4x4 Magazine - November 2020

4x4

NEWS • TECH • DEBATE • TRAVEL • MODIFIED VEHICLES • GREEN LANING DRIVEN Ford Transit Trail 4x4 proves itself off-road

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

LAMBORGHINI URUS What do you do with a 190mph super-SUV worth £211,000? Why, you take it green laning, of course…

Throwback Lightweight that’s a daily drive and off-road toy

£4.99

Epic mountain trails in our mighty North Wales Roadbook

NOV 2020

Ex-military G-Wagen lives again as a sensational resto-mod 4x4 Cover Nov AWAITING SK.indd 1

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November 2020

CONTENTS

42

“Now it’s set for another three decades with as new possible for a vehicle to have”

36

64 | JANUARY 2020

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32

4x4 28/09/2020 11:41

78 12 MAGAZINES FOR THE PRICE OF 3!

Subscribe to Britain’s only 4x4 magazine and save a massive 75% by getting it delivered to your door every month. What’s not to love?

4x4 Scene: News, Products and More…

8 9 9 10 12 12 13 13 14 18 18 20 21 22 22 23

Land Rover Defender New 90 goes on sale along with plug-in hybrid 110 Volkswagen ID.4 All-electric SUV aims for massive sales numbers Nissan Navara AT32 Order book opens for Arctic Trucks’ beefed up Navara Jeep Grand Wagoneer Concept SUV paves way for luxury sub-brand Suzuki Jimny Hard-to-get off-roader comes back to UK as a van Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian+ model adds value to much-loved double-cab Isuzu D-Max Wester Power places big order for converted work trucks Cupra SEAT sub-brand is first car maker to signs up for Extreme E racing Celtic Routes New self-drive 4x4 tours take in the wildest parts of Britain Ironman New lift kit adds payload capacity to current Suzuki Jimny Britpart Military-style roll bar for 200Tdi-era soft-top Defender 90s Powerflex Independent front suspension bushes for 2005-on Toyota Hilux Machine Mart Pop-up garages to make winter more bearable Lazer Lamps Bumper beam mounting kits for Ranger and Raptor Britpart 300Tdi temperature sensor added to Lucas Classic range Desert Winds Latest version of seminal guidebook on overland travel

Driven 24 30

Lamborghini Urus First genuine super-SUV fully tested on road and trail Ford Transit Trail 4x4 panel van is big but remarkably agile off-road

Every Month 4 13 16 68 78 80

Alan Kidd What it’s like to go green laning in a £211,000 Lambo Coming Soon Trucks and SUVs set to be launched in the near future Calendar Off-road events to enjoy as summer turns to autumn Roadbook Some epic laning in the mountains of North Wales Subscribe Stay at home and get 4x4 delivered – and save a huge 75%!

Next Month New takes on classic trucks, plus one of the best ever triallers

Features 32 36 42 52

Torsus Overlander Stunning expedition truck based on an off-road bus Throwback Lightweight Daily driven classic Landy that’s also an off-road toy Restified G-Wagen Army-spec Merc keeps it real… and real, real cool Dream Destinations Part 2 of our occasional series on classic overland highs

Our 4x4s 62

a lease of life as it’s

Travel 46

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

Step

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

37

Step

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Uganda Breaking from the road ahead to hang out with mountain gorillas

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12.3 41

Abbey Strata Florida

8.75

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

Step

14

Step

38 13.1

of

More rock steps, water trough

Step

followed by a long

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

13.1 Step

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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

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4212.6

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Land Rover 90 Stripping down in preparation for a new rear crossmember

Step

48

Look out for you cross the the waymarker as ford

15.2

13.4 Step

Join the Cat A

track

44

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

13.65

46

Step

45

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

14.7 Step

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

4x4

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JUNE 2020 | 3

28/09/2020 11:41

4x4 Alan Kidd Editor

H

Driving a muddy 4x4 says ‘I’m on day release from the funny farm’

as anyone ever done Houndkirk Moor in a Lamborghini before?

I’d be amazed if they have… so much so that I don’t mind making the bold claim that I was the first.

Test-driving expensive motors is part of this job, and in the case of the really expensive ones it can be a frustrating one. Twenty minutes with a minder in the passenger’s seat is apt to leave you thinking well, what was the point of that?

So fair play to Lambo, who trusted us with £211,000’s worth of Urus for a week.

When stuff like this happens, I always hark back to a drunken party in someone’s house, somewhere in Folkestone, where I lived when I was starting out in this game.

Some lad was asking me what I did for a living and when I explained about the magazine, and the test cars, and the foreign press launches, he was mesmerised. ‘You really just need to get a life, don’t you?’ he joked, and I thought yeah, I probably have the coolest job of anyone here.

Then I asked him what he did. ‘Oh… I’m a professional footballer.’

I never got his name, and I’ve no idea if he made it big. For all I know, I could have been talking to David Beckham). The guy would have been retired for the thick end of two decades by now, at any rate.

Of course, Lambo didn’t make a performance SUV back then. But if they had, and if he was indeed a big-time footy star, I’ll bet his first question would have been what it was like.

The lads who broke off from digging up the road to come over and ogle the Urus while I was sat at a red light would certainly agree. ‘Jesse Lingard’s got a black one, hasn’t he?’ was the main question. Jesse Lingard is a footballer, by the way, and apparently he’s got a black Lambo.

It’s a funny thing. I always tend to say that when you drive a fancy car, you think everyone’s looking on and admiring you.

But actually, they’re looking on and thinking you’re an absolutely mahoosive self-abuser.

(You know the word I mean but can’t say.)

If you drive an off-roader, on the other hand, people are way more likely to look on and smile. So long as it’s not some sort of up-yours monster or self-propelled

6 | NOVEMBER 2020

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shed, at least. I’ll never forget driving through Croydon in a Mahindra CJ3 one winter’s morning, canvas doors and all, the day after a photoshoot had left it utterly battered by mud. Everyone stopped to look.

They smiled, they laughed, they pointed, a woman practically climbed in.

I realised there and then that if you want a car that will impress people (aka pull women), you must never look like you’re trying. And it’s true – my old 90, which rarely looked like anything more than a disaster, made friends wherever it went. No amount of all the Beemers, Mercs and so on I’ve driven have been able to do that.

Years later, however, I learned that at the other end of the scale, a few select cars are so outrageous that they go beyond making people think you’re a meat-beater and, like that Mahindra, make them smile instead.

I had a Corvette on test many years ago, and people loved it. In a good natured, good humoured sort of a way – my theory is that cars like that are so OTT, people don’t feel threatened by them. A fancy BMW says ‘I’m like you but I’m doing better in life’: a Corvette, or indeed a Lambo, and especially a mud-battered off-roader, says ‘I’m on day release from the funny farm.’

So there you are. If you want an eyecatching ride but you don’t want the entire world to sneer at you as you go by, you need to go to outrageous lengths. But the good news is that if £211,000 isn’t available to you, all you need to do is drive a cheery old off-roader – and make sure it’s always, always, completely covered in mud.

I always like to think that if I was a rich footballer, I’d be the one who stood out by turning up to training in a muddy old Lightweight and parking it among my teammates’ Bentleys and Ferraris. But who am I kidding? No doubt I’d be like Jesse Lingard and drop a Lamborghini Urus. I’d be cool about it, though. I’d take it green laning first.

Now, there’s a mud-blasted off-roader that really says ‘I’m on day release from the funny farm…’

Tel: 01283 553243 Email: enquiries@assignment-media.co.uk Web: www.totaloffroad.co.uk www.4x4i.com Online Shop: www.toronline.co.uk Facebook: www.facebook.com/totaloffroad www.facebook.com/4x4Mag Editor Alan Kidd Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Mike Trott, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Kaziyoshi Sasazaki, Raymond and Nereide Greaves Photographers Harry Hamm, Steve Taylor, Richard Hair, Vic Peel 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 742970. Prices for 12 issues: UK £42 (24 issues £76); Europe Airmail/ROW Surface £54; ROW Airmail £78 Distributed by Marketforce; www.marketforce.co.uk Every effort is made to ensure the contents of 4x4 are accurate, but Assignment Media accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these.

When responding to any advert in 4x4, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred from responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC BY 2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org 4x4 is published by Assignment Media Ltd, Repton House 1.08, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby, Derbyshire DE15 0YZ

© Assignment Media Ltd, 2020

4x4 28/09/2020 19:02

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NEW 4X4S

DEFENDER 90 AND PLUG-IN HYBRID NOW ON SALE

Second phase of Defender launch • PHEV 110 from £64,800 • 90 starts at £43,625

L

and Rover has launched the second phase of the new Defender, with the introduction of plug-in hybrid and six-cylinder diesel engines – as well as a stylish new X-Dynamic model.

Better still, the order book is finally open for the 90.

Starting with the latter, this is available from launch with the same extremely wide range of petrol and diesel engines as the 110.

When equipped with air suspension, which is optional on this model, it will in Land Rover’s own words be ‘the most capable Defender ever made.’ An 11.3-metre turning circle adds further manoeuvrability, too.

As with the 110, the 90 is available in a staggering range of forms: Defender, X-Dynamic, First Edition and X models, S, SE and HSE trim levels and Adventure, Country, Explorer and Urban option packs. Talking of options, it comes as a five-seater as standard but in traditional Defender style you can spec a front jump seat to increase the complement to six.

Prices for the 90 start at £43,625, or £35,820 plus VAT for the commercial Hard-Top. At the top of the range, a Defender 90 X with the P400 engine lists at £77,400.

To put flesh on the bones of the new diesel options, these are based on a straight-six mild hybrid engine with a choice of three power

outputs. These are D200 and D250, which replace the D200 and D240 engines used in the 110 until now, and a new D300 whose 300bhp and 479lbf.ft are capable of shifting the 90 from 0-60mph in 6.3 seconds.

The D200 and D250 are not too far behind, at 10.2 and 7.9 seconds respectively, and both return 32.2mpg in everyday use. More importantly, the engines’ strong torque output is perfectly suited to towing and off-road use; in addition to the eight-speed auto box that’s

standard on all Defenders, these new diesel engines will be mated to an Intelligent All Wheel Drive system which constantly shuffles output between all four wheels in a bid to achieve the best possible balance of traction, efficiency and on-road dynamics.

The new X-Dynamic model, meanwhile, is designed to bridge the gap between standard Defender and Defender X models. Its spec includes special dark grey and black finishes for its front and rear skid

pans, grille bar and rear recovery loops, alloy wheels, mirrors and lower body cladding, while inside it gets illuminated kick plates and technical Robustec accents to its leather seats.

While the new diesel engines and X-Dynamic models will be available on both Defender models, the P400e Plug-In Hybrid powertrain is reserved exclusively for the 110. As well as offering a 3000kg towing limit (very high for a hybrid), it’s capable of being driven off-road in low range and full EV mode – allowing you to tackle extreme terrain in near-silence.

The P400e system combines a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a 105kW electric motor to deliver 404bhp and an all-electric range of 27 miles. As well as thrusting the 110 from 0-60mph in 5.4 seconds, it returns up to 85.3mpg and emits 74g/km of CO2.

All P400e Defenders come as standard with 20” alloys, air suspension and three-zone climate control. The drivetrain is available on X-Dynamic models and above, priced from £64,800.

4x4 AWAITING ADS Scene Nov.indd 8

28/09/2020 15:42

NEW 4X4S

Volkswagen enters electric SUV market with launch of ID.4 VOLKSWAGEN HAS UNVEILED the ID.4 – its first all-electric SUV. Similar in size to the Tiguan, this is a five-seater with a variety of battery and power options which will ultimately grow to include a 302bhp GTX model with twin motors delivering all-wheel drive.

At launch, the vehicle is only available in rear-wheel drive form, though it still offers 210mm of ground clearance – allowing it, according to VW, to perform effectively in ‘gentle off-road terrain.’

With an overall length of 4580mm, the ID.4 offers up to 1575 litres of cargo space. Riding on wheels of up to 21”, it has an aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.28 – helping the 204bhp model achieve a range of more than 320 miles.

Volkswagen also says that when using a quick-charging point, it takes about 30 minutes for the vehicle to take on enough charge for the next 200 miles of driving. The company is putting its ID range at the heart of what it calls ‘an ecosystem of sustainable electric mobility’, promising a carbon-neutral manufacturing balance which customers can carry over on to the road by using sustainably produced electricity such as VW’s own Naturstrom.

ORDER BOOK OPENS FOR REVISED NAVARA AT32

Facelift model converted by Arctic Trucks • Bilstein suspension • From £42,850 plus VAT

N

issan has opened the order book on the new Navara Off-Roader AT32.

The hardcore model within the company’s pick-up range, this is converted pre-registration

by Arctic Trucks, making it a full showroom model with no need to be insured as a modified vehicle.

The AT32 is equipped with raised suspension from Bilstein and 31.6” Nokian Rotiiva AT Plus tyres, with extended wheelarches to keep the latter covered. The tyres are mounted on special Arctic Trucks alloys with dual valves to allow quick adjustment of tyre pressures when moving between different terrains.

In contrast to the previous AT32, which sold well prior to being suspended when the Navara was facelifted last summer, the new one has aluminium underbody guards which are heavy-duty but light in weight. Nissan says these are shaped to provide even better protection than before, too.

Once again, the AT32 is available with options including a raised air intake and breather kit (Nissan only claims a wading depth of 800mm with this installed, which sounds like a Health and Safety officer

4x4 AWAITING ADS Scene Nov.indd 9

must have been involved) and an ARB Air-Locker for the front diff.

You wouldn’t expect the latter to be cheap, but you might not expect it to cost £3250 plus VAT either.

Also included in the Arctic Trucks package are special badging and detailing on the front wings, arch extensions, side steps, hub centres,

tailgate and mudguards. Pricing starts at £42,850, again plus VAT, for a manual model, and climb to £46,870 for a seven-speed auto in N-Guard spec.

‘The first Navara Off-Roader AT32 was a sell-out success and proved incredibly popular with adventurers seeking elegance and toughness,’

commented Nissan LCV bigwig Manuel Burdiel. ‘We have upgraded the AT32 so it can maintain its position as the ultimate Navara while bringing new efficiency and becoming fully WLTP-compliant.

It’s the perfect blend of in-car technology, comfort and extreme off-road performance.’

NOVEMBER 2020 | 9

28/09/2020 15:42

NEW 4X4S

JEEP REVIVES GRAND WAGONEER AS ULTIMATE LUXURY SUV

Plug-in hybrid concept • Production version on sale next year • Not coming to Europe – yet

J

eep has brought back the once iconic Grand Wagoneer – as a concept vehicle it describes as the ‘ultimate premium SUV redefined.’

And the vehicle is more than just a potential new halo model for Jeep’s ambitions to move upmarket.

‘Wagoneer will become a portfolio of vehicles that redefines “American Premium” and delivers a unique customer experience,’ says the company – a clear indication that the badge is being positioned as its equivalent of the Range Rover.

The Wagoneer name dates from 1962, with this Grand Wagoneer following in 1984 – and bringing with it highly unusual features like leather, air-con and premium in-car entertainment. The concept follows in those pioneering footsteps, combining ‘ultra-premium, leading-edge features and technology’ with ‘American craftsmanship and heritage’ to create a vehicle whose appeal is intended to reach far above Jeep’s current offerings.

Powered by a plug-in hybrid powertrain, the Grand Wagoneer concept has three rows of seats – with Jeep promising that all of them will be spacious. A relaxed interior atmosphere is created by a combination of big windows, a glass roof and extensive ambient lighting, and the instrument panel comprises just under four feet of screens. This lavish use of technology is continued into the second row, where there

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are three 10.1” screens – one in the middle for climate control and so on, and one each governing entertainment for the two captain’s chairs.

The concept also features Fiat Chrysler’s new-generation Uconnect 5 operating system, which Jeep says is five times faster than the previous version. In addition, it has a 23-speaker stereo created by McIntosh – a high-end American audio specialist for which this is its first ever in-car system.

Like the Range Rover, the Grand Wagoneer won’t lose sight of what makes a Jeep a Jeep. When the

production model makes its debut next year, it will offer three different four-wheel drive systems as well as height-adjustable air suspension, and a 4WD Low button on the concept’s floor console confirms that a dual-range transfer case is still fundamental to the company’s engineering philosophy.

From the outside, the vehicle’s premium intent is telegraphed from all angles. Illuminated lettering, 24” black alloys, full LED lighting, teak and copper highlights and American flags on the side of the doors lay it on thick, though familiar design keynotes like a seven-slot grille

mean it still looks like a Jeep – just an incredibly futuristic and very, very fancy one.

If you do indeed fancy one, however, the bad news is that at present, Jeep has no plans to bring the production model to Europe.

It hardly seems thinkable that the company’s Italian masters intend to let it develop an entire family of premium SUVs without making the most of their global appeal, however – so our money would be on something very similar looking to this stunning concept becoming available in the UK before too much time has passed.

4x4 28/09/2020 15:42

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CANOPY ACCESSORIES • LED Lights • Aluminium Cupboard/Sidelockers • Wolf Box Holder • Jerry Can Holder • Brushed Stainless Steel Table • Table Storage Roof Bracket • Insulation - Roof & Doors • Tailgate Dust Kit • Drop Down Shelf • Eye Hooks • Sliding Windows In Side Doors • Air Vents/Dog Vents • Roof Cross Bars

38 | FEBRUARY 2020

TOR Folios and classifieds.indd 48

PHONE: 01299 250174

E-mail: enquiries@apbtrading.co.uk

4x4 02/06/2020 15:38

NEW 4X4S

JIMNY RESURRECTED AS LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLE

Two-seater van with 863-litre load area • No automatic option • Pricing to be announced

S

uzuki has rescued the Jimny from its imminent demise in the UK – by turning it into a van. With no further orders being accepted for passenger-carrying models,our 2019 4x4 of the Year was well on its way to slipping beneath the waves thanks to ever-tightening EU emissions rules – however its reintroduction as a light commercial vehicle promises to be the shot in the arm it needed almost from the start.

The passenger-carrying Jimny was as good as stillborn in the UK as a consequence of EU-led legislation on fleet-wide emissions. This sets limits on average CO2 output across all the vehicles sold by a manufacturer – and they’re being tightened with each passing year.

The Jimny, by dint of being a genuine off-road vehicle, has emissions around 50% higher than the rest of the Suzuki range – and its enormous popularity meant that if Suzuki sold enough to satisfy demand, it would drag the fleet average upwards to a point where the company would be fined for every vehicle sold.

The good news is that the emissions threshold for commercials is much higher than for cars. Hence the Jimny’s re-emergence as a van.

This is mechanically unchanged from the original model, with a ladder-frame chassis, dual-range transmission and three-link live

beam axles. Inside, the rear seats make way for a flat floor in a cargo area with a capacity of 863 litres.

There’s a bulkhead to keep any unsecured loads from molesting those in the front cabin, which remains the same as before.

The Jimny van will be powered by the same 1.5-litre petrol engine as

the old passenger model, mated to a five-speed manual gearbox – this time, no auto option appears to be available. There’s no indication yet of the spec levels that will be available, and prices are yet to be announced – however in theory these should be lower than before, and you’ll be able to claim your VAT

back and/or pay company car tax at the commercial vehicle by choosing one of these.

Given that the old model’s rear seats were a bit of a token effort anyway, we can see this commercial version appealing more than ever.

After a two-year stumble, the new Jimny’s time may finally have come.

New Barbarian+ model adds value to L200 range MITSUBISHI HAS UNVEILED the L200 Barbarian+. This is a new high-value model based on the existing Barbarian and adding £1900 of options for a £750 price premium.

These options make up what Mitsubishi calls a ‘premium load area package.’

In addition to a GST PLUS II Hardtop with roof rails, pop-out side windows and a sliding bulkhead window, the vehicle adds a protective under-rail loadbay liner and loadbay lighting, and has its tailgate integrated into its central locking and alarm systems.

The new addition to the L200 range is available immediately in manual and auto form and with any of the existing paint colour options.

As a Barbarian-based model, it features a high spec level in general, with leather upholstery, heated front seats, 18” alloys and auto lights and wipers as well as a premium stereo set-up and a strong suite of safety equipment. Prices for the Barbarian+ start at £30,350 plus VAT on the road.

12 | NOVEMBER 2020

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4x4 28/09/2020 15:42

NEW 4X4S

COMING SOON Forthcoming 4x4s due later this year and beyond

Western Power places major order for converted Isuzu D-Max WESTERN POWER DISTRIBUTION is one of the largest electricity providers in the UK. And now it’s one of the biggest Isuzu D-Max owners in the UK, too, as it has just bought 96 of the things. Make that 96 more, actually, because it has been running D-Max pick-ups since 2015.

Having been doing its bit to help keep Western Power moving on the hardest-to-reach bits of its 21,000 square mile patch in South-West England, the Midlands and South Wales, the D-Max clearly proved itself. Hence the order for another 96 Extended-Cab models with the no-nonsense Utility trim – which includes air-con and electric front windows, RDS and Bluetooth as well as tough black bumpers and 16” steel wheels.

These were fitted with a large made-to-measure utility body by conversion specialist Strongs Plastic Products, which also designed and built a custom drawer system to go within it. The conversion also includes roller shutter side doors, a 1000W inverter, Chapter 8 decals, Tow Trust rear steps and magnetic work lamps.

‘It’s a huge endorsement to have Western Power Distribution, a company that carries out much of its arduous work in challenging environments, choose Isuzu yet again for its latest order of vehicles,’ said Isuzu UK boss William Brown. ‘We’ve run D-Max pick-ups for five years,’ added Western Power’s Jane Nicholson, ‘and have been constantly impressed by this extremely tough and capable vehicle.’

Cupra has become the first vehicle manufacturer to sign up to the forthcoming Extreme E off-road race series. The SEAT offshoot brand, which creates performance-led versions of the Spanish company’s vehicles, will be the main partner of the ABT Sportsline team, with rallycross and former DTM ace Mattias Ekström as its lead driver. The first season of Extreme E is scheduled to get underway early next year.

4x4 AWAITING ADS Scene Nov.indd 13

Aiways U5 Alfa Romeo Tonale Alpina XB7 Audi Q2 Audi Q4 e-tron Audi Q5 facelift BMW iX3 Bentley Bentayga Bollinger B1 Bollinger B2 Cupra Ateca Cupra Formentor Ford Mustang Mach-E Ford Ranger Hyundai Tucson Hyundai Tucson PHEV INEOS Grenadier Jaguar F-Pace PHEV Jeep Jeep Cherokee Desert Hawk Jeep Gladiator Jeep Grand Commander Jeep Compass 4xe Jeep Renegade 4xe Jeep Grand Wagoneer Kia Kia Sorento PHEV Land Rover Defender 130 Land Rover Defender EV Maserati Mercedes-Benz EQB Mitsubishi Outlander Nissan Ariya Porsche Cayenne GTS Renault Arkana Rivian R1T Rivian R1s Skoda Enyaq iV SsangYong Korando EV Suzuki Across Tesla Cybertruck Tesla Model X Tri-Motor Tesla Model Y Torsus Terrastorm Toyota Highlander Toyota Hilux facelift Toyota RAV4 Plug-In Hybrid Toyota Yaris Cross Vauxhall Mokka Volkswagen Amarok Volkswagen Golf Alltrack Volkswagen ID.4 Volkswagen Touareg R Volvo XC40 PHEV Volvo XC40 P8 EV

Electric SUV Small SUV Performance SUV Small SUV Electric SUV Medium SUV Electric SUV Luxury SUV Electric off-roader Electric pick-up Performance SUV Performance SUV Electric SUV Pick-up Medium SUV Hybrid SUV Off-roader Hybrid SUV Small SUV Performance Off-Roader Pick-up Large SUV Hybrid SUV Hybrid SUV Luxury SUV Crossover EV Hybrid SUV Off-roader Electric off-roader Medium SUV Electric SUV Medium SUV Electric SUV Performance SUV Coupe-SUV Electric pick-up Electric large SUV Electric SUV Electric SUV Medium SUV Electric Pick-Up Electric SUV Medium SUV Off-road van Large SUV Pick-up Medium SUV Small SUV Small SUV Pick-up Crossover Electric SUV Performance SUV Hybrid SUV Electric SUV

Late 2020 November December October 2020 2021 Autumn June 2021 2021 2020 2021 Autumn 2020 Late 2021 October 2022 Late 2020 Early 2021 Late 2021 Spring 2021 2021 Summer Summer 2020 2021 September 2022 2021 Early 2021 March 2021 2023 2021 Early 2021 October Spring 2021 Late Summer July 2021 Spring 2022 Summer 2022 Spring 2021 September Autumn 2020 Late 2022 Early 2021 October Autumn 2020 Early 2021 November October Early 2021 April 2021 2022 Early 2021 Late 2020 July October Early 2021

NOVEMBER 2020 | 13

28/09/2020 15:42

NEWS

All-new 4x4 travel packages promise adventures in the wildest parts of Britain Celtic Routes offers ready-made itineraries ‘one day away, a million miles from home’

O

verlanding has become a lot more difficult since the start of this year. The impact of the pandemic has been profound, with expedition operators mothballing their businesses and solo travellers forced to abandon their vehicles and scramble home on repatriation flights.

As the world moves on and starts to looks to a time beyond covid, some of those expedition operators

have started to adapt. None more so than the team behind the extremely well respected Peru Safari – who have looked closer to home to create a range of new tours under the name of Celtic Routes.

Promising a real taste of the wild, these unique itineraries explore the furthest flung corners of the Celtic World – Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Unlike the traditional tag-along green lane tour, these are app-led

routes for clients who hire one of Celtic Routes’ own fully prepped Land Rover Discovery 4s.

Customers pick up their vehicles from the company’s base in Cheshire, just half an hour from either Liverpool or Manchester airport.

There’s also the option of starting the adventure at the local Land Rover Experience, based at Peckforton Castle south-east of Cheshire.

The tours are based on the North Coast 500 in Scotland, the Wild Atlantic Way in Ireland and the recently launched Snowdonia 360 in Wales.

‘Each is a tremendous way to take in the most rugged and wildest landscapes in Europe and their rich Celtic history,’ says Celtic Routes.

‘We have added to these already superb routes and your 4x4 lets you

reach even wilder locations, with some great off-road options. Add to this some truly beautiful and unique accommodations along the way, and you have a single easy to book adventure package.’

The Irish tour is currently on hold due to covid restrictions, as are others on mainland Europe. However the Scottish and Welsh routes are good to go – with all accommodation in venues which have been hand-picked by Celtic Routes.

‘Traditionally,’ says the company, ‘many of these types of holidays have been offered using your own vehicle, or on a “follow me” camping theme tour with lead guide. We decided to make the experience more rounded, more comfortable… and more weather friendly!’

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NEWS

Accommodation on Celtic Routes’ tours is in a wide variety of overnight stops – from lighthouses to castles. All the company’s Discovery 4s are kitted out with expedition gear from Frontrunner A lead vehicle is available as an option for customers. However the principal product offering uses an in-car tablet, provided as part of the package, running Celtic Routes’ own virtual guide covering every aspect of the trip including special routing, eateries, directions, hotel details and adventure activities.

For really adventurous clients, the tours are available with Mountain Bike, Paddle Board and Wild Camp add-on packs. And you can also select from a list of pre-bookable adventure activities unique to the route

you have booked – including zip lining, white water rafting, trekking and offshore RIB excursions.

The tours, each of which lasts seven nights, can be booked with or without accommodation. We’d suggest that it sounds like a fundamental part of the experience, however, because Celtic Routes has gone to great lengths to find overnight stays with real character. A remote lighthouse? A luxurious yurt? A five-star castle? It’s all there on these routes.

The company’s Discovery 4s have all been prepared using expedition

equipment from Frontrunner and you can expect them to be immaculately presented at the start of your tour. Next year, too, Celtic Routes will introduce a fleet of new Defender 110s – adding another exciting element to the sense of adventure that comes from exploring the wildest parts of Britain.

Prices for these routes, which include vehicle hire and insurance as well as a tablet to guide you, start from £870pp for seven nights.

All the company’s tours are highly customisable, however, giving you

the option to tailor them to your own personal taste – whether that involves fine dining or getting up close and personal with some of Britain’s rarest wildlife. Celtic Routes’ slogan is ‘one day away, a million miles from home’, and this perfectly sums up what its adventures are all about.

In addition to the new Defenders joining next year, Celtic Routes will be ready to add tours in Brittany and Galicia as soon as covid restrictions allow. To find out more about the company and what it offers, pay a visit to www.celticroute.com.

PROUD TO SUPPLY CELTIC ROUTES WITH FRONT RUNNER PRODUCTS

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CALENDAR KEY

P Off-Road Playday

G Green Lane Convoy Tour

A Overseas Adventure Travel

S 4x4 Show

Important: In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, most green laning and adventure travel companies have redrawn their calendars from scratch. As a result, some of the information on these pages will inevitably be out of date. In addition, some dates are for rearranged tours which had to be cancelled this year and which may already be full. Most operators are still prioritising existing clients over new business; some are yet to start accepting new bookings. While we do go to great lengths to ensure that our 4x4 Calendar is accurate and up to date, it is essential to check with the site, operator and/or organiser that events are still going ahead. Even without a pandemic to deal with, events are always prone to being rearranged, sometimes at very short notice, so this advice will always apply – we accept no liability for the consequences of any inaccuracies in this information.

2-3 October

11-25 October

25 October

G Protrax Wales

Safari A Peru Peru Inca Tracks / Macchu Picchu

3 October

22 November

Off Roaders P Burnham Tring, Hertfordshire Leisure P Cowm Whitworth, Lancashire 4x4 P Frickley Frickley, South Yorkshire P Hill’n’Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire Off Road Centre P Kirton Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs 4x4 and LR Spares Day S Malvern Malvern, Worcestershire Safari P Slindon Slindon, West Sussex Valley 4x4 P Thames Broxhead, Hampshire

Adventure Tours G Green Shrophsire / Welsh Borders

British Land Rover Show S Great Stoneleigh, Warwickshire

4 October

12 October

Pit P Devil’s Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire Bottom P Muddy Minstead, Hampshire 4x4 Spares Day S Newbury Newbury, Berkshire 4x4 P Parkwood Tong, Bradford Wood P Picadilly Bolney, West Sussex

Events G UKDalesLandrover and Eden

4-22 October

A Protrax Morocco Desert and Mountain 10 October

17 October and Tracks G Trails Tyne Valley

18 October Off Road P Explore Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent Muddy Bottom P Minstead, Hampshire Mud Monsters P East Grinstead, West Sussex Landrover Events P UKLincoln and Belvoir

Events G UKPeakLandrover District

18 Oct – 5 Nov

10-11 October

A Protrax Morocco Coast to Coast

Road Adventure Travel G Off Wales and Tracks G Trails North of England

27 October – 13 November

A Kuelap / Cloud Warrior Tour Peru Safari

31 October Adventure Tours G Green Shrophsire / Welsh Borders UK Landrover Events G North York Moors (night run)

31 October –1 November

Adventure Tours G 4x4 Shropshire

Road Adventure Travel G Off Wales and Tracks G Trails York Moors and Dales

11 October

24 October

1 November

Without a Club P 4x4 Aldermaston, Berkshire Rochford and District 4x4 P Essex, Rayleigh, Essex 4x4 P Frickley Frickley, South Yorkshire P Hill’n’Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire Safari P Slindon Slindon, West Sussex Events G UKNorthLandrover York Moors

Off Roaders P Burnham Tring, Hertfordshire Off Road Centre P Kirton Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs and Tracks G Trails Night run Events G UKEdenLandrover District

P Hill’n’Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire Bottom P Muddy Minstead, Hampshire Wood P Picadilly Bolney, West Sussex P Protrax Tixover, Northamptonshire

24-25 October

7-8 November

Adventure Tours G 4x4 Mid-Wales G Protrax Wiltshire

Overland G Atlas Wessex Protrax G Wales

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23 October

and Tracks G Trails Cumbria, Eden and Yorks Dales

8 November Without a Club P 4x4 Aldermaston, Berkshire Devil’s Pit P Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire Rochford and District 4x4 P Essex, Rayleigh, Essex Frickley 4x4 P Frickley, South Yorkshire 4x4 P Parkwood Tong, Bradford Safari P Slindon Slindon, West Sussex

9-13 November

G Ardventures Coast to Coast 15 November Adventure Tours G 4x4 Salisbury Plain Off Road P Explore Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent P Hill’n’Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire Bottom P Muddy Minstead, Hampshire Monsters P Mud East Grinstead, West Sussex Landrover Events G UKYorkshire Dales

15-29 November Safari A Peru Peru Inca Tracks / Macchu Picchu

18-19 November Adventure Tours G 4x4 Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire

21 November Adventure Tours G Green Shrophsire / Welsh Borders

21-22 November Adventure Tours G 4x4 Welsh Borders

4x4 28/09/2020 15:42

CALENDAR

G Protrax Wiltshire 22 November

12-13 December Adventure Tours G 4x4 Kent G Trailmasters Wales

P Safari P Slindon Slindon, West Sussex Landrover Events G UKDurham Dales

24 December

27 November

26 December

G

G

Frickley 4x4 Frickley, South Yorkshire

4x4 Adventure Tours East Devon

G

UK Landrover Events Tynedale

27 December

P

G

4x4 Adventure Tours Bath

28-29 November

29-30 December

G

G

4x4 Adventure Tours South Devon

Ardventures Lake District

29 November

8-24 January 2021

P Leisure P Cowm Whitworth, Lancashire P Hill’n’Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire Off Road Centre P Kirton Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs P Protrax Tixover, Northamptonshire Valley 4x4 P Thames Oxley Shaw, Berkshire Landrover Events G UKNorthumberland

A

Burnham Off Roaders Tring, Hertfordshire

Ardventures Morocco

13-24 February 2021

A

Ardventures Galicia

A

Protrax Morocco

26 March – 11 April 2021

A

Ardventures Morocco

27 March – 11 April 2021

A

A

Lost World Overland Morocco

4 December

3-20 April 2021

G

A

4x4 Adventure Tours Dorset

Peru Safari Kuelap / Cloud Warrior Tour

5-6 December

4-17 April 2021

G

A

Protrax Wales

Atlas Overland Morocco

6 December

18 April 2021

G Events G UKLakeLandrover District

S

4x4 Adventure Tours Salisbury Plain

11 December Adventure Tours G 4x4 Surrey

4x4 AWAITING ADS Scene Nov.indd 17

1-14

Atlas Portu

3-12

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:

Great British Land Rover Show Newark, Nottinghamshire

19 April – 3 May 2021

A

Trailmasters Morocco Marrakesh

Activ Portu

15-2

Atlas Portu

20 M

Trailm Moro

24-2

20012015 JEEPJEEP WRANGLER JK CHEROKEE XJ 2.8CRD

2015 JEEP WRANGLER JK 2.8CRD

2007 DODGE 2018 JEEP NITRO 2.8CRD RENEGADE 2007 DODGE NITRO 2.8CRD

2016 RANGE 2008 NISSAN ROVER EVOQUE PATHFINDER 2.0 TD4 2016 RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 2.0 TD4

6-25 March 2021

3-17 December Peru Safari Peru Inca Tracks / Macchu Picchu

Peru Peru

UK Landrover Events Lake District

28 November Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

22 A

Activ Prove

25 M

Land Portu

28 M 2014 RANGE 2016 2006 JEEP 2011 ISUZU ISUZU ROVER SPORT 4.4 D-MAX 2.5 DIESEL WRANGLER TJ RODEO V8 DIESEL 2014 RANGE 2016 ISUZU ROVER SPORT 4.4 D-MAX 2.5 DIESEL V8 DIESEL

2014 2010 JEEP CHEROKEE MK5 MITSUBISHI L200 KL 2.0 MULTIJET 2014 JEEP CHEROKEE MK5 KL 2.0 MULTIJET

Peru Peru

7-16

Activ Pyren

9-23 JEEP 2007 LAND HONDA 20152010 RANGE 2012ROVER 2008 2013 TOYOTA CHEROKEE MK4 DISCOVERY 3 2.7 CRV 2.2 CDTI ROVER EVOQUE MITSUBISHI ASX HILUX KK 2.8JEEP CRD 2007 LAND TDV6ROVER 2010 CHEROKEE MK4 DISCOVERY 3 2.7 KK 2.8 CRD TDV6

2008 HONDA CRV 2.2 CDTI

Protr Pyren

12-2

Ardve Pyren

2006 NISSAN 2006 JEEP 2006 JEEP GRAND 2015 LAND 2004 JEEP CHEROKEE WK PATHFINDER 2.5 GRAND GRAND 5.7 V8 HEMI ROVER DCI 2006 JEEP GRAND 2006 NISSAN DISCOVERY CHEROKEE WK CHEROKEE WJ CHEROKEE WK PATHFINDER 2.5 Charlton Recycled Auto Parts SPORT DCI 5.7 V8 HEMI Vehicle Recycling Centre, Gravel Pit Hill, Thriplow, Cambridge, SG8 7HZParts Charlton Recycled Auto Tel 01223 832656 Vehicle Recycling Centre, Gravel Pit Hill, Thriplow, 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

19 J

Peru Jagua

21-2

Land Frenc

21 J

Atlas Corsi

9-24 NOVEMBER 2020 | 17

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Ardve Balka

PRODUCTS

Ironman suspension kit lifts Jimny by 45mm and boosts payload by 350kg

Y

ou don’t buy a Suzuki Jimny for its payload.

But if you’ve bought one for all the other reasons, you might wish that payload was a bit higher.

The guys at Ironman certainly think you might. That’s why the company now offers a suspension upgrade which, as well as lifting the vehicle by 45mm (just under 2”), allows it to carry an extra 350kg.

The kit is homologated in its homeland of Australia as a way of increasing the Jimny’s Gross Vehicle Weight from 1435kg to 1785kg. What this means in the real world is that you can add things like heavy-duty bumpers, bigger tyres and underbody protection without pushing the vehicle so close to the limit that just climbing aboard will take it into the red.

‘With each accessory carried by the vehicle,’ explains Ironman, ‘the responsiveness of the original equipment (OE) suspension changes. The OE manufacturer

designs their suspension kits for comfort above all else and the addition of load can compromise ongoing performance.’

By contrast to this, the company promises that these lift kits will deliver ‘exceptional ride quality

and handling characteristics’ as well as giving you the extra room you need to breathe when fitting off-road equipment that will add to the vehicle’s overall weight. They’re designed to suit a process involving federal sign-off by an approved

engineer – not something that’s necessary in the UK, but good to know the kit you’re fitting was made to that standard.

Want to know more? You’ll find all the good stuff by paying a visit to www.ironman4x4.com.

Military-style roll hoop for early Tdi Defenders SOFT-TOP LAND ROVERS are cool. Well, at times they’re freezing, but even when you’re shivering and/or wet through, they’re still cool.

What’s less cool is what happens when you go over in one without a roll bar. You do hear stories of people being saved by their windscreen surround, but if you rely on that to keep you safe you pretty much deserve what you’ve got coming.

There are various designs of roll protection available for Defenders, of course. Some are more compatible than others with a fabric roof, however – but this unit from Safety Devices is intended specifically for use on soft-top models.

Not just any old soft-top model, either. Recently introduced to the Britpart range, it’s a military-style four-point bolt-in hoop for 200Tdi-engined Defender 90s from 1990-1993.

Protection comes from a 2” OD main hoop which mounts through the body cappings and into the corner brackets. It’s supported by twin backstays which mount to the waist rail cappings, giving it the strength to keep your vehicle up, and your life intact, in most everyday rollovers.

The hoop fits in with a standard set of hood sticks, supporting them but not interfering with the hood itself as it goes into place. Thus your 90 will continue to look as original as always, with a tidily fitted soft-top that doesn’t stick up awkwardly in the middle.

‘We strongly recommend fitting the roll cage padding kit when installing this hoop,’ says Britpart, and if you’ve ever whacked your head on one you’ll know why. Prices typically hover around the £450 mark (make that £550 with the VAT) though as always, a bit of a shop-around will be well worth it. You’ll find the product, and the dealers who sell it, by visiting www.britpart.com.

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COMPLETE READY TO DRIVE CARS OR SELF BUILD KITS • Build manuals & full kits,

COMPLETE READY TO DRIVE controlled speed, lights, horn, CARS OR SELF BUILD KITS

• Pre-cut panel sets • Build manuals & full kits, & ready-made bodies available controlled speed, lights, horn, • Manual includes full component • Pre-cut panel sets and body cutting dimensions & ready-made bodies available • Battery powered DIY kits or parts • Manual includes full component more information please contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com and body cutting dimensions

COMPLETE READY TO DRIVE •CARS BatteryOR powered kits or parts SELFDIY BUILD KITS

more information please contact 01291 626141

sales@toylander.com • Build manuals www.toylander.com & full kits,

COMPLETE READY TO DRIVE controlled speed, lights, horn, CARS OR SELF BUILD KITS

• Pre-cut panel sets • Build manuals & full kits, & ready-made bodies available controlled speed, lights, horn, • Manual includes full component • Pre-cut panel sets and body cutting dimensions & ready-made bodies available • Battery powered DIY kits or parts • Manual includes full component COMPLETE READY TO DRIVE more information please contact 01291 626141 COMPLETE sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com and body cutting dimensions READY TO DRIVE

Toylander 3

CARS OR SELF BUILD KITS •CARS BatteryOR powered kits or parts SELFDIY BUILD KITS • Build manuals & full kits, COMPLETE READY TO DRIVE • Build manuals & full kits, more information please contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com controlled speed, lights, horn, READY TO®DRIVE CARS OR SELF COMPLETE BUILD KITSspeed, lights, controlled horn, based on the 1972 Series 3 Land Rover CARS OR SELF BUILD KITS • Pre-cut panel sets

• Build manuals & full kits, • Pre-cut panel sets & ready-made bodies available • Build & full kits, controlled speed, lights, horn,manuals & ready-made bodies available controlled speed, lights, horn, • Manual includes full component • Pre-cut panel sets includes full component • Manual and body cutting dimensions • Pre-cut panel sets & ready-made bodiesand available body cutting dimensions ready-made • Battery powered DIY&kits or parts bodies available • Manual includes full component • Battery powered DIY kits or parts • Manual includes full component contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com and body cutting dimensions more information please contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com and body cutting dimensions • Battery powered DIY kits or parts • Battery powered DIY kits or parts

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4x4 4x4

Folios Classifieds 2020.indd 51

NOVEMBER 2020 | 19

JUNE 2019 | 51

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PRODUCTS

Powerflex adds bush kits for 2005-on Toyota Hilux

P

owerflex has introduced a new range of front suspension bushes for the 7th and 8th generation Toyota Hilux (that is, vehicles brought to the UK from 2005 onwards). These are made from the company’s most durable Black 95A Durometer material and feature a diamond-patterned knurling to the bore for better grease retention in harsher conditions and freer rotation for reduced torsional stress to the bush itself. ’Keeping the suspension healthy and precise when you’re in the field, hitting the trails or hauling a heavy load is absolutely crucial,’ says Powerflex. Replacement bushes are available for the lower arm (front and rear), the anti-roll bar and the upper control arm.

The anti-roll bar bush is available in 28mm, 30mm and 31mm sizes to suit various different vehicles (the Hilux is related to a wide variety of Toyota off-roaders, including the

Fortuner, Innova, 4Runner, FJ Cruiser, Tacoma and Landcruiser). The lower arm bushes, meanwhile, come with stainless steel sleeves and feature integrated steel supporting washers for added axial rigidity, further protecting the ends of the bush.

They have a concentric design and

use the vehicle’s original bolt and washer arrangement for adjusting suspension geometry.

Finally, the upper control arm bushes comes with a stainless steel sleeve and plated steel end washers, providing increased support where they mount to the chassis.

Vehicle Wiring Products

As most people do, Powerflex praises the Hilux for its legendary strength and unwavering ability both off-road and on – and the company sees its bush kits as the perfect way of complementing these virtues. You can find out more by visiting www.powerflex.co.uk.

We supply a comprehensive range of wiring products for repair, modification or complete rewire to your vehicle

S AV E

5%

W IT H

CO D E

“ L A N DY M

AG5”

£195 per unit plus subscriptions from £8.50 per month

ca F ta re lo e gu

e Visit our website, phone or email for a free catalogue

www.vehicleproducts.co.uk

Tel No: 0115 9305454 and email: sales@vehicleproducts.co.uk

Vehicle Wiring Products 9 Buxton Court, Manners Ind Est, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, DE7 8EF

20 | NOVEMBER 2020

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PRODUCTS

POP-UP GARAGES TO BEAT THE WINTER WORKSHOP BLUES YOU NEED A BIGGER GARAGE. Yes you do. We all need a bigger garage. We’d like to store our trucks in our garages, and we’d really like to work on them in our garages, but we can’t because apparently we needed new furniture a few months ago and the old stuff is stored in there while we try to sell it on eBay but can’t, because everyone else needed new furniture a few months ago too.

We can’t offer a solution to the furniture thing. But the lack of a garage? That’s easy.

Machine Mart’s in-house brand, Clarke, offers a range of Garage/Workshops combining a bolt-up steel frame and triple layered, waterproof, fully UV treated cover with ratchet tensioning for a tight finish. These offer a variety of anchoring options, allowing them to be installed on many different surfaces.

The garages will keep the rain off and the warmth in, assuming you’ve got some sort of heater on the go to combat the winter weather. They’re ideal for vehicle storage and can also be used as workshops, with crisp white covers allowing plenty of light on the subject.

Available in a variety of sizes up to 24’ long x 12’ wide x 8’2” high, the garages are priced from £274.80. That will sound like sweeties this winter when you’re trying to work on your vehicle but can’t feel your fingers any more. While they’re still working, tap in www.machinemart. co.uk and take it from there.

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PRODUCTS

RLG Tyres

Tyres cheap. Not cheap tyres!!

Lazer launches bumper beam LED mounting kits for Ford Ranger

OFFICIAL STOCKIST

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

MILNER OFF ROAD Est. 1981

TOYOTA

FILTERS • DISCS • PADS • BELTS • CLUTCHES • TYRES • SNORKELS NEW & Click ct e coll ice serv

LAZER LAMPS HAS LAUNCHED a variety of new mounting kits allowing its products to be fitted within the bumpers of several different 4x4s. These include two versions of the Ford Ranger – standard models from 2016 on, and the big beast that is the Raptor.

Starting with the latter, this allows the vehicle to be fitted with Lazer’s Triple-R 1250 LED bar. Supplied with the lamp harness you need when fitting the unit, it can be used with the standard or Smartview versions of the light; in the case of the latter, an option you might need is the CAN High Beam and Speed Pulse controller required to make the most of its advanced functions.

On the everyday Ranger, the kit is designed to take Lazer’s Linear-18 LED bar. Again, a harness is included, and again the kit can be used with a choice of Standard or Elite models.

Lazer says the mounting kits are OE quality, robust and entirely secure, with 3mm steel brackets and a combination of e-coat and satin black powder coat treatments ensuring they stay immaculate for years to come.

They’re backed up by a five-year warranty to prove the point, too.

Prices vary, but if you can’t afford one of these you definitely can’t afford the LEDs to go with it, so rest easy. The kits are available direct from Lazer at www.lazerlamps.com.

300TDI TEMP SENSOR FROM LUCAS CLASSIC MILNER

www.milneroffroad.com TEL: 01629 734411

Mon-Fri: 8:00am - 5:00pm

Old Road | Darley Dale | Matlock | Derbyshire | DE4 2ER | LEADING THE WAY SINCE 1981 | GENUINE & NON GENUINE PARTS | SAME DAY DESPATCH* |

22 | NOVEMBER 2020

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LUCAS CLASSIC makes parts for Land Rovers. Classic ones, as the name suggests. But where does classic end and modern begin?

In the case of the part bearing the codename AMR3321LUCAS in major supplier Britpart’s ever-growing catalogue, the answer to the above question seems to be that at the very least, modernity didn’t start happening until the late 1990s. That’s because you’re looking at a temperature sensor for the 300Tdi engine.

This unit is still common among Landies used by off-roaders, so here’s the proof that Lucas Classic is worth keeping an eye on for bits to keep these trucks running. You can do so at www.britpart.com.

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PRODUCTS

Overlanders’ bible brings out new edition

25TH

ANNIVERSARY

T

he Vehicle-Dependent Expedition Guide has long been a reference tome for those planning to go overlanding in a big way. And now there’s a new edition out… well, it’s called Edition 4.1a, so it’s not 100% new, but publisher Desert Winds says it has gained ‘extensive revisions and additional content’ from the previous Edition 4.1.

The guide, which was originally commissioned by Land Rover, has grown to be available in 57 countries worldwide and is part of the UK and US Special Forces’ instructional material.

And these are people who take things quite seriously. Author Tom Sheppard has more than 100,000 miles’ overland and expedition experience – including the first coast-to-coast lateral crossing and continuous gravity survey of the Sahara, for which he received a Royal Geographical Society award.

In addition to Sheppard’s own wisdom, the guide is augmented by contributions from Jonathan Hanson – the man behind the three-day Overland Expo, held every year in the USA. Compared to earlier editions, it also now includes a detailed study into the creation of a sensible, exemplary expedition vehicle by technical experts Marcus and Julie Tuck.

‘An expedition can be a half-day exploring a track near home, a few days in Wales, two weeks off-road

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in the Pyrenees, a major journey in Africa – or a development, aid or research project in a remote region. The demands are similar,’ says Sheppard.

Whether its purpose is for work or pure adventure, every expedition is a major undertaking to which planning, selection, training and reliability are fundamentally vital. In addition to the authors’ combined 60 years’ of expedition experience, a cumulative six years of concentrated research has been put in to producing and continually revising the book.

Shipping, equipment, clothing, fuels, oil, communications, vehicles, driver training and navigation are all covered.

‘The ethos of the book throughout is honest opinion and judgement,’ says Desert Winds.

‘Not everyone will agree, but “tell it like it is” is the overall policy.’

As always, however, there’s no such thing as all-knowing wisdom.

‘The book is still only a guide,’ says Sheppard. ‘A late-2020 snapshot of the ever-changing, ascending technology and spiral of ideas that ignite overland travel. The final arbiter for your expedition plans will be you.’

The Vehicle-Dependent Expedition Guide can be purchased direct from the publisher at a price of £47 plus postage. You get what you pay for in life. You’ll find it by visiting www.desertwinds.co.uk.

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DRIVEN

LAMBORGHINI URUS

Does a Lambo for everyday family life ring true in the real world? And more to the point, what happens when you go green laning in a 190mph SUV…?

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DRIVEN

A

lot of people in the 4x4 world reacted with a bit of a groan when they heard that Lamborghini had launched an SUV. First BMW, then Porsche, then Bentley, then Maserati, then Lambo… where is this all going to end?

It’s probably one of the few areas in which dedicated off-road types and sportscar fetishists have some common ground. The sort of people who leave earnest comments on forums like Autocar and Pistonheads absolutely hate SUVs and think it’s an abomination to see one with a Lambo badge on the bonnet – while the sort of people

who think this magazine is a sellout for not having about a dozen pages of trial and comp safari reports every month absolutely hate SUVs and think it’s a complete abomination to see one full stop.

In the real world, which is not a phrase you normally associate with Lamborghinis, the fact is that SUVs have become a cash cow. People love them. Everyday people who buy everyday cars love them, and

rich people who buy expensive cars love them. The Range Rover was proving that point about a quarter of a century before the phrase ’sport utility vehicle’ was ever thought of, and the arrival of things like the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls-Royce Cullinan has proved that there’s no limit to how high up the market SUVs’ appeal will stretch.

So is it a surprise that there’s a market for super-SUVs? Only if

you’ve been blind to the massive success of the Porsche Cayenne over the thick end of two decades now. This, and top-end versions of the BMW X5 and Mercedes M-Class, have pushed the limits of the performance SUV market ever further – and now the Urus is here, we can safely say that there are no limits at all.

This is a 190mph car. A 190mph car that we took green laning (the

There’s not much to see under the bonnet, but there’s plenty to hear. The 4.0-litre V8 engine generates 641bhp and makes a wonderful noise in the process.

Even in Strada mode, it has an epic exhaust note, and when you crank the dial into Sport or Corsa it transforms into a beautiful monster of a thing

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The cabin is wondefully crafted, with a technical, purposeful feel to it. There are more sumptuous SUVs around, but you’ll do well to find one that matches the Urus for the sheer sense of occasion it generates. In particular, there’s a combination of high-tech and classic motorsport touches in its design that works really well. You’d need a clipboard to list all the optional equipment that’s visible in these pictures, but even without any of it the Urus would still be very special indeed whole way over Houndkirk Moor) without a hitch. A 190mph car which lists at £172,411 including VAT and, as tested, would cost you a cool £211,404.

Can it possibly be worth that much money? If you’ve got it to spend, it doesn’t matter. So this is a question nobody asked. Forgive us, though: we’re going to quite enjoy coming up with an answer.

Not that we did this just by smoking around town for a week attracting as much attention as possible. There was a bit of that, obviously, but mainly we spoke to a guy who specialises in selling the world’s most expensive cars to the world’s richest people. ‘There’s no such thing as someone who can’t decide between a Ferrari and a

Lamborghini,’ he said. ‘The people who come to us, if they want to be different, there’s no choice. You buy a Lamborghini.’

So it’s a bit like being the bloke who shows up to a club RTV trial in a battered old Terrano or Frontera because everyone else has a Defender 90. Same desire to stand out as an individual, though the cars are fairly unlikely to be mistaken for each other…

CABIN AND PRACTICALITY You get used to being swamped with luxury by vehicles at the top end of the market, but Lamborghini does it a little differently. For sure,

it’s all top-quality materials and rock-solid build quality, but the cabin design is very clever – it feels tremendously technical and purposeful while also looking after all your needs as a daily-driver. It’s kind of like being in the world’s most comfortable racing car.

The seats, for instance, are sports-style buckets. But unlike true race seats, they provide excellent support without making you feel as if you’ve been wedged into place.

They’re upholstered in leather and alcantara and have a wide range of adjustment in all directions as well as excellent adjustable lumbar support, and they’re heated. There are several grand’s worth of cost options in the above list, which to our untutored ears seems a bit

much at this price, but even without any of them the seats would still be absolutely world-class.

There’s a definite sense of occasion from the dashboard, too.

It’s detailed in loads of carbon fibre (yet another cost option) and topped off in leather with bodycoloured stitching (and another), but again the underlying design is magnificent even without this.

Everything from the graphics on the digital dash pod to the shrouds around the controls speaks of purpose – some of it is very, very modern in its image, while some is a knowing nod to the classic days of totally mechanical racing cars, but overall it falls together perfectly.

It’s as convincing as any interior we’ve ever seen.

The shape of the Urus’ body doesn’t necessarily invite you to expect lots of interior space, but you can sit one six-footer behind another very comfortably so long as the one in front isn’t greedy. Headroom is remarkably good, even with the optional panoramic roof. With the rear seats dropped down and clicked into place, a long and almost flat boot floor means you can get pretty sizeable loads on board. A low lip height makes this still easier, too – though the sloping tailgate inevitably takes a bite out of the volume available

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DRIVEN You can decide whether this is a picture of the Urus’ 22” alloys or the monumental brake discs that live behind them. Either way, though, you’d be wrong – because what we set out to illustrate here was that its suspension does actually have some articulation worthy of the name

Lamborghini is part of the Volkswagen Group, which can only mean one thing for its multimedia offering, and sure enough this is superb. It’s a rectangular screen, rather than the seemingly neverending affair you get on the latest Touareg, but it’s big, crisp and easy to use, with haptic controls that give you a sense of touch even though what you’re pressing is all just one flat screen.

Everything else in the cabin is beautiful to touch, too, whether it’s smooth, hard surfaces or immaculately upholstered soft ones. The latter includes a nice padded finish on top of the central cubby box, whose lid-cum-armrest lifts to reveal a small stowage area and large inductive phone charging pad. The glovebox is on the small side too, so you tend to cram everything into the door pockets.

For bigger loads, the rear seats fold down easily and click into place to create a boot floor that’s not quite flat but not far off it either.

It’s a decent length, and you can lower the rear suspension for easier loading. The biggest limitation is placed by the plunging tailgate, which puts the mockers on using it to pick up the second-hand fridgefreezer you’ve just scored on eBay for £25, but you can still carry a pretty decent bit of cargo in here.

With the seats upright, there’s far more knee room than you’d expect. This is good because the front seat-backs are hard, and what little there is in the way of recesses

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comes over as a bit of a token effort, but seating one six-footer behind another is no problem.

Headroom is good throughout the cabin, too, even with the optional panoramic roof, and everyone gets a decent view out – including the driver, though for reversing you find yourself relying exclusively on the excellent combination of high-res camera, surround-view monitor and audible sensors.

DRIVING Yes, it’s fast. It has a 4.0-litre twinturbo engine roaring out 641bhp and 627lbf.ft, the latter from 2250rpm, so of course it’s fast. With Strada (road) mode selected and the gearbox in auto, it simply goes where you point it and gets there however quickly you ask it to – around town, it really is remarkable docile and easy to drive.

There’s a Sport mode, too, which adds fuel to the fire, and if you’re feeling brave you can drop it into Corsa (racetrack) for a lot more

snarling. This is best approached by taking control of the gearbox using the big paddles behind the steering wheel – and oh my word, when you change up under hard acceleration the slap in your back from the speed of the shifts is like nothing you’ll ever have experienced. It means business.

Various safety systems are disabled in this mode, however, so you’d better mean business too.

However while the suspension does firm up, ride quality doesn’t collapse altogether – in fact it’s noticeable, however you set it up, that the Urus always rides extremely well.

In Strada mode, it smoothes out speed bumps with real suppleness: in Corsa, while it picks up more on seams and manhole covers, it’s still not harsh when you hit pot holes.

This is world-class suspension engineering in action – we’re talking about a vehicle on 285/40R22 tyres at the front and 325/35R22s at the back, so you’re not going to get much in the way of give in the sidewalls if the shocks aren’t up

to it, but between them and the air springs holding the vehicle up it’s kind of miraculous.

That’s not the sort of word you want to use lightly, but in addition to riding so well the Urus handles more like a sports car than any other SUV we’ve ever driven. Its steering is precise, its body control immaculate; torque vectoring and four-wheel steer are standard, and they help the vehicle to corner with as good as no body roll and simply astonishing levels of grip. There are some vehicles, particularly those with little in the way of clever technology and engineering, whose limits you know pretty much from the off, but the Urus is not like that at all. It’s not in the slightest bit intimidating to drive, but it takes a while to get your head around just how high those limits are. On a racetrack, in the hands of a pro, it will make your jaw drop: on the road, it will flatter any driver.

What makes all this even more extraordinary is that the Urus is no mug off-road, either. Yes,

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bodywork. Yes, muddy boots. Yes, scratching. Yes, and yes some more, 325/35R22 tyres. But we tried to flex it out to the point where it would lift wheels, and the result was more articulation that we believed possible in a vehicle of this nature.

You drive off-road in the context of what you’re driving, of course.

So no, we wouldn’t take the Urus anywhere near mud, ruts, wet grass and so on, nor into conditions where the terrain could pose an unacceptable risk of damage. And while it’s very fast, on a lane like Houndkirk we probably went at half, maybe a quarter of the speed we’d have done in our Isuzu D-Max. That’s about big tyres, huge ground clearance and bodywork that’s there to take hits, and nothing else.

As it is, the Urus comes as standard with four drive modes – the aforementioned Strada, Sport and Corsa, as well as Neve (snow).

Ours had the optional Anima system, adding Sabbia (sand) and Terra (off-road).

Using the latter, we picked our way along several miles of stony, rocky and at times very uneven track – avoiding some bits that would clearly have damaged the vehicle by grounding it out, but also choosing the more difficult route

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in places so as to as questions of it. All were answered – and, while the tyres’ lack of height did make us nervous for their sidewalls, even when overloaded by axle-twisters they took it at a stroll.

They do generate a bit of noise at speed, however, with road roar and a touch of rustling being your companions on the motorway. The engine is remarkably placid at this sort of speed, however. We weren’t very happy on the way through roadworks, though, when the road sign recognition system kept readjusting the set speed on the cruise control – not a big deal, you’d think, but for the fact that it was a 60 limit and it kept trying to slow us to 50.

The hazard alert camera hit us with a rather dramatic false positive on one occasion, too, slamming on the brakes when a car pulled up to the white line from a side road up ahead. However these matters say something about the infancy of autonomous driving, not anything specific to Lamborghini.

And here’s something that is specific to Lamborghini. It’s not like driving other SUVs. You don’t just drive a Lambo: you drive a Lambo with everyone looking at you. This can be a bad thing, if you enjoy

nothing more than a good nosepicking session while sat at a red traffic light, but if you’re in the right frame of mind it can be a very good thing too.

Certainly, dropping it into Corsa mode is an excellent way of summoning attention via the medium of a very hearty woofle from the quad exhausts. You’ll get used to people staring, and if they’re not staring it’s probably because they’re filming you on their mobiles. As you drive past, kids shout ‘Lamborghini!’ excitedly at each other. Lads shout to you to give the gas a blip for them. In a way, perhaps, it’s what it must be like to be a celebrity – kind of cool when you’re in the mood, but you’re always on duty.

That’s the reality of having something like this as a daily driver.

And being an SUV, that’s what the Urus is meant to be. It’s for people who already have a Huracan or Aventador but want a four-seater for taking the kids to school.

Safe to say, you will be that celeb when you get there – the soccer moms you’re trying to impress might roll their eyes, but their sons will think you’re kind of a god and hey, they’re the ones that know, right? Though they only know the half of it, because what they see is an outrageously flash car – whereas however good it might be at attracting attention, it’s even better as a driving machine. It doesn’t put form over function, or vice verse – it just absolutely maxes out on both.

★★★★★

Lamborghini Urus Fabulous to sit in and enthralling to drive. It helps if you really love attracting attention So, is the Urus worth £211,404? The answer is, absolutely and emphatically, yes. If you’re comparing it to how much you paid for your house, just stop. You have to see it from the point of view of a person who can afford to spend this much on an SUV – and if you can do that, Lamborghini has created something unique with this vehicle. It’s wonderful to sit in and extraordinary to drive – and if, like the man said, you want to be different, it’s got that written blind. Now all that’s left is to be like us and take it green laning…

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DRIVEN

FORD TRANSIT TRAIL 2.0 170 AWD A little in the way of toughened-up styling and a lot in the way of four-wheel drive technology combine to turn the Transit into a surprisingly capable off-road workhorse

FOUR-WHEEL DRIVE VERSIONS of the Ford Transit are nothing new. But in this era of cool commercials, the Transit Trail puts a fresh twist on an established theme.

The model was announced earlier this year, as part of a bewildering product offensive covering a range of vans and van-derived people carriers.

This includes various Active models, which combine SUV styling with twowheel drive and the option of a limited-slip front diff, as well as Trail versions offering broadly the same recipe. On bigger examples of the Transit, however, Trail models are available on which all four wheels are driven.

Designed to appeal to ‘owners and operators whose work takes them to challenging terrain away from normal roads,’ these vehicles come with protective cladding around their bumpers and side panels. They also have unique 16” alloys and in-yourface Ford mouldings in their radiator grilles.

Normally, Trail models come in front-wheel drive form with the aforementioned LSD as standard. Bigger versions are rear-wheel drive as standard, however – and if you pay the extra cash, you can get them with Ford’s Intelligent All-Wheel Drive.

This doesn’t include low range. But it does have a lockable centre differential, as well as a traction control system which Ford says will always send engine torque to

The Transit’s cabin is well put together and tidily laid out, making it a pleasure to sit in. An excellent driving position helps here, too. None of this is unique to the Trail model, of course – though this version of the Transit is very well equipped in terms of more than just its drivetrain

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The Transit copes well with loose and bumpy off-road terrain – though it’s definitely happiest when driven more slowly than some of the pictures on these pages tend to suggest. On side slopes (above right), its great height never feels like throwing it off balance the wheels that need it most. To help it do this, there’s a drive mode palette with a ‘Mud and Ruts’ setting for off-road use. When this is engaged, the vehicle’s ESP programme is disabled – this would kill the engine the moment wheels started to spin on loose or slippery ground, so it’s essential to be shot of it if you want to be able to make progress.

The lack of low range doesn’t prevent excellent torque access, with first and even second gear feeling good and deep. Naturally, you spend most of your time in the former if the going is in any way technical or otherwise challenging, but with anti-stall working for you it doesn’t need any great performances on the throttle or hideous swathes of clutch slip to keep the pot boiling. On hills we’d certainly take in low range if we had it, the Transit clawed its way up without drama, even when we deliberately chose the roughest line to put its tractability to the test.

Coming back down is rather a different matter. Engine braking is minimal to the point of being as good as absent, so you need to cover the brakes from the outset to prevent it running away. No problem for us in a lightly laden test vehicle on a bone-dry surface, but running on slick ground at max gross weight might be a different matter. When hill descent control is tossed around like confetti by the motor industry, to the extent that it’s often found on vehicles which have low range and therefore clearly don’t need it, why Ford didn’t include it on 4x4 versions of the Trail is beyond us.

What’s not necessary, we found, is a ridiculous collection of off-road modes. You know the kind of thing we’re on about, and the Transit does its thing very satisfactorily without it. It’s similar to the Off-Road button you get on various Volkswagen Group products – uncomplicated and, so long as you drive within the context of the vehicle, very effective.

Certainly, you feel confident driving the Transit Trail – even in much more extreme off-road conditions that you might expect.

A towering driving position helps, of course – being able to see what you’re doing is SO underrated – and with a lovely light touch to its steering it’s remarkably manoeuvrable for such a big unit.

It doesn’t feel high and heavy on side slopes or axle twisters, walking through the terrain very comfortably so long as you keep it on a thread of gas.

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We didn’t get to experience this version of the Transit on the road, but in addition to that driving position we can certainly vouch for the quality of its cabin’s build and design. The seats are excellent, with plenty of room available in all directions, and the dash is stout and well laid-out with easy access to all the switchgear. Overall, it’s everything you’d want of a van – with the addition of all-wheel drive giving it a real measure of ability when you leave the road behind.

With prices starting at £39,995 plus VAT for 4x4 models, however, the Transit Active is not a cheap van. That gets you the 2.0 EcoBlue diesel engine tuned for 130bhp; the 170bhp model we tested punts the price upstairs to £40,995, while any combination of longer wheelbase and higher roof are available, each of them adding a bit more to the price until it tops out at £42,795.

There was a time, and it’s not even all that long ago, when that sort of money sounded expensive for a new Range Rover. In the context of today’s market, however, it’s not even that shocking that when the VAT’s included, you can do upstairs of fifty grand on a 4x4 Transit.

Fact is, anyway, even at that price it’s a lot of van for your money. The Transit Trail adds a dollop of style to Ford’s ever-popular panel van – and with all-wheel drive included, it gains a level of off-road ability that’s impossible not to respect.

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The Wheels on

The Torsus Praetorian Overlander promises to take expedition travel to another level. Based on the design of a heavy-duty off-road bus, it combines MAN truck underpinnings with a fully coachbuilt motorhome body – and it’s going to be on sale in the UK very soon Words: Dan Fenn Pictures: Torsus

I

f you want to see the world, until now there have been two kinds of vehicle in which to do it. One is the traditional motorhome, in all its various forms, from little Volkswagen campers up to monolithic Winnebago-style RVs: the other is a 4x4 that’s been converted into a self-sufficient overland machine.

The big difference between them is of course that a traditional motorhome has to stay on the road. The whole point behind overlanding in a 4x4 is that when the road turns into a track, or runs out altogether, that’s when the good stuff starts.

You might not have the space you get in a Winnebago but you can drive to Timbuktu the hard way, find a corner of the Serengeti to call your own or plant your flag on the Salar de Uyuni then make

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brew in your pull-out kitchen and sit watching it flutter in the Bolivian breeze.

Until now, those were the options. Until now.

The third way combines the size and construction of an RV with the ruggedness and ability of a 4x4. Due on sale next year, it’s the work of Torsus, a Czech-based company which recently won a Red Dot design award for the Praetorian – a 35seat off-road bus designed for getting work crews on and off-site in sectors like mining, quarrying, forestry, oil, gas and so on.

Torsus calls the Praetorian ‘the world’s first heavy-duty 4x4 off-road bus.’ As well as transporting personnel, its high-mobility character, coupled with the ability to move large amounts of people and cargo alike, means it also has applications

in areas like disaster relief. Torsus depicts it as a potential ski bus for resort use, too.

Naturally, the moment we clapped eyes on the Praetorian, we started imagining the overland vehicle you could build out of one. But we weren’t alone in doing so. Torsus does offer the vehicle as an empty shell for customers who want to build their own custom interior – but it is also readying the Praetorian Overlander, a fully fitted turn-key off-road motorhome.

As is normal with these things, the name on the badge may be one you hadn’t heard of before – but the engineering is tried and trusted.

Underneath, it’s all MAN – the chassis, engine, transmission and axles all come from the German giant, so even if Torsus is a new name to you this

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the Bus

This is a high-end way of seeing the world, but it’s also as close to an investment as you’ll ever get. And your kids won’t be thinking about their inheritance when they join you on the sort of adventures you can have in one of these is a vehicle whose heritage stretches back to the mid-18th Century. In other words, you ought to be able to trust it.

The engine is a 6.9litre straight-six diesel with 240bhp and a colossal 682lbf.ft. It drives through a 12-speed MAN / ZF semi-automatic gearbox with tiptronic manual selection and a two-speed MAN transfer case with a locking centre diff.

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At 8450mm long, 3720 tall and 2540 wide, the Overlander is about the same length as a Defender 90 and 130 combined, and approaching half as wide again as either.

Its body design gives it approach, breakover and departure angles of 32°, 41° and 26° respectively. For scale, the tyres you see in these pictures are 395/85R20s standing at a mighty 46.4” tall

Beyond this, both axles are beam units, again from MAN, with locking diffs and suspension by parabolic leaf springs. They’re shod with 395/85R20 Michelin XZLs on 10” wheels.

That’s 46.5” tall, to save you doing the maths.

This is the stuff of mighty ground clearance, and Torsus quotes 389mm (about 15.5”) beneath the axles. Approach, breakover and departure angles are 32°, 41° and 26° respectively, and wading depth is given as 700mm.

In addition to its MAN-derived off-road ability, the vehicle is also well specced to last in harsh conditions, with military-grade Line-X coating protecting its bodywork. Inside, its floor is ‘resistant to hard exploitation conditions,’ and in addition to a 15kW air-con system the driver gets conveniences like a pneumatic seat and, it may come as a relief to learn, a rear-view camera.

So we’ve got the makings of a seriously capable off-roader, that’s for sure, and one that’s designed to get you there and back again (we particularly like the fact that Torsus’ pictures of the vehicle show it with an integrated front winch). It’s hard to visualise the scale of the thing, however,

so here are the figures. Its body is 8450mm long, on a 4200mm wheelbase, and it’s 3720mm tall and 2540mm wide.

That’s about the length of a Defender 130 and a Defender 90 put together, on a wheelbase thats about a metre longer than the 130’s. It’s coming on for twice the height of either, though, and half as wide again.

So the Gatescarth Pass is out. But the Serengeti and Salar de Uyuni are definitely in – and when you get there, you won’t need to make that brew on a pull-out hob burner, either.

That’s where the other side of the Praetorian Overlander’s character comes in. It’s got the offroad thing sewn up: now it’s time for it to prove its RV credentials.

Now, we all know that roughing it is part of the appeal for many people. At the same time, though, when you’re going to be spending years of your life on the road, that whole vibe is apt to wear thin a little too quickly for comfort.

As standard, the Overlander comes with four berths including a full double bed in the rear cabin. You get a fitted wet room with sink, toilet and

shower, and a kitchen area with a fridge, dual hob and microwave oven. Vehicles are built to order, so there’s a wide range of options for equipment and design, but standard specifications would include all the seating and stowage of a typical on-road RV, as well as wifi and satellite TV. Rather more importantly for those evenings on the African plains, exterior lighting and a pull-out awning are also part of the package – you’d assume that while the kitchen is there when you need it, most days all the cooking will be done on a barbecue.

Things you’re unlikely to need include a roof tent, then – though open stowage options are available up there that would let you fit one.

Torsus is also intending to offer an all-terrain trailer to go with the vehicle, offering the same level of durability and capable of being fitted with a bedroom, shower room and kitchenette of its own (think self-propelled granny flat) or or storing things like quad bikes, canoes and so on. We reckon you’d even be able to fit a decent sized car in there, or something like a Suzuki Jimny or Jeep Wrangler for zipping around the place when the main rig is camped up.

Above: The Overlander’s interior is equipped and finished to a very high standard. So too is that of the optional trailer you can order to add yet more accommodation – this is what you’re looking at above, though you could also spec it to be used as a mobile garage for quad bikes, canoes or other outdoor kit Right: The Overlander is based on the Praetorian, an off-road crew bus which recently won a prestigious Red Dot design award. This has a 35-seat capacity, which gives you an idea of how much space there is inside it

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Having said that, the whole point of the vehicle is to give you mobility, so carrying a smaller 4x4 behind you might seem a bit unnecessary. Unless you fancy something like taking a trip to Ice Road Truckers territory by winter in your Overlander, then cruising down to Utah with a full-house rock rig behind you for a summer of riding the trails while you live out of your motorhome… which doesn’t exactly sound too much like a bad way to pass the time, does it?

Either way, genuine expedition travel is what the Overlander is all about. It’s available with fuel tanks giving it a capacity of up to 300 litres – Torsus doesn’t quote a fuel consumption figure, but even at 15mpg that would be more than 1000 miles before you have to break in to your store of jerry cans.

For sure, a vehicle like this will use more fuel than a traditional expedition truck. And it is of course, this is a very high-end way of seeing the

4x4 4pp Torsus Overlander.indd 35

world. Add in a fully specced trailer and the whole plot will cost more than the average British house is worth, and that’s before you spring for a Wrangler or Jimny to put in it. As it is, in standard form Torsus expects the Overlander to start at around £190-£225,000.

That makes it an instant dead-end for most would-be overlanders; if you dream of buying an old Bedford and converting it into a camper on your driveway, or even basing a full-house expedition project on a brand new Defender or Landcruiser, this sort of money is in a totally different world.

However something very important to remember is that motorhomes hold their value almost as well as real houses.

Spend that sort of money on a Bentley as a retirement present to yourself, and in three years’ time it will have wiped about a hundred grand off your kids’ inheritance:

put it into an RV instead and it’ll be as close to an investment as you’ll ever get.

You will, in our humble opinion, also get a lot more out of it. And your kids won’t be thinking about their inheritance when they join you on the sort of adventures you can have in one of these.

There are motorhomes, and there are off-road campers, and both are wonderful things. The Praetorian Overlander promises to be the best of both worlds – and to be an unrivalled way of exploring the world.

SEPTEMBER 2020 | 33

28/09/2020 19:32

DEMOB HAPPY

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DEMOB HAPPY

36 | NOVEMBER 2020

4.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 36

4x4 28/09/2020 19:51

If you thought ex-military Land Rovers had become a rare breed, try finding one that’s still being used to do what they were built for. Josh Roberts’ Lightweight is resolutely flying the flag for the off-road world, however – and as if to make it more unusual still, it’s also his daily drive… and it’s still doing it on leaf springs. Make no mistake, though – it might look remarkably original, but under the skin this is a very highly modified vehicle Words: Paul Looe Pictures: Harry Hamm

4x4 5.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 37

T

here was a time when old ex-military Land Rovers were a common sight in the off-road scene. With loads and loads of them floating around post-demob, people would snap them up for sweeties to use as cheap green lane toys – then later, once a few years of sound thrashings had taken their toll, they’d go shopping again for a knackered old Range Rover then batter the two together to create a hybrid.

Countless old Series Is, IIs and IIIs ended up this way, as did who knows what percentage of the half-tonne Lightweights that were disposed of by the MOD. These days, any of those vehicles in their original condition would be worth a spectacular amount of money, so they days of cutting them up is very well in the past – now, it’s all about taking old Landies back to standard and treating them like classic cars.

Every now and again, though, you still come across a relic from the leaf-sprung days that’s still being used the way Land Rover intended. Some of these wonderful rarities are even still leaf-sprung, too. And very, very occasionally, they’ll still be working for their living as daily drivers.

Josh Roberts’ early Series III Lightweight is one such vehicle. You could call it a throwback – but you certainly wouldn’t call it a relic. Its chassis and bodywork might be as close to standard as makes no difference, and it is still riding on leaf springs, but this is a heavily modified vehicle which, as well as being Josh’s only car, is also a highly focused off-road machine.

A member of Bonkas4x4Wales, Josh and his Lightweight are regulars on the club’s off-road gigs. ‘I do green laning or pay and plays,’ he says.

‘Or if there’s nothing on, I’ll go and find a good green lane myself so I can explore and have an adventure.’ Insatiable.

He’s had no shortage of adventures in the workshop, either. Those leaf springs hold the vehicle up on military 109-spec front and standard civvy rear axles; the former comes with 11” drum brakes, which helps deal with the much greater weight now sitting over the top of it.

NOVEMBER 2020 | 37

28/09/2020 15:48

If you thought ex-military Land Rovers had become a rare breed, try finding one that’s still being used to do what they were built for. Josh Roberts’ Lightweight is resolutely flying the flag for the off-road world, however – and as if to make it more unusual still, it’s also his daily drive… and it’s still doing it on leaf springs. Make no mistake, though – it might look remarkably original, but under the skin this is a very highly modified vehicle Words: Paul Looe Pictures: Harry Hamm

4x4 4.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 37

T

here was a time when old ex-military Land Rovers were a common sight in the off-road scene. With loads and loads of them floating around post-demob, people would snap them up for sweeties to use as cheap green lane toys – then later, once a few years of sound thrashings had taken their toll, they’d go shopping again for a knackered old Range Rover then batter the two together to create a hybrid.

Countless old Series Is, IIs and IIIs ended up this way, as did who knows what percentage of the half-tonne Lightweights that were disposed of by the MOD. These days, any of those vehicles in their original condition would be worth a spectacular amount of money, so they days of cutting them up is very well in the past – now, it’s all about taking old Landies back to standard and treating them like classic cars.

Every now and again, though, you still come across a relic from the leaf-sprung days that’s still being used the way Land Rover intended. Some of these wonderful rarities are even still leaf-sprung, too. And very, very occasionally, they’ll still be working for their living as daily drivers.

Josh Roberts’ early Series III Lightweight is one such vehicle. You could call it a throwback – but you certainly wouldn’t call it a relic. Its chassis and bodywork might be as close to standard as makes no difference, and it is still riding on leaf springs, but this is a heavily modified vehicle which, as well as being Josh’s only car, is also a highly focused off-road machine.

A member of Bonkas4x4Wales, Josh and his Lightweight are regulars on the club’s off-road gigs. ‘I do green laning or pay and plays,’ he says.

‘Or if there’s nothing on, I’ll go and find a good green lane myself so I can explore and have an adventure.’ Insatiable.

He’s had no shortage of adventures in the workshop, either. Those leaf springs hold the vehicle up on military 109-spec front and standard civvy rear axles; the former comes with 11” drum brakes, which helps deal with the much greater weight now sitting over the top of it.

NOVEMBER 2020 | 37

28/09/2020 19:52

Above left: The Lightweight’s chassis and bodywork have been kept almost completely standard. Which of course means they’re military throughout, and hurrah for that Above right: All the vehicle’s lights have been replaced with LEDs. Josh says this is for ‘practicality,’ which sounds like another way of saying that they actually light things up This in turn comes from a 300Tdi engine, which is the third the vehicle has had in it since coming on to Josh’s radar. It came to him via a member of his family, so he’d been aware of it for a while.

38 | NOVEMBER 2020

5.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 38

‘When we first had it,’ he says, ‘it was running a 3.5-litre V8 motor from a P6. It was a gas guzzler, so we changed it to a 200Tdi – which only lasted two years before she blew the fourth conrod out

the side of the block! Fair play, we still drove it off the side of the mountain on three cylinders.’

Good going, and typical of the stories we continue to hear about the 200Tdi’s in-built robust-

4x4 28/09/2020 15:48

Above left: The Lightweight’s chassis and bodywork have been kept almost completely standard. Which of course means they’re military throughout, and hurrah for that Above right: All the vehicle’s lights have been replaced with LEDs. Josh says this is for ‘practicality,’ which sounds like another way of saying that they actually light things up This in turn comes from a 300Tdi engine, which is the third the vehicle has had in it since coming on to Josh’s radar. It came to him via a member of his family, so he’d been aware of it for a while.

‘When we first had it,’ he says, ‘it was running a 3.5-litre V8 motor from a P6. It was a gas guzzler, so we changed it to a 200Tdi – which only lasted two years before she blew the fourth conrod out the side of the block! Fair play, we still drove it off the side of the mountain on three cylinders.’

Good going, and typical of the stories we continue to hear about the 200Tdi’s in-built robustness. But not what you’d call a long-term solution – hence the 300Tdi that’s in there now.

‘The engine was from a Discovery 1 which I bought off my mate for £150,’ Josh says. ‘I ran it for a year before I got fed up with the lack of power, and then I started work on the engine. I turned

up the fuel pump by turning the boost pin and ran it for another year… then I parked the Landy outside my Dad’s house and started a full rebuild.

‘While I was rebuilding the engine, I found the head had cracks in it. So I sourced a new head, which happened to be from Ronicevi (an Argentinian specialist which makes replacement units with hardened valve seats), and set the timing slightly advanced.’

So far so good, but now it’s time for the good stuff. ‘For a while,’ continues Josh, ‘I had had a turbocharger off an Iveco Eurocargo sat on my bench. And I thought sod it, let’s have some fun…

‘I had custom flanges made to mount it on, but when I put it in place it was touching the chassis.

So I notched the chassis to accommodate the bigger turbo. I then went for a full-width intercooler and an ally radiator to help keep things cool,

then I butchered together a cherry bomb exhaust and mounted that along the side.’

Right about now, you’re either thinking ‘oh yes’ or ‘oh no.’ Plenty of people hit Josh with the latter, but we asked him which of all the mods he’s made to the Lightweight has worked best and here’s the answer: ‘The turbo. Many people said it wouldn’t work and all I proved them all wrong. All I can say is sit down and hold on!’

If you were to sit down in this vehicle, you’d be doing so in a leather-trimmed Recaro bucket seat from a Ford Puma. You’d be held in to it by a full four-point harness, too, and in each case that’s a lot better than any Lightweight’s original occupants were treated to. Further safety comes from an old-school four-point roll cage which takes up most of the rear cabin and is stoutly attached to the chassis.

Below right: The vehicle was built for hardcore off-roading, so even though it’s a hard-top a roll cage is a very good idea. The internal structure you see here is a full four-pointer, run right down to the chassis to provide very solid protection. The cabin, meanwhile, is definitely not military-style any more. Aside from the use of actual sound-deadening material all over the bulkhead, no Army vehicle ever came with a set of Ford Puma leather seats. Josh says he picked these up for pennies; they’re installed alongside a set of four-point harnesses, which again is more than any squaddy ever got aboard one of these things

4x4 4.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 38

28/09/2020 19:52

Astwood 4x4 Ltd LAND ROVER SPECIALISTS

We are a business that cares about your Landy and about the customers’ needs, a company who understands what the Landy is all about.

The front axle is a military unit with 11” drum brakes from the long-wheelbase Land Rover 109 of the time. The rear is a standard Series unit, with both running 3.54:1 diffs and braided brake lines.

Those tyres are 33x12.50R15 GT Radial Adventuro M/Ts, riding on offset rims to give them some space for movement

We specialise in restoring, rebuilding Land Rover Defenders, galvanized chassis changes, engine upgrade and all types of mechanical & body work.

We export Land Rovers worldwide supplying not only refurbished but also used Land Rovers.

Refurbishment/Restoration Specialist, Land Rover Servicing, MOTs, Mechanical, Diagnostics, SKYTAG Agent, Galvanized Chassis, Body Repair/Paint Shop Works Astwood Bank, Astwood Business Park, Astwood Lane, Redditch. B96 6HH

Suspension is by parabolic leaf springs all-round, with polybushes to keep their movement in line. Parabolics are famed for the combination they offer of flexibility and ride quality, and Josh is proof of the fact that you can use them on your daily driver without needing weeks of chiropractic work afterwards

4x4 5.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 39

Tel : +44(0)1527 892 377 Mobile : +44(0)7974075932 Email: info@astwood4x4.co.uk www.facebook.com/Astwood4x4 www.twitter.com/Astwood4x4

www.astwood4x4.co.uk NOVEMBER 2020 | 39

28/09/2020 15:48

Astwood 4x4 Ltd LAND ROVER SPECIALISTS

We are a business that cares about your Landy and about the customers’ needs, a company who understands what the Landy is all about.

The front axle is a military unit with 11” drum brakes from the long-wheelbase Land Rover 109 of the time. The rear is a standard Series unit, with both running 3.54:1 diffs and braided brake lines.

Those tyres are 33x12.50R15 GT Radial Adventuro M/Ts, riding on offset rims to give them some space for movement

We specialise in restoring, rebuilding Land Rover Defenders, galvanized chassis changes, engine upgrade and all types of mechanical & body work.

We export Land Rovers worldwide supplying not only refurbished but also used Land Rovers.

Refurbishment/Restoration Specialist, Land Rover Servicing, MOTs, Mechanical, Diagnostics, SKYTAG Agent, Galvanized Chassis, Body Repair/Paint Shop Works Astwood Bank, Astwood Business Park, Astwood Lane, Redditch. B96 6HH

Suspension is by parabolic leaf springs all-round, with polybushes to keep their movement in line. Parabolics are famed for the combination they offer of flexibility and ride quality, and Josh is proof of the fact that you can use them on your daily driver without needing weeks of chiropractic work afterwards

4x4 4.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 39

Tel : +44(0)1527 892 377 Mobile : +44(0)7974075932 Email: info@astwood4x4.co.uk www.facebook.com/Astwood4x4 www.twitter.com/Astwood4x4

www.astwood4x4.co.uk NOVEMBER 2020 | 39

28/09/2020 19:52

The engine is at least the fourth to have taken its place beneath the Lightweight’s bonnet. In addition to the orginal 2.25, it’s had a 3.5-litre V8 from a Rover P6 and a 200Tdi which let go in a big way after a couple of years. This one’s a 300Tdi, which Josh pulled out of a Discovery he’d bought from a mate for £150 then went on to modify, rebuild and modify some more. These days it’s running a turbocharger from an Iveco Eurocargo, a full-width intercooler and, of all things, a side-mounted cherry bomb exhaust. The result? ‘All I can say is sit down and hold on!’ ness. But not what you’d call a long-term solution – hence the 300Tdi that’s in there now.

‘The engine was from a Discovery 1 which I bought off my mate for £150,’ Josh says. ‘I ran it for a year before I got fed up with the lack of power, and then I started work on the engine. I turned up the fuel pump by turning the boost pin and ran it for another year… then I parked the Landy outside my Dad’s house and started a full rebuild.

‘While I was rebuilding the engine, I found the head had cracks in it. So I sourced a new head, which happened to be from Ronicevi (an Argentinian specialist which makes replacement units with hardened valve seats), and set the timing slightly advanced.’

So far so good, but now it’s time for the good stuff. ‘For a while,’ continues Josh, ‘I had had a turbocharger off an Iveco Eurocargo sat on my bench. And I thought sod it, let’s have some fun…

40 | NOVEMBER 2020

5.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 40

‘I had custom flanges made to mount it on, but when I put it in place it was touching the chassis.

So I notched the chassis to accommodate the bigger turbo. I then went for a full-width intercooler and an ally radiator to help keep things cool, then I butchered together a cherry bomb exhaust and mounted that along the side.’

Right about now, you’re either thinking ‘oh yes’ or ‘oh no.’ Plenty of people hit Josh with the latter, but we asked him which of all the modifications he’s made to the Lightweight has worked best and here’s the answer: ‘The turbo. Many people said it wouldn’t work and all I proved them all wrong.

After all the mods, all I can say is sit down and hold on!’

If you were to sit down in this vehicle, you’d be doing so in a leather-trimmed Recaro bucket seat from a Ford Puma. You’d be held in to it by a full four-point harness, too, and in each case that’s

a lot better than any Lightweight’s original occupants were treated to. Further safety comes from an old-school four-point roll cage which takes up most of the rear cabin and is stoutly attached to the chassis.

Talking of the chassis, in addition to being notched to accommodate the turbo it’s had new engine mounts welded on (several times over, you’d assume) as well as a set for the LT77 gearbox that’s bolted to the back of it. This is the unit that Land Rover used with the 200Tdi; it’s more agricultural than the R380 that was introduced with the 300Tdi, and has a heavier clutch, but for no-nonsense robustness there’s not a lot to match it. The one Josh used was a short-bellhousing variant taken from a 90, and it turns the props via an LT230 transfer case from a Discovery.

Said props are from a Discovery, too. The one at the front has been lengthened and the one at

4x4 28/09/2020 15:48

The engine is at least the fourth to have taken its place beneath the Lightweight’s bonnet. In addition to the orginal 2.25, it’s had a 3.5-litre V8 from a Rover P6 and a 200Tdi which let go in a big way after a couple of years. This one’s a 300Tdi, which Josh pulled out of a Discovery he’d bought from a mate for £150 then went on to modify, rebuild and modify some more. These days it’s running a turbocharger from an Iveco Eurocargo, a full-width intercooler and, of all things, a side-mounted cherry bomb exhaust. The result? ‘All I can say is sit down and hold on!’

Talking of the chassis, in addition to being notched to accommodate the turbo it’s had new engine mounts welded on (several times over, you’d assume) as well as a set for the LT77 gearbox that’s bolted to the back of it. This is the unit that Land Rover used with the 200Tdi; it’s more agricultural than the R380 that was introduced with the 300Tdi, and has a heavier clutch, but for no-nonsense robustness there’s not a lot to match it. The one Josh used was a short-bellhousing variant taken from a 90, and it turns the props via an LT230 transfer case from a Discovery.

44 | NOVEMBER 2020

4.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 40

Said propshafts are from a Discovery, too. The one at the front has been lengthened and the one at the rear shortened, all of which Josh carried out himself. ‘I do all the work and try to keep it all in house,’ he comments. ‘But now and again some jobs take two people so I have to call on friends and family.’

Fair enough. A bit of emotional support might not have gone amiss early on in the project, either, by the sounds of it: ‘When I got it, some of the wiring had burnt through. So I started ripping at it and replacing the wires that were bad… I ended up

coming close to pouring petrol on it and walking away, but I stuck to it!’ He’ll be quite pleased about that, we assume…

‘This is the only 4x4 I have ever owned,’ continues Josh, ‘and to be truthful it’s all I need to own.

I use this truck every day without fail unless it’s broken down. I take it wherever I’m allowed and will keep driving it until I’m old. It’s been through floodwater and deep bogs and also long trips, and it always without fail puts a smile on my face – because it’s a proper Landy and drives like a tank, and that’s what I love about it.’

4x4 28/09/2020 19:52

Above right: The vehicle was built for hardcore off-roading, so even though it’s a hard-top a roll cage is a very good idea. The internal structure you see here is a full four-pointer, run right down to the chassis to provide very solid protection Above left: The cabin is definitely not military-style any more. Aside from the use of actual sound-deadening material all over the bulkhead, no Army vehicle ever came with a set of Ford Puma leather seats. Josh says he picked these up for pennies; they’re installed alongside a set of four-point harnesses, which again is more than any squaddy ever got aboard one of these things the rear shortened, all of which Josh did himself.

‘I do all the work and try to keep it all in house,’ he says. ‘But now and again some jobs take two people so I have to call on friends and family.’

Fair enough. A bit of emotional support might not have gone amiss early on in the project, either, by the sounds of it: ‘When I got it, some of the

4x4 5.5pp Roberts Lightweight.indd 41

wiring had burnt through. So I started ripping at it and replacing the wires that were bad… I ended up coming close to pouring petrol on it and walking away, but I stuck to it!’ He’ll be quite pleased about that, we assume…

‘This is the only 4x4 I have ever owned,’ continues Josh, ‘and to be truthful it’s all I need to own.

I use this truck every day without fail unless it’s broken down. I take it wherever I’m allowed and will keep driving it until I’m old. It’s been through floodwater and deep bogs and also long trips, and it always without fail puts a smile on my face – because it’s a proper Landy and drives like a tank, and that’s what I love about it.’

NOVEMBER 2020 | 41

28/09/2020 15:48

NUTHIN’ BUT A

T

he Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen is not a vehicle you see coming up very often on the restoration circuit. There are two main reasons for this.

In Britain at least, one is that when G-Wagens gets old and tatty enough to warrant restoration, off-roaders have tended to clamour for their axles. The other is that G-Wagens don’t need restoration, anyway, because they last forever.

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Blending that epic longevity with a touch of modern class, on the other hand, sounds like a pretty appealing prospect. And it’s what this G250 D is all about.

Created by top-drawer US 4x4 specialist Legacy Overland, the vehicle dates from 1990. That’s a couple of years before Dr Dre released the track Nuthin but a G thang, whose name we’ve borrowed for this article; you can decide for yourself

whether it has aged more gracefully than the early classics of gangsta rap, but either way we reckon it’s a vehicle Dre himself would have been proud to drop on the streets of Compton.

Nicknamed Project Heidelberg by the guys at Legacy Overland, this is not just any old G-Wagen (let alone one of the high-specification street machines Mercedes had already started making long before the new model came along). It’s a

4x4 28/09/2020 18:46

‘G’ THANG No 4x4 has ever been more frequently dropped in rap tracks than the Mercedes G-Wagen. But back in the days when Dr Dre and his crew were all cruising in lowriders, a 250 GD left the factory en route for a posting in the Army – only to end up being one of the coolest whips you’ll ever see. Maybe the ‘G’ in G-Wagen does stand for ‘gangsta’ aftetr all…

Words: Kaziyoshi Sasazaki Pictures: Legacy Overland

W461.4 ‘Wolf’ – the kind that was built for the world’s armies.

This was the era during which Mercedes’ reputation for over-engineering was cemented in place. Even its passenger cars were designed to have virtually unlimited lifespans – so when it created a truck for the toughest of conditions, you can bet your bottom dollar it was going to be strong as an ox.

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28/09/2020 18:46

Left: It would have been easy to go too big on a build like this, but 265/75R16 Cooper Discoverer STT Pros have just the right balance of size and aggression Right: The snorkel is Canadian military spec. We don’t think we’ve ever seen one that sits so far forward from the screen; in the absence of a usable A-post mount, the bracket bolted to the top of the wing has a delightfully functional character to it Below: That bull bar is horribly dated but also wonderfully of-its-time. The LED lights that go with it are altogether more modern

The interior trim was hand-made in full grain brandy-coloured leather with black leather accents and cream stitching. A good time for a picture to be worth a thousand words – and we think you’ll agree that thus trimmed, the seats and doors look spectacular. Overall, the cabin has been restored and enhanced without losing the early-90s’ originality of its design.

It would have been easy to replace that steering wheel with something new and flashy, for example, but a light touch is a strong touch. The instrument cluster and gauges were rebuilt and a modern Pioneer stereo was installed, as well as the small matter of a custom air-con system being integrated into the dash, but the main visual difference to a typical old one is how beautifully clean it all is. Those big, chunky diff lock switches look like a couple of big fun buttons waiting to be pressed, too…

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4x4 28/09/2020 18:46

One stand-out addition to the interior is this cup-holder console. Truth to tell, taken on its own its leather finish looks a bit odd on such a functional tranny tunnel, but it does match the seats and they look magnificent, so we’ll let that one go Below right: Wing-top indicators are an absolute G-Wagen signature. With where they’re located, you can’t image them needing much protection (Merc probably made the lenses strong enough to take a direct hit anyway), but you can’t have too many grille guards

And that’s exactly what the Wolf is. Whereas civvy versions of the G-Wagen had moved on by the time this one was built, the W461 retained the first-generation chassis and original boxy bodywork that had been going since 1979. It was all about strength and durability, leaving performance and creature comforts to other, less work-focused models.

Up front, the G-Wagen you see here has the legendary OM602 diesel engine – a 2.5-litre straight five that’s commonly held to be one of the most reliable engines ever produced. In addition to its stump-pulling torque, it has the clever trick up its sleeve of being completely unreliant on electrics – once running, the vehicle can suffer a total electrical failure (for example if it’s submerged under water, or a bit too much winching drains the battery down to zero) and and the engine will keep on plugging away.

Behind the engine are a five-speed manual gearbox and two-speed transfer case. The primary unit has an ultra-deep first gear, meaning the vehicle can drive up or down almost vertical slopes, given the traction. Back this up with manual lockers in the front and rear axles, and you have a truck whose only achilles heel is its weight. Its lack of creature comforts means the W461 is lighter than most G-Wagens, but even then you’re still looking at more than 2000kg in this form.

Not that the G-Wagen seen here is still in its original form. In particular, the lack of creature

4x4 4pp Legacy Overland Army G-Wagen.indd 45

comforts that was such a selling point for the W461 has been turned on its head, and now its cabin features a Pioneer Bluetooth sound system, custom-made air-con and distressed full grain brandy-coloured leather with black leather accents and cream stitching.

It’s plush, for sure, and it looks every bit as good from the outside thanks to a new coat of boxwood green paint, a black mohair soft-top and a set of 265/75R16 Cooper Discoverer STT Pros on black steel eight-spokes. There’s a very of-itstime tubular bull bar protecting the front end, and a Canadian military-style snorkel adds further visual flair – in the most functional of ways.

Down below, the engine, gearbox and transfer case were all rebuilt, as was the Bosch mechanical fuel pump, and the suspension was renewed using Bilstein shocks. The hardware used around the vehicle was galvanised wherever possible, and Dynamat sound-deadening material was installed beneath all the carpets.

The great thing about the G-Wagen is that while it clearly had been turned into a truck with superior street skills, it’s still every inch the real thing.

The suspension lift is just enough and while the tyres are bigger than standard, it’s only by a little – meaning this is ultimately more of a restored vehicle than a modified one.

But G-Wagen’s don’t need restoring, remember?

Well, yes – this one would probably still have gone on forever without half the work Legacy

Overland put in to it. The difference is, of course, that now it’s set for another three decades with as new a lease of life as it’s possible for a vehicle to have. It’s a stunning classic, but also a mighty off-roader that’ll own whatever street you drive it on. It’s everything, this truck… everything, and nuthin. Nuthin but a G thang.

NOVEMBER 2020 | 45

28/09/2020 18:47

MONKEY BUSINESS The temptation on a long overland trip is to keep on moving forward. But you need to stop

Words and pictures: Raymond and Nereide Greaves

A

truism you often hear from overlanders is that it’s not getting there that counts – it’s the journey you take TO get there. Another is that overlanders hate being thought of as tourists!

Sometimes, though, for a whole lot of different reasons, doing it the touristy way is best. And always, while the journey DOES clearly matter a whole lot, you need to be

careful not to let the road ahead distract you from what’s around it.

By the time our expedition from London to Cape Town had reached Nairobi (or Nairobbery, as it’s affectionately known), we had covered 7500 miles. That’s approximately two-thirds of the way, if you were to drive there directly.

But driving there directly was the last thing on our minds. We were running a little behind schedule,

4x4 5pp Lilongwe Down Gorillas.indd 46

28/09/2020 19:11

and smell the roses… or meet the gorillas

but it was time to put the progress south on pause.

There were two good reasons for this. The first was that our Range Rover, to the best of our knowledge the first L322 ever to make the journey down through Africa, had been utterly brilliant up to now. After 7500 miles of deserts, mountains, bad roads, no roads and extremes of heat and cold alike, plus lots of lots of dust, it hadn’t used a drop of

4x4 5pp Lilongwe Down Gorillas.indd 47

oil or water, nor even needed any air adding to its tyres. And we wanted to keep it that way.

Land Rover has always had a strong presence in Kenya and this would be the first place since Cairo where we could get the Rangie serviced and sorted, complete with full electronic diagnostics. Mike Dunlop, the service manager at the main dealership there, had shown a lot of interest in our trip and,

crucially, he was prepared to allow us into his workshop to supervise.

He also recommended a local fabricator who could make some bits to reinforce the front mounts on our roof rack, which had proved less than capable when the going got tough.

And the second reason for taking a break from our unrelenting progress towards Cape Town?

That’s where the touristy bit

comes in. We both wanted to see the mountain gorillas which live, exclusively in the world now, in national parks on the border of Congo, Uganda and Rwanda. So it was time for an excursion!

Now, this wasn’t going to be the sort of excursion you take aboard a large coach which arrives at your hotel and takes you to one overpriced trinket shop after another while your holiday rep stares into her phone and the driver tries to chat her up. No. To do this from Nairobi, you really must want to see gorillas.

That’s because it’s a 1500-mile round trip involving four days of solid slog over badly mashed up roads. Travelling back north to go round the top of Lake Victoria, the going was pretty good, but from the town of Eldoret to the Ugandan border it deteriorated badly, with astonishing potholes in places. We saw no less than three overturned lorries, too – what is it with truck drivers in Africa?

Our route dipped into the Rift Valley before heading back up to nearly 3000 metres, then down again into the Ugandan lowlands.

And we crossed briefly back into the Northern Hemisphere, too, which seemed a bit strange after putting in so much effort to make it south of the Equator!

Shortly after entering Uganda, several olive baboons appeared from the bush. We stopped for a good look but, knowing how vicious they can be, we were glad to be making eye contact with them from inside the Range Rover.

Further on, we noticed women working alongside the road wearing vibrantly coloured dresses with

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Baby gorillas are wonderfully photogenic. But something no picture can capture is how incredibly bright their eyes are when you see them for real – a fact you can only find out for yourself by visiting the remote jungle of the Rwandan, Ugandan and Congolese tri-border area.

Further east, near Lake Naivasha, coming face to face with some unexpected zebras was another definite highlight pointed shoulder pads. Some of them looked as if they should be attending a ball in their shimmering finery, rather than bending down in the mud and raking the fields.

The landscape, meanwhile, is magnificent. Winston Churchill once said Uganda is ‘the pearl of Africa’; perhaps he was referring to the extensive green hills, vast lakes, wild animals and rainforest. We thought Ethiopia was impressive, but Uganda is even more so. It’s so vibrantly green, we mused that he should have called it ‘the emerald of Africa’ instead.

Approaching the capital, Kampala, we drove through extremely heavy rains. These seemed to have the same effect as snow does in the UK and everything came to a complete standstill. After an hour of getting nowhere, we decided to pass some traffic and ended up behind an articulated lorry that broke down just as we squeezed in behind it.

All forty tonnes rapidly started rolling backwards downhill towards us… it was close, but we managed to dart out of the way just in time.

After that dramatic end to a ten-hour slog of a journey, arriving

at the hotel we had booked in the middle of Kampala definitely felt like reaching an oasis. It wasn’t a city in which to linger, though; a dense population living in a lowland area next to a huge lake makes an excellent breeding ground for malaria, and sure enough it’s teeming with the mosquitoes that spread the disease.

And we certainly weren’t here for the mosquitoes. We were here for the gorillas.

These intelligent, gentle, awesome animals are at risk of becoming extinct due to the cutting back of their jungle habitat for subsistence farming. There are approximately only 700 mountain gorillas left today, and the national parks clustered around the tri-border area between Congo, Uganda and Rwanda is the only place in the world where you can see them.

To limit the number of tourists and finance conservation efforts, there’s a considerable price tag attached to getting a permit to see the gorillas. Even then, they roam freely and can cross national borders at will, so there’s no guarantee that they’ll be at home

when you visit – though a team of trackers does keep tabs on where they are every day, so we were feeling optimistic.

To simplify our trip, and give ourselves a break from driving, navigating, planning and organising, we had booked a ‘tracking package’ included permits, local accommodation and a driver to the Mgahingra National Park. We met with our driver and his 4x4 minibus the next day – and embarked on a 13-hour, 350-mile adventure over endless rough, pothole-strewn roads, through a vast amount of roadworks and over narrow, unpaved mountain passes. The latter had no barriers are by the time we reached them it was dark. By the time we arrived at our accommodation, a simple hostel in Kisoro, we had been shaken around so much we had literally come up with bruises on our arms and legs.

But none of that mattered.

The trackers had radioed down to the hostel to say the gorillas were sleeping only two hours trek from the park gates. So we would definitely be able to see them the next day!

After a very early breakfast, we set off again in the minibus. To our astonishment, it was able to scale the track to the park gate, which was steep and rocky and looked entirely impassible to us.

Oddly, many of the locals along the roadside were giving us very unwelcoming looks. This was

unusual given the hospitality we had witnessed elsewhere in Africa.

But then we arrived – to learn that we were the only two visitors that day, so we were going to have the experience all to ourselves!

The walk up into the park offered spectacular views of the surrounding region and made us work up a real sweat as we pushed through the dense jungle in warm, humid conditions. After two hours, we discovered the area where the gorillas had slept the night before.

They only sleep in the same place for one night before moving on, our guide explained, to let the vegetation they feed from regenerate, but they must now be close…

We didn’t realise how close.

Suddenly, a massive roar froze us to the spot. We had happened upon the gorilla family and a silverback (dominant male) was telling us to keep our distance.

The trackers seemed completely unfazed by this and led us into a clearing, our hearts thumping. And sitting there, huddled together just a few yards away, were two females, a silverback and two youngsters.

Our guide promptly started talking loudly on his radio, which annoyed both us and the gorillas.

The females and youngsters moved away from us and up into the trees, leaving us with the silverback.

Lying facing away from us, he was absolutely huge – the trackers reckoned 250 kilos. We watched in hushed awe and then he turned to

When you’ve travelled thousands of miles just to get to the other side of the Equator, crossing back over it again might sound like a bit of an error. Definitely worth it on a mission to savour the very finest of Africa’s wildlife experiences, though, and of course not many people can come back from a one-way trip with two of the obligatory crossing-point photos

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Left: The expedition was something like 8000 miles old when the Range Rover copped its first flat tyre…

Below: …which was kind of a miracle, given the number of those 8000 miles that were on roads like this

look at us. We stared straight into each others’ eyes… the memory of that moment will be with us for life.

Towards the end of our allotted hour, we had inched towards the group to the extent that we now had two silverbacks to our right and two mothers and babies to our left. The gorillas did not seem to mind at all and were obviously very relaxed around people. However, we actually began to feel we were intruding on their privacy. Signalling to our trackers, we moved away to leave them in peace.

We were fortunate enough to have seen six out of the nine gorillas belonging to this group. We could

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not believe we had been able to stand amidst them, so close and for so long. It almost felt like they had welcomed us into their home for a brief period.

In return, we had given them nothing, which made us feel slightly guilty. We just hoped our tracking fees would be put to good use, to protecting their homelands and keeping them safe from poachers.

Overall, this had been an amazing experience – a real privilege.

On the way out of the park and back to the hostel, we noticed more locals giving us withering looks.

Later, we learned why: they had been relocated from their homes to

accommodate the expansion of the conservation park.

Although the local community is supposed to receive 25% of the park fees, it really felt as though they had received nothing at all. One young child even shouted ‘pay more money!’ after us.

What he might not have realised is that to see the gorillas, we actually paid the equivalent of an average Ugandan’s earnings for the entire year, each. But instead of the local communities surrounding the park, much of the money was supposedly going to Kisoro, the nearest main town, for the development of roads, hotels and infrastructure. Not that you would know, given the state of it. Either way, we sure didn’t feel welcome.

The next day, we returned to Kampala. Leaving Kisoro at daybreak, we were finally able to see the region that had been cloaked in darkness when we arrived. It was absolutely stunning; vibrantly green, almost mountainous, the hills covered in a patchwork of small-scale agriculture and with lakes in some of the valleys. It was difficult not to compare it favourably with Switzerland.

The landscape here was definitely a highlight of the bouncy 12-hour slog back to Kampala. We were very pleased to be back in the smooth, cool, dust-free Rangie instead of the rattling minibus for the rest of the journey back to Nairobi!

We made haste to reach Kenya the following day but came a cropper in a remote village about

70 miles before the border when we finally got our first flat tyre of the trip. From nowhere, three young men appeared and assisted us with jacking the vehicle and replacing the wheel with one of our two spares.

Unfortunately, the damaged tyre was beyond repair. And it’s always wise to maintain two spares when travelling through Africa – which, given that we were on 19” Goodyear MTRs, meant we were going to have to start thinking about getting one brought out by a courier. Damn.

All this had cost us an hour, and we were already tight on time to reach the lodge we’d booked at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, before dark. We weren’t speeding – we knew better than to take that risk – but we were doing the speed limit of 80km/h when three policemen with a speed gun pulled us over.

We were in a 50km/h zone, apparently – bizarre, because it was the only bit of dual-carriageway in the whole country! Laying on the charm, we waxed lyrical about how beautiful Uganda was. what a great time we had had seeing the gorillas and how everyone had been so friendly… and amazingly, we pulled it off! ’Seeing as you are a visitor, we will let you off on this occasion and hope that you leave Uganda with a good impression…’ Job done, officer – we certainly did.

We managed to keep the border crossing to just half and hour, then after another few hundred miles of pot holes and truck ruts we were at last back on to smooth tarmac.

Finally, we arrived at the turn-off for our lodge after ten solid hours.

Oh dear. We had booked it without realising that it was about 15 miles away from the road, on a truly horrendous track littered with sharp rocks and harsh corrugations.

Not good when you’re down to your last spare tyre.

To make matters worse, a sudden heavy downpour ensued and it grew dark rapidly. The road got steeper, rockier and even more deeply potholed. This was not fun.

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When a quarter of a tonne of silverback warns you that you’re getting too close to his family, you tend to stay warned Finally, after about an hour, we arrived at the lodge and a flood of staff rushed out to greet us and help us with our bags. They’d have been better to hang back for a minute until our moods had calmed down…

Driving on African roads all day can just grind you down until you are in a foul mood like this. Woe betide the person who then gets in your way! Fortunately, the staff had seen it all before, so they bundled us into the dining room for a proper home cooked meal which made us feel human again.

We were staying at Olerai House on the shores of Lake Naivasha, which we would recommend wholeheartedly. The food is amazing, the staff are experts in service and the rooms are bright and airy – and outside, there are acres of private garden in which to enjoy in the glorious sunshine. We sat down to breakfast overlooking the grasslands and watched gazelles shoot out across the plains with their distinctive tall black antlers and white striped bodies.

We agreed to take a walk of the grounds down to the lake with Alfred, head of the lodge, and Lekoko, a true Maasai warrior.

We were able to walk right up to a group of five giraffes a few hundred metres away from the lodge which

4x4 5pp Lilongwe Down Gorillas.indd 51

stood chewing gently as they kept an eye on us – it’s not until you get this close that you realise just how graceful they are.

Walking closer to the lake, we saw two big herds of buffalo grazing.

Then, on the way back towards the lodge, six zebras emerged from the woods. Colobus monkeys were scampering around in the trees, and to top if off a troupe of olive baboons raced across the horizon screaming and fighting each other.

What a wonderful place!

Actually, that’s not what topped it off. That evening, as we sat down to supper in the main house, out of the blue we heard a terrible, primeval roar. It was utterly chilling. Lekoko appeared and ushered us out into the garden, and shining a torch out into the darkness we could see the source of the racket. Hippos!

Loads of them! Fifty metres away!

Three of these enormous creatures raced out of the small lake in front of the house while several others, roaring at each other with their jaws wide open, fought together in the background. What an amazing sight!

We had only planned to stay one night at Olerai but ended up staying two. It’s that sort of place.

We needed to get back to Nairobi,

however – because we had had an amazing piece of luck. Trying to figure out how best to get our hands on a new spare tyre, we had rung good old Mike Dunlop at Land Rover to see if he could get one couriered out to them – whereupon he explained that after he had seen our Range Rover, he was so impressed with the tyres we were using that he had ordered a large batch for his customers and they had just arrived at the main Goodyear agent in Nairobi!

Reeling in disbelief at our good fortune, we headed straight back to Nairobi, bought the tyre and took it to Land Rover for them to fit it. By now it was getting late, and rush hour was in full swing outside, so we

opened up the Range Rover’s fridge and invited Mike to join us in a gin and tonic, then sipped our drinks surrounded by assorted Land Rovers in the workshop while laughing at the eccentricity of it all.

So now we had a full set of spare wheels once more, and we could continue on towards Tanzania the following morning with a fully serviced and refreshed Range Rover.

We were running about ten days behind schedule by now, but we were in a good place. It’s not getting there that counts, after all – it’s the journey you take. And no-one should ever worry about arriving late when the journey includes a detour to make friends with the mountain gorillas of Uganda.

Raymond and Nereide drove their Range Rover from London to Cape Town in the first half of 2010. You can read the full story of their expedition at www.lilongwedown.com

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ON THE ROAD 75 OVERLAND DESTINATIONS TO DREAM OF

Maasai Mara The Maasai Mara is perhaps the world’s best known game reserve. Located in south-western Kenya, near the border with Tanzania and around seventy miles east of Lake Victoria, it’s a vast area of grassland within the Great African Rift Valley.

It’s not about the landscape, though. The Maasai Mara is home to lions, elephants, cheetahs, buffalos, leopards, rhinos, hippos, crocodiles and giraffes – as well of course as wildebeest, whose annual migration is one of the natural wonders of the world.

Every day, safari tours in open-topped Defenders and Land Cruisers take holidaymakers into the heart of the wildlife. With modern technology helping them keep track of the animals, they all end up jostling for the best views – meaning it’s solo overlanders who stand the best chance (or run the greatest risk) of having a genuinely close encounter.

Pic: flightlog@flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

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PART 2: AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST This wonderful world of ours is packed full of beautiful, historical, fascinating, scary and just downright weird places to visit. Every one of them offers the sort of experience that makes expedition travel so very special – and together, they make an overwhelming case for leaving life behind and getting out there in your 4x4 to explore the planet.

This three-part article highlights 75 of the best and most precious destinations, from specific features and legendary trails to entire regions and nations – all of them adventures to make you look forward to a time after the madness of the pandemic is over and the world is again your oyster Jebel Maleihah Its name translates as ‘Fossil Rock’, but this popular destination in the UAE state of Sharjah is more of a mountain range in miniature. Some of the fossils that have been discovered here are more than 80 million years old, and the region is also home to some of the oldest human remains ever found outside of Africa.

There’s some fantastic off-roading to be had here, too.

Indeed, local tour operators flock to the area, as do locals and expats. Best of all, wild camping is free and easy.

Jebel Maleihah is surprisingly close to Dubai, and there’s a visitor centre in the nearby village promoting modern tourism, but despite the crowds you’re definitely hitting it hard when you head here.

Pic: Descent at Fossil Rock, by Hindol Bhattacharya @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Todra Gorge Carved into the sandstone rock of the eastern Atlas Mountains by the Todra river, the Todra Gorge is a wonder of the overlanding world. It’s both deep and narrow – no more than about 35 feet across in places, with sheer cliff faces rising on either side of you to a height of around a quarter of a mile.

This would make the Todra well worth visiting even if you had to park up and walk. But what makes it really special is that there’s a rocky track along its base which can be driven in a 4x4. Most of the time, its surface is bone dry, but the river is still there – and there are periods when you might find yourself driving up a fast-flowing river instead.

Pic (above): Todra Gorge, by Just Booked A Trip @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 Pic (left): The Todra Gorge, Morocco, by Joni1973 @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Dubai When you’re in Dubai, this is the kind of thing that a morning’s drive in the countryside can entail. As the mass of tyre tracks illustrates, plenty of others had already had the same idea when the picture was taken – and as the mass of pylons in the distance illustrates, this isn’t quite the wilderness it first appears.

Nonetheless, when you get away from the city itself, back-country Dubai is still a true desert environment – empty and incredibly harsh. The roads are punctuated by brutal speed bumps designed to prevent them from being used as race tracks, but leave the tarmac behind and you’re in true 4x4 territory – as generations of British expats have discovered to their delight.

Pic: Desert Driving, by Bryn Pinzgauer @ flickr. com, CC BY 2.0

Ngorongoro Crater A vast volcanic caldera in northern Tanzania, the Ngorongoro Crater is a World Heritage Site and a protected conservation area that sees around half a million visitors each year.

Around 100 square miles in size and 2000 feet deep, its peculiar geography makes it particularly rich in wildlife as it’s also partially hemmed in by the walls of the Rift Valley, preventing animals from migrating out of it.

Some of Africa’s best-loved animals, such as cheetahs, are rarely seen in the Crater. But elsewhere in the greater Ngorongoro Conservation Area it’s a different story – and throughout, 4x4s are a common sight as visitors drink in the sights of one of Africa’s purest landscapes.

Pic: Ngorongoro, by Mike @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

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Kalahari The Kalahari is known as a desert, though in reality it’s a mainly semi-arid expanse of savannah.It’ll feel a lot like a desert when you’re in it, at any rate, thanks to its hot, dry climate and the vibrant red sand that’s easily visible through the widespread scrubby undergrowth.

Exploring the Kalahari is definitely on the cards for any overland expedition into southern Africa. Its territory includes parts of Namibia, Botswana and South Africa, and it’s home to many of the continent’s best-loved mammals – though cattle fences are starting to take their toll on the landscape and its animals alike, and may also get in the way of your ability to explore at leisure.

Nonetheless, this is a fierce but beautiful land whose unique characteristics make it noticeably different to most deserts. Travel to this part of the world and you’ll most likely point your truck at the nearby Okavango Delta, but the Kalahari is well worth including in your expedition route too.

Pic: Rain in the Kalahari, by Julian Wishahi @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

White Canyon Most people who visit Sinai do so on excursions while holidaying at Sharm el Sheikh. If you’re an independent traveller, that might well sound like your idea of hell – but many overland itineraries pass through Egypt, and if you want to be left with good memories of the country you’d do well to head hear instead of going anywhere near the tourist hot-spots.

The White Canyon is one of many stunning rock formations towering above the Hajar Maktub plain on the eastern side of the Sinai Peninsula. It’s popular with hikers, and the inevitable excursion companies, but when you leave the road aboard your expedition truck there’s no end of landscapes to explore – and most of the time, you’ll have it all to yourself.

Pic: Off Road, by Jonah Bettio @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Syria Over the last decade, Syria has gone from being a honeypot destination for tourists and overlanders to one of the most dangerous places in the world. In time, it will be rehabilitated and the awful image of a state run by terrorism will fade – though even then, several of its most precious archaeological sites will be gone, bulldozed or dynamited by a regime that waged war on its own culture and history as well as its own people.

Once Syria is fully returned to the overland trail, however, the good news is that amid its parched mountains and sun-baked deserts, you’ll still be able to find many of the ancient forts erected by a succession of civilisations to guard the western origins of the fabled Silk Route.

Palmyra was among the biggest victims of the anarchy that gripped Syria in the wake of the Gulf War, but the tourists will still flock to the Crusader fort of Krak de Chevaliers. Take the road less travelled, however, and seek out the Roman-era walled city of Rasafeh and its cathedral-like underground reservoirs, the brick castle of Qala’at Ja’abar and the twin eighth-century forts at Qasr al’Hayr, and you’ll have the vastness of history all to yourself.

Pic: Le Krak des Chevaliers, by (Ergo) @ flickr.com

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Tatooine When the original Star Wars movie was being made, director George Lucas chose Tunisia as a place to build the sets that would become Luke Skywalker’s home planet. He named the planet after the town of Tataouine, though the locations themselves are elsewhere in the area – and very much on the overland trail, even if terror attacks in the recent past have made many people more cautious of visiting the country.

It’s not presented as a tourist attraction – you just head to the right part of the desert and there you are, surrounded by the architecture of 1970s’ sci-fi legend. Not that you’re likely to have it to yourself, though the journey is worth it on its own.

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Kaokoland A landscape from a dream. Wildlife rarely seen by human eyes. A tribal population barely touched by modernity. And you can only get there by 4x4.

Kaokoland, a mountainous region in north-west Namibia, is overland adventure personified.

We’re talking about an area twice the size of Wales – with about the same population as Stowmarket. The majority are Himbas, a nomadic tribe whose ochre body paint is instantly recognisable, and who have come to be part of the travel experience.

The perfect moment on many an expedition has come with the descent of Van Zyl’s Pass, which drops out of the sky to the ancient glacial valley of Marienfluss. It’s so steep and rocky that you can’t drive back up again afterwards and have to take the easy route out. In this case, ‘easy’ means two days of boulders.

Main pic: Sergio Conti @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Pic (right): Himba Tribe, Kamanjab, Namibia, by yeowatzup @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 Pic (below right): Himba Tribe: Mud Huts, by whatleydude @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 Pic (below far right): Himba im Kaokoland, by Michael Hübner @ flickr.com, CC BY-ND 2.0

Central African Republic This is a destination that goes completely beyond the normal scope of overland travel. The Foreign Office advises against all but essential travel to a tiny part of the Central African Republic – and for the rest, it says you shouldn’t go there at all.

You might call this death-wish overlanding. The Central African Republic has been ruled by a succession of brutal regimes, and even today it’s awash with poachers, warlords and militias.

It ranks as one of the world’s poorest nations in terms of wealth, health, human rights and human development. In all the years we’ve been doing this job, we’ve only even come across one person who’s been there.

Typically of so many strife-torn nations, however, if you can get beyond the damage caused by the worst of humankind you’ll find everyday people who are delighted that you’ve chosen to visit their land. Delighted and astonished, perhaps – but with a rich variety of landscapes populated by elephants, rhinos, gorillas and big cats, it’s also Africa at its most unspoilt.

Pic: We must not forget the plight of Central African Republic, by EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid @ flickr.com, CC BY-ND 2.0

Al Badayer We’ve no idea how many Big Red sand dunes there are in the world, but the one in the Al Badayer desert is very big. And very red. The fact that the area is known principally as a dune bashing hot spot says everything you need to know – both about how good it is for off-road antics, and how desolate it would otherwise be.

On the outskirts of a town called Al Madam, near the UAE’s border with Oman, Big Red is not a place to go if your idea of desert travel involves peace and solitude. Every weekend, you’ll find 4x4s and quad bikes swarming all over the place. It’s not your classic overland paradise – but for a different kind of exotic 4x4 experience it has a madcap charm all of its own.

Pic: Atop the Dunes, by Rabih El-Khoury @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

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Botswana’s Salt Pans In eastern Botswana, covering an area the size of Wales, lie the salt pans. Flooded annually with salt water washed out of the surrounding bush, they are the fall guys of the Kalahari. Without them, little could survive throughout this huge semi-desert – and within them, little can survive at all. Except, that is, for expedition drivers (4x4s were made for this), and for the elephants, ostriches, jackals and oryx who scrape a living here.

These are true wastelands: arid, treacherous and unforgiving, but liberating in their brilliant light and unlimited space. Crossing the pans is undoubtedly a true 4x4 adventure, and one which carries a real risk of failure.

Break through the crust and there’s a world of digging ahead of you, not to mention a world of relief when you make it out the other side. If you make it out the other side.

Pic: Kubu Island, Botswana, 3/2013, by Tomas Forgac @ flickr.com

Tigray A stunning landscape of towering mountains and tablelands, Tigray is the northernmost province of Ethiopia. As is normal in the country, its main roads are good – but get away from them and you’ll be navigating your way around on much rougher, bumpier trails.

The obvious attraction of this region is its jaw-dropping scenery, but Tigray’s human landscape is equally noteworthy. In particular, it’s known for its churches, hewn from single blocks of solid rock yet styled in a manner reminiscent of the classical school of European architecture. These are often located in hard-to-reach places – the Debre Damo monastery, for example, can only be accessed by climbing a 75-foot rope up a sheer cliff.

Pics: Tigray, Ethiopia, by Rod Waddington @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Okavango Delta One of the flattest places on Earth, the Okavango Delta covers some 5800 square miles with no more than a few feet of variance in height. It’s formed by the Okavango River, which flows out of Angola and ends up in the Delta – from which water ultimately evaporates, never reaching the ocean.

What makes the Okavango so special is that every year, in the months following the wet season in Angola, the Delta swells to about three times its normal size. By the time this happens, the dry season has arrived – meaning every animal for hundreds of miles around heads there to find water. Game viewing lodges are common throughout the area, particularly around the areas where lagoons are left when the water recedes, but it’s also a prime location for independent travel.

Main pic: A View of the Delta, by Justin Hall @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 Pic (right): Steve Jurvetson @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Sahara ’So you can drive across the Sahara desert’ is the classic reason for buying a 4x4. Even if it’s the kind you wouldn’t even want to drive across a raised pavement, the point is that it makes you feel like you can take on the world.

And the world means the Sahara.

The great desert of northern Africa is possibly the definitive global destination for off-road travel. The landscape is as harsh as they come, and it’s mixed with the sort of exotic locations and civilisations that make expedition travel what it is.

It’s not all sand – depending on how you define its borders, the Sahara will throw all manner of stony ground and rocky landforms in your way too. Some of the dunes you’ll encounter are enormous, though. Cross it from north to south or, if you’re really brave, east to west (thus going against the ‘grain’ of the dunes), and you’ll have completed one of the truly great off-road adventures the world has to offer.

Pic: BudapestBamako@flickr. com, CC BY-SA 2.0

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Namaqualand

Sani Pass The Drakensberg Mountains of South Africa are spectacular enough at the best of time, but here’s something to conjure with. When you’re driving the six miles of stone and rock, tortured hairpins and sheer drop-offs that make up the Sani Pass, you don’t exist. That’s because the South African frontier is at the bottom of the pass, and it’s not until you reach the top that you enter the kingdom of Lesotho. In between, alarming gradients mean you need to be in low first whether going up or down, and the track surface is constantly being resculpted by rain.

The top of the pass is near to Thabana-Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Southern Africa. Better still, it’s also home to the Sani Top Chalet, the self-proclaimed ‘highest pub in Africa,’ where a winter visit is likely to augment the list of challenges with knee-deep snow.

Main pic: View down into South Africa from top of Sani Pass in Lesotho, by Michael Roger Denne @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0 Pic: Sani Pass going down, by fiverlocker @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Wadi Halfa Wadi Halfa is not the sort of place you’d travel for weeks to get to. But it’s a rite of passage for overlanders travelling through Africa.

A port town on the southern shore of Lake Nasser, it’s kind of the equivalent of Calais. In Sudan.

You have little choice but to take the overnight Lake Nasser ferry – an experience which, many who’ve done it will tell you, is about the most unpleasant you’ll ever have. Then you’ll be stuck in Wadi Halfa for an unknown period of time while you wait for the cargo boat to arrive with your vehicle.

The good news is that you’ll almost certainly make friends with some other overlanders during the experience – and that’s a big part of what expedition travel is all about. And Wadi Halfa itself will feel nicer than the ferry did. Striking out into the Sudanese interior will put a smile on your face, too – not just because you’ve got your truck back, nor indeed because you’re leaving Wadi Halfa behind, but because the country turns out to be far more beautiful, and welcoming, than you might have expected.

Pic: Wadi Halfa (31), by joepyrek @ flickr.com, CC BY-SA 2.0

Namaqualand is what happens when an arid desert landscape runs headlong into the sea. Extending some 600 miles along the Atlantic coast of Namibia and South Africa, it’s known worldwide for its spring flowers – which, between August and October, turn the landscape into a riot of colour.

A region of Africa that’s known for its flora rather than its fauna might not sound exciting, but by the time you’ve driven this far on an expedition you’ll already have seen plenty of animals. Slow down and marvel at the fact that there are more than 1000 species of flower around you that can’t be found anywhere else in the world – then seek out the many 4x4 trails along the coast and skirting the banks of the Orange Rover, and you’ll see a side of Africa few people ever experience.

Pic: 4x4 Shipwreck Trail, Namaqualand, by flowcomm @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Saudi Arabia People don’t think of Saudi Arabia as a destination on the overland trail, and a swift look at a map will show that like the various off-road attractions we’ve included in the neighbouring UAE, it’s one big dead end.

You’ll struggle to get there without travelling through Syria and/or Iraq, too, which might not sound ever so appealing.

Nonetheless, this enormous desert nation is, to a great extent, one huge off-road playground. There are wildlife sanctuaries to respect, and very definite rules by which to abide, but the locals love throwing their 4x4s at the scenery – and whether you’re there as an expat or a tourist, given half a chance you will too.

Pic: My trip to Desert (Edge of The World),

by Maher Najm

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Rub Al’Khali Yet another desert location in the UAE, Rub Al’Khali is different to the others in that you can go there without getting lost in a mass of other 4x4s. It’s known as the Empty Quarter – though it fills up once a year for the annual Liwa Festival, when off-road fanatics from Dubai and beyond gather to take on some of the wildest dunes on the whole of the Arabian Peninsula.

The rest of the time, weekend warriors tend to give it a swerve. It’s further away from civilisation than other dune bashing centres, on the border with Saudi Arabia, and the extremely soft sand of the Liwa Desert means it’s no place for duffers. If you’re overlanding your way through the Middle East, however, and you’ve got the skills and equipment for the job, this is the real thing.

Pic: Rub Al’Khali by Robert Haandrikman CC BY 2.0

Atlas Mountains Morocco is the classic overland destination for European 4x4 drivers seeking adventures beyond their own borders. It’s easy to see the country as a cliché, but it’s nothing of the sort – it’s just that anywhere this close to home with such a stunning combination of desert and mountain landscapes is always going to be a honeypot destination.

Anyway, the Atlas Mountains certainly don’t feel like a cliché when you’re driving in them. Instead, they feel like a rugged, spectacular version of heaven. Glorious, semi-arid scenery and magnificent stony trails see to that – and those trails, like the mountains themselves, seem to go on and on forever.

There’s no end of options for discovering Morocco on a guided tour, though the off-road excursions offered to everyday holidaymakers can involve little more than being crammed into the back of an old Landcruiser being driven at warp speed by a local ‘guide’ on a mission to beat his mates in some sort of race. Far better to go there in your own truck, whether as part of a commercial tour or on your own.

Either way, the Atlas Mountains are epic.

Pic (inset above): Off Roading in the High Atlas Mountains by jonl1973 @ flickr.com, CC-BY-SA

Luangwa River

Pic (below): Rouge / Vert / Blanc by dyonis @ flickr.com, CC-BY-2.0

The Luangwa River runs for nearly a thousand miles down Zambia’s eastern flank, and there’s only one bridge. One reason for crossing it is to get to Malawi: the other is for the sheer thrill of spending several days on a true wilderness adventure.

To cross the Luangwa, drivers must descend a challenging track down the Muchinga Escarpment, cross one of Luangwa’s two national parks, ford several smaller rivers and ascend the track up the Chimwelelendi Escarpment. It’s a proper test for man and machine alike.

To make matters more interesting, there aren’t any established fords when you get to the rivers. This means that wading them to stake out drivable routes is essential. Did we mention that they tend to be infested with crocodiles?

Pic: Man crossing the South Luangwa River, by Lars Ploughmann @ flickr.com, CC BY-ND 2.0

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Timbuktu When you get there, it’s one of the most unprepossessing towns in the world. But that doesn’t matter – Timbuktu is a place whose name has come to symbolise the back of beyond, and what more reason could you need for making it the goal of an off-road expedition?

Though it’s down at heel and being retaken by the desert, Timbuktu was once a rich trading hub and centre of learning. Remnants of its history are still to be found, and its population still numbers around 50,000, but the march of time has not been kind and the town has been in a slow decline for many decades.

A tarmac road runs to the edge of town along the north of the river Niger, but the real adventure comes when you approach from the south – via 150 miles of soft sand. There’s nothing much to see or do in Timbuktu, but at least you’ll be able to say you’ve been there. And the journey will be one to remember, whichever route you take.

Pic: Timbuktu Street, by upyernoz @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

Wadi Rum One of the world’s most spectacular deserts, Wadi Rum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site east of Aqaba in southern Jordan. It’s also a very popular location for filming movies – Lawrence of Arabia kicked it all off in 1962, and since then it’s stood in for Mars several times and been the go-to destination for desert scenes in the Star Wars franchise.

It’s as empty as you might assume, either, with a rich history and culture. It’s home to the Zalabieh Bedouin tribe, who have developed a thriving tourist economy – but if you’re there as an independent traveller, you can get out there and explore the maze of towering, deep red sandstone rock formations that rise up out of the floor of the desert. It’s not a complete free-for-all – 4x4 access is regulated in some places – but playing by the rules is no hardship among such a stunning natural landscape.

Pic: Older Toyota 4x4 – Wadi Rum, by Jorge Láscar @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0

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OUR 4X4S Vehicle: Land Rover Defender 90 Td5 XS Year: 2006 Run by: Alan Kidd Last update: May 2020 On the fleet since: December 2017

cross purposes Part 1: stripping it down OUR DEFENDER 90 TD5 has been appearing in the magazine on and off for almost three years now.

During that time, we’ve changed our ideas on what to actually do with the thing more frequently than Donald Trump has changed press officers. We started off thinking about turning it into a NAS 90 lookalike, then started coming to the conclusion than going back to standard would be the most sensible thing, though all the while the 90 was tell-

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ing us that really, all it wanted was a new rear crossmember.

It made this clear by throwing its toys out of the pram (or dropping one of its mudflaps on the ground) on a mid-Welsh green lane. Turning round after closing a gate after it, we noticed a bolt had come free. By the time we reached the next gate, at the end of the lane, the mudflap was hanging down so flimsily we were able to pull it free with no more than a sharp tug.

So, work to be done, then. And while we still haven’t figured out whether to take it back to standard or create a NAS 90 homage, or some other sort of look-at-me wagon, clearly step one was going to be to strip away all the off-road kit that was on the 90 when we bought it.

We looked at that back in May, shortly after the 90 had paid a visit to the Britpart workshop for three days of intensive spanner action.

And it’s Britpart that looked after the

rear crossmember, too, by supplying and fitting one of the many replacement units in their range. These include half and quarter-chassis as well as entire galvanised jobs, should it come to that, but on ours just the crossmember itself would be enough to do the trick.

This is a job of many parts, so we’ve knocked it down into two for the purposes of keeping it sensible.

This month, we’re looking at the strip-down process, where all the

4x4 28/09/2020 16:14

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1: Here’s a sight to make your stomach turn. Unless you like rust, obviously. The first sign that the rear crossmember was on the way out came when the driver’s side mudflap fell off on a Welsh green lane, and a subsequent MOT test confirmed that it was not long for this world 2-3: You wouldn’t believe how much of a fight the towbar put up before finally accepting that it was going to need to come off. Even with all the bolts undone, it still felt as if it would be able to pull a three and a half tonne trailer without coming loose 4: And here’s why. The drop plate assembly was just fantastically cruddy – the answer was a lot of WD40, followed by a lot of patience, then finally a lot of violence 5: And why do rear crossmembers rust so badly? Well, the amount of dried mud that emerged from underneath the back of the 90 might point towards some sort of clue… This was necessary just to expose the crusted-up fixings that were going to need a sea of WD40 on them

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6: With so little room to work in between the floor and the fuel tank, you need every inch you can get (a common problem, etc). Which means removing everything that’s sitting in the back of the vehicle – in this case, a high-lift, sledgie, miltary-style ground anchor, trolley jack, and two boxes of assorted tools and recovery gear, which between it would be more than enough to weigh down the floor 7: Having given the WD40 a couple of hours to do its work, the bolts holding the drop plate in place are finally ready to admit defeat. Even then, it took a lot of force 8: Off come the wheels to leave more room for access – something which, it will become apparent before much more time has passed, is pivotal to this job 9: Now the vehicle’s body is supported before the big stuff starts to come free 10: You’re going to be draining off the fuel tank before getting stuck in to the next part of the job. Our 90 is a little unusual in this respect as it has an auxiliary tank – it feeds in via the hose you see here, teed into the main filler neck

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11: With the main filler hose loosened off, you can pump out the fuel. Having a collection of jerries to hand is a good idea – for one thing, fuel makes a tremendous mess when you lob it all over the floor, and for another you want to be able to pump it back in again afterwards 12: It’s odds-on you didn’t think about needing to remove the rear seatbelt anchors. Obviously this won’t be a problem in some Defenders, but ours is an XS Station Wagon so rear seats, and therefore belts, are very much part of it 13: Next to be dropped off is the exhaust, which is left resting on the back axle 14: It’s only once the clutter surrounding it has been removed that the actual state of the crossmember becomes apparent. Incredibly, this was only deemed worthy of an advisory last time the 90 went through the MOT

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15-20: Undoing the fuel tank and guard is unlikely to be as easy as it would have been if corrosion weren’t a thing. Your main obstacle, however, is likely to be the sheer lack of space you have to work in. Note the packing piece placed between the chassis and body to help allow the guard to pop out from under the crossmember (pointed out in picture 20) – it doesn’t look like much, but every fraction of an inch is precious here. And that’ll be why we had to empty all the heavy stuff out of the back of the vehicle earlier on…

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bits and pieces surrounding the crossmember come away to let you grind it off safely. There’s a remarkable among of prep involved before the cutting and welding can start – so instead of trying to cram it all in to one article and skimp

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over the bits that might matter, we’re going to let the pictures do the talking.

Obviously, the first step when you’re working on a vehicle that gets used a lot off-road is going to be to deal with the effects of mud. This will

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21: Like a wrong’un after a long stretch, the tank guard can finally celebrate its freedom and get down to cleaning up its life

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22: And with that, the tank itself can finally come free. Bit by bit – this looks promising, but there’s still a long way to go…

23, 24: This, for example, is a sod of a job but one that’ll save you a lot of heartache later. You’re working blind, but reach up above the tank with your phone and take a photo of the fuel line connections on top of it. They’re colour-coded, so this way you’ll know what’s what when the time comes to reconnect them

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mean knocking shovelfuls of the stuff out of every nook and cranny, for starters – then spraying WD40 over all the hardware you’re going to need to release. It’s not going to be pretty.

Also not pretty is the extraordinary lack of space available between the top of the fuel tank and the underside of the rear floor. The former needs to be dropped free as there’ll be welding going on so close to it – Britpart’s guys asked us to turn up with no more than about a quarter

of a tank, which was no problem though it still took three jerry cans to hold the diesel they pumped out.

As it turned out, even just removing the steel guard beneath the fuel tank was an absolute pig of a job. The notion of simply undoing the bolts then lifting it clear is an appealing one, but it’s also right up there with the notion of answering that email from a businessman in Nigeria and becoming a millionaire overnight. Expect a fight.

The tank itself is likely to want a good bit of wrestling, too. But far and away the biggest headache you can give yourself here is by pulling the fuel lines off the connector block on top of the tank without giving yourself a trail of crumbs to follow when putting them back on.

Which one goes where? They’re colour coded, if you can see through all the crud, so it’s time to get out your smartphone. No, there’s not an app for the job. You’re going to reach above the tank

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OUR 4X4S 25

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25: Support the tank on a stand while freeing it off – the fuel lines are still connected at this point, and even if they weren’t you wouldn’t want it simply crashing down on to the ground, would you?

26: Now you can undo the fuel hoses – the colour coding is seen here, though if your Defender is like ours you might need to do a fair bit of rubbing before you find it beneath the dried-on dirt 27: Once disconncted, the hose ends need to be masked off using a very specialised and high-tech custom drip-stopper

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28: This is what the connections on top of the tank look like. Or, to put it another way, this is what the top of a very mud-battered fuel tank looks like – the fact that the connector block is so untouched by grot says a lot for the way it’s protected 29: Definitely not untouched by grot is the crossmember itself, which of course is why you’re been doing all this hard work. The section you see here was strong enough to prevent the vehicle scoring anything worse than an advisory at the last MOT… 30: …but it was very much only a matter of time before the end of it at the driver’s side copped a big fat fail and take a picture of the block so you know what the connections should look like when it all goes back together.

Once again, we can’t exaggerate the painful lack of space in which you’re working here. It would have been much easier if we’d done this as part of a full stripdown involving the bodywork coming off, because without the floor in the way you’d be able to see and feel your way around much more easily.

And who knows, maybe that’s a route we’ll take in the future. Those three days in the Britpart workshop did involve a fair amount of panels coming and going from the 90, and there were times when we wished we could get in there and clean it up properly while it was exposed. It’s

definitely a tempting thought – not least because a respray is definitely on the cards, whichever route we take, and that’s something that’s always easier to do when the panels arrive in a big old cardboard box.

As it is, we’re now well past the point of no return. Not necessarily the cleverest of places to be when you’re not actually sure where you’re going, but as the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a finished project. In our case, there’s no such thing as a project, but you can’t rush these things.

There’s definitely such a thing as a job going on, anyway. Check back in next month and the sheer volume of sparks flying will confirm that.

Once the grinder’s wheel hits metal… now, that’s when the point of no return has really arrived…

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31: Off comes the mudflap from the nearside end of the crossmember. Ironic that a pry bar was necessary to free it, when you consider that all the other one needed was half a mile on a green lane in Powys and it was hanging loose on one bolt. With that, anyway, the first part of the job is at an end and the crossmember itself is ready to be replaced. Check back in next months for lots and lots of grinding and even more welding…

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Folios Classifieds 2020.indd 51

NOVEMBER 2020 | 67

JUNE 2019 | 51

29/09/2020 16:17

ROADBOOK

NORTH WALES

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

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

NAVIGATION

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

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

SAFETY

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

The responsibility is yours!

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

RESPONSIBILITY

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

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

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

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10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 68

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 28/09/2020 18:58

ROADBOOK The hills and mountains around the northern fringes of Powys are renowned for having some of the best rights of way anywhere in Britain. Wild and scenic, remote and at times tricky to drive, these byways and unsurfaced roads are typically firm but rough, making for slow and often splashy going. The trails are often long, too, so you can settle in and enjoy the terrain and the landscape alike – and what a landscape it is, with ruggedly spectacular panoramas everywhere you look. This is definitely a route to savour!

4x4 10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 69

NOVEMBER 2020 | 69

28/09/2020 18:58

ROUTE GUIDE

is it suitable?

START FINISH HOW LONG? TERRAIN HAZARDS

TYRES

OS MAPS

Llanfihangel-ymg-Ngwynfa (SJ 080 168) Glyn Ceiriog (SJ 201 377) 45.55 miles / 6-7 hours Hilly farmland and forestry Steep hills and drop-offs; occasional ruts; surface water; some isolated areas Landranger 125 (Bala & Lake Vyrnwy) Landranger 126 (Shrewsbury & Oswestry)

Step

1

0.0 Step

2

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SJ 080 168

Start in the car park in Llanfihangelyng-Ngwynfa – be aware that it’s also the car park for the village school, so extra care will be needed at certain times of the day. Zero your trip as you exit the car park, with the war memorial in front of you, and turn left down the hill

Turn right for Llanfyllin then immediately left

WEATHER LOW BOX SOFT-ROADERS SCRATCHING DRIVING DAMAGE

At least an all-terrain preferable.

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

Step

3

0.6 Step

4

2.05 4x4 28/09/2020 18:58

Step

5

SJ 078 201

6

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

2.6 Step

7

11 5.3

2.55 Step

Step

Step

12 6.95

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

Step

13

2.95

7.0

Step

Step

3.0

7.3

8

Step

9

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

10 5.15

Immediately after the cattle grid, stay on the same track

Step

15 8.75

4.25 Step

Caution – there’s a sharp washout across the track

SJ 099 232

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

Step

16

ZERO TRIP

9.2

Step 5: The track drops off the side of the valley more or less straight after leaving the road. Get into low box early…

Step 10 (right): The junction isn’t signed, but it’s pretty big by the standards of the road you’re on so you shouldn’t miss it

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Step

21 8.8 Step

22 Step 20: The junction is easy to spot – just look out for the big red brick house to the left as you leave the village Step

Llanfyllin B4391

6

19 7.55 Step

20 7.85

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10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 72

9.8 Step

18 Step

9.05

23

Step

4.95

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

Step

17 4.9

SJ 137 273

24 Llanrhaeadr- 212 ym-Mochnant

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

Llansilin Llanarmon DC

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

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

10.1 Step

25 10.5 Step

26 10.8

4x4 28/09/2020 18:58

Step

27

Step

ZERO TRIP

31

11.4

4.75

Step

Step

28 0.45 Step

29

32 Llanarmon DC Glyn Ceiriog

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

2.05 Step

30 3.75 4x4 10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 73

SJ 171 326

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

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

4.8 Step

33 5.0

This is in the middle of Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog. If it’s lunchtime, The Hand pub will be your best friend forever

Rhiwlas Llansilin Oswestry

Step

34

The track gets quite rutted for a spell

5.2 NOVEMBER 2020 | 73

28/09/2020 18:58

Step 35: Take it easy round the side of the fallen tree Step 36 (right): The track is uneven for a spell. It’s steep too – you definitely want to stay in low range the whole way down Step

35

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

5.3 Step

36 37

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

38

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

39

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

40 7.05 74 | NOVEMBER 2020

10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 74

Rhiwlas Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog

Step

43 Step

44

Llanarmon

It looks like there used to be white lines on the road here, but they were tarmacked over and no-one bothered to repaint them.

Once again, you probably have right of way but don’t make any assumptions

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

6.75 Step

42

10.1

6.7 Step

Step

8.8

6.1 Step

41 7.1

5.65 Step

Step

Step

45

SJ 171 326

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

Step

46 13.3

After the track on the right, the going becomes much more enclosed. Also, the right-hand rut has become eroded by water runoff, so there’s a severe sideslope for much of the way down here and it’s also wheel-liftingly uneven in places

4x4 28/09/2020 18:59

Step

Step

13.45

0.95

47 Step

48

51 SJ 176 335 ZERO TRIP

Step

52

13.55

1.05

Step

Step

0.6

1.35

Step

Step

0.9

1.45

49 50

4x4 10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 75

53 54

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

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

NOVEMBER 2020 | 59

28/09/2020 18:59

Step

55

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

56

59 3.25

2.55 Step

Step

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

Step

60

2.7

3.7

Step

Step

2.85

3.8

61

57 Step

58

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

2.9

Through a small splash then up the hill towards the buildings

Dead slow through the farmyard

Step

62 3.9

Step 56: The right of way forks left into the woods – it’s still a good, clear track Step 66 (right): Turn right through the gate and straight into a flood. Don’t worry – it’s well surfaced beneath the water

76 | NOVEMBER 2020

10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 76

4x4 28/09/2020 18:59

Step

Step

63

68

5.15 Step

64

Oswestry

312

SJ 242 307

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

7.95 Step

69

5.2

8.75

Step

65

Step

5.65

9.05

Step

66 6.95 Step

67 7.85

4x4 10pp Nov 20 Wales Roadbook.indd 77

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

Another junction immediately after a gate

Step

71 9.7 Step

72

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

11.4

NOVEMBER 2020 | 61

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4x4 Folios Classifieds 2020.indd 49

NOVEMBER 2020 | 79

29/09/2020 16:05

4x4

NEXT MONTH IN…

Exploring hidden Portugal on the kind of trip we all want to get back to Tested: New hybrid Jeep Renegade and Ford Tourneo Custom Active

One of the greatest ever Class 1 trials motors PLUS Wrangler Rubicon modded for overland adventures

ON SALE: 13th Nov Step 40: Tur n left off the main track, embankment dropping dow then plungi n the ng straight into a water trough (right) rock Step n – there are sharp

71 34

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Step

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13.3.1 12

Cautio the iate as you climb steps to negot hillside

Step

47

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

ROADBOOK: Long woodland 15.0trails in the dark depths of Breckland Forest a Abbey Strata Florid

8.75

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

Step

14

4328

Step

43

Step

15

Look out for you cross the the waymarker as ford

15.2

Step

Step

16

44

11.8

Join the Cat A

Step

17 18

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

48

13.4

11.7

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

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12.8

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13.65 Step

45 Fill in your name14 and .7 address and give this form to your newsagent track Drop off the main the gate and immediately before trough water into yet another

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Step Step 37: You migh -off to the right Please order 4x4 Magazine and reserve/deliver meis muc a copy every month warned, the drop twisters – but be

12.8 Name Address

88 | JAN UARY 2020

46

than it looks here

4x4

14.9 4x4 JA NUARY

Newsagent This magazine is available to your wholesaler through Comag Magazine Marketing, Tavistock Rd, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE. Tel: 01895 444055 Fax: 01895 433602

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202 0 | 89

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