4x4 Magazine - March 2019

4x4

NEWS • PRODUCTS • TRAIL GUIDES • WORKSHOP • CALENDAR • OFF-ROAD SCENE

DRIVEN Toyota’s brilliant Landcruiser Utility

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

GET READY… ARB is first to show its hand as the aftermarket starts falling over itself for the new Suzuki Jimny

Bruiser Conversions’ stunning 815bhp six-wheeled Wrangler

NEW! Expanded travel section – more product reviews, more overlanders’ tales

£4.75

Classic laning on our North-East Wales Roadbook

MAR 2019

XS4x4 creates one of the coolest Hiluxes you’ll ever see 4x4 Cover Mar WITH SARAH.indd 1

29/01/2019 18:14

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FLOOR MATS GI200

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There’s no doubting the strength of the hardwearing Rubber Mats and their proven capability to significantly reduce wear and tear in your car.

They’re lightweight, very flexible and they’re custom-made. With a raised outer lip to retain any spills, they’ll do a fantastic job of keeping the interior of your vehicle in the best possible condition, while covering up any existing damage.

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The Boot Liners offer outstanding protection from everyday wear and tear.

It will also reduce road noise and, with its raised outer edge, prevent accidental spills from ruining your car’s interior.

These custom-made Boot Mat Liners are infused with a long-lasting vanilla scent and are fully compatible with our Dog Guards and Dividers.

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DOG GUARDS From the older 110, 90 and Freelanders to the Range Rover Sport, Discovery and Evoque, Travall have created an extensive range of high quality dog Guards exclusively for these iconic of vehicles.

Each one is made in the UK’s engineering heartland from the best available materials. They laser-cut and precisionweld high grade steel, which is then nylon-powder coated using a unique formula.

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This gives their dog guards an attractive and ultra-tough finish which is extremely resistant to scratches and knocks.

They are recognised throughout the world for their strength, dependability, ruggedness and reliability, whether on or off the road. So, if you’re looking for a guard that’s just as tough, and as well-designed, as the Land Rover itself, you’ve found it.

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March 2019

T H IS M O N T H 50

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92 12 ISSUES OF 4X4 – FOR JUST £12!

This has got to be the best value offer in the history of publishing… subscribe to 4x4 for a year and it’ll only cost a quid an issue!

News 14 16 16 18 20 21

22

Ford Ranger Major revisions bring new engine, gearbox and more Jaguar Land Rover ’Perfect storm’ hits 4500 employees Land Rover Discovery Anniversary model champions value Bollinger B2 All-electric 4x4 pick-up enters production next year Mercedes G-Class Prices announced for new off-road superstar Coming Soon Off-roaders, double-cabs and SUVs on the way

Tested 34 40

Toyota Landcruiser Utility model is the Cruiser you’ve dreamt of Mitsubishi L200 Latest top-speccer is better than ever

Every Month 4 6 8 10 12 22 80 96

Alan Kidd The off-road scene is entering a new era Gallery Get 4x4, find water, go mad…

Destinations The Atlas Mountains: Africa on your doorstep Lost Lanes How Mynydd Illtud was caught in the crossfire What Jeep Did Next… The portal-axled wonder of the Mighty FC Products The aftermarket has cottoned on to the new Jimny…

Roadbook Awesome lanes in the mountains of North Wales Next Month Two very wild Jeeps, and one legendary Landcruiser

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Features 29 38 46 50

Insa Turbo Inside the factory that’s greening the world of tyres Arkonik Fairway An old 110 becomes a high-spec leisure wagon Bruiser JK Fancy an 815bhp 6x6 Wrangler? Of course you do…

Slick Hilux An off-road hero that’s also a tidy street machine

Travel 56 60

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Sahara Dune Bashing A holiday excursion actually worth taking…

Starting Out What are the first few days of an overland trip like?

Our 4x4s 66

Defender 90 A rebuild looms; but what’s it going to involve?

Off-Road Scene 72 73 74 76 77

Yorkshire Lane Repairs 4x4 drivers stump up once more 4x4s Fighting Crime Derbyshire police ask to enlist laners’ help Four Seasons Challenge An exciting new series – for Freelanders Disco Preservation Keeping the proper ones alive…

Land Rover Legends Bicester bash confirmed for 2019

Off-Road Calendar 73 77 78

Pay-and-Play Events Go in as hard as you want UK Convoy Tours Tag-along runs on public rights of way Overland Travel Long-range adventures in your 4x4

“If being noticed is important to you, there’s not much that’ll do the job with the same sheer chutzpah” 4x4 2-3 Contents.indd 3

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Alan Kidd Editor

I

t doesn’t matter what you drive. If the urge to modify is in your soul, it’s a strong one.

I vividly recall the day my first company car arrived. It was a basespec Land Rover Defender 90 van – literally just a box on wheels. It didn’t even have a radio… it was on 205R16s, for heaven’s sake. Those were the days before and Rover figured out that it could make bigger profits from the efender by tarting it up. o I tarted it up instead Having first come frighteningly close to somersaulting it at the tender age of three days, but that’s another story.

I needed a stereo. Badly. It was hell in there. Even once I’d got one, the sheer din of the engine, the road, the drumming panels behind me… it was still hell, but now it was hell with the Wonder Stuff in it so that was alright.

As time went on and the magazine was offered more and more kit, my 90 gained a random selection of toys that made it nicer to live with, cooler looking and better off-road. Before long, it was the talk of the office someone described it as being like a Doc Marten’s boot on four wheels, and I loved that.

A set of 7.50x16 Michelin XZLs went on. A Ramsey winch. Eventually bigger suspension and a set of 33x12.50R15s. At some point among it all, we were offered a roof rack which, one calamitous night on a green lane in Kent, got fetched off very noisily by a passing tree.

Someone put sound deadening in it, which had no discernible effect whatsoever.

We were given a really nice set of fabric seat covers, so at last I wasn’t slithering around on vinyl any more. Then, and this was a big one in the polluted mess of Croydon, out of the blue Diavia invited us down to their place so they could fit it with air-conditioning. And the difference that made was unbelievable.

Loads of other bits and bobs came and went, and by the time I waved a heartbroken goodbye to the 90 it was well and truly my Land Rover. The more you put your own stamp on a truck, the more bonded to it you become – and

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The urge to modify is a strong one… when those personal touches help make it better than ever at what it does, the bond becomes stronger still.

And you know what? There are going to be plenty of Brits getting very bonded indeed to their 4x4s over the next few years. Because with the new trucks that are coming through, the aftermarket is about to enter a golden age.

You’ll see in our Products section this month that the first accessories for the new u uki Jimny are starting to filter through. I know of at least two suppliers in the UK that are developing their own kit for the vehicle, too – give it a few months and the lucky souls who’ve managed to get their hands on one will have a huge toy box to choose from.

Needless to say, there’s plenty coming through for the new Jeep Wrangler, too.

Most of it is coming from America, of course, where there are small towns that generate more business for the aftermarket than the whole of Britain, but if you’ve got the money to buy a Wrangler in the first place you probably won t be put off by what it costs to modify one.

The same can, loosely, be said about the pick-up market, although the import streams for one-tonne kit have come on in leaps and bounds over the last few years.

And if, like me, you can’t stop dreaming about the possibilities offered by the Landcruiser Utility, you’ll be able to look at its cast-iron residuals and make a case for calling every last accessory an investment.

With all these vehicles now on the market, the potential for top-notch builds is sky-high. Of course, there’s a make that’s absent from all this excitement, and it’s the one whose Defender 90 taught me how much I love to mod 4x4 all those years ago. But the urge is a strong one – and whatever vehicle you find yourself doing it to, the opportunity is there to do it better than ever before.

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 Assistant Editor George Dove Art Editor Samantha D’Souza Contributors Mike Trott, Paul Looe, Dan Fenn, Olly Sack, Petter Minolo Photographers Harry Hamm,Vic Peel, Steve Taylor, Jenny Bright, Gavin Lowrie, Amy Shore Group Advertising Manager Ian Argent Tel: 01283 553242 Advertising Manager Colin Ashworth Tel: 01283 553244 Advertising Sales Manager Peter Topley Tel: 01283 553245 Advertising and Exhibition Sales Executive Abigail Cooper Tel: 01283 553246 Advertising Production Sarah Lowe Tel: 01283 553242 Subscriptions Manager Catherine Martin Subscriptions Assistants Emma Emery, Kay Tunnicliffe, Abi Dutton Publisher and Head of Marketing Sarah Lowe Email: sarah.lowe@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 G11, Bretby Business Park, Ashby Road, Bretby, Derbyshire DE15 0YZ

© Assignment Media Ltd, 2019

4x4 30/01/2019 00:01

Bowler Motorsport Accessories Add that extra special touch to your Defender

Lightweight Steering Guards Used in the Defender Challenge, the lightweight steering guard will offer protection to steering arms and linkages, but also offers access for maintenance. It uses existing mounting points and comes with 2 x red towing eyes for recovery work.

Lightweight Sill Protectors Made from lightweight aluminium and available in black and graphite, these sill protectors are used in the Defender Challenge. Supplied with a fitting kit, they bolt onto existing mounting points and do not require welding.

Compatible with XS side steps.

Lightweight Front Bumpers – Road & Race Both lightweight and high strength, the aluminium bumpers are handmade at Bowler. They use the existing bumper mounting points and are available in black and graphite. Note - Excludes spotlights shown.

A selection of great looking, high quality accessories from Bowler Motorsport.

Bowler is a market leader in the production of racing and high performance all terrain vehicles, and has been since 1985. Based in Derbyshire in the UK, they use both technology and craftsmanship to deliver vehicles and accessories with style, strength, performance and an unrivalled spirit of adventure.

Spectre’ Wheel Arches Produced in the UK and inspired by the JLR Special Vehicles produced Defenders for the film Spectre, these arches are identical in terms of size and shape, are finished in gloss black and come complete with fitting templates.

16” & 18” Lightweight Wheels Made in the UK exclusively for Bowler, these lightweight, high strength wheels are TÜV tested and are used in the Defender Challenge. They have a manufacturers guarantee and are used extensively in motorsport.

Maximum load rating 1,250kg. Black & anthracite available.

Rear Step Bumpers Designed to be practical, robust and stylish, this is the Bowler version of the popular NAS rear bumper. Available in black and graphite. The original tow bar and electrics are kept in the same place, and the step, with durable rear treads, conveniently attaches to the rear cross member.

Find more images and part numbers online at www.britpart.com/bowler

GALLERY

In pictures: 4x4s and off-road stories from around the world

About 70% of the planet is covered in it. About 60% of our bodies are made of it. But when we’re behind the wheel of a 4x4 and we see a patch of it in front of us, we just can’t help ourselves.

Whether it’s a splashy puddle, a fast-moving river or a huge, deep lake, driving through water is uniquely thrilling. Uniquely bad for your vehicle, too, but don’t let’s trouble ourselves with that. Winter means wet ground, wet ground means water and water means big-time laughs.

When you’re prepping a truck for vehicle-dependent travel, a snorkel is the very first thing you ought to fit Because while getting stuck is bad, sucking water into your engine is worse. Cos, dead. On expedition, you’ll do hundreds of miles to avoid a risky river crossing – the same sort of risky river crossing you might do hundred of miles just to have a go at if you’re back home in a playday motor.

Main picture: 2001 Maruti Suzuki King Gypsy, Bangladesh, by Shadman Samee @ flickr.com, CC BY ND Above right: McAllister Gulch & Ptarmigan Pass, by Nick Taylor @ flickr.com, CC BY SA Right: 4x4-habarana, by Four Wheel Drive Club @ flickr.com, CC BY SA Below right: VITARA – Water Adventure, by ptuikh (gila mengantuk | damn sleepy) @ flickr.com, CC BY 2.0 Below: Water Crossing at Entabeni, by Ryan Kilpatrick @ flickr.com, CC BY ND

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DESTINATIONS

The world’s greatest 4x4 travel adventures caught on camera. This month, an other-worldly mountain range that’s temptingly close to Britain

Atlas Mountains Morocco is just a day and a night’s drive from England (plus a couple of ferry crossings), but even this most westernised part of North Africa feels a million miles from what we’re used to back home. Every year, thousands of 4x4 drivers travel there from Europe to explore the soaring Atlas Mountains – which, despite their wild emptiness, are a thriving landscape full of thriving rural communities. You can drive for hours on rough, rocky tracks, surrounded by a landscape so austere it’s both inspirational and slightly scary, yet all you have to do is stop in the apparent wilderness and there’s every chance that someone will come up and say hello. Arriving in Morocco is like landing up in 4x4 heaven – and the Atlas Mountains are one of the main reasons why.

Top and below right: Steve Taylor Above le t: Rouge Vert Blanc by dyonis @ flickr.com, CC-BY-2.0 Above centre: Morocco 201 by ::ErWin @ flickr.com, CC BY SA Above right: Off Roading in the High Atlas Mountains by onl1 @ flickr.com, CC-BY-SA Below: Beneath the Todra Gorge, near Tinerhir, Morocco, by onl1 @ flickr.com, CC-BY-SA

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EXPERIENCED DRIVER DEPICTED

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21/09/2018 15:49

LOST LANES

In memory of Britain’s many rights of way which, over the years, have fallen victim to petty politics and local self-interest

Mynydd Illtud A lovely set of lanes on wild Welsh moorland, Mynydd Illtud was one of many that fell victim to the Blair government’s foul NERC legislation of 2006. While the ground here is soft on top, bedrock is just a few inches down – so while the tracks are rutted, they’re as deep as they’re ever going to get and remain drivable in any proper 4x4.

The right of way’s status as a RUPP meant it was closed irrespective of any other considerations when NERC came into force – along with the many other Welsh lanes which were lost in this way.

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WHAT JEEP DID NEXT…

Historical highlights of the concept vehicles Jeep builds every year for the Moab Easter Safari. This month: a stunning portal-axled forward control JK

2012: Mighty FC Easily the most radical piece of engineering to come out of Jeep’s Mopar workshop for the 2012 Moab Easter Safari was the Mighty FC Concept. This was inspired by a model from the past, in the shape of the Forward Control built between 1956 and 1965.

Almost unbelievably, the truck was based on a standard JK Wrangler. Jeep’s dedicated special vehicles team extended its wheelbase and replaced its Dana 44s with a set of the 8-stud portal axles that had just been introduced as genuine accessories through Jeep’s Mopar brand… at a price of $23,500 for the pair.

Having thus lifted and lengthened their donor Wrangler, Jeep’s workshop crew gave it a new cab (using a custom front panel and the roof from Mopar’s JK-8 pick-up kit) and scratch-built an eightfoot dropside pick-up bed. The cab in question was repositioned ahead of the front axle, and its interior was retrimmed using heavy-duty leather.

Nothing about the Mighty FC is small, as evidenced by its 40” tyres, 17” beadlock rims and 16,500lb Warn winch. This was perched on one of two Hanson bumpers, and in between them the sills were protected by tubular rock sliders. Controlling the axles, a set of remote-reservoir King coil-overs were located using Tera ex links The concepts and show cars seen at Moab often act as teasers for future production models. So come on, Jeep, get with the plot… because seven years later, we’re still waiting.

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MARCH 2019 | 13 30/05/2017 09:49

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4x4 NEWS

MAJOR UPDATES UNVEILED FOR 2019 FORD RANGER

F

2.0-litre EcoBlue engine replaces 2.2 and 3.2 TDCi units • New 10-speed auto box • On sale mid-2019 ord has unveiled an extensively revised version of the Ranger – with more power than ever, despite

the axing of the much-loved 3.2 TDCi engine.

With the erstwhile entry-level 2.2 TDCi also falling by the wayside,

BMW’s new X5 is on sale new, priced from £57,495. The X5 is available with a choice of petrol and diesel engines – including an M50d unit combining 400bhp, 561lbf.ft and a 5.2-second 0-62 time with fuel consumption of 41.5mpg.

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our 2018 Pick-Up of the Year gains a new range of three 2.0-litre fourcylinder engines. Thus it goes from having the biggest unit in the onetonne market to the second smallest – though with outputs of 130bhp and 251lbf.ft, 170bhp and 310lbf.ft and 213bhp and 369lbf.ft, the 2.0 EcoBlue is by no means gutless.

With uoted figures of 34.3, 34.0 and 30.7mpg respectively for the three versions of

the new engine, Ford says it is more fuel efficient than those it replaces. This appears to be a clear illustration of the enormous confusion that surrounds the global motor industry’s migration to the new, more realistic WLTP testing regime, as the outgoing Ranger currently uotes official figures of 32.1-43.4mpg.

Beyond the engine, also new to the range is a 10-speed automatic gearbox. A version of the unit from the giant-selling F-150, which is basically driven by the entire population of America, this promises real-time adaptive-shift scheduling – which alters the transmission’s behaviour depending on the situation to offer more smoothness on the way through the gears.

Away from the guts of the vehicle, the new Ranger carries an on-board modem which enables

Seat’s new Tarraco is on sale now, adding seven-seat capacity to the company’s growing SUV range. The vehicle is available with two petrol and two diesel engines; in each case, the larger unit has four-wheel drive as standard.

4x4 29/01/2019 18:55

4x4 NEWS

it to function as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

In addition, the FordPass mobile app allows you to check oil level, tyre pressure and mileage from a remote location. That may sound like the answer to a question nobody asked – however a vehicle locator function does give the app a useful purpose, especially if you’re forgetful, and it also allows you to toggle the vehicle’s central locking.

Back in the cabin, Ford’s Sync3 multimedia system offers a choice of voice or touch-screen activation and is enabled with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Another clever touch is the Ford MyKey system, which allows eet managers (or private owners with teenage children) to set a limit on the vehicle’s speed and radio volume as well as permanently engaging all of its Ranger’s safety features.

Those safety features include pre-collision assist with pedestrian detection and intelligent speedlimiter as standard. The latter monitors road signs and (the intelligent bit) if it detects a speed limit that’s lower than the set speed of the adaptive cruise control, will slow the vehicle down without needing to be asked.

The 2019 Ranger also features lane keep assist, parking sensors both front and rear, a rear view camera and electronic stability control with both rollover mitigation and trailer sway management. Both Wildtrak and Limited models will include a new easy-lift tailgate, too, with a torsion

bar that increases the ease of closing it back up.

There is no word on pricing as of yet. However the updated onetonner will be arriving in mid-2019.

Volkswagen and Ford have announced a new Global Alliance, aimed at helping the two global giants offer more competitive products as they collaborate on EVs, autonomous vehicles and mobility services.

The two brands will also work together too in developing commercial vans and mediumQuarter Page Truckbed AD 2018 [WF].indd 1 15/10/2018 sized pick-ups. This part of the agreement is slated to bear fruit as early as 2022 – suggesting that the next-generation versions of the Ranger and Amarok will be YOUR ISUZU D-MAX engineered on a shared platform.

The two automakers say this alliance will power significant efficiencies of scale by enabling them to share investments in vehicle platforms. Ford’s CEO Jim Hackett says the blue oval’s partnership with VW will ‘help both companies create value and meet the needs of our customers’, while Pedders TrakRyder Suspension Lift Kit makes the workhorse D-Max his VW counterpart Herbert Diess into a more refined passenger vehicle.

• Does your 4x4 pickup struggle with the demands you place on it? echoed this, explaining that both • Enhanced ride quality in laden & unladen • Not coping well with that largesituations. trailer? brands see it as a key to remaining • Improved off road ability via raised ride height.

• Sagging with the load in the back?

• Maintains load capacity. competitive and pushing the Then Pedders haveto the solution for you.

• Heavy duty kits also available ability tosuspension cope with loads. market forward. ’It will not only drive significant efficiencies and help both companies improve their fitness,’ added Hackett, ‘but also gives us the opportunity to collaborate on shaping the next era of mobility.’

Ford’s facelifted Edge SUV will come to Britain with a new version of the company’s 2.0 EcoBlue engine developing up to 238bhp. The new Edge features an improved cabin with the latest infotainment, and the comes in a range featuring Ford’s ultra high-spec Vignale line.

4x4 5.5pp News Mar ADS.indd 15

ENHANCE

09:37

ENHANCE

THE PERFORMANCE OF YOUR 4X4

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Specialising in Suspension solutions since 1950 For further information go to www.pedders.co.uk 01296 711044 or please contact your local Pedders experts.

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MARCH 2019 | 15

29/01/2019 18:55

4x4 NEWS

EXTERNAL FACTORS BLAMED FOR JLR STAFF CUTS

J

aguar Land Rover has blamed a ‘perfect storm’ of external factors for the downturn in demand that prompted it to announced 4500 job cuts at the start of this year. In addition to the K government s sudden vilification of diesel, in addition to the phase-in of WLTP emissions testing and the inevitable Brexit uncertainty, the company cites dwindling sales in its biggest market, China, due to increased competition from quickly growing domestic brands.

The news comes after a £385 million profit in the uarter leading up to September 2017 became a £90 million pre-tax loss over the same period last year These figures pale into insignificance, however, compared to the annual £1.2 billion JLR has previously said it would expect to lose annually in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The company had already shed 1500 jobs in 2018, mainly from contract staff. This time round, however, it says it intends to

streamline costs by simplifying its management structure.

Despite the gloomy current picture for UK car manufacturing, and for the small army of staff whose jobs are threatened by these cuts, JLR remains bullish about its future investment plans.

Last Jaguar side of the business has in fact just had its best ever year for sales, thanks to the arrival of the E-Pace and I-Pace – something that highlights the importance of alternative fuels

in today’s market. The company says it intends to invest further in electric powertrain technology, including new production facilities in Wolverhampton and a battery assembly unit in Birmingham.

These moves are seen as crucial to reversing the slide in Land Rover sales, which fell globally by 6.9% during 2018. In the meantime, JLR will look to a voluntary redundancy scheme as a way of making the newly announced job losses as painless as possible.

Higher-value Discovery costs £59,995 Land Rover has introduced a special-edition version of the Discovery to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the vehicle’s original on-sale date. Based on the current Disco d , the nniversary dition feat res alloy wheels in a par le ilver finish, a full-length panoramic glass roof, privacy glass for the rear quarters and a Meridian 380W sound system. Bodywork can come in one of four hues – Santorini Black, Corris Grey, Loire Blue or Indus Silver.

The current Discovery 5 hasn’t sold as well as previous models, having fallen victim somewhat to the slowdown in demand that’s put Land Rover into its current sales slump. However the vehicle’s 30th birthday is still worth celebrating, because with some 1.7 million sales globally during its lifetime the Disco has been instrumental in taking Solihull from provincial off-road specialist to global premium car giant. The original model was hugely admired by the company’s staunchest fans, and throughout the last thirty years it has worked wonders at attracting new customers to the green oval.

The Discovery 5 is of course a long way removed from the original, which was basically a Defender with a fancy body. As a premium 4x4, however, it offers something genuinely different from the resolutely road-biased vehicles offered by most of its rivals – and in Anniversary Edition form, it offers higher value on top. The extra equipment listed above would normally cost around seven grand were you to spec it from Land Rover’s options list – but with a retail price of £59,995, the vehicle costs just under two more than the model on which it’s based.

Ford has entered into an agreement with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to supply the charity with a eet of new vehicles he first of these is set to be delivered this year, with another 120 arriving both next year and in 2021. he eet will incl de twenty Rangers, which will carry out their duties on the British shorelines as the I’s beach patrol eet ord will also be looking after the Institution’s on road needs, with a eet incl ding examples of the Fiesta, EcoSport, Focus, Kuga and three variations of the Transit.

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4x4 NEWS

ALL-ELECTRIC DOUBLE-CAB SET TO ENTER PRODUCTION DURING 2020 Bollinger B2 could come to UK • Twin motors, 520bhp, 514lbf.ft • 2265kg payload, 3400kg tow limit

B

ollinger Motors has been gaining a lot of attention recently with its forthcoming B1, a 4x4 utility truck whose design

brings the greatest possible level of practicality out of a drivetrain that’s 100% electric. The vehicle is package-protected for right-hand drive and scheduled for a potential

The Jeep Wrangler has been given a one-star crash test rating

by EuroNCAP. The organisation criticised the Wrangler’s lack of high-tech driver assistance systems, seemingly oblivious to the safety value of a world-class driving position.

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UK market launch in the mediumterm future – but despite still being at this early stage in the project, the American manufacturer has already unveiled a second model.

This too is a 4x4 – and it’s more practical than ever. That’s because the B2 is a double-cab pick-up.

Like the B1, it will be an allelectric 4x4 with an all-aluminium

Skoda’s new Kodiaq vRS will be propelled by the most powerful diesel engine the company has ever offered. The performance SUV packs 238bhp; having just set a new seven-seater lap record at the Nurburgring, it will go on sale priced from £41,275.

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4x4 NEWS

SPECIALIST 4X4 VEHICLE DISMANTERS JEEP - LAND ROVER AND MOST MAKES AND MODELS QUALITY GUARANTEED USED PARTS body. It will have two electric motors, one at each end, powered by a 120kWh battery pack and delivering 520bhp and 514lbf.ft.

Bollinger quotes a 0-60mph time of 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 100mph, which sounds rather conservative with that much power, but you d imagine those figures won’t be diminished at all by a heavy load in the back or a trailer hanging off the towbar.

For off-road work (or play), the B2 offers 15” of ground clearance and approach, breakover and departure angles of 52, 25 and 28 degrees respectively Those figures might put you in mind of the Land Rover Defender, and if they don’t then the vehicle’s squared-off styling almost certainly will.

Talking of figures, the B2 s pick up bed measures 5ft 9in long and 4ft 1in wide (that’s 1.75m and 1.24m in new money). This means that with the tailgate down, the truck is able to transport the oft-quoted 8x4’ sheet of plywood.

The rear of the cab, meanwhile, can be hinged upwards – whereupon Bollinger says you can haul 72 sheets of ½” plywood. As with

the B1, the more you look at the vehicle the more practical it gets.

Further features of the B2 include hydro-pneumatic suspension and in-wheel portal gear hubs – and because you don’t have a conventional internal combustion engine, there’s a huge space at the front for storage. Behind it, Bollinger’s patented pass-through door allows the vehicle to carry items as long as it is.

Bollinger expects the B2 to offer a payload capacity of around 2265kg (the same as its kerb weight) and a braked towing limit of 3400kg.

Those figures are aimed at the American market; for the UK, the company would certainly plate the latter at the magic 500kg figure as most serious makers of work trucks now do.

With a 139” wheelbase and 5270mm overall length, the B2 will be bigger than any current one-tonner in the UK but not as massive as the full-size trucks you see in America. The company says prices (again, just for the domestic market at this stage) will be announced in 2019, with production set to commence the following year.

SOME OF THE VEHICLES WE HAVE RECENTLY DISMANTLED:

2015 JEEP WRANGLER JK 2.8CRD

2007 DODGE NITRO 2.8CRD

2016 RANGE ROVER EVOQUE 2.0 TD4

2014 RANGE 2016 ISUZU 2014 JEEP ROVER SPORT 4.4 D-MAX 2.5 DIESEL CHEROKEE MK5 V8 DIESEL KL 2.0 MULTIJET

2010 JEEP 2007 LAND ROVER CHEROKEE MK4 DISCOVERY 3 2.7 KK 2.8 CRD TDV6

2008 HONDA CRV 2.2 CDTI

2006 JEEP GRAND 2006 NISSAN CHEROKEE WK PATHFINDER 2.5 5.7 V8 HEMI DCI

Dacia has added a new turbcharged petrol engine to the Duster range.

The TCe unit is available in 130 and 150bhp form, priced from £14,395 to £16,295 in Comfort and Prestige trims. Both engines return 47mph, though in each case they only drive the front wheels.

4x4 5.5pp News Mar ADS.indd 19

Charlton Recycled Auto Parts Vehicle Recycling Centre, Gravel Pit Hill, Thriplow, Cambridge, SG8 7HZ Tel 01223 832656 Email parts@charltonautoparts.co.uk PLEASE VISIT WWW.CHARLTONAUTOPARTS.CO.UK MARCH 2019 | 19

29/01/2019 18:55

4x4 NEWS

£94,000 FOR NEW G-CLASS

I

t’s one of the few true offroaders still in production. And with the latest diesel version, there’s a new entry price for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class.

The 3.0-litre six-pot boasts a power haul of 286bhp and 443lbf. ft, making it the punchiest oilburner ever to be fitted beneath the trademark squared-off bonnet.

This equates to an impressive 0-62 time of 7.4 seconds; the German Goliath reaches terminal velocity at 124mph and, on the combined cycle, returns an official 29 4mpg Predictably, the equipment list is huge – Mercedes hasn’t followed the lead of the Toyota Landcruiser by introducing the G-Class in work-spec form. The standard alloys are 20-inchers, the headlights are LEDs and in the cabin you get leather seating that’s electronically adjustable and heated front and back, a 12.3” cockpit display, trizone climate and a driver assistance package including blind spot assist, adaptive cruise control and active lane assist.

Options on offer include the Premium package, the Night

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package and the Winter package.

The Premium package adds an intelligent multi-beam light system, adaptive air suspension, Burmester sound system, interior air ionisation, 64-way ambient lighting, sliding sunroof and a parking package with a 60 camera The Night package adds black alloys, darkened indicators and

tail lights, black radiator grille and exterior mirror shrouds, darkened glass and a black spare wheel ring. Adding the Winter package, meanwhile, installs a heated windscreen and a remote controlled auxiliary heater. For those in the back, there’s a Rear Seat Entertainment package that adds two 10” touchscreens which

work with a digital TV tuner, integrated media player and of course, the internet.

Choose any of these packs and the price will go up by a handy fourfigure sum As it is, the G 50d lists at 94,000 on the road while the other model in the range, the highperformance Merc-AMG G63, joins it at an eye watering 14 , 05

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4x4 NEWS

C O M IN G S O O N Forthcoming 4x4s due later this year and beyond Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Alpina XD3 Aston Martin DBX Audi SQ2 Audi Q3 Audi Q4 Audi Q8 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid BMW X7 Bollinger B1 Bollinger B2 Cupra Ateca DS3 Crossback DS 7 Crossback E-Tense Ford Ranger facelift Ford Ranger Raptor Ford Raner Hyundai INEOS Grenadier Infiniti Jeep Jeep Cherokee facelift Jeep Cherokee Desert Hawk Jeep Gladiator Jeep Grand Commander Jeep Wagoneer Land Rover Defender Land Rover Discovery SVX Lexus UX Maserati Mercedes EQB Mercedes GLE Mercedes G-Class Mercedes-AMG G-Class Mitsubishi L200 Nissan Juke Renault Alaskan Rivian R1T Rivian R1s Seat Ateca X-Perience Seat Tarraco Skoda Kamiq Skoda Kodiaq Coupe Skoda Kodiaq vRS Ssangyong XAVL Ssangyong Korando Suziki Vitara facelift Toyota RAV4 Volvo V60 Cross-Country Volkswagen T-Cross Volkswagen Tarok Volkswagen Amarok

4x4 5.5pp News Mar ADS.indd 21

Small SUV Large SUV Performance SUV Performance SUV Performance SUV Small SUV Coupe SUV Large SUV Luxury SUV Large SUV Electric off-roader Electric pick-up Performance SUV Small SUV Medium SUV Pick-up Pick-up Pick-up Fuel-call SUV Off-roader arge Small SUV Medium SUV Performance Off-Roader Pick-up Large SUV Luxury SUV Off-roader Large SUV Small SUV Medium SUV Electric SUV Large SUV Off-roader Performance off-roader Pick-up Small SUV Pick-up Electric pick-up Electric large SUV Medium SUV Large SUV Crossover Medium SUV Performance SUV Medium SUV Small SUV Small SUV Medium SUV 4x4 Estate Small SUV Pick-up Pick-up

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PRODUCTS

ARB REVEALS SOON -TO - MARKET ACCESSORIES FOR NEW SUZUKI JIMNY

SO WHO HAD ARB in the first new Jimny mods sweepstake, then?

The Australian 4x4 accessories giant has unveiled its ro ect JBO demo vehicle, sporting a range of off road items which, while they are all still prototypes at this point in time, will become available to buy in the near future u uki s Australian importer worked with ARB by giving the company s engineers access to a pre launch vehicle, allowing them to start work early on developing a range of all new and adapted accessories In addition, ARB was able to test fit existing products to

confirm they would work on the new vehicle and the great news for Jimny fans looking to build a serious off roader is that these include the legendary Air ocker Among the new products ARB has developed for the Jimny is the smallest ever version of its ummit bull bar This will come complete with a winch mount, which on ro ect JBO has been used to house an 8000lb Warn Magnum nderneath the vehicle is a new suspension system ARB doesn t uote the si e of the lift it gives the Jimny, apart from to say it s suitable for a set of new muddies and

improved off road ability which could of course mean anything afe to assume, however, that it ll be in the usual commercial range, which means it can be expected to be in the region of two inches Further metalwork will come in the shape of steel rock sliders

and a tubular roof rack ou d need to be doing pretty extreme stuff with a Jimny to put its sills at risk,

MASAI DRAWER SYSTEM KEEPS YOUR DEFENDER TIDY – AND YOUR CARGO SAFE MASAI’S SPORTING BOX and rear storage drawers are useful if you need secure storage in your Defender or just want to keep it looking tidy. he bo itself fits inside the rear oor space between the vehicle’s inner wheelarches, enabling you to neatly store, protect and lock away items which yo reg larly or permanently eep stored in yo r vehicle vailable in matte blac , the nit comes with soft carpeting on the top and soft-close, smooth-running Accuride drawer runners capable of holding p to g ant to now more It’s all at www masai com

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PRODUCTS

Above: Jimny’s Summit bull bar is the smallest example ARB has made. It’s home here to a Warn Magum 8000 winch, and will also support a range of auxiliary lights Right: ARB doesn’t say how much lift these springs provide, but it’s likely to be in the +2” region Below: Roof racks are more popular as off-roading accessories in Australia, where long-range travel is more common and you spend less time squeezing between tightly packed trees. The Jimny’s lack of luggage space is likely to make this design a common sight even here in the UK, however especially after lifting its suspension, but for any sort of long-range travel a roof rack would certainly be a must-have way of overcoming the limited luggage space that’s an inevitable consequence of the vehicle’s small size.

With this and the bull bar adorned with LED lighting, some underbody protection bolted on and a gear reduction mod to the transfer case to take care of the bigger tyres you’ll surely want, ARB is already well on the way to being able to kit out a new generation of super-Jimnys. How long before it all becomes available to buy? We don’t yet know – but we’d bet on it being shorter than the waiting list for an actual vehicle. To keep tabs on progress, visit www.arb.com.au.

IF YOU HAVE become used to working on your driveway, Clarke’s range of fabric garages could transform your life. It’s tempting to think of them just as a way of keeping the weather off, but they’re also strong enough to offer a decent level of security to your tools.

The garages come with bolt-up hardware and joint supports and a powder-coated steel frame for optimum durability and stability. They offer various anchoring options, allowing them to be erected on a variety of surfaces, and the canvas

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body is secured using tensioning ratchets for what Clarke calls that drum tight finish The cover itself is triple-layered, waterproof and fully UV-treated. So it should do its job, and keep on doing it. In addition, the interior is finished in a bright white, filling it with light to provide the best possible working conditions.

Clarke’s garages are available in various sizes up to 24’ long, 12’ wide and 8’2” high, and cost from 2 4 80 To find out more, search them out at www.machinemart.co.uk.

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PRODUCTS

KUT SNAKE OFFERS MONSTER PROTECTION FOR YOUR 4X4’S WHEELARCHES

NEW TO THE UK is the Kut Snake range of wheelarch spats for a huge variety of 4x4s. Made in Australia and imported to the UK

by Tuff-Trek, these are heavy-duty items designed to be bolted in place, not held on with glue.

Manufactured from ABS plastic, the arches are specifically designed to be used on vehicles running larger wheels and tyres with greater height and therefore offset.

‘These arches will not go brittle and crack, fade etc like cheap, lowquality units,’ says Tuff-Trek – and, being bolted into place, they’ll stay put. Just so long as you don’t mind drilling your arches, though given the rest of the work you’ll be doing on your vehicle to make it worth having these things in the first place that would be a surprise.

Kut Snake arches are available in tandard and Monster fitments (don’t you just love that), and can

be specced for an enormous variety of vehicles including the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi L200, Nissan Navara, Toyota Hilux, VW Amarok, Land Rover Defender, Nissan Patrol and Toyota Landcruiser. Which models? Which years? Pretty much all of them.

How much are these bad boys going to cost you? Give or take a quid or two, something like £380 a set in almost every case. Not cheap, but then you won’t be needing to spend it again tomorrow. Unless you buy another truck. Anyway, it’s all at for www.tuff-trek.com.

MUD-UK LAUNCHES MOUNTING SOLUTION FOR AUXILIARY HEATERS DEFENDERS ARE MANY, many things. But civilised isn’t necessarily one of them – and in winter months (or any other time the weather feels like giving you a kicking), neither is warm. That’s why many owners opt to fit a diesel heater to their pride and joy in a bid to avoid driving in a sub-zero cabin.

If you’re just coming around to this idea, then the team at Mud-UK have something that could be very useful indeed. It isn’t a diesel heater, however it is a locker in which to house said heater without simply lobbing it on the floor of your truck.

The Mud-UK Heater Locker creates an easy method of mounting an auxiliary heater into your Land Rover. It fits in between the front seats, locating tidily beneath the central cubby box and utilising its factory fixing points. The lid of the locker then has corresponding holes in the top to house the cubby.

The locker is designed to house the common 2kW heaters supplied by brands such as Eberspächer, Webasto, MV Airo and Planar, and has appropriate cut-outs to accommodate this footprint. The back-plate is available with three different sized outlet nozzles – the standard 60mm diameter, as well as larger 75mm and 90mm apertures. The box itself is 140mm tall, so your cubby box still won’t be in the way, and the slotted front face enables the heater to work its magic. To find out more, visit mudstuff.co.uk.

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4x4 29/01/2019 18:40

PRODUCTS

IRONMAN ADDS NEW ENGINE BASH PLATE FOR FORD RANGER

TRUSTED ON ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS

35 YEARS

WE HAVE OVER EXPERIENCE, TRUST US TO LIGHT YOUR WAY

The latest new product from Ironman is this 4mm steel underbody protection plate to suit the current Ford Ranger. The unit is designed to integrate with the factory transmission plate in models with a diesel partic late filter , which has to be retained in order to maintain Ford’s full factory warranty. pplied with a two year warranty, the plate protects the vehicle’s radiator and engine against impacts on roc s, tree st mps and so on It’s one of a variety of nits Ironman ma es for vario s versions of the anger to ens re yo ’re getting the right one, cons lt importer est oast ff oad, who can be trac ed down at west coastoffroad.co.uk.

• Driving Lights > Halogen > HID > LED • LED Light bars from 6” – 50” Single & Dual row • Full wiring harness • FORD 8-pin harness patch • TRUSTED Enhanced night driving • Reduced eye fatigue ON ALL SEVEN CONTINENTS. • Genuine Gore® Breathers IP69 rated

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Whatever you think of Jeeps, you’ve got to admit this is cool. It’s the work of US company Rugged Ridge, and it’s an LED Third Brake Light Ring for the new Jeep Wrangler JL. Rugged Ridge says the light is a practical solution for a genuine problem which is that on a lifted vehicle with an outsi e spare tyre, the factory fit third brake light is obscured for drivers following the vehicle in everyday cars. Mounting behind the spare, the company’s solution is a ring of 93 bright red LEDs which project through the wheel’s spokes to create ‘a brilliant, attention-grabbing display that is impossible to ignore.’

Also impossible to ignore is a five year warranty, which covers a product whose IP68 waterproof rating, rugged thermoplastic body and impervious mounting ring all mean you’re unlikely ever to claim on it. Go to www. ruggedridge com to find a K dealer

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M a in s u p p lie r o f a n d a l l m a j o r 4x4 t y r e s

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MARCH 2019 | 25

29/01/2019 18:40

PRODUCTS

DRAWER SYSTEM FOR WORKING PICK-UPS

Est. 1981

TRUCKMAN’S DECKED SYSTEM is a drawer arrangement for 4x4 pick-ups and double-cabs. It lets you secure and organise your load without going the whole hog and fitting a loadbay canopy and without losing more than ust a fraction of the vehicle s standard load capacity That s because the ecked unit, which has its own galvanised steel sub frame within the truck bed, itself has a cargo capacity of 1000kg It creates a raised deck on which bulky items can be carried ust like in any other pick up but within this, two secure, full length drawers provide convenient access to all the tools and e uipment you need to keep safely locked away and hidden from view Originally developed in the , ecked is the perfect storage solution for both commercial and leisure consumers, including electricians, builders and plumbers and those operating in the construction, agriculture and emergency services Truckman goes on to add outdoor adventurers, shooting and fishing enthusiasts, families, shoppers and everyday users to that list, so they could have saved themselves a bit of time and ust said everyone The drawers can carry loads of up to 100kg, and an extra point of practicality is that they also feature dual storage bins for smaller items such as fastenings and hand tools Optional extras include portable tool boxes, dividers, enhanced locks and drainage plugs ot that you need to worry about the drawers filling with water Truckman says the unit has a built in conduit for keeping rain away from your precious cargo.

Compatible with current versions of the issan avara, Toyota Hilux, W Amarok, Isu u Max, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi 200 and Fiat Fullback, ecked comes with a three year warranty and costs from 1200 plus AT ecked has become the ultimate storage solution in the , says Truckman boss Mike Wheeler, and we re delighted to exclusively bring it to British pick up users. The quality of its build means it can stand up to the challenges of working in industries like construction and agriculture, while providing a stylish and practical storage solution for leisure users To find out whatever else you might need to know about it, visit www truckman co uk

MILNER

www.milneroffroad.com TEL: 01629 734411

EST. 1981

M.O.T & Service Parts Suspension Lift Kits Snorkels & Winches Wheels &Tyres Air Suspension Skid Plates Roll Bars Heavy Duty Clutches

** GENUINE & NON-GENUINE PARTS ** Mon-Fri: 8am - 5:30pm Sat: 8am - 12:30pm Old Road, Darley Dale, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 2ER 26 | MARCH 2019

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PB CUSTOMS 4x4

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PB Customs Apr 18.indd 1

30/07/2018 07:55

•

OVERLOADING IS COMMON

YOUR INSURANCE COULD BE INVALID IF YOU’RE OVERLOADED

– What would your thoughts be if you were told your vehicle, trailer and everything carried on it and in it were not insured?

Scary thought isn’t it, but of all the vehicles stopped and checked by DVSA (2015-2016), over 80% were found to be overloaded and/or exceeding the driver’s licence entitlement.

When was the last time you checked your vehicle weights?

If you knew there was an inexpensive option to avoid your overloading problems, would you be interested?

For over 20 years, SvTech have covered GVW rerating on vehicles, from small sub 3.5t vehicles all the way up to 150t Special Types vehicles.

SvTech can uprate the GVW of most 4x4’s and in some cases also increase the towing allowances. e.g. Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max – GVW increase to 3500kg + GTW of 3500kg (7000kg combined) A GVW uprate can increase your payload allowance thus reducing the size and number of vehicles involved for transporting your goods.

Try using SvTech’s free Load Distribution Analysis program to check your weights. www.svtech.co.uk/lda

GVW AND TOWING ALLOWANCES AFFECTED

HAVE YOU WEIGHED YOUR VEHICLE? DO IT NOW BEFORE THE DVSA DO!

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Untitled-13 1

29/08/2017 14:11

A TREAD OF THE GAME Retreaded tyres are normally thought of as a cheap solution, but they’re also among the most environmentally conscious choices a vehicle owner can make. They’ve long since shed the reputation they once had, too – and as a visit to the Insa Turbo factory demonstrates, they can be made to a standard that mirrors that of the best premium brands WORDS: GEORGE DOVE PICTURES: INSA TURBO

here’s a misconception that remoulded tyres are nothing more than a budget option. They are indeed often cheaper than brand new tyres (certainly premium brands) but their purpose is not just to be cost-effective.

It’s also to be as unharmful as possible to the environment, by reducing the number of tyres

that go to waste. They do this by running on a premise that you’ll have heard countless times over the years – reduce, reuse and recycle.

Part of the Soledad Group, Insa Turbo is just

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If waste is the enemy of the environment, the retreading process is its friend.

Insa Turbo’s proud boast is that not one tyre it receives is discarded; even those which can’t be made to go again are reused, for example as granules which form the base of 3G sports pitches. There’s even a demand for garden ornaments made from the remnants of used tyres one piece of the eco-friendly tyre puzzle. The whole group is committed to completing the rubber cycle by finding ways to reduce waste and reuse rubber wherever they can Their ethos is to enforce a circular tyre economy Insa Turbo will only remould a tyre on to the casing of a premium brand, and each one of them is thoroughly scrutinised first ach year, the company processes hundreds of thousands of used premium tyres from all over the world at its biomass powered factory in Alicante These tyres are separated into those that are suitable to be used as remould casings and those

that are not ven the re ects don t ust go to landfill, however If a tyre is not suitable to become an Insa Turbo remould, there are a number of ways in which it can be repurposed That could mean being cut and bagged as decorative gardening supplies or shredded and used as the rubber crumb on G synthetic sports fields Metal and fibres within the layers of unusable tyres are removed and reused where they can be, too very single tyre is given new purpose Before it can be remoulded, every tyre is inspected thoroughly First, a visual check

involves studying the tyres for punctures and any structural damage before categorising them accordingly Then the tyres are scanned for imperfections with machinery and sent on for buffing If there are any problems, the tyre is sent for appropriate repurposing Once they ve been taken inside the factory, ade uate casings are buffed down, leaving a fine surface suitable for receiving a new tread And from this point on, the process is ust like that of making a new tyre Research, development and design goes into the tread patterns that are applied, and Insa

‘Adequate casings are buffed down, leaving a fine surface suitable for receiving a new tread. And from this point on, the process is just like that of making a new tyre’ At Mezclas Caucho, the rubber-making arm of the Insa Turbo operation, a busy R&D department is constantly working on the creation of new compounds for tyre manufacture and much more besides. Its state-of-the-art machinery processes more than 300 different formulae

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Turbo’s high-grade machinery is used as much as possible to produce finished tyres as uickly, efficiently and accurately as possible ach batch is made using casings of matching tyres from the same brand, minimising the difference in exact si ing and weight after the remould The smooth casings are then inspected again and cleaned up if needs be, removing any rust If there are any resolvable imperfections, these are seen to by hand before moving the tyre on and applying the new tread There are two ways of remoulding a tyre, and Insa Turbo uses both of them A cold retread is the less extensive of the methods, as it only re uires the application of a new tread to a tyre that still sports its original sidewalls Once it s buffed and ready, the tyre has a pre pressed tread fitted and fused before being cured at a temperature of 120 C These cold retreads are a particularly common sight on buses and agricultural vehicles which re uire bigger, more industrial tyres Insa Turbo produces them on behalf of several big name tyre brands

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Hot remoulding is a more intense process in which completely new rubber is used from the sidewalls up Once they ve been buffed and given the all clear, the tyres are placed into the hands of robots and it s really uite a mesmerising process to behold First, a mechanical arm picks the casing up from a rack, lifts it up to be scanned one final time for impurities, then lowers it down for the application of fresh rubber Two tyres are on the machine at a time one receiving fresh rubber and the other waiting its turn on the other side before the machine rotates Once the rubber

is on the casing, it is carted off to be cured in the mould at 150 C The tyre is baked between four aluminium plates which impress the tread into the fresh rubber and vulcanise the newly moulded tyre Machines take control again once the curing process is complete, moving tyre tyres to an inspection area to be cleaned up Here, any excess rubber is removed before the tyre is given a final once over And after that, it s ready for its new life It s very easy to make the process sound completely watertight, of course but then, it s

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From start to finish, Insa Turbo strives for a level of production quality to match the premium tyres from which its casings are sourced. The result is that at the end of the line, its retreads are fit to win over even the most dedicated of sceptics

equally easy to be cynical for no good reason.

You might be minded to sneer at the suggestion that the latter stages of the retreading process are like those of making a premium tyre, but that really is the fact of the matter.

Talking of facts, a remoulded tyre is not 100% new – that of course is the whole point of the exercise. But the rubber used to tread the premium casings at the Insa Turbo plant is brand new. Mezclas Caucho, the rubber production branch of the Soledad Group, works very closely with Insa Turbo and half of all the rubber it produces is for the company’s remoulded treads. It has state-of-the-art equipment and machinery and process more than 300 (not a misprint – yes, that’s three hundred) different rubber compounds, for applications that range from tyre tread to shoes, bridge bushings and playground ooring The company also produces rubber compounds for Continental.

Mezclas Caucho uses Banbury machines, which are specifically designed to suit multi

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step mixing processes, to accurately blend oils, polymers and black carbon into rubber using formulae developed in its research lab. This in turn is where the magic happens, using small samples to minimise waste – and it’s thanks to the work done with rubber compounds here that Insa Turbo has been able to introduce its own off-road motorsport range, Ecorace, which uses the company’s latest Nanotech sidewall technology.

This toughened rubber sidewall compound is designed to offer more resistance against impacts against rocks and debris. Tested and developed by well known British-based comp safari racers Andy Degiulio and Andy Sargeant, the tyres are available in three compounds and two treads. Standard, soft and super-soft compounds offer variable combinations of grip and durability, and in conjunction with either the Sahara mud-terrain and Ranger all-terrain patterns they can

suit a variety of competitors and races.

All of this, and yet everything is still in keeping with Insa Turbo’s ethos of recycling premium cases in aid of the environment. Alongside the Ecorace series, Insa Turbo has also recently developed and released a new agship off road tyre, the K2. Robust and grippy, this is for dedicated off-roading and is designed to offer control and confidence over technical terrain There’ll always be naysayers, and retread makers have more than their fair share of them to put up with. But Insa Turbo hasn’t batted an eyelid. The company’s response has been to continue doing what it says it always set out to do – create top quality, eco-friendly tyres. It lets its product do the talking – and with so many new tyres joining its already formidable range, its product is talking loud and clear.

4x4 29/01/2019 19:10

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DRIVEN

TOYOTA LAND CRUISER UTILITY

New entry-level model dispenses with luxuries and high-tech toys to turn the Land Cruiser back into the simple off-road machine the rest of the world knows and loves DRIVEN Land Cruiser Utility 5dr Auto

E

ver since Toyota told us it was to bring in a Utility version of the Landcruiser, we’ve been itching to get our hands on one.

With steel wheels, cloth seats and an absence of the fancy toys that make higher-spec Landcruisers what they are (which is expensive, albeit wonderfully beguiling), it sounds to us like exactly the vehicle the offroad world has been crying out for.

The Utility comes to Britain at a time when the Land Rover Defender is a distant memory.

There’s been a new version of that vehicle on the way for an entire carindustry generation, and precisely no people among all those we’ve ever spoken to expect it to be a worthy successor to the simple off-road machine of old; in the

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absence of anything suitable with a green oval on it, former Land Rover loyalists have turned to one-tonne pick-ups for work and play alike.

A few off-roaders have also moved to the Jeep Wrangler, while those without a huge bankroll have stuck with the Suzuki Jimny. Both of these are about to be invigorated with all-new models, due to arrive just a few months after the Landcruiser Utility went on sale.

The problem with the Wrangler is that it costs from £44,495 new, or £45,995 in long-wheelbase form.

That puts it where the Landcruiser used to be – a great off-road truck with genuine built-in capability, but positioned here as a premium product and consequently priced too high to appeal to all but the richest off-roaders.

The Landcruiser, meanwhile, has come in the other direction. It used to be high-spec only, and no-one ever bought them for off-roading as a result, but with the arrival of the Utility you’re looking at a starting price of £33,955 for the three-door or £34,710 for the long-wheelbase model tested here.

The latter also offers an auto option, which bumps the price up to £37,090. So, still more than 15% less than the entry-level Wrangler – and Toyota dealers are willing to knock good sized chunks off the list price if you work the system, which we can’t see happening with the Wrangler any time soon.

So here we are in the unusual situation of looking at a Landcruiser and seeing the bargain option in the market. The new Jimny will be

cheaper, for sure (about half the list price of an entry-level Cruiser, we expect), but obviously there’s a difference in what the vehicles are.

And what this is is a Toyota Land Cruiser – which gives it unbeaten global cachet in the off-road world.

CABIN AND PRACTICALITY There’s an instant level of practicality that comes from being a base-spec vehicle. We’re not saying you’d buy one of these and instantly trash it, but you don’t feel the need to treat it like a piece of expensive jewellery when loading up with cargo or chucking muddy boots in the back. In every shred of its

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The tility s cabin loo s sparse at first if you re used to the high spec Invincible model, but you soon discover that it has everything you really need not least an outstanding driving position. oth rows of seats are good and spacious, and for carrying cargo the rear seats drop down to create a huge, square space that s very usable indeed image, it comes across as a sound tool that’s there to do a job, and it won t inch however hard you ask it to do it.

Inside, the seats are clad in a nice, tough fabric and the dash is made from a plastic that s hard but really strong and dense – there’s nothing brittle or scratchy about it at all Crucially, it s not in any way like being in a cheap or basic vehicle everything has the same feeling of stout, high uality robustness that we ve come to expect from a uarter of a century s worth of posh-spec Landcruisers. ou re not completely deprived of life s luxuries, either The tility model has air-con (as opposed to multi one climate, and it s all you need), cruise control, adjustable lumbar support and a media system that lets you connect your phone

by B for making calls and playing music There s no wood or leather anywhere, no clever wireless tricks or online connectivity built in, ust what ualifies as the essentials by today s standards and when you weigh up what you get against what you spend, it s pretty much the best udged kit list of any 4x4 we ve ever seen What you don t get is any form of reversing aid, which is a bit of a culture shock if you ve become used to such things Humankind came a long way using mirrors, though, and there’s a reason why nature gave us the ability to turn round and look behind us For sure, it s easier in vehicles with audible sensors, reversing cameras, surround view monitors and self parking functions, but a few days aboard the tility were

enough to demonstrate that you can wean yourself back off all these conveniences more easily than you might expect Besides, as with the higher spec versions of the Cruiser, you get a dominant seating position with a towering view of the road ahead, the landscape to the side or, indeed, whatever you re easing towards in reverse The seat is extremely comfortable, aided by the aforementioned lumbar adjust, and the shape of the bonnet – amended for the current model year helps you see what s ahead when manoeuvring at slow speeds There s plenty of room in all directions, too, and this is replicated in the back Bearing in mind of course that this is the five door we ve got here, legroom is excellent and you don t feel cramped up top

a crew of tall adults could cover plenty of ground aboard this vehicle without anyone getting restless It s an extremely competent load carrier, too, with a side-hinged rear door that opens to reveal a huge aperture and rear seats that fold as good as at It s not the very longest load area considering the vehicle s external dimensions, but it s plenty wide and tall you ll be able to get huge items on board, or an absolute skip load of smaller stuff Talking of smaller stuff, you re very well provided for with oddment stowage The glovebox is pretty cavernous, as is the cubby in the oor console and, a very nice surprise on hot days, the latter has an air con vent in it to keep your sandwiches from going manky In addition to this, the door pockets are good and there s a hefty si ed

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slot in the facia which we suspect dates from the days when people used to fill their cars with C s It all goes together to make an interior that’s as practical as it is well made – and which proves that there’s more to class than just laying it on thick with the toys

DRIVING You might somehow expect that the Utility will drive more like a fan than the high-spec models in the andcruiser range But you want for literally nothing in terms of performance, dynamics, ride or refinement If you like the way the fancier Cruisers drive, you ll like the way this drives – if anything, in fact, you’ll love it, because if anything, its taller tyres make it even more composed on the road These are 245/70R17s, which compare very nicely with the 265/55R19s you get on the rangetopping Invincible model They deal well with everyday thumps and bumps around town – obviously, nothing will change the fact that it’s a big, heavy off-road vehicle, but there s no harshness to the impacts To be fair, we recorded more or less exactly the same verdict on the Invincible last time we drove it, but

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we’d still say the tyres are doing their bit to keep it smooth Then you get it on to the motorway, and it s sensational We wouldn’t mind betting that the Utility doesn’t want for even one gram of the sound deadening material in the Invincible, and the smooth composure of its ride makes it an absolutely joy over long distances ngine noise is as good as absent; there’s a bit of a whistle from around the door mirrors, but what’s particularly noticeable is the almost complete lack of any commotion from the road Again, we said the same sort of thing about the Invincible we drove a few months back But in that case, we did get the odd thump from the back axle, and this time there wasn’t even any of that to remark upon It s beautifully settled on the motorway, with no need to be constantly readjusting the steering, and the cruise control system is extremely easy to set to exactly the speed you want – something that can’t be said about every 4x4 on the market On the subject of the Landcruiser’s steering, it’s effortless around town and well weighted at all speeds If you secretly wish you were driving a GT86 instead, you ll find it wanting for feel and

feedback, but if you find yourself wondering what that even means it’ll do all the things you want it to and none of the things you don t There are sportier 4x4s around (Toyota makes one of them, indeed), but though it’s not rapier-sharp in corners it can still be leant on without losing any of its composure The Utility model doesn’t have the same fancy air springs as the Invincible, but body control remains perfectly good when you’re driving with a smile on your face – and if you give it enough to be able to feel the difference in the sidewalls’ height in terms of tyre squirm, then frankly you re a ha ard to yourself There’s no shortage of pace if you do want to indulge your inner Carlos Fandango, though The 2 8 litre engine dishes up 1 bhp at 3400rpm and, more to the point, 2lbf ft from 1600rpm and as those numbers suggest, it pulls and pulls for as long as you keep asking it Acceleration isn t what you d call quicksilver, but it’s utterly assured and you get the feeling that it wouldn’t be slowed any by having a beast of a trailer on the back Said beast will be limited to 3000kg, however, which is a shame as it means the Landcruiser will be instantly dismissed many potential buyers in the agricultural sector

People who would once have bought a efender should be able to ock unreservedly to this vehicle, but without a towing ticket on the legal max it’ll be a busted ush for enough of them to make a difference ou can guarantee that when the new efender comes out, even if it’s the lame pose-truck everyone seems to expect it’ll still be plated to 500kg and Rover might refuse to be in uenced by its traditional fans, but it knows what makes its heartland buyers tick

OFF-ROAD Those heartland buyers are people to whom off-roading is a necessary evil, not a thing you do for laughs every other unday Which should make them ideal territory for the Landcruiser, because with its history as the go-to vehicle for NGOs, aid organisations and so on, putting in a shift of work in tough conditions is exactly what it s made for In particular, it makes ridiculously easy work of rough, unmade tracks – the sort of everyday green lanes that make up 95% of the off-roading people do in real life It s here that its name seems most appropriate – it really does feel like you’re cruising across the land

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★★★★★

VERDICT

The rear axle exes well on its coil springs, too, meaning that when the speeds need to slow right down to a crawl, it ll cover the ground very well One of our few criticisms of the tility spec list, though, is that it doesn t include a locking rear diff more elevated models get this, which means it is available via Toyota but also that the company sees it more as an item of big bucks ewellery than an essential traction aid for grubby conditions Once again here its engine is masterful, those giant tor ue reserves meaning you hardly have to rev it at all The automatic gearbox is well behaved, whatever mode you choose to put it into, and there s hill descent control available should you feel it necessary We found that low range made this completely redundant, which is the sign of a proper truck Manual models get a version of the engine with around 10 less tor ue but delivered at 1400rpm rather than 1600 We d expect them to be even better off road, which is saying something as we came away completely convinced by this example of the tility model It s agile, manoeuvrable and supremely tractable in all sorts of conditions, and with an eager aftermarket ready to help you turn it into your own version of the ultimate terrain tamer, the sky and your wallet are pretty much the limit when it comes to how far you want yours to go It really is that good

Toyota Landcruiser Utility A truly world-class vehicle – at a price that knocks every competitor out of the park If you’re not put off by the Landcruiser’s towing weight, it’s little short of being the perfect vehicle.

It’s great to drive in every situation, on and off road, it can be modified all yo want and its pricing means a Landcruiser now costs less than every even loosely comparable rival. Its residuals re ect the fact that it’ll probably o tlive s all, too. This is a phenomenal investment – and a living, breathing off-road legend.

29/01/2019 13:01

LEISURE TREASURE

Arkonik’s latest bespoke Land Rover 110 is a leisure wagon for a client who loves golf efinitely a driver’s car, then and not one whose engine goes putt-putt-putt. You can be sure the suspension won’t pitch, either in fact, they’ve got it down to a tee r maybe we’re ust talking balls WORDS: DAN FENN PICTURES: ARKONIK

W

e hear a lot about ‘lifestyle’ in the context of today’s SUVs, crossovers and general soft-road machinery.

But back in the day, what made 4x4s so popular in the first place was that old school motors, designed to work for their living down on the farm, also turned out to be perfect as leisure vehicles.

Yes, even the Land Rover Defender. In fact, you might say, especially the Land Rover Defender.

Rarely can a tool of work have sold in such enormous numbers to people who didn’t actually need one.

And it still does today. That’s why old 90s and 110s still change hands for almost as much

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as they did when they were new. Even more, in some cases – a refurbished Defender with some nice accessories on it can command absolutely amazing prices.

That’s the basis of a business plan which works well for a number of companies.

One of the most interesting of these is Arkonik, which buys in

4x4 29/01/2019 13:18

The air-conditioned cabin has been trimmed in cream leather by masters of the art Ruskin Design and features a 15” Evander wood-trimmed steering wheel. Look closer and you’ll see the screen behind which sits a high-spec Alpine sound system with Apple CarPlay and a built-in reversing camera suitable left-hand drive Defenders from Europe and turns them into extremely desirable lifestyle vehicles for a waiting market in North America.

Take the Fairway 110, for example. This was first registered in 199 , making it more than a quarter of a century old – but it’s just left the Arkonik factory looking good as new.

As the name suggests, the Fairway was created with a golfing theme in mind The customer who commissioned the build plans to use the vehicle on golf trips with his friends – when it’s not carrying his three labradors to the family’s lake house or being pinched by his two grown-up sons, who he says ‘are foaming at the mouth to use it as well.’

Finished in Pearl White, the 110’s style comes from a combination of 18” Sawtooth alloys, Satin Black wheelarches and chequer plate garnish, as well as red-rimmed twin Hella spotlights and a grille and wing top vents from KBX. Elsewhere, there’s a Puma bonnet, Ebony Fire and Ice side steps, Raptor-coated steering and front diff guard, LED work lamp and NAS rear step, as well as BFGoodrich KO2 All-Terrain tyres.

That’s not a bad start. But it’s on the inside that Arkonik has really gone to town The first thing you’ll notice are the seats, which have been

4x4 2pp Arkonik Fairway.indd 39

retrimmed by Ruskin Design using super-soft cream leather. The seats themselves are heated up front, and they’re set off by matching door cards as well as black anodised gear knobs and door furniture. There’s a black suede headlining, too, as well as an Evander 15” woodrimmed steering wheel.

In terms of practicality, the interior features lock boxes in the front and centre rows, while the rear seats are inward-facing tip-up jobs. Ideal for keeping them out of the way of those dogs…

On the electrical front, the cabin is airconditioned and lit by in ice-white LED array.

The standard stereo, meanwhile (oh, sorry, there was no standard stereo), has been replaced by an Alpine sound system with Apple CarPlay and a built-in reversing camera, ensuring the owner doesn’t have to drag his golf clubs even one step further than is absolutely necessary.

Of course, you don’t need to be a golfer to appreciate this Defender. Nor would you need to be into hunting, fishing, kayaking or whatever else might oat a person s lifestyle boat Mainly, you just need to be someone who can tell a really good truck when you see it. And whether or not you’d spec your own dream Defender like this one, that’s exactly what it is.

KBX grille (above) modernises the Defender’s face. Fire and Ice side steps and 18” Sawtooth alloys do li ewise for its side profile

MARCH 2019 | 39

29/01/2019 13:18

DRIVEN

MITSUBISHI L200 BARBARIAN

Once the undisputed leader of the pick-up market, the L200 these days has tougher competition than ever before. The Barbarian is its range-topping retort to its rivals DRIVEN L200 Barbarian Auto

T

he L200 will forever be credited for having brought the concept of the lifestyle double-cab to Britain Mitsubishi was the first car maker here to really figure out the potential of the market for high-spec trucks – and as a result, this is the third generation of L200 to tempt buyers with poshed-up models like the Barbarian.

If you leave out vehicles marketed under Mitsubishi’s Special Vehicle Projects brand, this is the range-topper in a line-up that also includes familiar names like 4Life, Titan and Warrior. All are well equipped – alloys, cruise, air-con, Bluetooth and USB are standard across the range – but in the model

tested here, you pay a premium of £6475 plus VAT over the entry-level model to add a range of equipment which, if you want a premium pickup, is well worth the money.

This includes obvious things like leather, climate and bigger alloys, plus full-time four-wheel drive and, as tested here, an automatic gearbox (stick with the manual version, and the price difference shrinks to £5075). In addition, this model features a recently updated multimedia display with a touch screen operating various sat-nav and infotainment functions.

What you don’t get, which you do on the entry-level 4Life, is a locking rear diff. In this way, the L200 follows the previous model;

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29/01/2019 12:59

Dash design is elegant enough to pass muster, and the cabin as a whole is executed in stout, high-quality materials.

Don’t expect anything soft-touch on the dash, but just because the plastics are hard doesn’t mean they feel cheap, and the controls are good. In particular, we liked the media system a lot more than those on previous versions we’ve driven of the current L200 versions with the Super-Select 4x4 system use traction control instead.

You can’t spec a proper locker as an option, so if you want the full luxury works but also want to be able to work your vehicle off-road to the maximum effect, you’ll need to look to the aftermarket.

CABIN AND PRACTICALITY It may be positioned towards the top of the L200 range, but the Barbarian doesn’t try to hide its

true nature – which is that of an honest workaday truck. Its dash is trimmed in hard plastics – however they feel strong rather than cheap, so they’re certainly becoming of a vehicle you’d put to work.

Likewise, while the seats are trimmed in leather it’s tough rather than soft. The driver’s seat is electric, too – though it doesn’t have adjustable lumbar support, and we found ourselves starting to shift about uncomfortably after an hour or so at the wheel.

The seating position is excellent, however, giving you a good view all round – though the reversing

camera on this model is a valuable aid nonetheless. The media screen in which it’s housed looks slick and as if it’s meant to be there (it’s mounted in the dash rather than on it, which is always a good start), and the entertainment side of the system works far better than those in L200s we’ve tested from previous model years.

In the back, scanning over our notes from those previous versions of the current L200 we’ve tested suggests we considered there to be enough legroom in them for one six-footer to sit comfortably behind another. Which, if we’re

honest, came as a bit of a surprise to discover, because this is an area in which we feel the vehicle shortchanges you somewhat. Certainly, we think there are a number of significantly roomier options in the pick-up market – and when a six-year-old in his car seat is asking daddy to move forward so he can fit his legs in properly, you know it s not generous.

Headroom in the back is somewhat limited, too; if you’re carrying a work crew of big lads, the ones here are apt to have their heads pressed into the roof lining.

They’ll get a pretty good view of

The seating position up front is excellent, and there’s plenty of space in which to stretch out. Leg and head room are both limited in the back, however. The seats themselves look and feel classy, but lumbar adjust is a big omission on such an elevated model. This particular L200 features an excellent automatic gearbox which, if you so desire, you can control using paddle switches on the steering column

4x4 4pp L200 Barbarian.indd 41

MARCH 2019 | 41

29/01/2019 12:59

‘Even when you put the boot in, the engine doesn’t raise its voice to an unreasonable degree’

the world outside, though, which is the silver lining to the high seating position back here.

DRIVING This L200 has a 2.4-litre engine, which is smaller than the models that went before it – but gruntier than ever. Its 178bhp and 317lbf.ft do a sterling job of winding up the auto box and shifting the truck, and even when you put the boot in the engine doesn’t raise its voice to an unreasonable degree.

The auto unit can also be controlled by paddles behind the steering wheel, which will forever strike us as being a bit incongruous in a work truck. However much they look like Formula One technology here to claim refugee status, however, they allow you to keep things in the guts of the rev range by short-shifting.

The common-rail unit delivers its power very smoothly, at any rate. There’s little in the way of vibrations, even when its worked

42 | MARCH 2019

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4x4 29/01/2019 12:59

hard, though you do get a bit of road and wind noise at speed. Still, the 200 remains a pretty refined truck in which to travel – you can certainly do long distances in it without getting upset.

On A and B-roads, it’s actually pretty enjoyable to chuck around, though you do need to use those paddles to keep the gearbox up with the plot. Leave it in auto mode, and it does its thing unhurriedly which is fine for general tooling around, but can be frustrating if you’re trying to push on as it takes its time to get the idea when what you want is a bit of urgency.

If that’s what you’re after, as far as we’re concerned there’s no substitute for a manual. But paddleshifting the auto works well enough to keep you happy most of the time, even if it doesn’t play on the truck’s gung-ho chuckability the same way as the real thing.

Ride-wise, too, the L200 shows how well mannered a vehicle can be on a live rear axle – even one with leaf springs. It doesn’t slop about in fast corners, and grip is excellent – even in 2wd with the traction control switched off, it didn’t get loose when provoked.

Instead, the L200 has that nice feeling of hefty substance to its steering and handling which can be so endearing in a truck. We even tried to upset it by going too fast over a lengthy series of speed pillows at the worst possible angle, and it remained more composed and comfortable than we ever would have thought possible.

OFF-ROAD As mentioned above, this version of the L200 has traction control but no locking diff in its back axle. We

don’t think much of that, but even so we’ve got to give it credit where credit’s due.

Taking our test vehicle off-road on its standard tyres, we went looking for somewhere to make it break traction. Articulation isn’t the best, especially up front, but it follows the ground very smoothly nonetheless – and, when all’s said and done, we struggled to find anywhere that would bring its traction control into play. That says to us that if we had a locker instead, we wouldn’t have had to engage it often if at all.

An excellent combination of engine and transmission helps here, providing a smooth, controlled delivery of torque in low range.

The automatic gearbox doesn’t misbehave when you’re taking extreme terrain at a crawl, and it even delivers quite effective compression braking so long as

you control it with the paddles.

Certainly, it feels as if it would get a long way on a set of mud-terrain tyres alone.

On that subject, the 4Life model comes on 16” rims as opposed to the Barbarian’s 17” units, so you’ll get a wider range of options in your chosen pattern – particularly if you’re looking to go up a size or two. That’s becoming less and less of an issue as time goes on and more and more all-terrain and mud-terrain patterns come on stream in 17” sizes and above, but you’ll still get the greatest choice by dropping down an inch or two on rims. The fact that the 4Work comes on 16-inchers proves that they’ll make it around the L200’s brakes, so if you want to spec a Barbarian that’ll really be capable of earning its living there should be nothing to stop you doing so using a set from the aftermarket.

VERDICT

★★★★

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Mitsubishi L200 Barbarian Excellent all-rounder with outstanding heritage and a good purchase price The current L200 is a big step-up over the previous model, particularly in terms of its interior, and there’s little to criticise about its engine and drivetrain. If you need an automatic, this is a good one. We’d still like to see a rear locker, though, and there’s a 62,500-mile limit on the five year warranty which loo s stingy, b t p rchase prices compare well against the competition – and the L200 still has an unmatched heritage in the UK market.

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46 | MARCH 2019

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DREAM BIGGER Y

A world-class modded Wrangler may well be the stuff of dreams. But with Bruiser’s dramatic 6x6 conversion, it’s a reality that far exceeds your wildest fantasies…

WORDS: GEORGE DOVE PICTURES: BRUISER CONVERSIONS

4x4 4pp Bruiser.indd 47

ou’ll know by now that that there’s a heartily splendid looking pick-up version of the new Jeep Wrangler JL on the way. It’s going to be called the Gladiator, and it’s getting ready to go on sale in America later this year.

But it won t be the first Wrangler pick up Obviously, Jeep itself has previous history going back a long way to the days of the much-loved Scrambler and beyond, but more recently you’ve been able to get aftermarket conversions based on the JK Unlimited model which make the most of its long wheelbase to create the sort of trucks we’d all like to be seen in.

If being noticed is important to you, indeed, there’s not much that’ll do the job with the same sheer chutzpah as a Bruiser conversion.

The company is based stateside (obviously), in Clearwater, Florida, and it makes some of the lairiest Jeeps of all time.

How do they do it? Well, remember the drawings you used to do in the back of your school books that sort of looked like a cross between a tank and a road-legal monster truck?

That’s how.

This here beautiful embodiment of automotive over-indulgence is simply called the 6x6, and you probably don’t need to have the reason for that explained to you. It started life as a JK Unlimited and has seen many additions to Jeep’s original spec list. Most notably the PAIR of Differential Engineering custom 9” axles beneath the truck bed – which is beautifully oak panelled and houses the seventh and spare 17” Hutchinson Beadlock wheel, dressed in 40x13.50R17 Toyo Open Country M/T rubber.

To manage the ride of the new set-up, Bruiser enlisted the help of Jeep aftermarket specialists JK Manufacturing This outfit tailored a J C suspension system to suit the brute, which rides on Fox coil-overs at the front and bypass shocks at the rear.

The front axle is a Dana 60 with an E-locker, and the wheels on either end of it are heaved this way and that by a PSC Steering Hydro Assist system. Replacing the original steering column,

MARCH 2019 | 47

29/01/2019 22:57

Power? It comes from a 6.8-litre LS engine from Turn Key Performance which, with a Kenne Bell Mammoth supercharger bolted on top of it, screams out a similarly mammoth 815bhp. So, yes, it has power…

this was designed especially for Bruiser and its LS conversion platform.

Oh yeah, the LS conversion…

The 6x6 doesn’t just look like it has bite: it HA bite erious, serious bite Bruiser has fitted a 415 cubic inch (6.8-litre) LS engine from Turn Key Performance that kicked out a whopping 500bhp. Notice the past tense verb, there. That wasn’t enough, which it clearly wasn’t, so on went a Kenne Bell Mammoth supercharger and up went the engine’s output to 815bhp.

It has bark to go with its bite, too, given that the hot air created alongside all that power is channelled through a Magna ow stainless steel exhaust system. An Advance Adapters Atlas

Twin Stick transfer case has been installed to cope with the monumental torque now going through the drivetrain, alongside a set of JE Reel Driveshafts.

All that technical stuff gives the 6x6 a serious level of capability, but that’s not where its utterly commanding presence comes from. Aside from the obvious, obviously. GenRight Off Road Aluminium fenders, I mean wheelarches, have been fitted modified at the back, if you d believe it), and inner arch liners have gone on at the front, too. GenRight also supplied the front bumper, which houses a 12-volt Warn 9.0Rc winch with 9000lbs of pull going through a Zeon 10s synthetic rope and Factor 55 Flatlink.

TNT Customs aluminium skid plates add to both the form and the function, something that could also be said of the plethora of additional lighting options fitted to the 6x6 The headlights have been replaced with 7” LED units from Truck ite, while the five installations of Rigid Industries’ equipment ensure you’ll be able to see everything, everywhere, from any angle.

These include a 50” light bar mounted above the windscreen, a JK grille light bar, rock lights, LEDs mounted ush to the rear skid plate and, finally, chase lights Oh, no, not uite finally there are also side mirror LEDs from Oracle Lighting.

With all of that, this particular Bruiser would look fantastic in any colour. But with its bedliner

‘The 6x6, like any Wrangler, is arguably better with tubular doors. If nothing else, they make it easier for everyone to see your Katskinz brown leather seats’

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4x4 29/01/2019 13:16

Above left: The Wangler’s interior is lifted by the addition of an Alpine Restyle head unit, and the dash highlights are colour-coded to match its bodywork Above right: The rear pick-up bed is beautifully trimmed out in oak panelling. It says something about the sheer size of the back body that the thing looking a bit lost in there is an fact a 40” spare wheel textured paintwork in military-esque green, plus a copper patina finish to its badging, it really is the stuff of dreams Bruiser could easily have called it a day there, and we d all still have been suitably impressed and blown away by this outlandish creation But the guys there have gone to town on its interior, too if you haven t fallen for the vehicle already by now, this really will win you over Climb up via the Amp Research sidesteps which you ll definitely need and you ll set yourself down into a brown Katskin leather seat Before you there s a new look to the dash,

4pp Bruiser.indd 49

thanks to an Alpine Restyle head unit complete with speakers from the new J Wrangler which is set off in the same green as the bodywork Believe it or not, though, everything in this brutish six wheeler isn t tailored solely for the driver, with a dash mounted grab bar and JK handles from Carolina Metal Masters The 6x6, like any Wrangler, looks cool with tubular doors, and if that s what you prefer then no problem ike all bespoke coachbuilders, Bruiser is exible and works with its clients But when the guys there are busy showcasing ideas like this, we d be more than happy ust to leave them to it

29/01/2019 13:16

BLACK

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4x4 29/01/2019 13:11

beauty

Look-at-me builds are part and parcel of the pick-up scene.

But despite being one of the sexiest vehicles we’ve seen in a long time, this XS4x4-built Toyota Hilux is far more than just a show pony – it’s laden with top-quality off-road kit which just happens to look as cool as it actually is

P

WORDS: DAN FENN PICTURES: XS4X4

4x4 4pp XS4x4 Hilux.indd 51

ick-up trucks have come to represent a ma or part of the high end modified 4x4 market over the last few years – with the Ford Ranger taking the lion’s share of the spoils. But, while there has been no shortage of outstanding overland builds making the most of the Ranger’s undoubted abilities in this area, a truly astonishing number of blinged-up pavement princesses with nothing in the way of hardcore mods has done little to help the vehicle’s standing among dedicated off-road enthusiasts.

It depends how you define bling, of course To many people, simply going off-road at all in a new vehicle ualifies To others, doing it with any thoughts at all for your truck’s appearance is a sin. Most of us would be a little less stern about matters and agree that a truck built with offroading in mind can’t be all bad – and, indeed, so long as it’s not just a show pony with nothing to offer, the cooler you make it look, the better. ither way, we can t think of any Toyota Hilux builds we’ve seen that could be accused of being all show and no go. Some are guts and glory jobs from the old days, others are big-budget numbers with late letters on their number

MARCH 2019 | 51

29/01/2019 13:11

The Hilux rides on a TJM suspension kit made up of +40-50mm (just under 2”) coils and leaves and uprated shocks.

Polyurethane bushes are used throughout and the rear leaf springs run greasable shackles plates, but even though many have been stunning looking trucks, they’ve all been built with proper action in mind.

Part of the reason for that is that one of the biggest names in Hilux building right now is XS4x4. The Dorset company specialises in importing high-quality kit, some of which has serious eye-candy credentials – but even this is

still first and foremost serious heavy duty kit for pro-level off-road builds.

The Hilux in these pictures is a good example of that. By anyone’s standards, it looks tasty.

It’s a current-model Invincible X automatic which XS4x4 was commissioned to build for a customer abroad – and while it would able to do a sterling job as a look-at-me motor, the kit

that’s gone on to it is all the sort of stuff it takes to make a good truck better.

This included the sort of stuff you might expect, like lifted suspension, bigger tyres, a heavy-duty front bumper, underbody protection and enough LEDs to be seen from space. A feature of everything that went on here is that it all came from top-rated suppliers – all of

Below: Off came the standard front bumper, to be replaced by a Rhino4x4 unit whose sleek appearance disguises the fact that it s so solid you could moor the r oyal on it. This is an absolutely classic e ample of a modification that s about show and go in equal measures – there are probably people who’ve bought these bumpers for their trucks without having any clue that what they re fitting is an absolutely top class bit of off road it. imilarly, wheelarch ares loo e tremely cool, as well as being necessary to eep the vehicle legal on its fat tyres ight ne of s most popular brands is ival a ussian company whose underbody protection plates have become a default fit for many leading professional vehicle builders. The Hilux features a four-part kit fabricated from 6mm aluminium, which protects the radiator, steering, engine, transmission and fuel tank

52 | MARCH 2019

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4x4 29/01/2019 13:11

Above left: In the back, a Rock’n’Lock top helps keep the owner’s possessions safe from prying eyes and hands, not to mention the elements. A slide-out tray, meanwhile, makes it a whole lot easier to get at those possessions if you’re the person who actually possesses them. Further secure stowage comes in the shape of two side-mounted Maxbox cases from Maxliner bove right This multi colour rear bar from includes tail bra e lights, white oodlights and a miniature amber beacon with strobe capability. Call it bling if you want to, but KC would argue that it’s a highly functional item that helps make your truck that bit safer on and off-road them imported by XS4x4, natch – and all helped the vehicle look good while also enhancing its already formidable off-road capability.

There were a few mods, too, that went on just for visual effect. But you can forgive that when a vehicle is running so much pukka hardware.

The accessories were all painted, too (where appropriate, obviously), while the lights and side windows were tinted to match.

The overall result? In our humble opinion (humble but, obviously, right), this truck

looks absolutely wicked from every angle. It’s understated, for sure, and all the better for it – because the more you look at it, the more functionality you see.

And for sure, functionality has rarely looked as good as this. We won’t confess to knowing what the vehicle’s owner plans to do with the build he (or indeed she) commissioned, and perhaps the Hilux is destined to spend its days pounding the pavements in some corner of the world. But we wouldn’t mind betting that it’s

going to get used properly, too – underbody guards don’t score you any cool points on the road, after all.

Either way, this is another of those Hiluxes we were on about that look superb – thanks to being superb. It wasn’t cheap to build (its owner did get a bit of change out of fifty grand, but not ever so much), but you can spend a lot more money to get a lot less off-road hardware.

And you probably won’t get such a knockout looker, either.

ilderness ighting was one of s first brands when it started importing off-road equipment to the UK. The Hilux features not one but two of the company’s Duplex bars – a 20” unit on the bumper and a 40” beast above the windscreen. The grille, meanwhile, mimics the one fitted on the celebrated Tonka Hilux built by Toyota’s Australian imported a couple of years back, and the bonnet has been adorned with an air scoop which adds no small amount of visual drama

4pp XS4x4 Hilux.indd 53

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16/4/18 4:09 pm

THE TIME OF SANDS

Getting to grips with the dark art of dune-bashing on a holiday excursion to the northern

WORDS AND PICTURES: PETTER MINOLO

L

iving in Britain, as an off-roader you can go through your whole life without ever driving on sand. There’s a few lanes here and there with about half an inch of the stuff sprinkled over their surface, and one or two hills in Hampshire’s military reserves that faintly resemble dunes, but the sort of sand that is off-roading in some parts of the world just doesn’t

56 | MARCH 2019

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exist. Pendine Sands is fun, but it doesn’t count.

Not when the average 4x4 in Oz, the Middle East, parts of the USA and much of North Africa spends most of its life on the stuff, it doesn’t. And that, of course, means one simple thing: most Brits haven’t a clue how to drive on it.

That’s not me being patronising.

I am most Brits, here. Put me on a set of tyres that’s all skin and bones,

4x4 29/01/2019 18:03

National Luna fridge-freezer range available from APB Trading

fringes of the Sahara Desert

show me the mud and like most of us, I’ll fancy my chances. Rocks, I’ll have a go at, knowing full well that we don’t really have any of those here either. But sand – proper deep, dry, power-sapping sand that goes on and on as you’re trying to climb a dune that disappears into the sky as the sun screams in your eyes – faced with that, I’m a duffer.

I say I am a duffer. Maybe I ought to say I was a duffer. Because this

4x4 8pp Travel.indd 57

story dates back to a trip a friend and I took to Tunisia a few years ago. I’d done plenty of off-roading in the UK, and a bit in places like France and Italy, so I’d seen at least a bit of variety. But I’d heard about the Saharan dunes from people who’d been to Morocco, and I was determined that in between the bouts of sunbathing, we were going to get ourselves on to some sort of 4x4 excursion. I wanted to see for

myself what this dune-bashing lark was all about.

Something I already knew from the tales my friends had brought back from Morocco was that a 4x4 course out here isn’t the same as the ones we have back home. You don’t get a lesson from an instructor who tells you how to do it then sits patiently in the passenger’s seat while you get to grips with the technique. No, you get shoved in the back of a Land Cruiser, hang on for your life as your ‘guide’ hammers along like a rally wannabe then, when you finally make it to the dunes, you might get the chance to drive a bit if he’s not too busy showing off to his mates.

Yet I still wanted to do this. I was really keen to learn about dunebashing, you see.

First, I learned that what classes as a ‘road’ on the fringes of the Sahara might not look much like one when you get there. As we swung off the tarmac after a predictably fraught session of body roll and howling rubber, our driver told us that this was the road to some oasis or other. Could have fooled me. It felt for all the world as if we were just tooling along on virgin sand. That’s how heavily buried the track was: just a road, like any other road, but we’d already found deeper sand than the sandiest track in Britain.

Then we got to the dunes and lo and behold, our guide turned out to be one of the sociable

A GOOD MANY overland travellers set off to see the world with a National Luna fridge in the back of their truck. The South African company makes some excellent fridge-freezers which are ideal for putting in the back of your 4x4 when you head away from what passes for civilisation.

A fridge-freezer naturally extends your ability to keep food for weeks if necessary.

It’ll do the same for beer, but obviously isn’t possible to imagine a scenario in which this would actually happen.

This here is National Luna’s 60-litre fridge-freezer. It’s not exactly something that will fit nder yo r seats, at 75x42.5x53.5cm, but it gives you separate fridge and freezer compartments with top loading so you don’t need a big space in front of it for side doors.

Stainless steel construction means the unit is made for life on the road, and its cooling plates run right rough it, meaning no need for internal fans. It’s designed to work off mains electricity but will switch to battery if this isn’t present – and it only weighs 23kg, so if you want to put your life into picnic mode you can lift it out of your truck and cart it around with you.

Priced from £1198.80, the fridge-freezer is available from ABP Trading. They’re at www. expedition-equipment.com.

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29/01/2019 18:03

Posh pots and pans for proper off-road chefs

MOUNTAIN SAFETY RESEARCH sounds like a name for the sort company that does something naughty that’s completely different from researching mountain safety, Smuggling weapons of mass destruction into America in a James Bond movie, for example, or cosying up to a social media dinosaur to sponge up your personal data.

Happily, it does neither of these things. Though what the Ceramic Flex Skillet and Titan Kettle have to do with mountain safety is beyond us.

The kettle is a 2.0-litre job in lightweight titanium. It’s part of a collection which also features an aluminium pot set whose lid contains its own built-in strainer, as well as the aforementioned skillet – which can be used for cooking stir-fry and even pizza.

This might all seem a bit fancy to an off-road adventurer. But between breakfast, lunch, dinner and hot drinks, you’ll use your 4x4’s kitchen more than a thousand times on a big overland trip, so it pays to invest in good kit.

Which is very much what this is o can even get a at packed Long Tool Spoon and Fork with cut-outs at one end for adjusting a stove. And if anything’s essential to safety in the mountains, it’s that.

ones. Attentive, patient with our clumsy efforts and not interested in posturing to his friends.

They were quite interested in us, though, when my first ever attempt to scale a dune ended with one bellied out Land Cruiser. When you’re used to low second being the answer to almost everything that points upwards, finding that doing what you’ve always done suddenly doesn’t work any more is really quite disconcerting.

In mud, momentum is critical to maintaining traction. On sand dunes, it s critical to oating over the surface. Both will see you sinking in if you lose it, but whereas in mud you can sometimes battle through by spinning your wheels like mad and sawing the wheel from side to side, sand is much less forgiving.

One thing that is the case on either kind of surface is that you’re

supposed to let the car in front clear the hill before starting on it yourself. So all I can do is hold my hands up to this one. The guy in the Cruiser ahead of me paused as he crested the ridge, forcing me to lift – by which time I was already well on my way up. Stupid, stupid me.

So there we are, perched on top of a dirty great sand dune with our wheels spinning uselessly. And you know what? Here’s another similarity between Britain and North Africa. When this happens, people gather round, laugh at you and take pictures.

They also tow you out, which is just as well as I’d be dead in the desert now if they hadn’t. But what I didn’t know was that our guide was actually a bit of an off-roading expert, and moments later we were gliding up and down the most monstrous dunes in the area is if they weren’t there.

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8pp Travel.indd 58

4x4 29/01/2019 18:03

Watching other vehicles from the bottom, it looked terrifying. But from the safety of the passenger’s seat, it was amazing how sedately we trickled up and down the slopes.

Locking the diffs certainly helped (the last thing you want to do on the way up a dune is steer, so the front one can go in without a worry), and the big engine in the 105-Series Cruiser barely seemed to rev beyond tickover as our driver showed us, in no uncertain terms, how it’s done.

I kept my eyes open after that, and started noticing just how dominant the Land Cruiser is in this part of the world. Back where you can actually see the tarmac, old Peugeot estates are very popular, and I even saw a Simca 1501 parked outside a roadside shop.

But once the sand takes over, the Land Cruiser is king. Completely and utterly – I’d say they account for 90% of the cars I saw that day.

They’re white, too, every single one of them. Fortunately there are no supermarket car parks to lose yours in.

As you probably know, they’re not Land Cruisers of the kind we have in Britain. In the time that’s passed since I went off-roading in Tunisia, Toyota GB has spotted a gap in the market for a sensibly specced off-road truck and introduced the Utility version of the 150-Series Cruiser, but the big beasts are long gone. And even when the 80, 100 and 200-Series Land Cruisers did come to Britain, it was only ever in high-spec, high-price luxury trim.

Go to Africa, on the other hand, and those big beasts are commonplace in a far more basic form. Our 105-Series was basically a version of what used to be called

the Amazon here with a lowertech nonturbocharged engine, a simple manual gearbox and a live front axle.

Put simply, the British version of this Land Cruiser was built for British motorways and school runs: the African version was built for Africa.

I was allowed back into the driver’s seat for another shot at the dunes before we had to head back to our resort.

This time, at least I waited until the truck ahead of me had cleared the crest before getting on the gas, and this time I made it up and over. It wasn’t smooth, and I’m pretty sure I used at least twice as much throttle as our expert guide, but I managed to follow the technique – don’t back off until you hit the tipping point at the top, then be ready to get straight back on again.

Basically, there’s a thin line between bogging down on the crest of a dune and launching yourself off the top of it like a fighter plane being fired from an aircraft carrier on the end of a steam catapult.

When you see videos online of people driving in dunes, it almost

Styish bumper, serious purpose

always seems to be of them larking around, and because the sand’s so deep there’s always a nice, soft landing. Well, those dunes can be very, very high (vertigo territory with ease), and mastering them takes a mixture of subtle technique and enormous discipline.

No small amount of patience, either, I’d say. Or maybe that’s just when you’re a local expert letting the likes of me try to get our heads around the terrain you take for granted I d driven my first dune, learned some stuff the hard way and gone back not so much better at it as, just maybe, a bit less bad.

I’m a duffer in sand, remember… and no amount of confidence in the mud is ever going to change that.

BELGIAN OUTFIT TREKK is offering this winch bumper designed to suit any Land Rover Defender – and it’s as stylish as it is rugged. Which is to say it’s very stylish.

We say that because it’s very rugged, obviosuly. A straight swap-in for the original bumper, it’s made from 5mm powder-coated steel and comes with a mounting plate which Trekk 4x4 promises will take any make of winch.

The company says that in designing the bumper, it thought of all the practical issues that go with using a winch. Sounds promising.

A price of 1496.65 Euros might be less so. That’s currently about £1300; there are cheaper Defender bumpers, but it looks a lot like you’re getting what you pay for here.

Classic-style water canteen

THIS CANTEEN FROM 1948 Original Equipment is designed in the proper shape, with a leather cover to protect it and a long strap so it can go over your shoulder or across your body. It’s made from extruded aluminium, with a liner that passes all food and drink legislation. It looks rugged and stylish and has the company’s logo on one side of the leather cover.

The canteen costs £20 and holds a litre of liquid, which should be enough when you realise you really are lost. We never said it had to be a litre of water…

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29/01/2019 18:03

LET’S GET THIS STARTED

How do the first days of a round-the-world expedition feel

when the first thing you do is

WORDS: MIKE TROTT PICTURES: JENNY BRIGHT AND GAVIN LOWRIE

O

verland tavellers’ tales come in all shapes and sizes. This one is a bit different to the norm: it’s the story of actually getting an expedition underway.

Jenny Bright and Gavin Lowrie put plenty of preparation into their global travels, which got underway about three years ago. A few months prior to setting off, they took themselves on a shakedown

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trip to Morocco in order to test their level of vehicle prep and learn about what worked and what didn’t – and, most of all, to get them ready for the epic adventure that lay ahead.

Their choice of transport for the journey was Ruby, a 300Tdiengined Land Rover 110. Even a brand new vehicle with the best build quality in the world is going to want some spanner work in the

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Technical sleeping bag at a size to suit all

put your truck in a container

course of two hard years, and here we are talking about a Defender from the mid-1990s… very wisely, Jenny and Gavin both embarked upon a mechanics’ course before setting off.

Following the aforementioned shakedown trip to Morocco, they also switched roof tents. ‘We loved our old Howling Moon tent,’ says Jenny But it still took fifteen minutes to put up and down and

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involved Gav having to get on the roof in all weathers to put the cover on. We didn’t want to do this for two years, so we invested in the Maggiolina, which is a lot faster to use.’

At this point, though Jenny and Gavin did have an itinerary set out in their minds they didn’t have a timescale. Both had resigned from their jobs, they’d rented out their home and, funds permitting, the

plan was to be on the road for a couple of years.

We will spend the first year going from Colombia to Ushuaia, the southernmost tip of Argentina,’ said Jenny at the time. ‘This will take us through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. ‘Ruby will have a rest over Christmas while we go by boat to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica, and then we will drive through Patagonia alternating between Chile and Argentina.’

Sounds like hell, right? If just hearing those names doesn’t make you want to pack up a truck of your own and hit the road, you need to get out more. Literally.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the couple’s plan for year two was to ship Ruby to Malaysia then drive home through Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and, finally, urope There’s plenty more in the way of evocative names there, too, though there are also some scary ones. A crucial part of planning an expedition is to stay exible local con icts, arbitrary rule changes and even the wonderful world of

A COSMIC SLEEP experience might all sound a bit Cheech and Chong. But that’s what US company Therm-a-Rest says you’ll get from its Questar HD sleeping bag.

This, it says here, has ThermaCapture and zoned ins lation and is filled with Nikwax Hydrophobic Down.

Put all this together and you get a three-season sleeping bag which will allow you to sleep in the great outdoors even if the temperature is below zero.

It will allow your mate Big Fat Dave to do so too, because it’s available in three sizes. All that leaves you to do is put up with his contented snoring.

Unlike Big Fat Dave, the Questar HD has, it claims, ‘nailed the tricky trifecta’.

This is a reference to its combination of weight, price and warmth, apparently.

While we’re on the subjct of price, it’s £210. Not cheap for a sleeping bag – but a bargain for a cosmic sleep experience.

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‘A week after Ruby had arrived at the docks, the container could be thrown open and she could… refuse to start’

geography can rear their heads at any time, making it necessary to think again – at a moment’s notice and sometimes in a very big way. ot that it needs to take fire, ood, earth uakes or social unrest to throw a spanner in the works.

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With the couple s itinerary starting in Columbia, step one was to ship Ruby from Tilbury in ssex to the port of Cartegena And the fun started before they had even loaded her up We drove Ruby down from eeds, where we

live, says Jenny And we ran out of fuel on the way, because we had been told to run the tank right down to a thimble full for packing her in the shipping container!’

Once refreshed, Ruby was packed into her container and duly set sail from Tilbury… leaving Jenny and Gavin to spend what was presumably the longest week of their lives waiting to follow suit We ew from Manchester to ew ork on the 2 rd May and then from ew ork to Cartagena on the 25th, recalls Gavin It actually worked out cheaper that way, so rude not to New York has its attractions, but they re very different to what Jenny and Gavin were looking forward to once they hit the road It s the freedom of being able to choose our own routes, stop when we want, wild camp in some of the most beautiful places on

arth and live a much simpler life without loads of stuff Jenny exclaims I am also looking forward to Antarctica as it will be my final continent and is one of the most beautiful And meeting new people and trying new things is always part of the en oyment ess en oyable, often, for Brits when we travel abroad is the heat And so it was in this case: being on the Caribbean coast, Cartagena is very hot and humid Jenny admits that this took they by surprise Our air con in the vehicle consists of having the windows wound down, and In the roof tent at night it was so humid that it was hard to sleep On the plus side, you have a vibrant culture with music in the air and people dancing in the streets It has a beautiful colonial centre that s a World Heritage ite, and our apartment was right on the coast, says Jenny We learnt very

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quickly how friendly the people were and how grateful they were that we were visiting their country.

We loved it!

‘Given its historical problems, Colombia has really turned a corner and felt a very safe and friendly place to visit. It has been our favourite country so far because of the people and the variety of beautiful landscapes.’

Not just that, either. ‘We had a date to meet the Colombian Land Rover Club at Villa De Leyva for their annual meet, having contacted them through Facebook and being overwhelmed by their invitations.’

Which can only mean one thing: they needed their Land Rover.

Problem. Ruby’s container ship docked in Cartagena on 31st May, which just happened to be a local bank holiday. Nothing doing.

Not to worry, Cartagena is a nice place to hang out. Still, it was a relief when, finally, people stared drifting back to work… whereupon the red tape could start.

At last, exactly a week after arriving at the docks, the container doors could be thrown open and Ruby could… refuse to start. Out with the spanners, on with a new battery and starter motor from the spares box… and finally, action By now it was 12th June and the couple could be forgiven for feeling

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a little agitated. Just as well they weren’t chasing a timescale, right?

Finally, though, they were able to fire up Ruby s 00Tdi and point her blunt nose towards Tayrona National Park. You need to Google this place: it’s beyond beautiful.

Here, they spent three nights camping wild in an absolutely idyllic spot overlooking the Caribbean Tropical rainforests, white sandy beaches, a stint up the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the famous Lost City trek to Cuidado Perdido… any sympathy you might have had for them after the starter motor thing has probably evaporated by now.

‘We then headed south to Santa Marta and San Gil,’ recalls Gavin.

The Colombian military line stretches down the road and they individually give you the thumbs up sign as you drive past This is to let road users know that it’s safe to pass. Friendly as ever, the local people were so interested in Ruby – particularly because she is a right-hand drive in a left-hand drive country.’

At this early stage, Jenny and Gavin were relishing the travel experience they were already having but wondering if they had packed too much. Presumably this concern didn’t stretch to their spares supply, though…

QUQUQ camp module from 4x4 Overlander turns your truck into a go-anywhere motorhome

HMMMM, THAT’S NOT what you’d call a particularly simple name to write, is it? Easy to start, hard to know when to stop. And as for trying to pronounce it, at least without ending up sounding like a chicken trying swallow a gobstobber, that’s just having a laugh from the word go.

But the idea behind QUQUQ is a great deal simpler than the name its manufacturer dreamt up for it (and let’s face it, a word like that can only really come to you in a dream). All you have to do is haul a box out of storage, shove it in the back of your 4x4 and you’re set.

Because you’ve just put in a bed, a kitchen and storage space on board, all in one go.

The QUQUQ module is available from 4x4 Overlander and has everything cleverly packed away so that when you open it up, there in front of you is your kitchen with cupboards, complete with a twoburner stove, 20 litres of water, a sink, worktop and stowage. The ability to create coq au vin is down to you, but when you think about it so is the ability create beans on toast.

Then, when you’re tired at the end of the day, you pull a handle and the bed pops out on the top, complete with foam mattress. The beauty of this is that you don’t need to do much – meaning you don’t have to worry about attaching the system to your vehicle, other than load it p in the first place, and then once yo ’re o t there in the world beyond your window you don’t need to do much to get your bed up and good to go.

It may be somewhat telling that the QUQUQ is offered for a wide range of vans and people carriers. As you can see from the picture, it’s also available for the Land Rover 110, but it’s mainly aimed at people who fancy a bit of adventure in their vehicle but don’t want to do a full-on overland build.

In effect, rather than turning your vehicle into an expedition truck, with one of these on board you’re turning it into a motorhome. There are those who’d sooner chew their own arm off than be seen in the kind of motorhome you see grinding up Sutton Bank dragging a Smart behind it on an A-frame, but who’d happily tool around all day long in a Land Rover or something similarly cool, so if that’s you this could well make you think the unthinkable.

The QUQUQ system is robust and light, with waterproof wood, aluminium and stainless much in evidence, so you don’t need a team of brawny blokes to get you on your way. It’s made in Germany, so the ality loo s first rate, and yo certainly get a lot of it as standard Worth a look – which you can do at www.4x4overlander.com.

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OUR 4X4S: PROJECT OFF-ROAD 90

Should it stay or should it go

A year has passed since the oined our eet –but in that time, its owner has hardly used it at all. So, is it time to admit that this is the wrong vehicle… or just the right vehicle in the wrong ob

J

ust over a year has passed since I bought my Land Rover Defender 90. Back then, I had visions of setting out in it every other weekend to explore the lanes, the same way I used to last time I owned one.

The reality has been a bit different. Back then, I didn’t have kids, or a mortgage, or any of that stuff.

I also didn’t have the regular test vehicles that are a happy consequence of my job, so the 300Tdi I used to own was very much a daily driver.

Back then, it was also possible to park a Defender outside your house for more than two nights in a row without it getting stolen.

So the 90 gets kept under lock and key and is only used very occasionally. It’s no use for car-

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rying my kids, as I won’t risk putting them in the side-facing rear seats which have long since been banned, and taking it on long-range laning trips is a bit of a busted ush because B B proprietors tend not to like it when their guests stay up all night keeping watch over their car park with a samurai sword at the ready.

I know, I know, that’s me being over-protective and paranoid, and you could say that in doing so, I’m letting the criminals win. I’m also fully aware that you can get factory-spec front-facing rear seats on the aftermarket, though they cost about five and a half times what I spent on my first car There’s another issue, which I wasn’t expecting but which took me right back to the days of my

old 90. When I was about 15, I trashed my left knee playing badminton and the joint in there has been dodgy ever since. What this means is that I need to straighten my leg every so often to let the ligament rest, or else it’ll start to hurt like hell.

And guess what you can’t do in the driver’s seat of a 90? Not unless you’ve got shorter legs than mine, at any rate.

So I don’t get the chance to use it very often, when I do I mainly can’t anyway and when I can, I end up walking like I’ve just been given a rough seeing-to be a randy elk. Oh yes, and I’ve just had to renew the road tax… which cost about £550.

So far, I reckon the 90 owes me about £35 per green lane in tax alone.

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So, like so many Defender owners, my attention is turning away from the reason I bought it in the first place Apparently now there are clubs that have started running RT trials set out specifically for Freelanders, because nobody wants to bend or scratch their 90s anymore I don t want to be that guy I want to drive a proper off roader… the efender absolutely is one, and I love it, but I want one my family can ride in, that I can park at night without The Fear and that won t cripple my leg any more than it al ready is o now I m thinking in terms of returning it to its original form because, let s be blunt about it, they re worth more that way Are they worth enough to warrant the effort it would take, though? Don’t let’s forget that a pressing lack of time is one of the reasons why I ve not been using it in the first place The answer, in my mind at least, is that some of the mods can come off easily and tidy it up without making more problems than they solve, but others would open up a whole new can of worms o… what should stay and what should go…?

Engine art of the 90 s appeal is that it started out as a Twisted vehicle It s had more stuff done to it since, but it runs an uprated management chip, wider intercooler and performance exhaust

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When the 90 was just a few months old, it was given a thorough working-over

by Twisted erformance. The or shire company sold it is a modified off road machine, having first chipped its Td engine and fitted ancillary mods li e a sports exhaust system and full-width intercooler The original figures uote an output of 1 0bhp I can t put my hand on my heart and say I can tell the difference between it and any of the many factory standard Td5s I ve driven, but it certainly sounds fruity and that s probably half the battle ither way, I don t much fancy messing with it in this area A good old steam clean will freshen

A R TO

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it up under the bonnet, for sure, but otherwise my instinct is absolutely to let sleeping dogs lie It starts and runs very reliably, which as far as I m concerned is all a sane person should ever ask of a efender, and simply by dint of not being the later uma engine it makes me happy every time I turn the key

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OUR 4X4S: PROJECT OFF-ROAD 90 This picture doesn’t actually show the full extent of the e ibility in the suspension, as the was in the process of standing on its nose at the time. It’s not one of the insanely high-articulation set-ups that were all the rage bac in the noughties, but it does the ob very comfortably on anything a green lane will throw at you

Suspension

Snorkel

It’s on something like a 2” lift, and the shocks haven’t turned into blancmange yet. If I were reverting it back to 100% original, for sure this would go back to standard, but I’m not convinced it’s worth the fuss – especially as the 90 is still running a standard tyre size (265/75R16) and looking pretty normal on it. If it was any more than 2” and there was a set of 35s under there, it would be a different matter.

Very similar to the cage. It says the vehicle was prepped for off-roading – though again that it was prepped right. In addition, removing it would mean leaving the right wing with a mighty great hole in it, which is never a good look. At least its mounts aren’t drilled into the windscreen surround, though. As with the cage, too, a snorkel is an accessory many people fit without ever expecting to need it

Cage This is a big one. The cage is of course a huge advert for the fact that the truck was built for off-roading. But removing it is a major job that leaves holes everywhere – and there are plenty of people out there who appreciate the value of a cage even though they don’t plan to head straight for their nearest playday site. The fact that it’s a Performance and Protection structure helps make it worth keeping, too, because if you know what you’re looking at this is a name that says the vehicle was done properly in the first place

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Winch and bumper There’s nothing like a gnarly great winch for messing with the clean lines of a vehicle’s front end – especially if, like my 90’s, they look like the wrong end of a dead crab that’s just had all the barnacles knocked off it. I should add that my

Britpart DB9000 still works a treat, but the plight of the top cover is pretty ugly. A good thing about Defenders is that you can remove their front bumpers very easily, and that’s what I intend to do, taking with it both the winch and the huge driving lamps mounted on top of the A-bar which, in this modern world of LEDs, to my eye look more than a little ridiculous. There are fancy-dan options out there to replace it with but, given that this will still be a down-to-earth 90 at heart, my feeling is that as standard as possible is the way to go.

4x4 29/01/2019 21:29

A slick bumper set-up can enhance the look of a vehicle, but this one is earmarked for removal. Nothing wrong with the bumper itself, nor with the way the winch works, but it’s all looking a bit scabby and when we take the 90 back to more standard form, a factory copy will make it a lot tidier. The winch case hasn’t stood the test of time – and those driving lamps are very pre-LED in their styling

265x75R16 BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains on steel modulars are a classic combo.

Being an XS model, though, this 90 should be on Boost alloys, and decent ones are cheap enough on eBay to be a no-brainer. The rock sliders will most likely stay on, but the body sliders interrupt the classic ow of the efender s oh-so-familiar lines and we reckon it’ll look smarter without them. The snorkel will stay, because everybody loves a snorkel, and so will the roll cage – though the little LEDs on top of it are set to be fetched off with glee

Wheels and tyres As I mentioned above, the 90 is on 265/75R16s, which is fine Interestingly, they re first generation BFGoodrich Mud Terrains, which BFG stopped making about a decade ago so it s a measure of how little the 90 s been used that they ve still got most of their tread The tyres are on steel mod ulars, but to take this 90 back towards standard you d need to remember that it s an model meaning it left the factory on Boost alloys Hard not to feel that with not too scabby examples to be had for around fifty sheets a throw, this would be a prudent investment in taking the truck back to the way it once was

Rock and tree sliders Further evidence of a life lived in the rugged lane, these But given the level of protection they offer

to the efender s otherwise very vulnerable and very very expensive doors, not to mention the instant ackability they offer anyone who s got a high lift and knows how to use it, you d be hard pushed not to say the rock sliders make a strong case for themselves The tree sliders on the sides of the back body could come off without as much of a fuss, though and given the way they inter rupt the lines of the 90 s standard profile, which is a pretty big part of its universal appeal, that s probably the smart thing to do

Fuel tank h? es This particular 90 has two of the things ery handy to some people, unlikely to put any one off and a complete poultice to dig out, so it won t surprise you to learn that I m going to leave well alone

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OUR 4X4S: PROJECT OFF-ROAD 90 Roof lights Oh how I hate these things. I’d owned the 90 for about two or three weeks when someone at work pointed out that they had started ashing on and off at random and lighting up the car park like a disco. Well, it was raining, so what did I expect? Out came the fuse and that’s how things have stayed ever since. A more permanent solution beckons, involving eBay. Or the bin.

So that’s a few areas to think about, then. Writing it down, I’m actually surprised at how little I actually intend to remove from the 90, which does go to show that in truth it’s never really been that heavily modified Back when I owned my old 300Tdi, this 90 would have been considered a very serious example of the breed, but by today’s standards it would probably be seen by most people as a decently sorted laner but no more than that. It doesn’t have locking diffs, cryo-treated halfshafts, ultra exy suspension, race spec winches or any of that stuff. It’s just a 90, and then some, with a few scars to prove it.

Thus I don’t see it as being too big a deal to take it back if not to standard then to a respectably accessorised version of near-standard. It wants some hardcore steam-cleaning underneath and around the engine bay, the front wings look a bit crinkly, I think the rear crossmember is going

to want doing before the next MOT and a full respray is definitely on the cards, but the chassis overall is sound as a pound and with not much more than 5000 miles a year on the clock it’s a Defender with most of its life still ahead of it.

Which brings me to Plan B. Or Plan A, is it originally was. I’ve always been a complete sucker for the look of the original NAS 90s from back in 1994, with their signal yellow bodywork and black mohair soft tops, and when I first bought this one my intention was to lane it like crazy for six months then put it into the workshop for a full conversion into a Yank-spec lookalike. That, though, went by the wayside for the same sensible family reasons I was moaning on about earlier.

It’s still very tempting. But then I think about the practical considerations of having three children to think about, and every so often I drive the 90 for a bit and my knee totally kills me afterwards, and aside from leaving me feeling thoroughly middle-aged that all drives me ever closer to the conclusion that someone else should be enjoying it.

And despite all this gloom, I really do enjoy it.

Getting to drive all sorts of 4x4s is a colossal perk of this job, but there’s nothing like a Defender for sheer character. And it remains the fact that my old 90 is one of only two cars I’ve ever owned that I felt like I really bonded with. I thought that was going to happen again when I bought this one, though, and to be honest it hasn’t.

That’s my fault, not the truck’s. And I reserve the right to change my mind completely about all of this and decide that yes, actually, I do love it just the way it is. However, and this is no small thing, the extraordinary money a used 90 or 110 seems to be worth now means that you’ve got to look at new vehicles like the Jimny, Landcruiser, Amarok, Ranger and so on as direct like-for-like rivals. And every single one of those now ticks more boxes than the Defender.

That’s not just for me, either. Remember what I was saying about clubs starting to run Freelander-level RTVs because their members want to stop battering their 90s? I’m not the only one out there who wants their 4x4 to be an off-roader – and has concluded that what was for so long the definitive off roader has been left stranded, both by the growth of the alternatives and by its own transition into a modern classic.

All of which is pushing me into a corner that makes logical sense but still doesn’t feel like a very comfortable place. The mere fact of just being a Defender owner is something that makes me feel good about myself, and I waited a long, long time for this one to come up. Having bought it as an already modified off roader, though, there’s a silver lining to all this inward-looking therapy: at last, even if it’s for a seemingly backward-facing reason, it’s set to receive some proper time under the spanners. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

A 90 of this vintage will be equipped with inward-facing rear seats, and given what we now know about riding sideways the owner can’t be blamed for not wanting to carry his young family in them. You can of course get front-facing replacements, but these cost a fortune. It would be worth the investment if everything else about the vehicle ticked all the right boxes, but…

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OFF-ROAD SCENE

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YORKSHIRE LANES REPAIRED FOR ALL AFTER DONATION FROM 4X4 USERS

RANGERS FROM THE Yorkshire Dales National Park, supported by a team of volunteers, have completed repairs to eroded sections of the ancient Roman Road in Wensleydale aided by financial support from 4x4 drivers.

‘Surfacing and drainage works took place near Four Lanes End on what is locally known as the Cam High Road,’ explains the park authority. ‘The team then went

over Wether Fell into Raydaleside to carry out repairs on Busk Lane, working from the junction with the Stake Road back to Carpley Green Farm. A total of 700 tonnes of limestone aggregate was laid and rolled at the two sites. Culverts and drainage ditches were also cleared of vegetation as part of the works.’

Busk Lane and the Cam High Road, both of which are BOATs, are among several highly popular

ONE OF WEST YORKSHIRE’S most spectacular rights of way has been closed without warning for a period of 18 months – then opened again a couple of months later. he perimental raffic eg lation rder was imposed on amsden oad, a long and scenic lane near olmfirth, late last year, b t revo ed in January following opposition by user groups.

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multi-use rights of way in this area, and the work will benefit walkers and horse riders as well as motor vehicle users. ’The North Yorkshire group of the Green Lane Association (GLASS) and the North Yorkshire and Teesside group of the Trail Riders Fellowship (TRF) each donated £2500 towards the works,’ reports the park authority. ‘Last year, the groups donated a similar amount of money.’

amsden oad is largely drivable in any , though one short section has become eroded by water runoff into an axle-twister that’s both e treme and, if ta en phill, steep eno gh to be e tremely diffic lt his section is sched led for remedial wor later in he lane’s reopening is obvio sly good news for interested parties, as is the creation of a

YDNPA’s Matt Neale said: ‘This was essential routine maintenance which all too often can get overlooked. I would like the thank GLASS and the North Yorkshire and Teeside group of the TRF for their support. Both organisations have recognised that their recreational use of the National Park has an environmental impact, and they continue to step up to the mark to help us maintain the byways.’

dedicated management committee by ir lees Council’s rights of way department which will engage with all user groups when planning maintenance and so on In the meantime, the Green Lane Association stressed that the lane remains a very sensitive one and implores all drivers to e ercise partic lar ca tion when using it.

4x4 29/01/2019 18:08

OFF-ROAD SCENE

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CORNWALL AND DEVON LAND ROVER CLUB has announced a six-round comp safari championship for 2019, including two new venues.

And the series is open to all comp motors including non A RC vehicles By the time you read this, the championship will already have kicked off with a curtain-raiser near Truro. But there’s still time to race at Tredinnick on 10 Mar a safari which C RC describes as always fun and a good mix of everything.’

After this, there’s a few months’ break before the fun starts again at Carharrack on 14 July. This is the most technical comp in the calendar, making it ideal for shorter-wheelbase vehicles. Suzukis at the ready…

Three weeks later, on 4 August, comes Hittisleigh, the first of the year s new sites. Situated just off the A30 near Exeter, this one is ideal for people travelling from outside the south-west, and the club promises that the course will have something to suit everyone.

Following another couple of months’ break, on 29 September, it’s off to another new site otter Bridge, on the Cornwall evon border This will be a simple field comp but hopefully fun Fast, in other words…

Finally, the season comes to a close at Thorns Cross on 20 October. Another site near Exeter, this one close to the A380, this too will be ideal for visiting drivers giving you the chance to oin in as C RC brings down the curtain on what promises to be a particularly good year’s racing.

Want to know more? It s all at www cdlrc com

Derbyshire Police ask for green laners’ help in tackling rural and wildlife crime VISITORS TO THE DERBYSHIRE COUNTRYSIDE, including recreational 4x4 drivers, have been asked to join a Countryside Watch initiative launched by the local police force’s Rural Crime Team. Announced late last year, the scheme is ’an educational campaign that aims to shine a light on the crimes that very often go unseen, unreported, uninvestigated and undetected.’

Derbyshire, in particular the part of the county within the Peak District, is visited by around 12 million people every year. ’With little by way of natural surveillance,’ says Rural Crime Team leader Sergeant James Shirley, ‘it’s not surprising crime can go unseen and with thousands of square miles, unfortunately despite our best efforts police cannot be everywhere at all times. The aim of Countryside Watch is to employ those 12 million eyes and more, and hone them in on what to look for.

‘These groups visit the countryside in all weathers, day and night, and will greatly increase that natural surveillance that’s required to help us protect our rural communities and the wildlife we are privileged to have here.’

Priorities for the Rural Crime Team include theft of farm machinery, plant and vehicles, livestock offences such as attacks, theft and worrying, fuel theft, e uine crime and industrial y tipping In terms of wildlife crime, the priorities are badger persecution, from baiting to sett destruction, the disturbance or destruction of bat roosts, poaching and, of particular interest in Derbyshire, raptor persecution.

‘Rural crime costs the economy millions of pounds every year, not only eopardising business survival but undermining the confidence and feelings of safety of those who make their home in the countryside,’ said erbyshire olice and Crime Commissioner Hardyal hindsa In order to cut rural crime, the police need information. To encourage people to get involved, we must raise awareness of problems and encourage people to report their suspicions.’

The force lists recreational vehicle drivers as one of the groups who it hopes will provide extra eyes and ears when visiting the countryside.

If you see people acting suspiciously while out laning whether in erbyshire or anywhere else call 101 and do your bit to help the communities you’re visiting.

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OFF-ROAD CALENDAR

Pay-and-play events 10 February 4x4 Without a Club

Picadilly Wood Bolney,West Sussex

Harbour Hill,West Berkshire

10 March

Essex, Rochford and District 4x4 Club

4x4 Without a Club

Rayleigh, Essex Hilll N Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Protrax

Harbour Hill,West Berkshire

Essex, Rochford and District 4x4 Club Rayleigh, Essex

Tixover, Northamptonshire

Hilll N Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Slindon Safari

Slindon Safari

Fontwell,West Sussex

17 February Explore Off Road Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent

Frickley 4x4 Frickley, South Yorkshire

Muddy Bottom

Fontwell,West Sussex

16 March Burnham Off-Roaders Tring, Hertfordshire

17 March

Minstead, Hampshire

Burnham Off-Roaders Tring, Hertfordshire

23 February

Devil’s Pit

Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Explore Off Road Silverdale, Stoke-on-Trent

24 February

Frickley 4x4

Bures Pit Bures, Essex Cowm Leisure Whitworth, Lancashire

Protrax Tixover, Northamptonshire

Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Muddy Bottom Minstead, Hampshire

Protrax Tixover, Northamptonshire

24 March

Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

Bures Pit

Slindon Safari

Slindon Safari

Fontwell,West Sussex

Bures, Essex Fontwell,West Sussex

3 March

31 March

Devil’s Pit Barton-le-Clay, Bedfordshire

Cowm Leisure Whitworth, Lancashire

Muddy Bottom

Frickley 4x4

Minstead, Hampshire

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Frickley 4x4

Hilll N Ditch Mouldsworth, Cheshire

Frickley, South Yorkshire

Parkwood 4x4 Tong, Bradford

Kirton Off Road Centre Kirton Lindsey, North Lincs

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FOUR SEASONS CHALLENGE OFFERS NEW HEIGHTS OF OFF-ROAD ACTION TO FREELANDER OWNERS

A TEAM COMPRISING some of the best known names from the golden era of off-road rallying have teamed up to create the Four Seasons challenge – a series of charity events designed specifically for the Land Rover Freelander.

If you were around during the mid-90s, when the original Welsh Hillrally grew to attract entry lists into the hundreds and went on to spawn the Southern and Scottish Hillrallies as well as Y Rali Bryn Cymru, names like Mick Gillett, Mark Allard, Richard Hopkins and Chris Ratter will stir fond memories – and along with fellow

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enthusiasts Selwyn Kendrick and Edward Bowen-Jones, they’ve got together to offer something genuinely new for people whose vehicles might not normally be thought of as off-road machines.

Most of the team are have strong experience in running fundraising events, having committed a significant amount of their time to volunteering for various cancer charities during the course of the past two decades. In 2018, indeed, Selwyn Kendrick won a regional Macmillan Sir Hugh Dundas Award, which recognises volunteers who go above and beyond to make an

outstanding contribution to the charity’s fundraising.

Each of the weekend-long events will include an auto test, a treasure hunt and a comp safari. There’ll be four of them in 2019 – two in midWales, one in south-east England and another in southern Scotland.

The team says each event will offer a great venue and a fantastic opportunity for Freelander drivers to test their skills and experience across a variety of disciplines and in all sorts of driving conditions. ‘First and foremost, says Selwyn, ‘we will be creating an environment where everyone is welcome and where

there is a great opportunity to learn skills such as vehicle control, driving techniques, navigation and teamwork. Added to this is the fun element, as well as a little bit of competitive spirit that guarantees a memorable weekend.’

The first of the four events is set to take place on the weekend of 9-10 March in Clyro, where the first Hillrally was hosted back in 1992. If you’ve got a Freelander and you want to use it, the team wants to hear from you – so now’s the time to give Richard Hopkins a call on 07974 097166 and tell him you’re in.

4x4 29/01/2019 18:08

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OWNERS OF EARLY DISCOS CLUB TOGETHER TO HELP PRESERVATION EFFORTS FOUNDED IN 2007, the Project Jay Preservation Group (PJPG) will officially move forward with club status as of 2019. Originally founded when four owners of and Rover iscoverys from the compa ny s 1989 launch eet met up at the Gaydon Heritage Run, the interven ing twelve years has seen the group steadily grown in numbers These earliest examples of the Discovery are known as G-WACs because of their sequential registration marks Being among the first off the line, of course, they re also among the most fragile, and most have succumbed to the gal loping rot for which the Mk1 Disco is now famous This makes their preservation all the most important and difficult Chaired by Roy reston, the go to man for anything and everything regarding the earliest iterations of the iscovery, the group is dedicat ed to the preservation of these ear ly iscos not ust the G WACs, but anything from before the vehicle s first facelift These are the vehicles known as Jays, after ro ect Jay the codename given by olihull

to the iscovery while it was under development in the 1980s With so few Jays about now, we will not be a wealthy club, says Roy We ust want to cover costs, the ublic iability Insurance for shows, show e uipment and so on But we do hope to encourage owners of Jays to keep them on the road

Kicking off the show season in March with the Classic Car and Restoration how at the C in Birmingham, the J G will be in attendance at many of the ma or and Rover and Classic Car shows throughout the year. For a membership fee of 25 per year, members will be able to play their

part in helping build and maintain the heritage of and Rover s first family o, whether you re the owner of a Jay or even a G-WAC launch iscovery, or are simply interested in learning more about these iconic vehicles, visit www p pg co uk for more information

APPRENTICE AWARD FOR RUSKIN’S RISING STAR UPHOLSTERY SPECIALIST RUSKIN DESIGN, whose work features on many of the most original one-off 4x4s, has been celebrating – after its designer Gemma Lee was announced as one of South Leicestershire College’s Apprentices of the Year at its annual Star Awards ceremony.

At an evening of celebration held at Jury’s Inn, Hinckley Island, Gemma received her award as Business & Professions Apprentice of the Year 2018, following a year-long course that gave her valuable knowledge and insight into business practice and leadership skills.

Supported by Ruskin Design’s established Apprenticeship Scheme, and the company’s commitment to empowering young workers within the automotive upholstery industry,

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Gemma has worked closely with college course leader Kirsty McNamara. During the course of the year, she was guided through the Intermediate Apprenticeship in Team Leading course – developing her role as Lead Designer, in which she managed a growing team of machinists.

Commenting on her award, Gemma said: ‘I’m delighted and proud to have been named as Business and Professions Apprentice of the Year.

The course has been exceptionally worthwhile and has given me some lifelong business skills that I’m applying to my roles at Ruskin Design. he co rse has not only given me the confi dence to lead the talented teams at Ruskin but the variety of course modules have also given me a firm nderstanding of the b siness on a day to day basis it’s definitely been worth it ’

Commenting on the award, Stephen Castledine, Managing Director of Leicester-based Ruskin Design. said: ‘We are so proud of Gemma and what she has achieved. She has worked so hard over the past year and we are delighted that she has been recognised for her commitment in this way.

‘Since Gemma joined the business two years ago, we have watched her o rish e realised early on that she had great potential and would be an asset to the company. She is not only a very talented designer, designing some of our most creative and stylish commissions, but she is also exceptionally organised, measured and diligent. We can’t wait to see Gemma’s next achievement – and of course, we will support her all the way.’

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icester eritage confirms ret rn of Land Rover Legends for 2019

OFF-ROAD CALENDAR

UK Convoy Tours

Picture Amy Shore Photography

FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL debut show, it has been confirmed that and Rover egends will return in 2019 The event,at Bicester Herit age, will take place on 25 26 May The inaugural running of the show highlighted the variety in the and Rover stable, from early eries trucks to the Range Rover family and current line ups, all of which have had a part in the mar ue s story so far Once again, the 2019 show will champion originality and authenticity with static displays of important and Rovers from over the years helping illustrate the detailed history of the vehicles As well as fine examples of the cars that made the brand, there will be close up access to people who helped make the cars, as they are on hand to give speeches and share their stories Another addition to the 2019 bill will be the involvement of the

unsfold Collection This grouping of and Rovers totals 140 vehicles bearing the iconic green oval, and a selection of these rare and unusual classics will be brought along to the show for you to peruse in close proximity As before, every and Rover attending the show can be part of the celebrations thanks to the forward facing parking on the day ew for the second year will be on site camping, so visitors to the event can pitch a tent within the Bicester Heritage grounds, partake in the evening entertainment on the aturday and en oy a full weekend s worship of the Green Oval Many and Rover models will also be represented by a tar Car at the show as various vehicles reach milestone birthdays in 2019 Tickets are on sale now to find out more, check out landroverlegends com

9-10 February

10 March

4x4 Adventure Tours Wiltshire and North Dorset

4x4 Adventure Tours Salisbury Plain

10 February

UK Landrover Events Durham Dales

UK Landrover Events Yorkshire Dales

16 March

14 February

Protrax Wales

UK Landrover Events Northumberland

16-17 March

16 February Protrax Wales

22-24 February Low Range Adventure Lake District

23 February UK Landrover Events Tynedale

2-3 March 4x4 Adventure Tours Mid-Wales Trailmasters Yorkshire

9 March Protrax Wiltshire UK Landrover Events North York Moors

9-10 March Tracks and Trails Yorkshire Moors and Dales

Atlas Overland Wessex

22 March UK Landrover Events Eden District

22-24 March Low Range Adventure Yorkshire to the Lakes

23-24 March Tracks and Trails Yorkshire Dales Trailmasters Lake District

24 March UK Landrover Events Tyne and Wear

28-29 March UK Landrover Events Cumbria/Yorkshire

30 March Tracks and Trails Durham

31 March UK Landrover Events Lake District

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Overland Travel

OFF-ROAD CALENDAR

3-17 March

May

12 June

10 August

7P Overland Mauritania:The Sahara

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Peru Safari Peruvian Steppes

Peru Safari Peru

16 Mar – 4 April

4-19 May

12-17 June

10-18 August

Protrax Morocco

Ardent Adventure Portugal

Protrax North France D-Day tour

Ardent Adventure Alps

22-31 March

9 May

22 June – 7 July

12-23 August

4x4 Adventure Tours Portugal

Peru Safari Peru

Atlas Overland Scandinavia

Low-Range Adventure Pyrenees Coast to Coast

29-31 March

18-26 May

6-21 July

16-30 August

7P Overland Moab, Utah

UK Landrover Events Pyrenees

Onelife Adventure Iceland

Venture 4x4 Iceland

30 March –16 April

20 May –2 June

13-28 July

24 August – 4 Sept

Protrax Portugal

Trailmasters Morocco (extreme expedition)

Ardent Adventure Balkans

Trailmasters Morocco

April

26 May

12-26 July

24 August – 7 September

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Peru Safari Northern Peru

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Atlas Overland Portugal

9-22 April

27 May

18 July – 1 August

1-15 September

Atlas Overland Morocco

Low-Range Adventure Portugal

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Ardent Adventure Pyrenees

19 April – 3 May

1-16 June

22 July

7-15 September

Trailmasters Morocco Marrakesh Classic

Ardent Adventure Pyrenees (1 or 2 week)

Peru Safari Peru

UK Landrover Events Pyrenees

20 April

3-13 June

26 July – 9 August

11-25 September

Peru Safari Peru

Atlas Overland Corsica

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Protrax Pyrenees

1 April – 13 May

5-19 June

1-15 August

15-29 September

Onelife Adventure Namibia / Botswana / South Africa

Protrax Pyrenees

Venture 4x4 Iceland

Tracks and Trails Pyrenees

12-28 April

9-18 June

3-17 August

16-21 September

Ardent Adventure Morocco

4x4 Adventure Tours Pyrenees

Atlas Overland Italy

7P Overland Utah and Colorado

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Can’t go a month without a Land Rover fix?

Subscribe to The Landy today and you won’t have to!

Are you crazy about Defenders? Dotty about Discos? Does the sight of a classic Series I make you weak at the knees? If so, The Landy is most certainly for you! The UK’s only Land Rover newspaper is brought to you by the very same publisher and writers as this very magazine. And you can get your monthly fix by subscribing today – for the fantastic price of just £25 for a year!

With your subscription, you’ll get:

• 12 issues of the UK’s only Land Rover newspaper delivered straight to your door • A saving of 17% on the cover price.

• All the latest Land Rover news and club scene coverage • Loads of useful product reviews and inspiring adventure stories • Features on the best classic, modded and everyday Land Rovers every month

And all for just £25! How could you resist?

Simply fill out the form below, including your credit or debit card details, or send it with a cheque payable to The Landy at Assignment Media Ltd, G11 Repton House, Bretby Business Park, Burton-upon-Trent, DE15 0YZ Alternatively, just give us a call on 01283 553 243 or visit www.thelandy.co.uk FULL NAME: SHIPPING ADDRESS: TEL NUMBER: CARD NUMBER: EXPIRY DATE: SECURITY CODE:

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and/or EMAIL: VALID FROM DATE: BILLING ADDRESS: (IF DIFFERENT TO ABOVE):

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Discover the tyre range at BFGoodrich.co.uk

D

ROADBOOK

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NORTH-EAST WALES

Classic lanes amid a glorious mountain landscape As winter turns to spring and the days start getting longer, this is a route celebrating a corner of Britain that deserves to be savoured. Starting with one of the best rights of way in the whole country, it explores the hills and woodlands around the border of Wrexham and Powys, taking in a selection of ever-popular lanes as well as some that don’t always pop up on club days out. It’s not the longest we’ve ever run, but don’t be deceived – the going is often slow, there are plenty of gates to open and you’ll spend plenty of time just looking at the view!

ROUTE GUIDE

IS IT SUITABLE?

START FINISH HOW LONG? TERRAIN HAZARDS

TYRES WEATHER LOW BOX SOFT- ROADERS SCRATCHING

OS MAPS

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Cynwyd (SJ 056 409) Penybontfawr (SJ 087 245) 54.85 miles / 8 hours Hilly farmland, forests and open moors Ruts rocks isolation farm traffic one dangerous set of off-camber rocks; possible lane closure beyond Step 8; reports of spike traps on lane beyond Step 14 Landranger 125 (Bala & Lake Vyrnwy) Landranger 126 (Shrewsbury & Oswestry)

DRIVING

DAMAGE

All-terrains necessary at least Dangerous when foggy or icy Necessary Not suitable Occasional risk. A couple of quite tight lanes, especially in summer Care required in general; one very precise technical section.

Great discipline necessary in wide open terrain No need if you’re careful

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1

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SJ 056 409

tart in Cynwyd, by the post ofďŹ ce and village stores just off the B4401.

It s directly opposite the Blue ion inn Having stocked up at the shop, pull forward to the T unction and zero your trip as you turn right to start the route

6

0.9

Bala B4401

2

Immediately after the bridge, turn left on the tiny road in front of the big grey house

3

As the road swings left over the bridge, turn right between the buildings on an even smaller one

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This track is due for maintenance work at some point in the future In the meantime, pay scrupulous attention to any closure or voluntary restraint notices you see In particular, take great care when you reach the section on which sleepers carry the right of way over the top of a boggy section

3.9

4.4

ause at the celebrated Wayfarer monument and take a moment to sign the visitors book a lovely touch up here in the wilds

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USING OUR ROADBOOKS

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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 nclassified 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 just stay on the main road or take the most straight-ahead option unless we tell you otherwise.

If youre unfamiliar with six figure grid references, you ll find a guide to using them on the legend of any OS map. Our aim is for you to be able to do the route without maps, but we do recommend having them.

11

SAFETY

6.95

12 9.45

13

SJ 157 328

If it’s lunchtime, the Hand Inn on the crossroads here is ready and waiting to make you very happy indeed

ZERO TRIP

Follow the narrow road up the hill in front of you just after the bridge over the river

0.1

The notes on the first page of the roadbook advise you of how suitable it is for your vehicle.These are just guidelines, however.We’ll warn you of any ha ards 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, and are largely suitable for standard 4x4s on road tyres. We do recommend travelling in tandem wherever possible, however.The risk of getting stuck can be greater than it appears – and if you break down, having help at hand can make the difference between it being inconvenient and downright dangerous.

RESPONSIBILITY

14

SJ 157 335

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This track, which gets sunken and very uneven in places, has in recent times been blighted by criminals leaving spike traps on it which could destroy your tyres and potentially cause serious injury. Keep your eyes open and consider sending a spotter to walk ahead and look for suspect devices, which may be placed in puddles to keep them hidden

Irresponsible driving is a massive problem 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, both to the land and to 4x4 drivers’ reputation.

The fact that you can see where it’s happened shows how much harm it does. It’s no excuse to say you’re just following where another driver has already been. Most green laners have taken to videoing anyone they see behaving like this and passing the evidence to the police.

Elsewhere, simple common sense and courtesy should be your watchword.The do-and-don’t list

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below should always be in your mind, but keep your speed down, be ready to pull over for others and show the world that 4x4 drivers aren’t the hooligans some of them think we are.

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 youre 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.

It only takes one vandal to tarnish a person’s view of all 4x4 drivers, and once the damage is done it tends to be permanent. But if enough of us resolve to be ambassadors, it might make a difference to the way we’re perceived by society in general.

DO AND DON’T

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

horse riders pass • Don’t go in large convoys: split into small groups to avoid hassling others • Leave gates as you found them • Don’t drop litter. Do carry a bin bag and a pair of stout gloves so you can pick up other people’s, though • Don’t go back to drive the fun bits, such as mud or fords, again • Scrupulously obey all closure and voluntary restraint notices • Don’t cause a noise nuisance, particularly after dark • 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 • If someone challenges you, be firm but polite. Stay calm and don’t let them turn it into a fight • Stick absolutely scrupulously to the right of way • You have as much of a right to be there as everyone else.Which means they have as much right as you

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Step 16: Take care as you approach the off-camber rocks – they appear very suddenly and if you hit them at speed you could easily end up rolling into the deep gulley to your left

16 2.95

Extreme caution – there’s a series of off-camber rock steps leaning you towards a dangerous drop-off to the left. These have been exaggerated by water erosion in the last year – they appear just after a corner as the track surface seems to have smoothed out, and if you’re going too fast it’ll be curtains. It’s very, very treacherous

17

7.65

There’s a sharp step up on to the road, and it’s blind to the right

3.2

19 5.65

20 7.05

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22

The road swings right through the gate by the house on the left, then starts deteriorating into a track

24 7.7

Caution – it’s a very tight turn on to a bigger road, with very poor visibility over your shoulder as you emerge

SJ 195 354

Follow the small road gently left immediately before of the sign ahead for Llanarmon on the B4500

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Immediately after the bridge, stay on the road – it’s not the track next to the garage on the right, which is private

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SJ 219 351

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30

Caution – it’s very steep as you drop down to the junction, and gets steeper yet as you reach it. It’s blind on the right, too

ZERO TRIP

It’s a very sharp turning over your shoulder, just after some buildings on the right

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The track goes through the gate in front of you then swings left to run with the fence line to your left

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a a a

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Head through the gate – there’s a no vehicles sign on the track to your right

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The track may well be ooded immediately before the junction, but it looks way worse than it is. Don’t damage the ground by going round the side without good reason

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SJ 224 307

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Don’t take the road on the right for Cefn Canol etc – carry on over the bridge then turn right around the end of the houses in front of you. It feels a lot like someone’s driveway at first

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SJ 225 316

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Caution through the farmyard – watch out for dogs

46

The track is likely to be ooded ust before the junction. Once again, it’s not as bad as it looks

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There’s a no vehicles sign at the junction – it relates to the track ahead

Yes, you’re here again…

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28/07/2017 14:34

The watercourse follows the track bed for a couple of car lengths just before the gate

10.6

53 0.6

la

48

54

49

55

50

56

51

57

11.0

This one’s tight and slippery for a spell

1.0

11.1

Join a bigger track

1.1

1.45

11.5

11.65

SJ 177 335

0.8

11.05

52

ZERO TRIP

58 2.5

If you’ve timed it right, stop for lunch at The Hand. We still can’t get over how good the lamb was that we had there one time…

la

88 | MARCH 2019

12pp Roadbook Mar 19.indd 88

11

a a

4x4 29/01/2019 13:04

7004

7 14:34

Discover the tyre range at BFGoodrich.co.uk 700433 Banner 15x210mm.indd 1

28/07/2017 14:34

59

62

60

63

4.2

7.05

5.75

7.85

la

61 6.25

Hard to know if you’re on a road or track for the next half-mile or so

SJ 128 302

a a

The turning is just after a sharp right-hander in the road

64

ZERO TRIP

8.65

Step 55: Take the much smaller track ahead as the main one stars to swing left. It’s pretty tight and slippery when wet

4x4 12pp Roadbook Mar 19.indd 89

MARCH 2019 | 89

29/01/2019 13:08

Discover the tyre range at BFGoodrich.co.uk

D

700433 Banner 15x210mm.indd 1

28/07/2017 14:34

65 0.2

66 1.15

la

a a a

67

This is just after the car park to the left and Spar shop to the right in Llanrhaedyr-ym-Mochnant

68

Cross the bridge then, as the road swings right up the hill, turn left immediately after The Plough Inn

1.45

71 4.6

1.6

69

72

70

73

5.05

2.65

5.3

3.8

la B4

90 | MARCH 2019

12pp Roadbook Mar 19.indd 90

SJ 099 232

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4 4 0

4x4 29/01/2019 13:09

7004

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700433 Banner 15x210mm.indd 1

74

28/07/2017 14:34

The track starts turning into what could loosely be called a road

6.9

75 7.0

76

79 7.3

Caution – the surface might be uite firm, but there s a big hole directly in the path of your front left wheel…

The surface starts turning properly back into a track again

80 7.3

81

The road gets narrower for a mile or so after this – be ready to stop for oncoming traffic, especially if you’re in a convoy

Another narrow section, after for a mile or so

7.3

7.3

82

77

7.3

7.75

la B4

78 8.65

4x4 12pp Roadbook Mar 19.indd 91

Whatever it’s been, now it turns back into a proper road

83

ll 1

Pull up outside the Railway Inn in Penybontfawr for the end of the route

7.3

MARCH 2019 | 91

29/01/2019 13:09

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29/01/2019 13:39

4

NEXT MONTH IN 4x4 On test: Llower-spec Mitsubishi Shogun – still relevant if you keep it sensible Two stunning eeps or s modified Wrangler… and the mental 710bhp Trackhawk eries andcruiser that s more modified than it loo s and it loo s seriously modified

ON SALE… 8th Mar Step 15: This

is the biggest ford

e’s been a lot of of the day. If ther

rain, it could be

quite deep, so

18

USING

Total Off-Roa d you through the countryside on and unsurfac ed r we use are pub li either Byways O or nclassified C commonly refe rre

ion

caut approach with

e – visibility is Caution as you emerg to the right terrible, especially

Step 11: Th ZERO TRIP ey When did you take their field roads seriou last see a roa d sign like this sly in Leicestershire.

11.85 on a green lane?

13

7

9.95

Roadbook: Sensational technical laning in the majesty of North Yorkshire 5.05

19

14

8

10.2

7.9

15

round to the left, Follow the track the gate gh not ahead throu

11.5

9

8.0

16

10

8.75

lane – after Take it easy up thisyou pass the gs, the farm buildin car park entrance to a pub

11.8

l

20 3.35

21 22 6.45

Fill in your name and address and give this form to your1newsagent 1

9.2 every month Please order 4x4 Magazine and reserve/deliver me a copy 2016 50 | NOVEMBER

12

9.55

TAL OFF-R OA D 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 TO

96 | MARCH 2019

95 Next Month Mar AK.indd 96

1 4

4

SAFETY

The symbols on the first the roadboo k advise you suitable it is for your vehi are just guidelin es, howev warn you of 11 any ha ards o l ala 1 sect 4 ions , but l alla 1 the nature of 4 lane can chan ge quickly.We can make a hug e difference Your track is Inn opposite the Fox the left obvi conditions und Turnless two as you appr ous of the erfoot, and w oach wide open in winter can be enclosed and scratchy in sum responsibility is yours!

Our roadboo ks are design be safe to driv e in a solo veh are largely suit able for standa on road tyre s. We do reco mm trav elling in tand em wherever h for this ford to If it’s wet enoug pos the sible, how It’s not a big ever.The risk have any water over have ford actual therlye’s ae, you’ll probably stuc of g sharpish drop , but surfac usk can be greater than into itroad previo the in as d daway it app roun the corner washe – and if you brea beenyou k down, having two by now at hand can mak e the differenc e between it bein g inconvenient a downright dan gerous.

RESPONSIB

When did you sign like this last see a road at unsurfaced righ a junction on an t of way?

Name Address

1 1 11

a

al

SP 717 972

5.75

11.6

17

1.85

NAVIGATIO

We’ve delibera tely possible to follo wt mixture of inst ructi and grid refe rences. only include junction have to make a turni right of way, so just s road or take the mos option unless we tell If you re unfa miliar grid referenc es, you ll using them on the lege map. Our aim is for yo do the route without m do recommend having t

ll

ILITY

Irresponsible driving is a mas sive pro

blem ADgreen lane -ROon TOTAL OFF s. In particu you mus

t always stay on the right of way. Never drive off it to play o the verges or surrounding land, eve if you can see that someon e else has; doing so is illegal and can be tremendously dam land and to 4x4 aging, both to the drivers’ repu tation.

The fact that you can see whe it’s happened shows how muc re h harm it does. It’s no excuse to say you’re just following where another driver has already bee n. Most green laners have taken to videoing anyo ne they see behaving like this and passing the evidence to the police, which shows how much ange r there is tow ards the criminal elem ent.

Elsewhere, simp le common sense and cou rtesy should be your

4x4 29/01/2019 12:02

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