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NEWS • PRODUCTS • TRAIL GUIDES • WORKSHOP • CALENDAR • OFF-ROAD SCENE DRIVEN: Isuzu D-Max Utility Double-Cab
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NEW WRANGLER
Will Jeep’s all-new JL Wrangler go straight to the top of every off-roader’s wish list? We have the first verdict from behind the wheel… Chevy-engined Defender 110: the ultimate street sleeper
£4.75
NEW! Roadbookstyle green lane guides. This month: Derbyshire Dales
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September 2018
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Suzuki Jimny Details emerge of the all-new mini off-roader LR Discovery Hot new diesel for the big family wagon Alfa Stelvio Quadrifoglio NRING is fast but expensive Coming Soon 4x4s of every kind due in the near(ish) future
Tested 18 22 26 30
SsangYong Musso High-value double-cab is more than just cheap Volkswagen T-Roc It’s cute – but so much more, too Isuzu D-Max Utility Base-spec D-Max is as honest as they come Vauxhall Mokka Perennial favourite in the small SUV market
Every Month 4 6 8 10 12 33 80 96
Alan Kidd In praise of restification Gallery Where playing off-piste is actually encouraged Destinations Darvaza: The scariest campsite on the planet Lost Lanes Remembering the lost beauty of Roych Clough What Jeep Did Next… The mighty Mopar Wrangler Recon Products Handy bits and wantable kit for your truck and workshop Roadbook Step-by-step laning route in the Derby Dales Next Month Get to grips with a pair of sensational Arctic Trucks
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Jeep Wrangler First drive of the all-new JL holds a lot of promise Sleeper 110 Beautifully restored – and packing a mighty V8 punch Restified LJ Sensational Suzuki both restored and modified In Search of Pie A lane run with a very serious purpose…
Our 4x4s 68 82
Defender 90 Conquering Two Dales in, er, one-wheel drive… Skoda Kodiaq How much can you fit in one SUV?
Off-Road Scene 68 69 70 88 74
Landies do Goodwood What’s that coming over the hill…? Win a 90 And all you have to do is… buy a 90 Welsh Landy Fest Club takeover of a county show. Good skills Powys Lane Repairs A local authority actually doing its job Valhalla Challenge Hard going in the annual team challenge
Off-Road Calendar 69 75 78
UK Convoy Tours Tag-along runs on public rights of way Pay-and-Play Events Go in as hard as you want Overland Travel Long-range adventures in your 4x4
‘The song “Can’t Stop Now” always reminds me of the time when my old Discovery 2 suffered a bout of brake fade in the Yorkshire Dales…’
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DRIVEN
ISUZU D-MAX UTILITY
Latest version of Isuzu’s popular double-cab offers an unparalleled range of high-spec and specialised options – but makes a strong case for itself in simple work-spec form ON TEST D-Max Double-Cab Utility
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suzu has done a pretty aggressive job of grabbing itself a piece of the pick-up action with the D-Max. The company offers plenty of premium options indeed it was the first in the UK to offer a version built by Arctic Trucks, and it doesn’t come much more premium than that. But its strategy of targeting the rural market means the base-spec Utility
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model has a particularly important role to play in the D-Max range. Priced at £19,604 plus VAT (£24,430 inclusive on the road) in double-cab form, this version of the D-Max comes out punching in terms of value for money. Predictably, it’s not over-burdened with luxuries, however you do get air-conditioning and all-round electric windows, as well as the
full set of safety items. Hill descent control is included, too, even if it ought to be completely redundant on a vehicle with low range and a manual gearbox. Inside, the seats are trimmed in a tough, grippy fabric that feels like it ought to wear well, even with a similarly heavy-duty set of overalls being launched on and off of it several times a day. The owner of said overalls will most likely invest in a set of waterproof covers, at any rate, as they’re likely to be covered in a toxic blend of wet substances most of the time. The same is sure to apply to your boots, only more so, which is why the D-Max Utility comes with vinyl ooring rather than carpets
This means you can hose it out after a dirty session in the fields or forests without having to worry about whether the mushrooms that appear in your footwells the following morning are edible. The dash panels are predictably plain and simple, moulded from hard plastics that won’t win any design awards but also won’t object to being wiped down with a wet cloth. The whole of the facia is laid out with the sort of basic simplicity that comes from there not being many toys to operate – it’s been a long time since we drove something whose steering wheel didn’t have any controls on it for the stereo, nav, phone, ejector seat and so on, but we survived to tell the tale.
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he oor console is a tough solid ob with a decent sized cubby bo in it ahead of which you’ll find a lever operated handbrake and a big chunky dial to operate the transfer case his is a little vulnerable to getting knocked inadvertently which could lead to you setting off in four wheel drive or even low range after lobbing a load of shopping on to the passenger’s seat but you’ll probably agree that that’s a detail ore important is an e cellent range of stowage options which in addition to that cubby includes a superb double glovebo good door pockets a dash top bin and a hidden tray under your seat alking of seats these are supportive but not enveloping ou might not choose this model for an eight hour stint on the motorway nor an e hausting session on your favourite road but for the sort of work you want from a vehicle in the real world it’s right on the money hey’re comfortably s uidgy around town too and the view you get in all directions including over your shoulders is e cellent So too by the standards of the pick up market in general is accommodation in the rear seats egroom and headroom alike are
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among the best you’ll get it’s still not as good as riding in the back of a large SUV and nor can it match the perennially outstanding ord anger but we’ve long since found the a to be the best of the rest and this one despite being in low spec form is no different side from the obvious lack of toys indeed about the only tell tale sign of this being a basic model was that the engine seemed to us to
be louder than in more e pensive versions hat’s not something to be dismissed as the litre unit powering all versions of the a is hardly famed for being uiet in the first place in the sort of conditions for which a person buys a utility pick up it shouldn’t be of any concern but if what you’re really after is a lifestyle truck for long motorway runs and all round family duties line it up alongside
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the seats as reasons to think twice before signing on the line side from that this a drives no differently to its more elevated brethren he engine definitely does its best work without being revved as you’d e pect and the manual bo is well udged to let you keep it at the top of its tor ue curve though changing gear does re uire uite a slow deliberate action
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‘THE GREAT E WRANGLER
Jeep is making no bones about it: the new Wrangler is the best off-roader it’s ever made. But as Britain prepares for its arrival this September, can the new JL model do enough to justify what’s going to be a hefty price tag? WORDS: ALAN KIDD PICTURES: JEEP 40 | SEPTEMBER 2018
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his is the big one. The off-road world has been waiting for a long time for the new Jeep Wrangler – and come September, at long last you’ll be able to buy one. You really WILL be able to buy one, too, if Jeep stays true to its promise that it will make more room on the production line for right-hand drive Wranglers. This should mean the endless supply issues that seemed to dog the outgoing model will now be a thing of the past. The new Wrangler remains a traditional offroad machine in every way, with a ladder chassis, beam axles and a separate two-speed transfer box controlled by a manual lever. Despite this, it’s a lot lighter than before, and while it looks similar to the old one it’s different in a whole host of ways. Under the bonnet for e ample you’ll now find a choice of 2.2-litre diesel and 2.0-litre petrol engines. Both are turbocharged, and both are mated exclusively to an eight-speed auto box – there’s no longer going to be such a thing as a manual Wrangler. A major improvement over the old model, however, is that the transfer case will allow you to run in four-wheel drive on the road. The new Selec-Trac unit has two 4H positions, with and without a locked centre diff, in addition to the usual 2H and 4L options. Something else we’ve been longing for is a diesel version of the Rubicon model. This is the Wrangler in hardcore off-road form, with deeper low-range transfer gears, rock rails, heavy-duty Dana 44 axles, locking front and rear diffs and a disconnecting front anti-roll bar to aid articulation. In the previous Wrangler, the Rubicon was only ever available with a big petrol engine. People were forever crying out for a diesel option; Jeep did offer this in LHD markets, but in the UK we’ve had to wait for it until now. The Rubicon takes its place in a model line-up which encompassing four spec levels and two wheelbases in addition to the choice of engines. For ‘everyday’ Wrangler buyers, there’ll be the familiar Sport and Sahara trim lines, augmented
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OFF-ROAD SCENE
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REPAIRS COMPLETED ON POPULAR POWYS BYWAYS
POWYS COUNTY COUNCIL has overseen repairs to three extremely popular byways in the heart of the county, following reports from the Green Lane Association and Powys Byway Users Group of degradation to the surface of the lanes. he first two rights of way to be addressed, both in the Glascwm area south-east of Llandrindod Wells, were Black Yatt and Giants Grave. The former was suffering damage from water scouring, which was causing oods and ruts to form in two main areas, while the latter was becoming unsafe due to a retaining bank beginning to collapse as a result of long-term saturation beneath the surface. Black Yatt was repaired by a local contractor which reinstating drainage channels and installed bunds to direct rainwater across and away from the byway surface. On Giants Grave, another
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contractor was engaged to remove the old timber retaining structure and replace it with large boulders, grade back the bank and install a pipe to carry water under the track and away from the area. This work was done late last year, following which the bank was reseeded. Come spring, it was apparent that the new growth has bedded in successfully and coped with what was a very tough winter. ‘The works on the Black Yatt byway were needed after the survey identified damage that was being caused where water was owing along the surface,’ commented Cllr Aled Davies, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Countryside Services at Powys County Council. ‘The result of the works means that the water is being directed away from the byway surface and it is now in a much better condition for all users and greatly improves this popular route.’
Turning to Giants Grave, Davies said: ‘The works on the Giant Graves byway have provided a longterm solution to the bank stability at this point and safeguarded an important multi-use link over the hill between Hundred House and Glascwm. I’m sure the works that have been carried will be welcomed by all those who travel along this byway on a regular basis. ‘The importance of maintaining our rights of way network shouldn’t be underestimated. Our public rights of way network can play a vital role in maintaining the health and well-being of the people of Powys.’ In the light of this willingness on Powys County Council’s behalf to address issues such as this on public rights of way, the Green Lane Association announced that it would contribute 50% of the cost of remedial work on another byway, this one just east of Llandrindod
Wells between the A44 and Bwlchllwyn. The contribution was capped at £2500, albeit with a further £2500 also to be donated for works elsewhere in the county. With a number of large holes having appeared in the surface of this byway late last year, the need for repairs were particularly urgent as users were being forced to divert around the damage – taking them on to private land. Following a temporary closure over the winter, the money donated by GLASS meant the work was able to be done in June – following which the closure was lifted, earlier than had originally been expected. Writing in the GLASS Bulletin, the association’s CEO Duncan Green said: ‘This is a considerable sum for us, and shows how pleased we are with the work they are doing on byways and the improved working relationship we have built over the last few years.’
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