris and selling them to other millionaires at a huge proﬁt ten years from now, the cynic inside us is trying not to say.

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Jeep brings purple back to Wrangler palette – and opens order book for all-new Grand Cherokee ONLY JEEP COULD GET AWAY WITH introducing a purple paint colour and calling it Reign. Purple Reign? Geddit? If you want a Wrangler, this funky new hue is now available for you to choose, along with Earl – a ‘standout shade of grey with hints of aquamarine’ which made its debut on the 2020 Gladiator Farout concept. If you’re still in mourning for Hellayella, the time may ﬁnally have come to dry your eyes.

IN OTHER JEEP NEWS, the order book is now open for the all-new Grand Cherokee. Available here only as a 4xe plug-in hybrid, the luxury ﬂagship in the Jeep range is available in four trims – with prices starting at £69,000 on the road and climbing to £82,000 for the range-topping Summit Reserve model. Good news for customers who loved Grand Cherokees the way they used to be in the good old days is that there’s also a Trailhawk model in the range. Equipped with the full range of off-road kit including a rear locker, three skid plates, front anti-roll bar disconnects and 18” all-terrain tyres, this is priced at £73,000.

Dacia has updated the Duster Commercial to feature its new brand identity. With 1623 litres of cargo space and a 503kg payload, this costs from £13,995 plus the VAT – or a heftier £20,994 with all-wheel drive

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RIGHTS OF WAY

Green laners winning over hearts and minds in the Lake District

he Lake District is a key battleground in the struggle to prevent hearts and minds from being poisoned against motor vehicle use in the countryside. To help spread the truth about 4x4 drivers, the Green Lane Association’s Cumbrian reps started the summer season by organising an open meet-and-greet at the Lakeland Motor Museum near Newby Bridge. The museum has a club display area, which is within its grounds but accessible to all visitors. Use of the venue was offered to GLASS by site

manager Chris Lowe – whose daily driver happens to be a 1956 Series I Land Rover. ‘Chris was very interested in what we do and now hopes to join us one day on a short trip around the local lanes,’ report the organisers. ‘It was unusual for him to meet a group who are interested in actually using their vehicles, as most visiting clubs only go to show off their cars. ‘Even 4x4 groups don’t appear to discuss the practical aspect of owning and driving off-tarmac.’ The meet-up attracted 15 different vehicles including Suzukis,

Jeeps, Mercedes and Land Rovers. During the course of the day, a couple of the reps set out to lead small groups on mini lane runs which avoided the usual ‘honeypot’ areas.

‘In the Lakes at this time of year,’ they explained, ‘you can spend more time reversing for visitors that can’t drive on the narrow tarmac lanes than actually getting off tarmac!’

Salisbury Plain has always been famous for its rights of way. But it has traditionally also been famous for being almost impossible to find your way around on them with any confidence, because the land is blanketed with tracks and they all look alike. But then along came GLASS. The Association plays a pivitol role in the Salisbury Plain Training Area waymarking team, and was at the heart of providing voluntary labour to erect the hundreds of waymarkers which now help people keep to the trails in this unique wilderness. ‘One of the tasks I undertake is the maintenance of a database of the condition of the waymarks,’ says Wiltshire Rep John Lippiatt. ‘Usually this involves a monthly drive around with photos taken of any damaged signs. ‘It has occurred to me that this could be used as a way of engaging with local members to discuss all things laning – a sort of social at a meeting point followed by a day of laning to inspect the waymarkers.’ John is contacting all Wiltshire members of GLASS to see who might be interested in these meet-ups, with the intention of holding them on the first Saturday of each month. Not already a member? Now there’s more reason than ever…

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4x4 30/08/2022 14:00

GRABBER 3 AT Your access to any adventure

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NEW SIZES: 225/50 R18 99V XL, 225/55 R18 102V XL, 225/60 R17 99H, 235/65 R16C 121/119R 275/65 R18 116T, 285/50 R20 116H XL, LT315/70 R17 121/118S

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MOTORSPORT

Odyssey Challenge does a deal with the Devil to send competitors running up that hill… Words: James Watts Pictures: Tomasz Jarecki

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he Viking 4x4 Club has reached the midway point in its annual six-round winch challenge series, sponsored by Odyssey Batteries. This third event of the season was held at Devil’s Pit near Luton, the

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MOTORSPORT most southerly site to which the Midlands-based club ventures. This round was sponsored by Full Flex Springs, whose bespoke 4x4 lift springs and coilovers are designed to specific vehicles’ sprung loads and offer completely customisable spring rates. Another club had run a big twoday event the week before this one and as result many teams were still fixing their trucks. With it also being holiday season, entry numbers were a bit down on the previous round – but for those who did make it, their reward was to be blessed with glorious sunshine. Three events and not a wet one in sight – that must be some sort of record! The good weather attracted a lot of spectators, which is always great to see for organisers and competitors alike. The dry ground meant loads of grip, which was a bit unfamiliar to many of the competitors – and most teams finished with their cars so clean, they hardly looked as if they had been to the event at all. Devil’s Pit has some very steep hills, which makes it ideal for punch hunts. However the terrain was completely tree covered, which is also ideal… for getting foliage into moving parts like wheels and cooling fans, not to mention the vehicles’

cabs. Driving over debris like fallen trees and branches can be tricky, as it only has to flick up to get caught and cause damage. As always there’s a timed special section which acts as a tie-breaker (this proved necessary in the previous round after the leading two teams finished on the same points), and this was set out in one of the site’s valleys. It was run in an outand-back format, with one punch to be collected in each direction. Sounds simple, right? In practice, it was anything but, with drama and carnage aplenty. Dariusz Mirkut’s car decided to die on the exit – in fact, it caught fire briefly, but thankfully they went out just as quickly quickly. He couldn’t get it started, though, so other teams tried to winch him to the top – but with no engine running his hydro-steer didn’t work. He did manage to get it running in the end and finally cleared the section, whereupon Rob Curling went for it… and came out on the end of his winch rope after breaking a propshaft. Worse yet, having made their way underneath the car to investigate, Rob and co-driver Paul Hitchman discovered that not only had the prop let go, one of the suspension brackets locating its axle had come

out in sympathy. So that was them out for the day. Later on, Paul Curling put his truck on its side on one of the sections, allowing co-driver Andrew Rossiter to demonstrate a textbook recovery in front of the onlooking spectators. Paul’s Safety Devices cage did its job to perfection, so a quick check over and they were good to carry on. Mat Bain had a bit of bad luck on the way through all the foliage, though, when a branch managed to push its way into his engine bay and take out a steering hose. Annoying, but a quick fix – hose back on, fluid topped up and back into the fray. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to last. Mat has suffered with engine problems at the last few events and the issue reared its head once more, sending them home early with a misfire that wouldn’t clear. Round 2 winners Scott Haines and James Watts, on the other hand, were going great guns again. Clearing punches swiftly and cleanly, they managed to collect all the punches and run the special section by 1pm. But then, just as they finished the last punch and got ready to head back to the pits to collect a second card, their crank pulley came loose. They had to tighten it up to carry

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MOTORSPORT

on – but a few punches into their second card, it happened again. Not content with just this, fate was to decree that they would blow a CV joint. The dry ground puts immense stress and load on the cars’ drivetrains, so this was not unexpected – and neither was Scott and James’ response, which was to get in there with the spanners, change the CV in double-quick time and get back out in a bid to finish their second card. And they managed, too – though just as they claimed their final punch, they also managed to roll. But as always, the sportsmanship in the winch game shone through as fellow competitors rallied round to make sure they were okay and get them out of trouble. Not only that, they then towed the stricken vehicle back to the pits as oil had filled its air intake and the engine could not be started. It may be a competition, with teams competing against each other, but when push comes to shove everyone looks after each other. Dave Adams and co-driver Tom Britten had a nearly flawless day… until, with just one hour to go, a rear propshaft snapped. They had made good progress throughout and had a fantastic time so were happy to call it a day. Simon Ward and the Alphafab team had made a huge effort the day before to get their car ready for

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this event, even going so far as to change its engine. With co-driver Leigh Jefferies doing a superb job on the ropes, the car’s winch motors where worked really hard – leading to two burned-out motors just after midday. Cue a pit stop to fit replacements, after which they were back out to try and finish their card. Overall, with the hills at this event being so long and so steep, co-drivers had to work really hard. Running up and down multiple times really took it out of them, turning it into a battle of endurance for crews as well as their vehicles. No-one found it easy, though some found it harder than others… For Ben Mark and co-driver Chris Sutcliffe, the event had the added complication of being their first time at Devil’s Pit. Unsure on what to expect, they had to navigate their way around the site to find the punches – though for a pairing who are always steady and take their time, this was no problem. Ben and Chris are known throughout the club for their consistency and for really looking after their car. However they too found the dry ground hard going, making it pretty much impossible to slide their car around. As always, though, their steady pace means they keep the load down and minimise the risk of breaking drivetrain parts. They did snap one rope, but that didn’t stop them completing all the punches

and getting on to their second card. That apart they had a perfect day. Richard and Lianne Evans had had their ﬁrst even competitive event at Round 2, and now they were back for their second. They were slightly better prepared this time, had less nerves and knew what to expect – and once again, they got stuck straight in. Unfortunately so did their gearbox, when a broken selector yoke and left it wedged in gear, but with the offending item removed they were able to carry on… until half an hour before the end, when their only winch packed up. More lessons learned, then, as they always are with every issue you overcome – and with 19 punches on the card, one more than their previous event, this was another outing that was as worthwhile as it was enjoyable. It was also worthy of second place in Class 1, on 2441 points. A great result – let’s see if they can

keep going with this rate of progress and secure the top spot at Round 4. They’ll have Dave Adams and Tom Britten to beat, though; for now, it was these two who got the Class 1 win with 3609. In Class 2, third place went to Rob Curling and Paul Hitchman on 601 points. Second were Paul Curling and Andrew Rossiter with 4191 points. But Johnny and Tracey Johnson, whose car was still battered and bruised from the previous weekend’s event, simply kept going all day without fault. They completed all the punches and started a second card to take the class win on a hefty 8376 points. This would have placed them third in Class 3, which is doubly impressive as this was where the competition was at its most ﬁerce. With more entries here than anywhere else, Mat Bain and David Burton battled to third place on 8025 points. Second went to Ben Mark and Chris Sutcliffe, steady as they go, on 9987 – but there was no catching Scott Haines and James Watts, who took the class and overall wins with a haul of 12,323. Every team who took part deserved to give themselves a pat on the back after what was a very tough day on some extremely taxing terrain. The vehicles had been worked hard on the bone-dry ground – and the co-drivers had taken themselves to the limit on the steep hills. And with the following round scheduled to take place at the fearsome Deep Scar near Kettering, there wasn’t going to be any let-up!

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PRODUCTS

More Land Rover kit than ever in …and the Lucas Classic catalogue new Terraﬁrma catalogue…

makes for a pretty good read too

Price: Free From: enquiries@terrafirma4x4.com IF YOU’VE GOT A LAND ROVER and you want to make it better off-road, here’s some excellent news. The new Terrafirma catalogue has just been published – and it contains 196 full-colour pages of pure temptation for you and your truck. There’s more than 1500 products in here, each of them covered using detailed descriptions, technical information, images and illustrations. Terrafirma promises not only choice but clear product identification and application, ensuring you can select and combine the kit you need from its ever-more extensive range of accessories. Whatever Landy you drive, they’ve got you covered. In Terrafirma’s own words: ‘Studying this catalogue will enable workshops, vehicle builders and enthusiasts to prepare and equip their Land Rovers to have more fun, safely carry more load, tackle greater obstacles over harsher terrain and ensure they are protecting their pride and joy for many more adventures to come.’

Price: Free Available from: Britpart dealers

IF YOUR LAND ROVER IS THE KIND with a few more birthdays under its belt, the recently published Lucas Classic Parts Catalogue can hardly help but be essential reading. A 20-page A5 booklet, it includes everything that was in the company’s ever-growing range at the time of publication – you can pick up a copy free of charge from your local Britpart dealer.

From roof tents and awnings to cookware and barbecues, LVB supplies all your overland and camping requirements. Sole UK Bush Company importer

UNIT 10 Gunhills Lane Industrial Estate, Armthorpe, Doncaster DN3 3EF

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PRODUCTS

AlliSport introduces high-performance aluminium radiator for 19J engines Price: £892 plus VAT Available from: www.allisport.com ALLISPORT HAS FILLED A GAP in its product range by introducing a radiator for Land Rover’s 19J engine. Better known as the 2.5 TD, this was the unit that came before the 200 Tdi – and it’s still a fairly common sight today in early examples of the 90 and 110. A direct replacement for the original, this high-efficiency rad has brazed cores and 12 fins per inch for maximum cooling in all conditions. It’s made with an integral oil cooler and comes fitted with twin 280mm Spal fans, as well as CNC-machined threads and swaged pipe connections for an accurate and secure fit. Like all AlliSport’s radiators, the 19J unit is tested to 25 psi and made from corrosion-resistant high-grade aluminium. The company says it will deliver 35% better cooling than standard, making it ideal for use in hot climates and demanding conditions.

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PRODUCTS

Roamerdrive developing overdrive unit for trucks with LT95 gearbox Price: TBA From: roamerdrive.com

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

20012015 JEEPJEEP WRANGLER JK 2001 Jeep Grand CHEROKEE XJ 2.8CRD 2015 JEEP Cherokee WJ JK WRANGLER 2.8CRD

2007 DODGE 2018 JEEP NITRO 2.8CRD 2010 Isuzu RENEGADE 2007 DODGE Rodeo NITRO 2.8CRD

2016 RANGE 2008 NISSAN ROVER EVOQUE 2012 Range PATHFINDER 2.0 TD4 2016 RANGE Rover Sport ROVER EVOQUE 2.0 TD4

2014 RANGE 2016 2014 2010 JEEP 2006 JEEP 2011 ISUZU ISUZU ROVER SPORT 4.4 D-MAX 2.5 DIESEL CHEROKEE MK5 WRANGLER TJ RODEO MITSUBISHI L200 2010 2015 Mitsubishi 2020 Ford V8 Jeep DIESEL KL 2.0 MULTIJET 2014 RANGE 2016 ISUZU 2014 JEEP Cherokee KK Outlander Ranger ROVER SPORT 4.4 D-MAX 2.5 DIESEL CHEROKEE MK5 V8 DIESEL

KL 2.0 MULTIJET

JEEP 2007 LAND 20152010 RANGE 2012ROVER CHEROKEE MK4 DISCOVERY 3 2.7 ROVER EVOQUE MITSUBISHI ASX 2015 Range 2016 Jeep KK 2.8JEEP CRD TDV6 2010 2007 LAND ROVER Rover Evoque Renegade CHEROKEE MK4 DISCOVERY 3 2.7 KK 2.8 CRD

TDV6

2008 HONDA 2013 TOYOTA CRV 2.2 CDTI HILUXGrand 2006 Jeep 2008 HONDA Cherokee CRV 2.2 CDTIWK

2006 NISSAN 2006 JEEP 2006 JEEP GRAND 2015 LAND 2004 JEEP CHEROKEE WK PATHFINDER 2.5 GRAND GRAND 5.7 V8 HEMI ROVER DCI 2020 Jeep Land2006 Rover NISSAN2015 Nissan 2006 JEEP2018 GRAND DISCOVERY CHEROKEE WK CHEROKEE WJ 2.5 X-Trail WK PATHFINDER WranglerCHEROKEE JL Discovery Sport Charlton Recycled Auto Parts DCI 5.7 V8 HEMI SPORT Vehicle Recycling Centre, Gravel Pit Hill, Thriplow, Cambridge, SG8 7HZParts Charlton Recycled Auto Tel 01223Gravel 832656Pit Hill, Thriplow, Vehicle Recycling Centre, Email parts@charltonautoparts.co.uk Cambridge, SG8 7HZ PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHARLTONAUTOPARTS.CO.UK Tel 01223 832656 Email parts@charltonautoparts.co.uk PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHARLTONAUTOPARTS.CO.UK

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GLOBAL ROAMER CORPORATION, the Canadian manufacturer of the Roamerdrive brand of overdrive for Land Rover, has announce a joint venture with Garage Therapy of Perth, Australia. Under the arrangement, an overdrive suitable for Land Rovers fitted with the rugged LT95 four-speed gearbox will be manufactured in Australia. These overdrives will be sold under the Garage Therapy brand using a combination of Canadian and Australian engineered components. The product, which is scheduled for release in August 2022, is aimed particularly at the ex-Australian Army 110 Parentie, hundreds of which are currently being released on to the civilian market. ‘Worldwide,’ says Ray Wood of Global Roamer Corporation, ‘there is a pent-up demand for a reliable overdrive that will fit the LT95 four-speed gearbox found in the Range Rover Classic and 101 Forward Control. ‘We looked at producing an overdrive for the LT95 some time ago, however we didn’t think there was sufficient demand. But the release of the Perentie has changed all that, so we were happy to work with Garage Therapy to produce one.’ Producing a strong but compact overdrive unit that fits into the constricted area behind the transfer case in a Range Rover Classic proved a considerable challenge for the design team in Australia. The units share oil with the transfer case and offer a 28% overdrive ratio that can be used in any gear. They use the quiet, rugged encyclical gear technology from Roamerdrive that has helped make thousands of Land Rovers more civilised over the past twenty years. ‘We were very lucky to find Ray Wood and the team at Roamerdrive,’ adds Garage Therapy’s Brad Miocevich. ‘Ray has been very supportive, both with the supply of critical components and technical knowledge. We’re committed to producing the best LT95 overdrive ever!’

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PRODUCTS

Machine Mart’s all-in-one welding kit for fabrication and automotive use Price: £167.98 Available from: www.machinemart.co.uk CLARKE’S MIG102NG MIG WELDER is designed specifically for automotive and general fabrication work. Producing a maximum power of 90Amps, it’s capable of welding mild steel up to 4mm thick. Promising optimum performance and reliability, the unit uses flux cored steel welding wire which produces its own gas shroud as it burns – meaning it doesn’t require a gas cylinder. Further features include turbo fan cooling for greater efficiency and multiple power settings for accurate welding power control. It comes complete with a range of accessories including wire, and earth clamp and even a welding mask.

RLG Tyres

Tyres cheap. Not cheap tyres!!

Stainless steel DRL bumper with Ring LEDs

OFFICIAL STOCKIST

Price: £389 Available from: www.grp4x4.com GRP 4X4’S DRL DEFENDER BUMPER is fabricated from stainless steel which is first shot blasted and then powder coated in your choice of satin, gloss or textured black finishes. It’s supplied pre-fitted with two Ring Aurora LEDs in GRP’s own design of recessed billet surrounds and comes with all the wiring and controller boxes you need for easy installation.

Main supplier of and all major 4x4 tyres

Groundcare • Car • ATV • Tubes • Mobile Tyre Fitting Puncture Equipment & Repairs • Four Wheel Alignment Durrants Farm, Rushlake Green, Heathfield, East Sussex TN21 9QB

Workshop: 01435 830664 Mobile: 07710 372672 Email: chris@rlgtyres.co.uk

www.rlgtyres.co.uk

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PRODUCTS

Ruskin Design – giving your Defender an interior that’s as unique as you are

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN OWNING A DEFENDER meant putting up with a cabin that was functional at best. But these days, more and more Land Rover owners are using interior upgrades to help create trucks to be proud of. And when it comes to putting life into your Defender’s cabin, there’s not much that can beat a fully bespoke hand-crafted interior from Ruskin Design. The Leicestershire company is the international market leader in its field – and with its design-led service, it promises to create ‘an interior that is as individual as you are.’ With a highly skilled team of craftsmen and women, Ruskin has a reputation for outstanding creativity and first-class workmanship. Its ‘Ruskin Inside’ trademark stands for luxury and elegance, taken to a degree previous generations of Defender owners would never have dreamed possible. In the company’s own words: ‘Every component of a Ruskin Inside is hand-made, from replacement seat covers, roof linings and carpets through to door card, dashboard and gear shift covers. Whether you want denim or diamonds, vegan or vanilla, the materials for your Ruskin Inside will be skilfully sourced, precision cut, stitched and fitted by hand by our dedicated team, to give you a premium interior that is as unique as you are.’ Not many aftermarket additions have the potential to add to a vehicle’s resale value, but Ruskin customers often find that the company’s interiors make their trucks more desirable come sell-on time. Professional restorers offering bespoke cabin designs tend to trust them to the experts, too. Want to find out more? Pay a visit to ruskindesign.co.uk – and prepare to let your imagination run riot!

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PRODUCTS

All-round grip from General Grabber AT3 all-terrain CIVILISED AND DEPENDABLE ON THE ROAD, sure-footed off-road, incredibly hard-wearing and capable of shrugging off the sort of damage that comes with being put to work on a 4x4. That’s what you want from an all-terrain tyre – and it’s what you can expect from the General Grabber AT3. The Grabber is a well known name in the 4x4 world, and this current all-terrain has a tread design whose edges grip effectively on to the terrain and whose open shoulders allow effective self-cleaning for traction in mud. Large sidewall lugs have the job of protecting the main body of the tyre from rocks, while deﬂection ribs divert obstacles away from the tyre to prevent punctures. The tyre also has a rim protection rib to shield the bead area of the wheel from kerbing damage and the sort of off-road hazards that can appear from nowhere to turn your whole day into a bad one. Made from a robust compound, the reinforced blocks of the tread design make it durable and stable under stress – as do the strong steel belts that run along the edges of the carcase. Undeviating block geometry is there to provide a smoother ride and even wear, and also helps the tyre maintain a high level of comfort on the road. With a wide range of sizes from 15” to 20”, the General Grabber AT3 offers durability and grip to almost all the 4x4 and pick-up market. For more details on the AT3, check out www.general-tire.co.uk.

SMART SAND LADDER BRACKETS FROM MUD-UK THESE HINGING SAND LADDER BRACKETS from Mud-UK offer a handy way of stowing a set of sand ladders on the side of a Land Rover Defender. Not only that, their design allows them to drop down when you’re parked up, creating a quick-to-deploy table for your mug of tea and bacon sandwich. The brackets can be mounted directly to the side of your Land Rover via a pair of internal spreader plates, or to a cargo rack using the optional quick-release mounting kit. They and all their ﬁxings are made from 100% stainless steel, and as well as traditional sand ladders they can be used to mount Maxtrax recovery boards. The brackets are supplied as a pair and come complete with a ﬁxing kit for getting them on board. Suitable for a variety of Defenders, they’re priced at £155 including the VAT and can be tracked down at www. mudstuff. co.uk.

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4X4 TYRE EXPERTS & OFF ROAD SPECIALISTS Alloy and steel wheels for van, car, SUV & 4X4

NOW AVAILABLE AT SILVERLINE

WANT TO FIT BIGGER TYRES TO YOUR 4X4? At Silverline we stock & fit only the toughest tried and tested Ausi Ironman 4x4 suspension modification kits from leaf spring to coil spring.

Call 01926 490002 Silverline 4x4 Units 3 & 4, Nelson Lane, Warwick CV34 5JB www.silverlinewheels-tyres.com | www.facebook.com/Silverline4x4 Silverline_4x4Mag_A4.indd 1

14/03/2022 10:14

Summer holiday adventures begin at Silverline 4x4!

ith temperatures rising and off-road lovers preparing for some adventures in the sun, Silverline 4x4 is calling on everyone to make it a summer to remember by customising their vehicles with one of their experts. Its bespoke wheel and tyre packages are amongst the most impressive in the UK, both on price and genuine quality. All the best brands are under one roof in Warwick, and one call to the Silverline 4x4 team is all you need to find out what solutions suit your needs. Silverline 4x4’s centre manager Simon Mepstead said: ‘Now is the perfect time to come and see us, as we can add some magic to your pride-and-joy! Off-roading and 4x4s is most definitely a passion for many of us and we continue to be busy, as we’re transforming the look and feel of so many 4x4s and pick-ups. We are finding that more customers are coming to us because they want to customise their vehicles rather than replace them.’ Rather than sell on price, Silverline 4x4 advises iots customers on the right solution for each vehicle they see. Simon added: ‘Our services aren’t like conventional automotive centres in so far as our products aren’t viewed as distress

AWAITING OK Sep 22 Silverline advertorial.indd 27

purchases, so price isn’t the overriding factor as the specific solution is the main requirement.’ Silverline 4x4 is the only garage anywhere in the UK to stock the critically-acclaimed Unigrip tyre range, starring the Unigrip Lateral Force and Road Force tyres, available in 15” up to 20” . Simon added: ‘Having driven on Unigrip ourselves, we can vouch for

their performance capabilities in the most uncompromising of conditions. Unigrip Tyre gives you the confidence to enjoy the road, while helping to keep you safe behind the wheel. ‘Unigrip dedicates to innovation, technology and development of new patterns, sizes, compounds and state of the art technology and we’re thrilled to stock their 4x4 portfolio.

Unigrip really needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Silverline 4x4 stocks Unigrip tyres in 14 different sizes, which plays a vital role in full tyre coverage for each and every visiting motorist.’ For more information about Silverline 4x4, pay a visit to www. silverlinewheels-tyres.com or call 01926 490002

02/08/2022 11:11

DRIVEN

JEEP COMPASS TRAILHAWK The off-road tuned version of Jeep’s medium-sized family SUV is a great all rounder – and better than you might believe in general A to B use, too. But do the costs add up for this plug-in hybrid?

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THERE’S NO SHORTAGE OF medium sized SUVs in the world. A recent study found that there are now more of them on the planet than there are human beings who still remember Status Quo. What they almost all have in common is that they’re nothing special offroad. They don’t need to be; they don’t pretend to be. But this is Jeep. Say it while drawing yourself up to full height and flexing your biceps. The Compass, its medium-sized family SUV, may be built on the same platform as those other desert-bashing titans, the Fiat 500X and Alfa Romeo Tonale, but this is Jeep. ‘Nothing special off-road’ is not acceptable. Hence the Trailhawk. It’s the hardcore model in the Compass range. It’s not trying to be the Wrangler but it comes with raised off-road suspension, low range and a fivemode Selec-Terrain traction control system. This features a Rock mode, which is exclusive to the Trailhawk and helps it take advantage of its 21.3cm ground clearance and 30.4°, 33.3° and 20.9° approach, departure and breakover angles. So perhaps it is trying to be a mini-Wrangler after all. Thus equipped, the Compass has done enough to earn Jeep’s ‘Trail Rated’ stamp of self-approval – a marketing gimmick, you may say, and you may be right, but Jeep knows its truest fans won’t stand for any bull in this area so it’s not going to make any claims it doesn’t believe its vehicles can back up. This then is a very modern kind of Jeep, and it’s more modern still in that it’s a plug-in hybrid. There’s a certain type of Jeep owner who would therefore sooner chew his own arm off, but he is probably still driving a YJ or CJ7 that no-one gets out of alive. If you want a Wrangler, buy a Wrangler: if you want a cool, economical family SUV that can absolutely cut it off-road at the weekend, Jeep would invite you to buy exactly the vehicle you see here. Doing so will set you back £41,495. Make that £43,500 with the options on this one, which include a Mode 3 charging cable and Jeep’s Technology and Convenience Pack. The latter brings a premium Alpine audio system, 230v power outlet, 360° camera, all-round park assist

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with autonomous self-parking, blind spot and cross path detection and door mirrors with courtesy lamps, which sounds like much better value than some of the accessory packs you see 4x4 makers trying to pass off as being worth the money. Overall, indeed, with the price of new vehicles becoming ever more detached from the reality of what everyday people can afford, £43,500 as tested sounds like a bit of a bargain. If you can afford it, the cheapest Wrangler starts at just over £14k more, which is a hefty chunk of money but when you consider that Wranglers hold their value like houses, it’s a hefty investment too. But that’s another story. The plug-in system mates a 1.3-litre turbocharged petrol engine developing 180bhp and 184lbf.ft to a 60bhp, 199lbf.ft electric motor in the back axle. So that’s 240bhp all told, with a very healthy whack of torque to get you moving – most of it from zero rpm. The motor is powered by an 11.4kWh battery with plug-in charging; this allows an all-electric range of up to 30 miles, with average emissions of 44-47g/km and fuel efficiency in the region of 141.2-156.9mpg. These are all WLTP figures, so you can expect them to be pretty accurate. So, use it right and this is extremely cost-effective motoring. It’s a Jeep which could in theory conquer the entire Rubicon Trail on electric power alone, though obviously the idea of it being a PHEV is that you can do your daily commute and so on without firing up the petrol engine, which stays in reserve for longer trips – including the sort of off-highway jaunts most Compass owners wouldn’t be able to countenance. Pressing the button to engage electric drive so you can listen to the tyres crunching and squelching their way over the ground without any engine noise to interfere with it is a fun novelty, but in reality you leave it in hybrid mode and concentrate on driving it. Or rather, you concentrate on letting it drive itself, because Hill Descent Control is at the heart of how it works. As we’ve mentioned, the Trailhawk has low range. It’s activated by a button on the floor console and it allows the vehicle to pick its way over rough ground, but it stops short of doing what we’d expect. In particular, even in low first we found engine braking to be as good as absent. The vehicle doesn’t completely run away going downhill but it certainly does start to, and on a very steep hill you wouldn’t be under control. Happily, the HDC system works effectively to take this in hand. You need to have activated it before you start, however, because if you try to go for it while you’re already careering down a hill you may well be going too fast for it to engage.

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DRIVEN Back on the flat, meanwhile, you need to disengage it again if you want to have any chance at all of making smooth progress. Try to drive normally with it still primed and it will bang in savagely every time you try to ease your foot off the gas. What this means is that on undulating terrain, you’re forever going on and off the HDC button – and all the while yearning for effective low box. Bizarrely, you need HDC on the way up hills, too. This is because, should you fail one, the vehicle will run away backwards even if it’s still in drive (or first, or second, more of which in a moment). This won’t happen so long as the magic button is down, which you could argue makes for a safer and easier failed hillclimb technique than the one you learned back in the day aboard your mate’s toxic old Vitara, but for it to be able to do so at all is alarming to say the least. Something else we didn’t like one bit was that the gearbox would refuse to take second gear until we were doing about 15mph. Yes, in low range. When you’re at the bottom of a long, steep hill and you want your vehicle to be correctly set up for it from the word go, that’s not good. Yes, the technology is there and it wants to do everything for you, and with what we’ve already said about low range it stands to reason that you might need to stay in first to scale a hill, but we like auto boxes that listen to what they’re told when we’re using them off-road. Those are the grumbles, and they sound worse than they really are. Overall, while it did frustrate us in these ways, the Trailhawk impresses as an agile, sure-footed off-roader whose ability to negotiate extreme terrain is well beyond what most family SUVs could ever hope to do. Its steering is nice and light and it’s very manoeuvrable, allowing you to pick a line with great accuracy – something that’s aided by good all-round visibility and a suite of cameras displaying various angles on what’s in front of and behind you. These come up on a large infotainment screen that’s the dominant element of an attractive looking dash layout. It looks technical rather than premium, but the use of materials is generally good; there’s leather, or something that looks

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and feels similar to it, on the upper surfaces, with contrasting red stitching and a horizontal styling element that may be plastic but looks enough like brushed alloy to get the job done. Lower surfaces are hard plastic, but it feels dense and robust – there are a few creaks from elsewhere in the facia, and the floor console isn’t the most solid thing we’ve ever touched, but the structure it’s all pinned to has plenty of heft. There’s plenty of space, too, in both rows of seats, for four tall adults to travel together without any fights breaking out. Those in the rear might just find their knees touching the seat-backs ahead of them, but even then only if someone up front is either abnormally tall or downright greedy. Headroom is very decent all-round, too, and when the seats go down they leave a usably long cargo area whose floor, though there’s a biggish step down in it, is pretty flat overall. On the road, the Compass is as brisk as you could ask for and pulls well on the way up steep hills. It’s not scintillatingly fast, nor is it rapier sharp to steer, but it’s positive and precise – though we found that unless the active lane keeping function was switched off, what feel there is in the wheel was completely overwhelmed. Having figured out what was going on here and dug around in the infotainment menus to cancel it off, we found that the vehicle was transformed in its B-road handling. It’s easy to tool around in town, where the suspension deals very competently with the sort of road surfaces we have to endure here as a matter of course. And it cruises very quietly on the motorway, while sitting in its lane with excellent stability. This is general Compass stuff we’re talking about now, rather than Trailhawk-specific, but it’s as relevant as ever in these pages because for more or less anyone who reads 4x4, if you’re in the market for one of these vehicles this is the only one you’ll want. And so you should, because despite our reservations about its performance in low box, this is still next-level stuff by family SUV standards. When you drive an SUV that looks like the Compass, you soon get used to hilarious comments from an endless stream of people who all think they must be the first one ever to have thought up this or that joke about spray-on mud. There’s a set of stickers on the bonnet to wind them up even more, too. But the fact is, that mud can be very real. The Compass Trailhawk is an excellent all-round family SUV, a green champion – and an off-road machine with the ability to take on the sort of terrain that will leave almost any of its rivals clutching at straws.

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DRIVEN

D-MAX TO DE MAX Newly reintroduced to the Isuzu D-Max range, the AT35 blends high-end luxuries with a mini-monster image courtesy of Arctic Trucks. It’s not made for British lanes – but it’s perfect for Salisbury Plain

IT’S KIND OF HARD TO BELIEVE that the original Isuzu D-Max AT35 went on sale six years ago. It’s been part of the range ever since, on and off, with breaks when the old model was facelifted and then when the current one replaced it. That second hiatus is now over, however, and the AT35 is back.

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Back, and back on top of the D-Max range. It’s based on the erstwhile top-speccer, the V-Cross, and costs from £47,999 plus VAT on the road. Make that £49,499 in automatic form, which is what we’ve got here. We’ve got it, and what are we going to do with it? A traditional road test would be a bit redundant –

we’ve been through the story of the new D-Max, and the V-Cross. itself, in great detail, and we ran a ﬁrstdrive story on the AT35 two or three issues ago. So instead, let’s do what we’re always saying we don’t think it’s all that good at: let’s go laning. The phrase ‘let’s go laning’ ranks among our favourites. So this will be

no chore. Still, we know from experience that the older versions of the AT35 can be less of a weapon than you’d think. The lack of a locking rear diff was a big part of this on the old model, albeit only in very speciﬁc situations which, British rights of way ‘management’ being what it is, don’t crop up very often, but Isuzu

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put that right with the new one so we’re expecting it to be surer-footed on the most uneven ground. The ground in question is on Salisbury Plain, where we used the D-Max to lay out a roadbook which will appear in a future issue. Being the middle of summer, the troops were scarce and the red ﬂags were

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down, so we used a variety of tracks in the impact area that aren’t open much of the time – which was fun, though as normal on the Plain it was mainly faster, looser going rather than tight, technical stuff. We chose this for one over-riding reason, which is that the trails here are expansively wide open. The

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DRIVEN

AT35 is a great bit of kit, but it’s so wide that the lanes in most parts of the country are no-go. Or at least if not no-go, they’re certainly no fun because you spend the whole time stressed out about damaging its huge wheelarches. These cover a set of 317/70R17s all-terrains on heavily offset rims, which are the starting point for its build spec. Most will be familiar with this by now, but to to recap they stand around 35” tall – hence the vehicle’s name. To ﬁt them, it has a combination of chassis and body lifts plus a set of lavishly ﬂared high-clearance arches. All this is

engineered and ﬁtted by Arctic Trucks, which specialises in building extreme-terrain vehicles for covering the frozen wastes of the Icelandic interior. Arctic Trucks is headquartered in Warwickshire these days. It still does its thing back home in Iceland, but no-one’s denying that people who buy an AT35 in Britain are doing it for the vehicle’s appearance. To most of them, it’s a second or third car, not an essential off-road tool. Hence the lavish use of decorative badging that’s part of Arctic Trucks’ spec – on the body, the front seat headrests, the company’s own

heavy-duty side steps, you name it. In the case of our test vehicle, being bright orange did it no harm in the eye candy stakes either. And sure enough, during the few days we spent with the AT35 it got loads of attention. It’s a car park conversation starter for sure – more so even than our own D-Max GO2, which is almost as tall but, crucially it would appear, is a) slimmer around the tyres and, b) not orange. Perhaps we should get it wrapped. Anyway, back to the story. During our brief ﬁrst drive of the new AT35 a few months back, we remarked that it’s now more reﬁned on the

road than the old model. That’s a D-Max thing rather than an Arctic Trucks thing, but mainly it’s a thing and it’s a good one. Whether cruising on the motorway or carving our way around the mean streets of town, and we did plenty of both, it’s pleasingly quiet in the cabin. Even on such big tyres, you don’t get vibrations coming back at you through the pedals or steering wheel, and it sits steady at speed without needing to be kept on course with constant corrections. In other words, it’s like driving a standard one. Mainly, at least. On the previous model, we noted an element of

Monogrammed headrests? Of course there are. Badging sewn into the carpet mats? You wouldn’t expect anything less.Range-topping interior appointments? Not strictly necessary in a vehicle built to rule the world off-road, but it goes pretty well with the whole king-of-the-highway image

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DRIVEN

Even at the height of a freakishly dry summer, Salisbury Plain’s infamous valley bottoms can stay very wet. The AT35’s wide tyres should be ideal for floating over the soft stuff in the middle, but one of the mods it doesn’t come with is a winch and ground anchor so we steered well clear. In other areas, one of the joys of testing a vehicle is that you can take the worst (aka most entertaining) line over the terrain in the name of seeing how it responds. What we found is that compared to the old-generation AT35, it’s much less likely to need the rear locker which, ironically, the new one is equipped with as standard jouncing that’s a characteristic of the suspension. That recent first drive suggested this was gone, but a longer session behind the wheel did yield a bit of it. It’s fine on the motorway but the firm jolts are still there on poor road surfaces, whether running unladen or, as we also tried, with about a quarter of a ton in the back. It’s well damped and certainly wouldn’t be a deal-breaker, unless you mistakenly expect your truck to ride like a Roller, but it’s there. Interestingly, though, while we noticed it on the road we didn’t on the trails. Even on the bumpier ones, the AT35’s ride is very well controlled. Perhaps if anything, when a sharp rise in the ground tries to launch the nose upward, the effect is a little more dramatic than in a standard one, but again if that’s going to put you off you need to think twice. We’d also add that with the extra weight of a winch over the front, we’d expect it to settle very nicely into its spring and damper rates. Our AT35 didn’t have a winch, so we stayed well clear of the valley bottoms for which Salisbury Plain is infamous. Even at the height of a very dry summer, some of these were still wet; we’d expect those big, wide tyres to float over the soft ground pretty effectively, but much as we’d have enjoyed testing the theory, we weren’t about to risk bogging it with no-one for miles around. Instead, the order of the day was to kick up dust trails on the many parched, stony tracks around here, while taking the worst possible line over all the rough and uneven bits. All in the name of testing that

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suspension, of course, and nothing to do with playing it for laughs. And, as we’ve just mentioned, this is where the suspension really comes into its own. It handles the constant, high-frequency inputs from the rough ground with real conﬁdence – and over the course of several hours on a very hot day, it never showed any sign of losing its edge. We were driving at socially acceptable speeds, of course, but it feels very much like it could cope with much more – Arctic Trucks also operates in the Middle East, and we don’t think the AT35 would struggle with being hammered relentlessly over steep sand dunes in the desert sun. In fact, with such wide tyres we reckon it would be in its element. It seems better at handling extreme ground than the old model, too. On the previous AT35, we were surprised by the terrain that left it needing a rear locker. This time, we were surprised by the terrain that didn’t. So that’s looking like a clear step forward. Left in low box, it can pick its way over the sort of ground that moves its weight around constantly, lifting wheels as it goes, and

we never found it getting light and loose at the back. But, and it’s a big but, this was on trails we chose specifically to suit the AT35. That it gobbled them up should be no surprise. In the real world, off-road prowess is about being able to cope with anything – and in Britain, that means being able to fit through small gaps. There’s a reason why Land Rovers had flat sides for all those decades. As a matter of interest, while driving the AT35 we had to stop off to collect an eBay purchase from a dead-end street. A narrow dead-end street. It wasn’t so much the eleven-pointer that turned our knuckles white as the sheer lack of space between the parked cars: at one point, those monster wheelarches were an interference fit below the door mirrors to either side. All too often, when you take this vehicle off-road its wheelarches will be like big targets. And the size of its tyres, whose dimensions are 34.4” tall and 12.4” wide, means it will float on mud and wet grass rather than biting down into it. It’s not the first glamorous 4x4 to be ill-suited to typical British conditions

in this way, but when it’s presented as an off-roader this is something we have to point up. Give me tyres about me that are lean! The market seems to understand this, anyway. When Isuzu launched the AT35 those six years back, we asked one of its execs if he thought it would sell to off-road users rather than the look-at-me brigade and he said he hoped so: more recently, the same guy conﬁrmed that while it certainly does sell well, it is indeed to the look-at-me brigade. And that’s ﬁne, because people certainly do look at you. As they should, because the AT35 is arguably the most spectacular pick-up you can buy. It’s very good at what it was designed to do on glaciers back home in Iceland, and as a by-product it’s very good at what people buy it for here in Blighty. It’s just that as an off-road toy, or workhorse, the D-Max is better suited to typical British conditions with different mods to this. Did we love driving it? Hell, yeah. Would we swap it for our own D-Max GO2? Hell, no. But mainly we did love driving it, and Salisbury Plain has rarely been such a blast.

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82 19 CE SIN

ARCHIVE STORIES FROM THE FIRST YEAR OF OVERLANDER 4X4

G-Wagen? G-Whiz! by Mike Hallett

Glancing through my local paper a few weeks ago, my eye was attracted to an advertisement lurking in the corner of one page. ‘Come and destroy a G-Wagen,’ it said. A second look confirmed it; they actually wanted people to come and try them out on their ‘special cross-country course.’ Clover Leaf Cars of Odiham, Hants must have taken leave of their senses, I thought. Anyway, I phoned them and yes, they would be delighted to see me and yes, I could drive any of the examples they had at the demo. Now, just in case you don’t know about the G Series, I will try and give you an update. There were many rumours in the early 70s of a possible competitor to the Range Rover emerging from Mercedes-Benz. The name ‘Explorer’ was bandied about, conjuring up visions of something really special from Germany’s finest. Then it went quiet for a while. Pretender to the Range Rover’s throne? I think not, but I could be wrong Eventually, several years ago, a rugged, producing 156 and 88hp respectively. Whichever In their wisdom, Mercedes-Benz has restrictboxy-looking vehicle made its first tentative engine you go for, you may also specify a manual ed us to only four versions. These are the 280 appearance from a factory in Graz, Austria. or automatic transmission. All this in either a GE and 300 GD estates, available in long or Produced jointly by Mercedes-Benz and Steyrshort or long-wheelbase estate car. short-wheelbase form. More of this later. Puch (remember the Haflinger?), the GelandThe short-wheelbase has only two doors, with I arrived at Clover Leaf’s demonstration to be ewagen had finally arrived (‘gelande’ meaning seating for up to seven (if you include the two introduced to various personalities connected ‘terrain’ or, in this context, ‘cross-country’). There astronomically expensive but optional sideways with the dealers and Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd, are a great many variations of the theme, all facing seats in the back at £205.82 each). The including ‘Mr G-Wagen’ himself, Wolfgang Goetz. based around the long or short chassis, including long-wheelbase has four doors and will seat a Now there is a man who knows his product. military versions. maximum of nine – once again with the optional At last, I was turned loose on the assembled It was to be the NEC Motor Show last year side benches, this time at £300.89 each. Both vehicles. There were 17 available, all with somebefore we in the United Kingdom were finally versions have a side-hinged rear door. thing different to offer but all based on the four offered the G-Series officially – although I did As you would expect with Mercedes-Benz enmodels for the UK market. know of at least one that found its way into the gineering, everything is extremely functional and Engine options are easy. You can have a Helensburgh area of Strathclyde in 1979, probably the finish can only be described as superb. 2.8-litre fuel-injected petrol or a 3.0-litre diesel as a private import.

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A quick look round reveals long-travel coil suspension on all four corners, with radius arms and panhard rods to locate the axles. Now, where have I seen that before…? The two-speed transfer box is remotely mounted, connected to the primary box by a short shaft. Braking is by discs at the front and drums to the rear, with the handbrake operating on the rear only. Power assisted steering and front and rear difflocks are standard for the UK specification. So are headlamp washers, a heated rear window, towing equipment, seat belts for five and radio interference suppression kit, though no radio is fitted. This is thought to be better left to the customer as the choice of ICE is so vast, which seems reasonable to me. For my first mount, I selected a LWB 280 GE with manual transmission and off we went to the cross-country area. Within minutes, I felt completely at home. Every control fell easily to hand and the vehicle was a delight to handle, big though it was. The gear change felt a little wishy-washy and not at all like a traditional 4x4 but I soon came to like it. There is bags of power for road use and the ride, though firmer than the Range Rover’s, is extremely comfortable. The cross-country course was, to be honest, a little bit tame but, as was explained to me, they didn’t want to scare the wits out of their potential customers. However, there were one or two steep ascents and descents which were almost worthy of a trials section and these the LWB romped over with ease, only banging its belly on the sharper crests. Pulling away from rest on a 45° slope could only be accomplished with both differentials locked. But I don’t think anything else would have done it with such ease or style. I began to look forward to trying the short-wheelbase with the 2.8 engine. But when we got back to the vehicle park, the only SWB petrol immediately available was also automatic. What a blow! Still, beggars can’t be choosers etc, so off we went again. Wow! Excuse my enthusiasm, but when your everyday transport is a Range Rover that can only

‘A pair of black beauties’ be described as geriatric, you tend to be very impressed by a new, 156-horsepower, fuel-injected projectile that has the same affinity for chromium shovels as a certain variety of manure. What is more, it does all the work for you, its 4-speed auto-box switching smoothly up and down with only the slightest jerk if you press-on really hard. Off the road it comes into its own. I pulled every trick in the book on that vehicle, short of being downright dangerous. Clover Leaf’s man may not agree with that as his knuckles became progressively whiter and his grin more sickly. I thought he was going to get out at one stage when I asked if I could leave the designated course and try it out in other parts of the quarry. Still I was unable to find anything that would bring it to a halt, except the brakes of course. I would very much like to try it out in deep mud and water, none of which was available on the day. I did scare myself once. On a normal steep descent (remember this had an auto box), engine braking was adequate to let you down under control provided you shoved it in first before

Damp chalk and steeper than it looks, but still cleared with ease

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you started off. There is, apparently, a lock up device on first. However, on one abnormally steep descent engine braking clearly wasn’t enough and gravity very nearly won that round. Nevertheless, I was very impressed with the automatic’s ability to handle such rapidly changing terrain. I also tried an automatic SWB 300 GD, the diesel member of the family. It’s a bit sluggish, like most diesels, until you get it wound up and then it’s pretty quick. The high torque combined with the automatic transmission gives effortless clambering ability while maintaining complete control over all four wheels. One gets the feeling that on tickover alone, with diff-locks engaged, it would trundle happily up the side of a house. Okay! I admit it. I was impressed, and the impossible dream – I want one. Just to show that I am not totally biased, however, there were one or two features that irritated me. First, the front and rear differential lock selectors are clearly intended for the left-hand drive version. When the driver is on the right hand side, the selectors are easily reached but awkward to operate as they lean away from you as you pull them up. Second, the exhaust pipe projects below the chassis in the centre of the vehicle and appears vulnerable to damage from passing boulders. Finally, the G-Wagen is not the most attractive vehicle that has come out of Germany. I have heard it compared with a number of unsavoury objects. Among them, ‘an old bread van’ (this of a Y-registered 300 GD!) and, dare I repeat it, ‘a long nosed version of the Sherpa.’ So it’s ugly! But I still want one. Some time in the near future, we hope to bring you a full test of one of these machines. In the meantime, whereabouts is it going to fit in the 4x4 market? I honestly don’t think it will topple the Range Rover from ’top spot’ – it just doesn’t have the charisma. However the specialist body builders will be after it for ambulances, crash tenders, fire engines and so on, and I expect the top end of the Land Rover Station Wagon range will feel the pinch too. Time will tell.

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TWO DECADES LATER… In 2002, Jeep launched a vehicle that was to become its ﬂagship off-roader. The Rubicon

lsewhere in this issue, we’ve taken a look back at some stories from the first ever edition of Total Off Road – the magazine which, years later, was to rescue 4x4 from oblivion and make it what it is today. We’ve chosen this issue because it’s the 20th anniversary of TOR’s arrival in the world. But however big a deal this was, we have to confess that it wasn’t 2002’s only big debut in the off-road world. Over on the far side of the Atlantic, Jeep was up to something. The much-loved XJ-generation Cherokee had been replaced by the KJ ‘Liberty’ model, with its independent front suspension – and the die-hards weren’t happy. Maybe the company had second-guessed the reaction its new model was going to get among its most loyal (and critical) fans, however – because it was already working on a vehicle that would turn the off-road market on its head. No, not the Patriot. In 2002, the TJ Wrangler was halfway through its model life. Having done such a fine job of converting America’s off-road masses to coil springs, it was already a hit of monster proportions. But America’s off-road masses had for years, nay decades, been showing their love of modifying – and Jeep tapped into that with a Wrangler that came modified as standard. This was the start of something very, very big. It was the world’s first glimpse of a model which, since then, has been synonymous with the Wrangler’s championing of traditional off-road values. It was the dawning of the age of the Rubicon. Named after the legendary off-road trail in the Sierra Nevada, the Rubicon was an out-of-the-box Wrangler for customers who had until then needed to build their own super-Jeeps. It came with Dana 44 axles, front and rear lockers, a disconnecting sway bar, rock rails and 31” mud-terrain tyres, and nothing else in production could match it off-road. It’s been a Jeep icon ever since. The Rubicon only came to the UK when the TJ model was replaced by the JK in 2007, but even by then it stood for the ultimate in factory-fresh off-road ability. And that’s how it’s been ever since. In the company’s own words, it continues to be ‘a proof of concept for the Jeep brand, where lessons learned in off-road meccas like Moab and feedback gleaned from enthusiasts and brand loyalists continue to push the brand and the entire Jeep line-up forward.’ Hence the Rubicon 20th Anniversary concept. Whereas the original TJ Rubicon was a 2-door, this is a long-wheelbase 4-door model. And it’s special even by the Rubicon’s own elevated standards – because it’s based on the Rubicon 392, the 6.4-litre V8-engined animal at the pinnacle of the range that makes even the everyday Rubicon look ordinary. As well as 470bhp and 470lbf.ft, full-time four-wheel drive and a 4.5-second 0-60 time, it has a strengthened chassis, 33” tyres and

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is a Wrangler and then some – and this one is a Wrangler Rubicon and then some more Words: Olly Sack Pictures: Jeep

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The Rubicon 20th Anniversary might be grey on the outside, but its read leather interior is definitely the stuff of a concept vehicle. So too, once, would Jeep’s 6.4-litre V8 engine have been – but this is now available in a production model, in the shape of the Rubicon 392 +2” suspension featuring Fox shocks. It’s not just better than a standard Rubicon at being a fast car – it’s better at being a Rubicon, too. And the 20th Anniversary version is better still. It’s on Jeep Performance Parts suspension, 17” Mopar rims and 37” mud-terrains – and it’s protected by steel bumpers, the one up front supporting a Warn winch, plus a heavy-duty belly pan. Perhaps rather surprisingly, given that the Wrangler line-up in the US market includes a variety of eye-catching colours, the Rubicon 20th Anniversary is grey. More surprisingly still, when that colour line-up includes enough shades of grey to make you fear for the safety your nether regions, it’s wrapped. Truth to tell, even with gold recovery hooks, matching badges and a lurid air scoop in its bonnet, it looks a little understated.

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Not that there’s anything anonymous about a vehicle with a button on the dash to switch its active dual-mode performance exhaust between notes which Jeep describes as ‘wild’ and ‘outrageous.’ It has the one-touch full-length power top previously seen on the 80th Anniversary Wrangler, too. And on the inside, red leather seats definitely make up for the muted tones of the bodywork. Nonetheless, as a celebration of the Rubicon’s second decade in existence, we can’t help but feel that while this vehicle certainly does build very effectively on an already sky-high standard spec list, it could have done with shouting louder about what it’s got going on. Jeep has created plenty of unbelievably spectacular concepts down the years, so it certainly doesn’t have anything to prove at that level, but if you were to put the Rubi-

con 20th Anniversary in a line-up with a selection of other Wranglers from Easter Safaris past, it would risk blending into the background. One prod of the loud pedal, though, and you’d soon know. And more to the point, with those lockers engaged and a load of air dumped out of its 37” tyres, it could crawl up a sheer rock wall at no more than tickover. Which, in a manner of speaking, is what the Rubicon has always been about. It looks like any other Wrangler, but it can do things that set it a very long way apart. So it’s kind of an off-road sleeper… and this one is more so than ever. And there’s not a lot than can live with it on the highway, too. It might not talk too much about what it’s got going on – but as with every good off-roader, it’s all about walking the walk.

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LESS IS MORE When Greg McGuire set out to build a modiﬁed Land Rover Discovery, he wasn’t trying to create the ultimate off-roader. Instead, his lane wagon just developed over time – until it had become the sort of off-road weapon that could teach most take-on-the-world artists how it’s really done Words: Gary Noskill Pictures: SteveTaylor

t used to be said that trialling was the pathway to comp safari racing, and green laning was the pathway to winching. That was possibly true a couple of decades ago, though these days it’s more the case that discovering what low range means is a pathway into more or less everything. The Land Rover Discovery you’re looking at here is from back then, when stuff like that still made sense… and when a Discovery could still turn up to a winch challenge without all the tubular buggies making it look like a guppy in a tank of piranhas. Dating from 1992, it was knocking on for its tenth birthday when Greg McGuire bought it to use as a green laner. We happened upon it some ﬁve years after that. Actually, we were doing a photoshoot with a couple of Greg’s friends and they invited him to tag along. We normally dread that happening, because when someone shows up to a private event in the shed from hell and can’t understand why you’re only interested in pointing your lens at his mate’s beautiful new build, it’s more awkward than the encore at a San Cisco gig. So when the cut-up remnants of an old Disco came rumbling up the track, we let out a bit of a sigh. But not only did the Disco turn out to be a great example of a real-world off-road machine, Greg turned out to be a top bloke. So, lesson learned. Where were we? Ah yes, so he’s bought this thing to use on his local lanes. These happen to be the ones around Corwen in North Wales, so you have our permission to be jealous. But you know what we were saying about where laning can lead you? ‘All I did was put a winch on the front,’ Greg told us. ‘But it’s just gone from one extreme to another.’ It took a while. Well, when you’ve got the likes of the Wayfarer, White Stones and the Pheasant Pen Steps in your back yard, there’s no point in rushing things. There’s plenty of point in staying safe, though, so after the winch came a full internal Camel Trophy roll cage from Safety Devices. But aside from going through several sets of tyres, that’s how the Discovery stayed. But then one day, the civilised pleasures of green laning started giving way to the altogether more rigorous demands of challenge competition. We told you so.

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No need to mess around with your engine when it’s your vehicle’s original 200 Tdi. This one has a full-width intercooler, which Greg described to us as ‘a dramatic change,’ as well as a Safari Snorkel. Also original to the vehicle, the LT77 gearbox and LT230 transfer case just keep on going as they did the day the vehicle came out of the factory

And a project was born. To start with, the main addition was a rear winch. ‘I cut a hole in the rear door,’ said Greg, ‘and fabricated the winch into the back of what was still a full-length Discovery, with a fairlead in the door. But I was getting stuck on a lot of trees and damaging the bodywork. ‘Finally, it had a few too many dents in it, and I thought “it’s looking really scraggy now, it’s time for an overhaul.” So I set to with the grinder!’ This was all done on Greg’s driveway. He was definitely thankful to his neighbours for their forbearance: ‘I was lighting the street up with the sparks!’ And there can have been no shortage of sparks, because this was no five-minute job. ‘We took the roof off and then cut two feet off the back. When you put the light clusters back on, it works out at 22 inches shorter than standard.’ Greg repositioned the winch mount, completed the back of the body and folded over the rear wheelarches, all still on his driveway at home. Like many bobtail jobs, he used the original rear crossmember. ‘Where we cut it was about three or four inches short of the crossmember, so it hopefully won’t twist, and just behind that we’ve got the new rear bumper.’ Already, the once-mild project had turned into something very serious indeed. So it’s no surprise that things didn’t stop there. Greg turned to a local off-road specialist to build a roll cage, creating a full external affair from Blue Band tubing which was at once fully demountable but also properly welded to the chassis. Further protection was added in the shape of Scorpion Racing rock sliders, while Gwyn Lewis provided guards for the steering and diffs. The latter source, who is little short of legendary in winching circles and whose stock of parts has also rescued many a Welsh laning weekend for punters coming from far and wide, also looked after the vehicle’s suspension, with an all-round Old Man Emu kit giving a lift of two inches. Regarding the suspension, Greg stopped short of fitting a full-house dislocation kit. But the non-captive nature of the standard set-up means

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that with the extra travel allowed by the OME shocks, it’s all too easy for the springs to pop out of their seats. ‘Even if it comes away an inch,’ he said, ‘it’s enough to go back behind the spring seat. So I’ve welded in some home-made relocation bars. But other than that it’s pretty standard.’ This, and the lack of diff-locks in the vehicle’s axles, means that its 265/75R16 Anacondas had to make the most of every bit of ground contact they get. On this score, Greg was an absolute fan: ‘The tyres work very well in mud. They’re good on the road, and I think they’re pretty damn fantastic in mud. Especially for the size of them – I’m up against some much bigger tyres in challenge events. It’s the way you use them, I suppose, as well.’ If there’s one thing about the vehicle that ages this story, there it is right there. Punch-hunting on a tyre that’s only about 32”tall? In these days of 40” specials, that’s nowhere – though even back then, the age of the 35” Simex was already well and truly upon us so he was up against much bigger stuff as it was. As always, though, to finish first, first you have to finish. And when we met him, Greg had been bringing home some good results. ‘I suppose we’re relying on other people going at it good guns and breaking something,’ he reflected. ‘We go at it at a medium pace and get to the end.’ With a vehicle whose suspension and transmission lacked the sort of ultimate mods considered vital at the cutting edge, this kind of hardcore off-roading will inevitable place a lot of reliance on a vehicle’s winches. And yes, this story is going to look its age again now. Because the winches in question were a Goodwinch X9 Plus at the front and a Superwinch Husky at the back. The Goodwinch unit was mounted on a bumper from the same company, and the amount of use it gets is a pretty strong advert for its strength and reliability. ‘I like the winching,’ Greg told us. ‘I don’t like big tyres where you just drive

to it – I like the winching side of it, I like a challenge. I like to do the setting up and the rigging of the pulleys.’ This of course means that the vehicle’s winches saw a particularly high amount of action. Despite this, however, when we met Greg their steel cables were still in service after two long, hard years. ‘I’m a bit of a nag for my winchman to make sure he puts it back on right every time,’ Greg told us. ‘So my cable has lasted me all that time without me having to change it.’ Steel, though?! Yes, steel. If the story wasn’t already sounding like a history lesson… The winches were fed through a split-charge system using two batteries. ‘It’s got a Bosch battery that’s still on there from when I bought it ﬁve years ago, plus a second one I put in to back it up. I’d like to replace them with Optimas, but as long as they’re doing the job and not letting me down, on they go!’ Elsewhere under the bonnet, the original 200Tdi engine was still doing a sterling job. Greg had by now bought another Discovery to take the strain of day-to-day life, but a full-width intercooler ensured it was able to give its best when called upon. ‘It’s a dramatic change,’ says Greg. ‘Now, from a standard Tdi, it’s got torque from nowhere. The other Discovery I’ve got, I’m going to put it on that as well.’ Further mods to the engine included a Safari Snorkel, which is pretty much mandatory if you’re going to be putting your vehicle through the

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A Goodwinch X9 Plus at the front and a Superwinch Husky at the back take care of the team’s immediate winching needs. ‘I don’t like big tyres where you just drive to it,’ Greg told us. ‘I like the winching side of it, I like a challenge. I like to do the setting up and the rigging of the pulleys.’ The Disco’s two winches were still running steel cable when we met Greg, which ages this story a little – as does the fact that there were only two of them, and indeed that Greg was achieving good results in a Discovery that still looked like a Discovery

rigours of challenge competition. Behind the Tdi unit, an LT77 box and LT230 transfer case were just doing away as they did the day the vehicle came out of the factory. Even though there was another Disco in the family, this one was still very much road-legal and saw plenty of use. ‘I still go shopping in it if my wife’s using the other one,’ said Greg. ‘Me and my lad go everywhere in it! ‘It’s a very good all-round vehicle for a very low cost,’ he continued. ‘I paid £6500 for it five years ago. Back then it started off as one owner from new, a lady who only used it for school runs. It was immaculate – you could eat your dinner off the inner wings. That’s why I bought it – because I knew there would be a lot of life in the chassis. If you buy a second-hand vehicle that’s been offroad, they’re full of mud.’ Since then, Greg estimated that he had spent another £8000 or so on modifications. ‘I’m a lorry driver – I don’t have that much money to throw at it!’ Much of that money went on protecting the vehicle from the inevitable knocks and scrapes that would come with its new vocation in life. The diffs and steering rods were protected by the usual guards (the latter, which in fact also came from Gwyn Lewis, was of the kind that bolts to the radius arms), while rock sliders were modified to fit. ‘I’ve had to cut the rear arches and the backs of the front arches,’ explained Greg, ‘so I had to take an inch off the rock sliders as well and cap the ends to stop mud getting into them.’ Back at the front, so to speak, the vehicle was given a 90-style track rod arm and Greg removed its rather vulnerable steering damper. Inside, the vehicle normally carried a Midland 48 CB, though this was away being repaired when we photographed it. Further equipment, none of which is unusual, included a fire extinguisher and a Garmin sat-nav linked to a laptop. ‘It’s

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not the smallest of set-ups, but it does the trick when we’re green laning. If the satellite’s telling you you’re there on the computer, you know that’s where you are.’ Despite these additions, however, Greg is a believer in only changing what you have to. The Discovery was still on its original seats and belts, for example, and the same philosophy applied elsewhere. So much so that even though its suspension had gone up by a couple of inches, it was still on its original propshaft UJs. This points to Greg’s ‘just enough’ approach to modifying, and also to the preventative maintenance he gave it on an ongoing basis. ‘Every time I go out, when I come home it’s cleaned, as much as you can. And I grease the UJs before every outing.’ There’s a lesson there for all of us… ‘I don’t want to go too far,’ Greg continued. ‘I like to keep the height as low as possible – you see people going too high, and they go over too easily.

You’ve got to have a bit of height, but you’re taking up your centre of gravity and you don’t want to take it too far.’ Thus the chassis remained standard apart from the bobtail conversion. And, unusually for an extreme competition car, the exhaust was merely been shortened and not repositioned. But that’s typical of the approach Greg took with this Discovery. Modify only what you need to, but modify it well. Like his choice of tyres, less is more – and there, too, is a lesson for all of us. Many people set out to build the ultimate off-roader, and the law of averages dictates that almost all of them will fail. The law of averages is right, too. So it takes someone special to settle, right from the outset, for just enough. And as it turns out, less really is more. Less mods, and indeed less Discovery… but more fun, and more capable, than almost any other off-road project you’ll ever see.

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The Montauk This beautifully restiﬁed 60-Series Land Cruiser wants to be seen as a reﬁned workhorse for your weekend retreat on Long Island. Unlike the actual Montauk Monster, however, its classic lines mean everyone knows exactly what it is… Words: Tom Alderney Pictures: Legacy Overland

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Monster F

or many of us, the 80-Series Toyota Land Cruiser remains the definitive off-roader. Big, strong, luxurious, sorted with a chassis, axles, transfer case and difflocks everywhere, not to mention supreme build quality, it ticked every known box then invented some new boxes and ticked them too. It was just unbelievably good. Or perhaps it wasn’t actually unbelievable at all. If you were already a seasoned Land Cruiser watcher when the J80 came out, you’d have known that throughout the 1980s, the Japanese giant had been building the J60 – a similarly proportioned wagon which, for its time, revolutionised the idea of what a 4x4 should be. The 60-Series was nowhere near as posh as the 80. However it was a sign of things to come. In the last couple of years of production, Toyota created the FJ62 model, complete with a VX model designation which for decades going forward came to be its shorthand for top-spec luxury. In this case, top-spec luxury included electric windows, power locks and a dashboard that didn’t look and feel like it had been taken straight from a light commercial vehicle. Built in Japan (and Venezuela, for local markets only – ‘el Macho,’ as the Cruiser is known down there, has a reputation that goes beyond legendary), the FJ62 was the first true foretaste of Land Cruisers to come – the 80, 100 and 200-Series all went on to fly the Toyota flag in the

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There’s still a distinctly eighties’ vibe to the 60-Series’ cabin, but with a modern vibe on top. Its original architecture is still there, however it has been remade with double-DIN electrics allowing the addition of a head unit running Apple CarPlay. Legacy Overland built a bespoke air-con system for the vehicle, too, and even changed the colour of the lower dash plastics from grey to brown to match the vehicle’s new overall look

‘The interior is important because, as Legacy Overland points out, the FJ62 has big windows – so passers-by get a very good view into its cabin’ UK and beyond. But that original model is a very rare sight here itself – even rarer, in fact, than the world-beating 40-Series, which never oﬃcially came here at all. So when you see the one pictured here, it might not come as a huge surprise that it’s based a long way from the UK. The steering wheel being on the left might be a bit of a tell-tale sign. We were going to say that same about the parched, sandy ground, but that could be more or less anywhere in England right now. Mainly, anyway, it’s the fact that it exists at all. You just don’t see FJ62s in these parts. And you certainly don’t see them in such a pristine condition as the one you’re looking at now.

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As is normally the case when a classic 4x4 looks as new as this, the story involves more than just a healthy diet. In this case, there was a full restoration – complete with some tasteful mods to bring the grand old lady into the modern era. The job was carried out by Legacy Overland, an American company which specialises in keeping classic 4x4s alive by reimagining them as new vehicles. Not ‘new’ as in drearily anodyne and painfully devoid of character or identity, though; the idea is that this is what true off-road legends like the FJ60 (the company also specialises in the 40-Series, Defender, Range Rover Classic and G-Wagen) would be like if they were still being built today.

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In this case, the FJ60 still has its leaf-sprung, live-axled suspension. All of it refurbished, of course, but wonderfully original. Your own instinct, perhaps honed on a lifetime of hybrid Land Rovers, might be that converting it to coils would make it that much cushier, however the traditional American solution has always been to stick with cart springs but make them better. The 31x10.50R15 Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx tyres at the ends of the axles, which are mounted on a refurbished set of Toyota’s own period sixspoke steels, are turned by the original 3F-E petrol engine. A straight six unit displacing 3955cc, this was only used on the FJ62 from 1988 onwards – marking out the particular vehicle seen here as a

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late one. These days, you’d expect a 4.0-litre unit to come up with more than 155bhp and 220lbf. ft, but it was just fine for the FJ62 and its low compression meant it’s capable of putting in a quarter of a million miles or more before needing a rebuild. Though a rebuild is exactly what this one got, with all new internals, gaskets, flywheel and so on, it’s still original. So too are the gearbox and transfer case, which joined the engine in getting a full rebuild – and did the brakes and power steering. Anything that wasn’t renewed was rebuilt (radiator, pumps, filter housings and so on) and the whole wiring loom was stripped out and reinstalled from scratch to suit the demands of

modern life – which in this case include running a custom air conditioning system and double-DIN Pioneer audio with Bluetooth, four door-mounted JBL speakers and an Excalibur amp. Elsewhere in the cabin, the original front seats and rear bench were retrimmed in leather – as were the upper dash, lower side walls and sun visors. The roof lining was replaced by alcantara fabric, meanwhile, and the grab handles, shifter boots and handbrake gaiter all match the rest of the cabin. So too do the door cards, handles and pockets, which are trimmed out in Monza Collection full-grain beige hide with brown details. This is important because, as Legacy Overland says, the FJ62 has big windows, so passers-by

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You do see old Land Cruisers in a much worse state of rust, but this one had deﬁnitely started on the one-way trip before Legacy Overland brought it back. The chassis was looking very crusty indeed, the ﬂoor and bulkhead were starting to perforate and the doors were particularly well gone. Cue a total stripdown, allowing all the metal to be made good before the body was repainted in a desert sand hue that manages to look at once original and also modern. The engine, too, looked pretty hideous inside and out, and like the vehicle’s structure it was taken right down to every individual item before being remanufactured from scratch. Similarly, the axles, brakes, suspension, steering and so on was all comprehensively renewed, with extensive use of anodised hardware helping protect it from going the same way again in the future

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get a very good view into its cabin. ‘Light and airy tan leather is flanked by German weave carpet throughout. The plastic parts were restored and converted from grey to brown to match the interior design palette. A classy wooden steering wheel rounds things out for that oh-so-Montauk feel.’ We have to admit that we needed to look up Montauk to find out what that reference means. The place is a traditional Long Island fishing village in the Hamptons, apparently, though it also gives its name to the Montauk Project, one of those wonderfully swivel-eyed conspiracy theories that reckons the government was using an air base there to contact extra-terrestrials, stage faked moon landings and experiment with teleportation and time travel. The Netflix series Stranger Things was inspired by the stories, which

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would be easier to dismiss as arch crankery if it weren’t for the fact that in 2008, the body of a large but unidentiﬁable creature appeared on the beach alongside the town centre one night and, with no-one able to agree on what it was, because known simply as the Montauk Monster. So, that’s the strange history of Montauk for you, distilled into one paragraph. And here you were expecting just to read about a particularly nice Toyota Land Cruiser. Which, before you ask, is not the actual Montauk Monster – if for no other reason than that everyone can tell exactly what it is. ‘Put on your linen clothes and get ready for the New England lobster boil,’ concludes Adventure Overland, ‘cos this reﬁned adventure luxury build means business.’ Couldn’t have put it better ourselves.

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If you go down to the woods today

There aren’t many places in Britain where the landscape makes you feel like you’re in another continent altogether. But for a few magical moments, we found in the unlikeliest of locations – just a few miles west of Consett… Words: Olly Sack Pictures: Richard Hair

e’re on our own, just us and our truck. There’s not a sign of anyone close by, not a soul. No shortage of wildlife, no doubt, but the next human being could be ﬁfty miles away. In every direction, it’s nothing but trees, thousands,

maybe millions of towering conifers blanketing the hillsides that roll off into the distance as far as the eye can see. The trail we’re following, its bumpy, sandy surface leading off into the distance, is the only break in the unrelenting greenery. We could be out here in the vast boreal forests of Norway or Canada,

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ascending the slopes of some lush Alpine range or pushing eastward through the bleakening Steppes of the near east. Those trees could conceal lynx, caribou, timber wolves, even grizzlies… And then a foxhound trots past. It turns its head brieﬂy to give me an inquisitive glance as I lean out

my window to look at it then carries on in the direction of whatever scent it’s following. Oh yes. It’s easy to let your imagination run free in a landscape like this, even if in truth the vision of a genuine wilderness only comes in ﬂeeting glances. But right now, we’re only about ﬁve miles south of

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Hexham, and scarcely further west of Consett. Slaley Forest is wonderful. Covering 1250 acres on the border of Northumberland and County Durham, it’s regarded as a place where you can lose yourself amid the tranquillity of a natural landscape – yet in reality, it’s about as natural as the steelworks for which the aforementioned town of Consett was famous. Where once, its hills would have been covered in native broadleaves, today it’s comprised mainly of Sitka spruce – a North American native whose value as a timber crop has made it one of the world’s most successful

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invasive species. This is, very much, a commercial plantation. Forestry England has a longterm plan to create a more diverse forest in Slaley, in terms of both the trees themselves and the wildlife that lives among them. For now, though, it’s a breeding site for nightjars and home to a population of red squirrels, though no SSSIs or Scheduled Ancient Monuments exist within it. Perfect, then, for people to freely enjoy just being in the great outdoors. It’s a factory, basically, albeit one whose product is created by the process of growing trees – and, therefore, one whose

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Peth Foot is a series of climbs and descents which are best taken in low range if you have it. At the bottom of the valley it crosses, a fairly wide, bumpily bottomed ford takes you across the somewhat dramatically named Devil’s Water

landscape is beautiful, peaceful and perfect for exploring. As Forestry England says, there’s little in the way of formal provision for recreation in Slaley. There are, however, a good many rights of way – almost all of which, very unusually indeed, are Byways Open to All Traffic. In addition, walkers, cyclists and horse riders enjoy open public access: 4x4 drivers and trail bikers are of course allowed only on the byways, or they would be if more than half of these hadn’t been closed so that only walkers, cyclists and horse riders are allowed to use them. Finally, something familiar enough to seem natural. I’ll say it again, though. Slaley is wonderful. There are forests which have made a big effort to market themselves and ended up feeling more like theme parks with their

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mountain bike trails, woodland sculptures, visitor centres and the inevitable High Ropes. All of which are fine things but you just know that if rights of way exist, the forest’s management will see them not as an amenity to visitors but as a threat to their bottom line. I once drove into Dalby Forest on one of the green lanes that link up with the toll road running through it and when I stopped at the visitor centre to pay for my ticket, the people there practically told me off for sneaking in through the back door. Anyway, while it’s great to bring more people into forests, everything that goes with doing so makes them that much less natural. The good thing about Slaley is that you don’t go there to be entertained, or educated, or active (in dramatic lettering and with a swooshing

noise as you say the word); you go there just to be. No, it’s not a natural environment, but it’s no less beautiful or peaceful for all that. You could say the same about many of the places where green laning is popular, of course. So much of Wales, Yorkshire and the Lake District were once, in their natural state, covered in vast tracts of oak and ash, elm, yew and maple; all are now very much the result of human activity in the way their landscapes appear, but we love them not one bit less for it. And Slaley is the same. So what if it’s a commercial plantation? It’s a great place to take life at a crawl and that’s enough. Not that the foxhound was taking life at a crawl. Quite how it had become so hopelessly separated from the rest of its pack, I don’t

know, but later on we were to learn that there was indeed a hunt going on in the area. We never did see them, but a clutch of local hunt followers waiting at a junction in the middle of the forest came over while I was looking at my map to ask if we knew where they were (then grumble gently about green lane users, which I thought was a bit rich). The carnage among the lanes in Slaley has been varied. There are basically two main rides running west-to-east across the forest, one running north-to-south down its western flank and another along the same alignment right down the middle of it. Slight simplification, but you get the idea. Some sections have been closed altogether; some are summertime only, though even then just for motorbikes; one has been subject to a temporary closure; and another has simply disappeared under all the trees, which appear to have been planted without any reference at all to the fact that there was supposed to be a byway there. What does this leave? One contiguous route, kind of in the shape of a question mark seen in mirror-image, covering about three miles from when you enter the forest near the hamlet of Dukesfield to where you leave it on a lane covering a similar distance south across the austere landscape of Blanchland Moor. Whereby hangs a tale. Delightful though it is, the bloodbath inflicted on the rights of way within it means Slaley isn’t enough on its own for a green lane adventure. But if you don’t mind putting in half an hour on the tarmac, you can link it up with no end of other trails to create a very long and very, very varied day out. Which is exactly what we had going on here. We started in Slaley (the village, not the forest) and headed immediately west on to a fairly simple, grubby sort of farm track before working our way north towards the first big one on our route. Known as Peth Foot, it’s basically a series of climbs and drops that are steep enough to make low box if not a necessity then certainly a very good idea. It

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also finishes with a nice, scenic ford that’s big enough to make you concentrate without, in normal times, also making you cry for what’s left of your truck. Emerging from the west end of the lane, we carried on through the fruitily named village of Juniper and south through Dukesfield towards our entry point into the forest. It’s pretty remote round here – though as we approached the junction, we passed about a dozen SUVs parked up along the sides of the lane, each of them with a horsebox attached. Something to do with the hunt, presumably; either way, it was a weekday so this wasn’t your standard recreational outing. To start with, the trail is very much like those you find in other forests; firm, a bit splashy in places and bordered by tall, mature trees with a carpet of bracken covering the ground below. But then, about half a mile in, you see one of those depressing ‘no motor vehicles’ highway signs announcing that a track which dog-legs to the right up ahead is closed – at which point the main one, which you stay on, swings left and changes character completely. The tree cover remains mature, with extensive thinning having left the landscape light and open, but the ground is now more uneven, with a blanket of fallen pine needles covering the compacted soil beneath your wheels. This was where we encountered the foxhound. It was also where we found piles of rubbish left behind by others – picnic detritus, mainly, so probably walkers, though some of it contained the sort of fancy energy drink cartons that might point to cyclists. Either way, you’ve got to feel for them, bless their little cotton socks, for not having a handy 4x4 to help the carry home their trash. Can’t blame them when they had already used up all their energy carrying it into the forest in the first place, can you? So we did what we do when we’re out laning. We donned a pair of stout gloves, tidied up after whoever else it was and popped their litter in the bin bag we carry aboard our D-Max for just this purpose. Should it be our job to do this? Absolutely not, of course it shouldn’t. But we’re all responsible for looking after the countryside, and if that means tidying up after a cretinous know-nothing, so be it. If you happened upon a walker who had just been beaten up, you’d stop to help them even though it was

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‘Welcome to Slaley Forest’ says the sign, before going on to make it abundantly clear that visiting in a 4x4 makes you anything but. Given that the overwhelming proportion of trees here are Sitka, an invasive species planted for its value as a timber crop, and that actual nature has been almost completely pushed out by human activity, Slaley would be the perfect location for an intelligent approach to managing the needs of all users, but how very un-British that would be. The closures that exist on the majority of byways here are in place to protect commerce, along perhaps with some mythical notion of a rural idyll, but certainly not the environment someone else’s fault, wouldn’t you? Rising above takes many forms. So on we went, pausing to chat to a chap and his kids about that dog we’d both seen tooling around the place, then came to a sign at a crossroads with another track. This made for interesting reading; it confirmed that motor vehicles were allowed on the byways in the forest – but unbelievably begrudgingly, using language so aggressive it would make anyone assume all 4x4 drivers are criminals. Which, you can’t help but feel, is on purpose.

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‘There are many paths and tracks running through the forest to enjoy by foot, horse and bicycle,’ it starts. Lovely and welcoming. Then comes the bit about motor vehicles: ‘The routes shown in orange on the map are open to all traffic. Vehicles and motorbikes are prohibited anywhere off these byway routes.’ It goes on. ‘A zero tolerance approach is taken with anyone illegally accessing the forest or farmland outside of these formal legal routes. Visitors are encouraged to contact 101 on

sighting vehicles outside the legally designated byway.’ Why not just go the whole hog and say ‘we don’t like you and we don’t want you around’? Here we are carrying a bag of rubbish other people have chucked on the forest floor and there’s no mention of anything about taking a zero tolerance approach to people doing that. Perhaps we should just empty it back out again. Going somewhere to relax and being made to feel persecuted is not nice. But at least these feelings

of outrage can’t last when you’re in such a mesmerising landscape. Further on along here came the section of track I described at the outset, where the trees are younger and more tightly packed, but not yet too tall to prevent you from seeing over them into the distance. The effect really is glorious. Less glorious was the section of track further on where 4x4 drivers have created a mud run alongside the byway. However crass the language of the sign back at the junction might have been, two wrongs never make a right. At the same time, we’ve written before about governmentowned forests in America where challenging sections of off-road terrain have been built on gash land alongside the main Cat A tracks, often using logs or surplus quarry or road stone. Here in Britain, quarry surplus is more likely to be used to block access to trails (sometimes even legal rights of way), but wouldn’t that be an innovative, inclusive way of welcoming in a user group and, rather than trying to ban them from as much land as possible, giving them something they can enjoy without doing any damage? A mud run here, a rock crawl there, a permit system for drivers wanting to use them… all managed to prevent any environmental impact and timerestricted to avoid disturbance to other users… you can already

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hear the building whistle of steam escaping from the anti-vehicle haters’ ears, can’t you? Further on was where we bumped into the hunt followers, then as we headed south towards Blanchland Moor a couple of guys on trail bikes pulled over to say hello and ask about the state of the track ahead. Which of course we didn’t know, on account of we were going the same way as them, but having done our research first using Trailwise2 (a spectacularly useful online resource for members of the Green Lane Association), we were able to reassure them that aside from some splashy stuff, the going ought to be pretty straightforward. And so it was. Pretty straightforward and just plain pretty, albeit bleak as anything, the trail across Blanchland Moor is actually longer than everything in Slaley Forest put together, and while it was no challenge for our D-Max it contains more rough terrain. The land surrounding it is an SSSI, too; Blanchland is part of an extensive

tract of dry heath and home to a number of bird species listed as requiring special protection. The higher part of the moor is also among the only parts of England populated by kinnikinnick, also known as bearberry, which in places carpets the ground alongside the dominant heather and wavy hair-grass. By now, inevitably, any images of being a pioneer in the pineclad tracts of Norway or Canada have dispersed. The landscape is very British once again, and very northern English at that. One of the reasons for bearberry being found here is that it’s among the only parts of England that are cold enough; it’s a circumpolar species whose distribution sees is thrive primarily in high mountain ranges and lower lying ground skirting the Arctic Circle. So, perhaps those Scandinavian vibes weren’t so fanciful after all. You’re definitely not in Scandinavia when you arrive in Blanchland village, though. Built

using stones from the ruined 12th Century abbey which once stood on its site, it has remained almost completely unspoilt – if you’ve ever watched an 18th Century period drama on TV (something few of us can have avoided at some point), odds-on it was filmed here. Sitting at one corner of the village square, the Lord Crewe Arms would be ideal if you’ve timed it right for lunch (arrive by 2.30, or 3.00 on a Sunday). It’s pretty fancy without being so far up itself you

need a periscope; expect to pay about a score for a main course (ploughman’s, burger, fish and chips, that kind of thing, but done right) and a drink worth having. You can stay here, too, though the cheapest room we could find was £199 per night for B&B so in this case you’d probably want to be seeing it as a special treat rather than just another laning bash. You’d be in good company, though. Poets WH Auden and Philip Larkin, composer Sir Benjamin

By now, any images of being in Norway or Canada have dispersed. Though one of the reasons for bearberry being found here is that it’s among the only parts of England that are cold enough

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Above: West Rigg is a spent opencast where Victorian miners dug iron ore from around the flanks of Slitt Vein, a quartzite intrusion in the limestone bedrock. The weirdly sculpted landscape that remains is typical of the post-industrial terrain in this part of the country; you can view it from the side of the road opposite the end of a lengthy unsurfaced right of way Right: This lane runs between two others, both of which we drove. It’s well known for its extreme side tilts, and for being potentially damaging to vehicles’ bodywork, so we decided to let discretion be the better part of valour Britten and tenor Peter Pears all stayed in the Lord Crewe during their illustrious lives, and Jacobite general Tom Foster used its fireplace as a hiding place during the 1715 revolution. What none of these people will have in common with you is the joy of piloting your 4x4 across the roads south of Blanchland. The main one takes you east to Edmundbyers then south to Stanhope, skirting Derwent Reservoir then crossing Muggleswick Common via the sort of route sportscar drivers and bikers travel halfway across the country to enjoy. Having driven enough sports cars to have some knowledge here, I can confirm that it’s just as much fun in a lifted Isuzu D-Max.

Being sat up higher, and not driving at ridiculous speeds, means you get to enjoy the landscape, too. As you head south from Blanchland on Meadows Edge, a C-road whose vistas go on for ever, off in a valley to the right are the buildings and chimney of Presser Pumping Station, a remnant of the lead and fluorospar mining complex which operated in the Ramshaw area for more than three centuries starting in 1624. It’s a wonderfully austere thing to see, at once sad and ominous, as it sits abandoned in this vast landscape. The remnants of the Ramshaw workings are in the main now a Scheduled Ancient Monument; the Presser station was spared the pen, so it’s something of

a wonder that it hasn’t been turned into a character home. It is in the grounds of someone’s actual home, though, so don’t be tempted down the track leading there to explore. We learned all this while taking completely the wrong road, something we didn’t realise until we arrived at a T-junction approximately five miles east of where we thought we were going to be. Skills. Oh well, nothing for it but to turn back and enjoy these magnificent moortop road all over again before finally arriving in the hamlet of Lintzgarth. This is notable for the letter Z, obviously, but mainly for Rookhope Arch. This is all that’s left of the Rookhope Chimney, another relic from the area’s lead mining history. As chimneys go, it was actually a flue, running as it did along the ground, but as it was two miles long this is probably just as well. It took noxious gases from the lead smelting works at Rookhope and carried them up on to the moor where they could dissipate harmlessly; seeing the arch now, you can only imagine how the structure must have looked in its heyday. Further south, there’s another impressive reminder of the landscape’s industrial heritage. The Slitt Vein is a quartz intrusion in the

limestone bedrock, around 20 feet wide, around which extensive iron ore deposits were laid down around 250 million years ago. These extend about 200 feet to either side of the vein, which breaks the surface at West Rigg – where, from the roadside, you can now look down into the worked-out opencast mine created in Victorian times to exploit it. The vein itself has been left more or less untouched, however the ground to either side of it has been excavated – creating a kind of cross-section of a typical 19th Century ore quarry. We jumped out to take a look here as we stopped to turn right on to a track which leads back north, and it’s very well worth taking the time to appreciate what a remarkable thing it is you’re looking at. There are further mine workings to your left as you set out on the track, then after about three quarters of a mile there’s another track on your left which dives down into the valley and up the other side. You can site along the whole length of it – though what

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Right: A couple of bikers having a brew and a guy driving a truck on a road after picking up some walkers’ litter. You can see why they need a zero-tolerance policy, can’t you? Below: Coldberry End is a fairly simply moortop lane. But at the point where this picture was taken, our D-Max was at the highest point anywhere in the country’s road network this won’t show you is that on the far side, it’s exceptionally uneven, with savage washouts and side slopes waiting to cane your truck sideways into a dry stone wall. We wouldn’t suggest trying it without serious back-up, and we certainly didn’t feel like risking our D-Max; the combination of 33” General Grabbers, Pedders Evo suspension and an ARB diff-lock give us total confidence in the truck’s ability to get up there, but the damage we might inflict on it in the process was an unknown and that’s why we kept on straight ahead instead. This meant coming back down the byway skirting the far lip of the valley instead, which was no hardship – especially as the first part of it was covered in absolutely loads of standing water, some of it surprisingly deep. Hardly a challenge, but always plenty of fun – as was the southern section of the lane, where it’s drier but more uneven and therefore technical. We carried on, via the sort of ford that’s normally just a splash but could become fearsome when the river’s in spate, then continued through St John’s Chapel (there’s

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a handily placed Co-Op here) and followed another of those fabulous moor roads over the top of the world towards Landgon Common. This isn’t much of a destination in itself, and nor is the B6277, but a few miles on the latter took us towards Coldberry End. This is an unsurfaced road over Ireshope Moor which wouldn’t be particularly exceptional – but for the fact that part of the way along it, at the summit of a steady climb, you reach the highest point on the entire UK road network. Nearby Killhope Cross gets close, but it’s surfaced and what’s the fun in that? So we trundled our way north-east from the road junction, the road got looser as we started to climb and then finally there we were, the highest motor vehicle in Britain. Time to celebrate? Well, if you want to, though from our experience it’s more like time to get back in your truck before the wind blows you a lot of no good. Still, you’ve got to do what every other green lane user has done and stop for a photo at the highest point, don’t you? Just be very careful that of all the times in the world, you don’t choose this

one to accidentally lock your keys in your car… Happily, we’re not saying that from bitter experience. The D-Max is made to be pretty foolproof that way, to be honest, but a former colleague once locked himself out of a test vehicle on a scorching hot day, with the engine running, then discovered that its catalytic converter was starting to set Salisbury Plain on fire, so you can see why we get nervous about this kind of thing. Arriving at Ireshopeburn and happening upon something as big and busy as the A689 was a bit unnerving after all these narrow rides, moortop roads and unmade

byways. But that’s an inevitable part of every day on the lanes – at some point during the day, it has to be over. Which is perhaps the clearest cutting off point between exploring in the UK and abroad. Our landscape may every so often fool your eyes, but the real thing is where it actually does go on forever. You can imagine, though – and whether you’re in the pine-clad haven of Slaley or the bleak expanses of the moors to its south, it really is just you and your truck. Civilisation might not be far distant – but for those few short, sweet minutes, the nearest human being really could be fifty miles away.

OCTOBER 2022 | 61

30/08/2022 14:30

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ROADBOOK

NORTH WALES

Tight lanes and hilltop trails leading from the coast to the mountains 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.

64 | OCTOBER 2022

11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 64

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

4x4 30/08/2022 13:35

ROADBOOK The northern fringes of the Clywdian Range extend almost to the coast, in an area where hill farming exists alongside a thriving tourism industry. This makes for a very varied landscape – which is reﬂected by the diversity of rights of way found within it. Some are extremely tight and scratchy, while others are wide, scenic and exposed. It makes for an ever-changing experience on a route which starts with sea views, picks its way through quaintly presented villages and concludes on a set of wind-blown lanes in classic hilltop sheep country

4x4 11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 65

OCTOBER 2022 | 65

30/08/2022 13:36

ROUTE GUIDE

is it suitable?

START FINISH HOW LONG? TERRAIN HAZARDS

TYRES

OS MAPS

Gwaenysgor (SJ 075 810) Llandyrnog (SJ 107 652) 37.85 miles / 5-6 hours Hilly farmland Hazardous drop-offs; very tight hedges and undergrowth; other users; farm traﬃc; some sections on fast, busy roads Landranger 116 (Denbigh and Colwyn Bay) Landranger 117 (Chester and Wrexham)

Step

0.0

SJ 075 810

Start in Gwaenysgor, outside the Eagle and Child pub in the village centre. With pub to your left, pull forward to the T-junction; zero your trip here and turn left, then immediately right on Fford Teilia, to start the route

WEATHER LOW BOX SOFT-ROADERS SCRATCHING DRIVING DAMAGE

Step

Follow the main track

1.1

Step

0.5

1.5

At least an all-terrain recommended; not suitable for low-proﬁle tyres Avoid in foggy or icy conditions, and when the ground is very wet Strongly preferable Okay for the more rugged variety Inevitable and severe in places Some rough ground. Disciplined and precise driving required The scratches could be pretty deep

Step

1.8 Step

2.0 66 | OCTOBER 2022

11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 66

SJ 095 830

PENTRE LANE

4x4 30/08/2022 13:36

Step

2.1

3.7

Step

2.6

4.1

Step

2.8

4.15

Step

3.3

4.4

Step

3.5

4.6

4x4 11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 67

Turn left immediately after the national speed limit signs

13 14

SJ 100 808

15 16

OCTOBER 2022 | 73

30/08/2022 13:36

Step

ZERO TRIP

4.9

4.3

Step

0.6

4.6

Step

19 1.9

Lloc Gorsedd Carwys (B5122)

214 212 4

25 Whitford 112 Chwitffordd Tre-mostyn 12

Step

11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 68

26 3 4 Whitford Chwitffordd Holywell 3 Treffynnon

Turn left immediately after the Pantasaph sign

5.0 Step

21 68 | OCTOBER 2022

5.7 Step

2.6

Caution as you cross the main road

Step

2.0

Gorsedd

6.3

SJ 169 751

Look for the byway sign – you’ll see it in the distance. Don’t deviate from the clear right of way as you progress down this track; others have done so but that doesn’t make it alright

4x4 30/08/2022 13:36

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

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32212 (68) 4x4 (full).indd 1

29/04/2022 13:03

Step

After a short while on a wide, well surfaced track between scattered houses, follow the much smaller track ahead down the hill

35 3.9

6.4 Step

Step

Caution over a large track which is also someone’s driveway

Step

6.5

4.1

Step

6.6

4.3

Step

7.0

4.4

29 30 Step

38 39 4.6

Step

40 Afonwen

Step

41 Afonwen

Step

70 | OCTOBER 2022

11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 70

42 Mold Yr Wyddegryg A541

Holywell

The turning is a few yards before the national speed limit signs

5.2 Step

34 3.2

5.0 Step

33 1.8

Dead slow part the house on the left and an to a very tight, narrow track

Step

ZERO TRIP

7.4

0.9

SJ 146 712

SJ 162 712

5.8 4x4 30/08/2022 13:36

Step

6.1

6.25

Step

6.2

6.4

43 44 4x4 11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 71

45 46 OCTOBER 2022 | 71

30/08/2022 13:36

Step

47 6.5

SJ 171 708

FFORDD GARNEDDWEN

Step

51 0.1

Step

6.9

0.5

Step

7.3

0.6

52 53

49 Step

50 7.45 72 | OCTOBER 2022

11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 72

SJ 170 695 ZERO TRIP

SJ 178 694

Step

54 1.2 4x4 30/08/2022 13:36

4x4 4x4 AD Spread.indd 31

OCTOBER 2022 | 73

30/08/2022 18:46

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No Buyers Premium!! Full Catalogue Online September 2022! Sale to include: 1980 County Land Rover, 1990 County Land Rover Defender 110, 2015/2016 Land Rover Defender 90s and 6 x 2016 Land Rover Defender 110s

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74 | OCTOBER 2022

4x4 AD Spread.indd 30

4x4 30/08/2022 18:46

Step

55 1.3 Step

Caution as you cross the main road

61 4.0

2.6 Step

Step

SJ 174 676

Step

2.75

4.9

Step

2.9

0.1

58 Step

Caution past the farm buildings on the right

64 1.5

Step

3.2

2.0

4x4 11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 75

Caution past the car park on the right – this is a very popular area with walkers and mountain bikers

Step

3.1

ZERO TRIP

Llandryog 2 Llangwyfan 34

65 Nannerch

OCTOBER 2022 | 75

30/08/2022 13:36

Step

Continue ahead on a less well deﬁned track

5.1 Step

71 5.6 Step

72 Step 66: The turning is hard to spot – and even harder to negotiate. Whatever you do, don’t cut the corner and trash the ground – take all the shunts you need, or carry on up the road to ﬁnd a somewhere to turn (there’s a zero point just after the end of the lane, so don’t worry about messing up the reading on your trip) Step 68 (below right): Take care at the left-hander – there’s a sharp drop off on the inside of the corner, and the ground is quite fragile Step

66 2.6 Step

SJ 130 664

Turn turning is very hard to spot – it’s just after a white house on the right which has a couple of telegraph poles next to it. Don’t take the gated track you’ll see – yours is just after it. And don’t trash the embankment by cutting the corner – take all the shunts you need This is just after the gate at the top of the hill

2.9 Step

ZERO TRIP

7.1 Step

SJ 130 715

Follow the brown tourist sign for the Craft and Antique Centre

0.7 Step

74 1.8 Step

Turn right then immediately after the gate, fork left for Bodfari

2.5 Caution at the sharp left hander – there’s a sharp drop-off on the inside of the corner, so you deﬁnitely don’t want to go cutting it

3.4 Step

69 5.0 76 | OCTOBER 2022

11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 76

4x4 30/08/2022 13:36

Step

It’s a very, very tight turn over your left shoulder

2.9 Step

Step

79 4.0

Dead slow through the farm

Step

3.0

5.5

Step

3.2

6.1

4x4 11pp Roadbook Oct 22.indd 77

Arrive in the middle of Llandyrnog, with the Golden Lion pub to your left and the Post Oﬃce to your right, for the end of the route

OCTOBER 2022 | 77

30/08/2022 13:36

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A Defender 90 that’s elegant as anything and hard as nails

Tested: Revised SsangYong Musso and facelifted Skoda Kodiaq – the new version of the best SUVs never to hold our 4x4 of the Year crown Plus: Green laning aboard an Austin Champ way back in 1970, and a Suzuki on top of the world in India

ON SALE: 7th October October

Step 40: Tur n left off the main track, embankment dropping dow then plungi n the ng straight into a water trough (right) are sharp rock Step Caution – there you climb the

71 34

Step

13.1

iate as

steps to negot hillside

Step

12.3 ROADBOOK: See in the autum on the quiet lanes 8.75 of south-east Staffordshire a Abbey Strata Florid

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

Step

Ste p Step

4328

15 16

15.2

Join the Cat A

track

You may find yourself drivi a river bed ng along for a while…

13.65 Step

Fill in your name and address and give this form to 14 your Step .7 newsagent ●

Step

12.8

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

Step

13.4

11.7

15.0

There’s a coup le of huge wate troughs afte r r the junction

Step

followed by a long

1312 .1 .6

10.9

11.8

More rock steps, water trough

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

a bit of h bigger You might need to the right is muc Step 37: Please order 4x4 Magazine month 18and reserve/deliver meSteap copy every ed, the drop-off ers – but be warn

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12.8 88 | JAN UARY 2020

twist than it looks here

these axlemomentum to clear

4x4

14.9 4x4

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Next Month Oct.indd 80

4x4 30/08/2022 17:47

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4 X 4 Magazine - October 2022

Articles inside

Forest enterprise Exploring the wild byways of Slaley and beyond

World-class Cruiser A restifi ed 60-Series that will make your jaw drop

Anniversary Wrangler Jeep celebrates 20 years of the Rubicon in fi ne style

Isuzu D-Max AT35 Got a pose truck? Best take it laning on the Plain, then

Land Rover Another year, another £225,000 Defender

Roamerdrive New overdrive now in development for LT95 gearbox

Jeep Compass Trailhawk Hardcore version of mid-size family SUV

ARB Major collaboration yields accessory range for new Ford Ranger

AlliSport New radiator fi tment for Land Rover’s 19J engine

Odyssey Challenge Hardcore hillclimbs in the promisingly named Devil’s Pit

GLASS Green laners winning over hearts and minds in the Lake District

Terrafi rma More kit than ever in a huge new catalogue