4x4
NEWS • PRODUCTS • TRAIL GUIDES • WORKSHOP • CALENDAR • OFF-ROAD SCENE DRIVEN: The £150,000 Defender Works V8
THE UK’S ONLY 4X4 AND PICK- UP MAGAZINE
MERCEDES X-CLASS
Full report from the first 4x4 and Pickup Show
It’s the first pick-up from a premium brand – but is Merc’s Nissan-based double-cab different enough to pick out its own place in the market? Wild off-road buggy built from bits with no compromise
£4.75
Unveiled: Suzuki’s all-new Jimny is still a true off-road machine!
AUG 2018
Trial and, mainly, error as our Cherokee’s lift hits home 4x4 Cover Aug WITH SARAH.indd 1
03/07/2018 13:07
August 2018
THIS MONTH 64
14
24
44
2-3 Contents Aug.indd 2
03/07/2018 17:33
62 12 ISSUES OF 4X4 – FOR JUST £12!
This has got to be the best value offer in the history of publishing… subscribe to 4x4 for a year and it’ll only cost a quid an issue! News 10
56
New Jimny Suzuki lifts the wraps on its off-road giant-killer
Tested 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 28
Bentley Bentayga V8 Svelte but sensational luxury super-SUV Land Rover Defender Works V8 Driving a 90 worth £150,000 Jeep Renegadee First look at the facelifted model Dacia Duster All-new version of the budget off-roader Mitsubishi Shogun Sport L200-based off-road wagon is back BMW X2 Is this the most hatcback-like SUV yet? Mercedes X-Class New double-cab is brilliant in base-spec form Ssangyong Rexton ELX Our 4x4 of the Year in mid-range spec
Every Month 4 6 37 96
Alan Kidd It’s great to be part of a new direction in the 4x4 world Gallery UAZ trucks old and new from the depths of Russia Products Some seriously good new kit for a range of 4x4s Next Month The new Wrangler – judged by the experts
Features 32 44 56 64 72
Defender 90 Making the most of it with Masai Jeep Cherokee What happens when you do an 8” lift…?
Off-Road Scene 86 86 87 88 89 92
UK Land Rover Events On-road training for 4x4 drivers Happy Valley GLASS appeals for help to repair a classic lane What3Words Making sense of wild areas, thanks to Land Rover Mac 4x4 Award Richly deserved recognition for Selwyn Kendrick Ian Redway Farewell to a much-loved off-roader and truck builder Odyssey Challenge Tough going in the depths of Deep Scar
Off-Road Calendar 87 89 90
88
Traxxas TRX-4 RC Defender is a stunning off-road performer 4x4 and Pickup Show Reviewing the hot new event for all 4x4s The Wild One-Off Astonishing off-road buggy… but what is it? Mighty Jeep YQ Yes, leaf springs do work on hardcore off-roaders Yorkshire Reopened Our Kodiaq takes on some wild trails
Our 4x4s 78 82
32
UK Convoy Tours Tag-along runs on public rights of way Pay-and-Play Events Go in as hard as you want Overland Travel Long-range adventures in your 4x4
‘Good news for British fans of the Jimny of old, and indeed of offroading in general, is that the vehicle is still a proper off-roader’
10
72
4x4 2-3 Contents Aug.indd 3
AUGUST 2018 | 3
03/07/2018 17:33
4x4 NEWS FIRST DRIVE Land Rover Defender Works V8
B
ack in January, Land Rover kicked off its 70th anniversary year with news that the Defender was alive and well. Sort of. As part of its corporate celebrations, Solihull decided to ‘re-engineer’ a batch of late 90s and 110s by replacing their 2.2 TDCi engines with 5.0-litre V8 units, thus creating the Defender Works V8. In this way, it’s only about a quarter of a century or so behind the independent market, which has been putting big engines in 90s and 110s for about as long as there have been 90s and 110s around to put them in. The difference, obviously, is that this time it’s been done by Land Rover itself. The engine is the one from the Range Rover Sport SVR, albeit without that vehicle’s supercharger. In this form, the V8 produces 400bhp, allowing Land Rover to say this is the fastest, most powerful Defender they’ve ever made. Given that it can polish off a 0-60mph sprint in just 5.6 seconds,
14 | AUGUST 2018
11 News Aug AWAITING ADS.indd 14
they probably didn’t have to spend too much time reading up in the history books before making that claim. The sprint time is backed up
by a top speed of 106mph, which we’d think every owner will set out to see for themselves once and then never again.
Alongside the newly fitted V8, this Defender gains the eight-speed ZF auto box and a raft of other enhancements, including better
4x4 03/07/2018 17:37
4x4 NEWS brakes and a handling kit of uprated dampers, springs and anti-roll bars. It’s definitely a street machine, as far it’s possible to create such a thing out of a farmer’s tool. With this revised, road-biased set-up, does the Works V8 now prefer to find the best line through a series of apexes rather than picking its way through ruts? Well, what do you think? Sure, this is a Defender with a handling kit. But it’s a Defender. Still. When you plant your foot on the throttle, there’s a significant pause while the Defender calls a seemingly reluctant box into action. A gear is eventually selected, following which your ears are victimised by an onslaught of thunder and the cabin trembles in a manner we’d imagine is akin to that of a space shuttle launch. At the same time, you’re being sent hurtling down the road like a tennis ball that’s just been clobbered over the net by a Rafa Nadal volley. That corner is coming your way fast. Your thoughts quickly turn to the shedding of speed and, bigger
brakes notwithstanding, you wish they were doing more right now. Finally, assuming you’ve not left it too late, you’ve got the corner itself. It’s like trying to thread the Defender through the eye of a needle, only you seem to have all the precision of a half-canned Jackson Pollock. It really is quite a spectacular mode of travel. I imagine it’s a similar experience to driving Lamborghinis of old – terrifying, but weirdly addictive. That’s not too silly an analogy, either. Would you believe, the Works V8 could pretty much wipe the floor with any Lamborghini Miura in a sprint – and even keep pace with an early Countach? Top speed is a different matter, obviously, but if you don’t see that as a good thing we never, ever want to get in a car with you. Just like those chest-wig Lambos, the Defender Works V8 has all the subtlety of a burning hammer. But it’s a machine that is capable of stirring the emotions. Good ones, bad ones, ones you didn’t know you had before, it’ll stir them.
In this way, it’s like any other Defender. It doesn’t matter whether your ride is this £150,000 collector’s item, or a beaten-up old TD with a quarter of a million on the clock – every one of them has that unerring ability to get under your skin. Yes, we really did say £150,000. And that’s the ‘from’ price, too. It’s an absolutely ludicrous sum of money to spend on a Defender, even the fastest, most powerful example ever to emerge from the Land Rover factory, but with only
150 being made they’re exactly the sort of vehicle that gets snapped up by collectors and only ever sees the light of day in order to be sold on for a huge profit. Despite all we’ve said, we think there’s something rather wonderful about the Works V8. It may have the road manners of a JCB in a tracksuit, but you can’t avoid getting sucked into the theatre of it all – and in Land Rover’s 70th year, the sheer stubbornness of the thing has got to be worth a nod.
Jeep Parts and Accessories Jeepey.com Tel: 01482 666491
4x4 11 News Aug AWAITING ADS.indd 15
AUGUST 2018 | 15
03/07/2018 17:37
A NEW ERA IN 4X4 SHOWS!
The inaugural 4x4 & Pick-Up Show took over the NAEC at Stoneleigh Park on 15-16 June, giving both trade and public visitors the opportunity to surround themselves with the best vehicles there are. The show brought manufacturers and custom workshops, plus a world of accessories from tyres, performance and styling upgrades and trailers to soundproofing and truck-bed storage solutions. Test drives were also a feature of the show, with Isuzu and Subaru utilising Stoneleigh’s impressive off-road course along with a road route that was also used by Ford, SuperPro and Deranged. With a range of vehicle manufacturers represented at the show, as well as so many A-list names from throughout the rest of the 4x4 business, the turnout represented a huge vote of confidence in this first ever motor show for the 4x4 industry. In turn, the organisers would like to offer a massive vote of thanks to all those who made it such a success – in particular headline sponsors Terrafirma and show partners Isuzu, Subaru and BFGoodrich, without whom it could never have become such a stellar event! 44 | AUGUST 2018
8pp Show Review.indd 44
4x4 03/07/2018 14:30
Headline sponsors Terrafirma’s stand showcased the company’s OE parts and their accessories for Land Rovers and AllMakes4x4’s ever-increasing range of products for Jeeps. From suspension upgrades to door handle protectors, they had it all. In addition to this, Terrafirma is developing its own range of products for the pick-up truck market – ensuring its expertise will continue to spread across ever sector of off-roading and utility vehicles Left: Front Runner displayed a range of adventure equipment including the roof racks and tents for which the company is famous Left, below: Ford Rangers were massively popular at the show, but DV8’s subtly enhanced examples of Ford’s smash-git double-cab stood out from the crowd. Showcasing its own designs alongside pick-ups for clients, the Warwickshire-based workshop caught more than a few people’s eye with its arsenal of Rangers as well as an extremely tidy Nissan Navara
Left: Fresh from Europe, Pick-Up Design turned up with some eye-catching styling accessories – showing their individualistic vision for the Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara and, pictured here VW Amarok Right: Gearmate’s British-made canopies and truck-bed accessories are right at the top of the market. At Stoneleigh, they were on display with the help of a Volkswagen Amarok, an Isuzu D-Max and a Mitsubishi L200
4x4 8pp Show Review.indd 45
AUGUST 2018 | 45
03/07/2018 14:30
CANNIBAL The early Jeep Wrangler was a very fine vehicle, but it needed to be modified to get the best from it. Not many have been treated to quite as extensive a set of new bits as the one Kev Hartshorne built a few years ago, though – which started when he decided to cannibalise the monstrous old Chevy Blazer that went before it WORDS: GARY NOSKILL PICTURES: STEVE TAYLOR
64 | AUGUST 2018
6pp Hartshorne.indd 64
4x4 03/07/2018 14:37
L RUN
E
ver since the Land Rover Defender went out of production, people have been flocking towards the Jeep Wrangler for their next off-road project. But the Wrangler had already been around for a long time before Solihull pulled the plug on its own old warhorse – and while it’s only ever been a minority choice since its arrival here in 1992, most of the vehicles that made their way to the UK back then have long since been turned into hardcore off-road playthings. The latest Defender, a limited-edition continuation model announced earlier this year at a cost of £150,000, is powered by a hefty great V8 engine. Back in the 1980s, of course, Defenders were available as standard with V8s – something you were never able to say about the Wrangler, which has always come with four and six-pot units. Ironically, then, the number of V8-engined Wranglers in the world probably dwarfs all those Defenders still packing Rover V8 power. That’s because America’s off-road terrain demands seriously big tyres – which in turn demand bags of lazy, low-down torque to keep them turning at typical rock-crawling speeds. But putting V8s into Wranglers is definitely not just an American thing. Some years ago, we came across Kev Hartshorne, a man who it’s safe to say likes his 4x4s a bit more radical than most. Prior to the YJ Wrangler you see in these pictures, Kev used to own a Chevy Blazer. It was huge, massively lifted and shod with 38” tyres, and while its presence on the road was roughly comparable to Hulk Hogan turning up in your local corner shop, it was far too wide for most green lanes. Or most garages, come to that. Hence this Jeep. It’s from the second year of UK imports, back when Wranglers arrived at the docks with their steering wheels on the wrong side and were converted to RHD before delivery to Jeep’s UK dealers. When Kev bought it, it was more or less standard – but it didn’t stay that way for long.
Prior to the Wrangler, Kev ran this Chevy Blazer – whose sheer size made it more or less unusable in the UK. When he decided to build a Wrangler instead, he harvested as many parts as possible from the old truck before weighing it in
4x4 6pp Hartshorne.indd 65
AUGUST 2018 | 65
03/07/2018 14:38