Overlander 4x4 July 2025 by Assignment Media Ltd

4x4 OVERLANDER

DRIVEN SKODA KODIAQ 2.0 TDI 4X4: The off-road hero in our 4x4 of the Year

WILD CROATIA

JEEP CONVOY

Army-inspired Gladiator with the face of an M715

Exploring Balkan forests and mountains in a hardcore off-road tour featuring two iconic 4x4 brands – and the most talked-about newcomer of modern times

WONDER WAGEN

Restored G230 goes high on luxury – and off-road skills

BRAVE APPROACH

A man who won’t tell you a 90 is too small for overlanding

TERRAFIRMA CAMPING

Whether you’re embarking on an off-road expedition or packing up the kids for a summer camping trip in your Land Rover, having the right gear makes all the difference.

Prepare for your next camping adventure with high-quality, purpose-built gear that ensures a smooth and stress-free experience—wherever the road takes you!

Share Your Adventure With Us!

We love seeing Terrafirma-equipped vehicles in action! Send us pictures of your off-road adventures, camping set-ups, and expedition builds for a chance to have your vehicle featured in the next Terrafirma Catalogue.

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TERRAFIRMA CAMPING EQUIPMENT FOR YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE!

TF972 Roof Rack 2.2 x 1.0m / Steel Tubular

TF973 Rear Door Access Ladder Discovery 3 / Discovery 4

TF1714 Terradactyl 2/5 LED Awning 2.0m / 270 degrees / 5 Wing

TF1740 Portable Power Station500w Output

TF1741 Power Panel 100w / 2 section solar panel

TF1722 Camping Table 70 x 70cm / Aluminium

TF1720 Camping Chair Heavy Duty / With storage bag

TF1721 Marshal Stool Folds flat for storage

TF1211 Water Bottle 660ml / Stainless Steel

TF1212 Travel Mug 600ml / Stainless Steel

TF1213 Water Bottle CarrierInsulated / With Shoulder Strap

TF1730 Fire Pit Stainless Steel

TF1726 Expedition Shovel 1.3m handle

TF795R Dry bag 80 Litre

TF794B Dry bag 10 Litre

TF902 Expedition Storage Box 160 Litre Capacity

> Expedition Power Solutions

> Awnings & Accessories

> Expedition Essentials

> Much More...

Tel: 01283 742969

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Editor Alan Kidd

Design Ian Denby-Jones

Contributors

Mike Trott, Gary Martin, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney, John Pearson

Photographers

Steve Taylor, Richard Hair, Vic Peel, Harry Hamm, Bob Atkins

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4x4 Scene

Pay quarterly by direct debit and you can get Britain’s only all-marques 4x4 magazine delivered to your door – for less than half the price on the front cover!

Land Rover Classic brings back the old-shape Defender soft-top as a £195,000 V8 status symbol, while Isuzu’s all-electric D-Max gets its global unveiling and Inverted add the Series I, II and III to its portfolio of EV conversions 12 Motorsport

Dakar legend Stéphane Peterhansel is unveiled as the lead driver for Land Rover’s new rally team

14 Products

The latest and best stuff for your vehicle, your workshop and yourself

Every Month

Get Overlander 4x4 delivered for a fraction of the cover price 64 Next Month

The forthcoming Range Rover Electric sets out to prove that EVs can still work in sub-zero climates

Tested

22 Skoda Kodiaq 2.0 TDI 4x4

Our reigning 4x4 of the Year sets out to prove itself with all-wheel drive and an off-road drive mode

Vehicles

26 Overland 90

Convention says you need a 110 for expeditions. But when the only cars you’ve ever owned have all been Land Rovers, you weren’t born to follow

Convoy

A Gladiator double-cab becomes the latest Jeep concept to wear the J-truck front end

Jeep Crew Chief

…while the previous example has gone down in history as the company’s ﬁrst four-door pick-up

42 Wunderbar Wagen

Mercedes’ G-Class is a rap star car these days, but this 1993 G230E is a trad off-roader – and a luxury wagon with more class than any medallion motor

Our 4x4s

50 Isuzu D-Max GO2

A cancelled photo shoot turns into a chance to revisit some green lanes from a bygone age

Adventure

54 Wild Croatia

Land Rovers, Range Rovers and Discoverys, plus a Jeep and a Grenadier, head for the Balkans to take on some seriously heavy-duty trails

THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT…

Fifteen years ago, in the July 2010 issue of Total Off Road (one of the two magazines which amalgamated to become this one), our editor’s column discussed the potential for new legislation to undo the damage done to Britain’s rights of way by the execrable CROW and NERC acts passed during the Blair years. New Labour had been defeated after 12 years in power, a time which had started with great promise but came to be remembered for the zeal with which the government banned one previously legal activity after another, and the stage was ﬁnally set for a new broom to sweep away the detritus of Britain’s latest rabble of discredited politicians.

Leaving party allegiances ﬁrmly aside, the Coalition government that replaced New Labour promised ﬁne things. With neither of the main parties gaining enough seats to form a majority, the Conservatives took power through an allegiance with the Liberal Democrats – a process which saw Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg appointed Deputy Prime Minister. Clegg was also made Minister for Constitutional and Political Reform, allowing him to address a subject close to the party’s heart.

A week after the coalition’s creation, Clegg made a major speech in which he promised what was called a Great Repeal Bill – legislation which would sweep away the illiberal and unnecessary laws made during the Blair years which served only to take away hard-won freedoms of everyday people. This made good on a promise he had delivered to his party’s conference in 2006. As you can read in our edline below, his words could have been written speifcially with NERC in mind.

At the time, despite the apparent promise in Clegg’s vision, precisely no-one we spoke to believed that the effects of NERC would ever be reversed. Our editor described it as a ‘test case,’ saying that if the government failed to repeal NERC, all trust in them would be gone.

History has shown that not only does NERC remain, the Great Repeal Bill was quietly forgotten about while the coalition went about the business of descending from hope to ennui at a pace not even Blair could have managed. It is, of course, easy to be wise after the event –but what green lane users universally expected to happen was that the hope we were being promised would fragment into disappointment. Just how disappointing the Coalition years would prove to be, we were yet to learn – but when we expressed our naked cynicism at the idea that back-door lobbying and vested interests would be swept away, we were spot-on.

It’s sad to re-read these words from a decade and a half ago. Being proved right by all that has gone on since is no cause for satisfaction. But, as always seems to be the case when we expect our political masters to do the wrong thing in any given situation, being proved right is exactly what happens.

As we say, this is not a piece of party political writing. It is, rather, a lament on all of those who seek power. The darkest excesses of New Labour remain, as harmful today as ever – but largely overlooked because those who came after them have been even worse. The British people’s faith in politics is desperate; NERC may not be the reason for that, but it perfectly illustrates why our leaders have lost our trust.

Editor’s column from Total Off Road, July 2010:

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER Nick Clegg made a speech on 19 May about the new government’s plans to repeal ‘unnecessary’ laws. And time and again he could have been talking speciﬁcally about the CROW and NERC legislation Labour passed, which closed down so many rights of way.

I’ve spoken to a number of 4x4 drivers about Clegg’s promises. And without exception, all expect him to break them.

Clegg condemned laws which ‘make criminals out of ordinary people.’ He condemned back-door lobbying of the kind that made the 2006 NERC Act so damaging. He promised an end to ‘the tyranny of vested interests.’

While drafting it, DEFRA first said there would be a lengthy period during which claims would be allowed for vehicular rights, and even asked 4x4 users to hang fire on submitting claims so as not to overwhelm local authorities – then, at the last minute, reduced the claim period to next to nothing. Unfair? Influenced by anti-4x4 lobbying, it changed the rules at the last minute to say that on dual-status rights of way, the lower status would take precedence. Sleazy?

landowners should be able to save it.

We will campaign for NERC to go, of course. But the green lane clubs I’ve spoken to already think it’s a no-hoper –and all because of the vested interests that put it on the statute book in the ﬁrst place.

NERC banned 4x4s from hundreds of rights of way, without any evidence that 4x4 use does any harm. Unnecessary?

NERC is a perfect example of bad lawmaking. It was unfair and unnecessary, and served only to satisfy vested interests. If Clegg means what he says, it will be on the list for repeal; we shouldn’t even need to campaign for it –and no amount of campaigning against its repeal by militant ramblers and

That’s how sceptical of the political process the public has become. Clegg barely has his feet under the table, and we’re already assuming his promises are false.

So, this is a test case. If the new government fails to repeal NERC and other laws like it, all trust in them will be gone. If, however, they stand by their promises, what an unexpected breath of fresh air that will be.

Alan Kidd, Editor

Defender Carpet Kits

Once installed, these easy to fit, hard wearing carpet kits will transform your Defender’s interior. The black 5mm woven pile carpet is manufactured with a hardback which ensures it holds its shape for years to come. All holes are pre-cut for a precision fit. No glue is required. Fitment is quick and easy with no mess. The carpet also has the added advantage of improving soundproofing within the cabin. When applicable, floor mats have a reinforced edged for a smart, hard wearing finish.

DA4910 Front Carpet Kit - Black

DA4910GREY Front Carpet Kit - Grey NEW

Defender - up to & including 200Tdi. Right hand drive - LT77 gearbox - Excludes V8.

Includes - Bulkhead panel, gear box tunnel, ﬂoor mats, under dashboard panels, kick plate panels & seat box panels.

DA4911 Front Carpet Kit - Black

DA4911GREY Front Carpet Kit - Grey NEW

Defender - 300Tdi / Td5 | Right hand drive. R380 gearbox - Excludes V8 & only suitable for vehicles with 260mm wide cubby box lid under driver’s seat. Includes - Bulkhead panel, gear box tunnel, ﬂoor mats, under dashboard panels, kick plate panels & seat box panels.

DA4912 Front Carpet Kit - Black

Defender - Puma 2.4 | Right hand drive. Includes - Bulkhead panel, gear box tunnel, ﬂoor mats, under dashboard panels, kick plate panels & seat box panels.

DA4921 Front Carpet Kit - Black

Defender - Puma 2.2 | Right hand drive. Includes - Bulkhead panel, gear box tunnel, ﬂoor mats, under dashboard panels, kick plate panels & seat box panels.

DA4916 2nd Row Carpet Kit - Black

Defender 110 - Commercial not Station Wagon. For vehicles with cut-away arches & door retainers. Includes - Floor carpet & forwardfacing rear pieces.

DA4920 2nd Row Carpet Kit - Black

Defender 110 - Station Wagon - 2007 - 2016. For vehicles without mat retainers. IncludesFloor carpet & forward-facing rear pieces.

DA4922 NEW 2nd Row Carpet Kit - Black

Defender 110 - Station Wagon - 300Tdi / Td5. For vehicles without mat retainers. IncludesFloor carpet & forward-facing rear pieces.

DA4913 Rear Carpet Kit - Black

Defender 90 - without rear seats. For vehicles with square arches. IncludesWheel arches, ﬂoor & ﬁller cap cover.

DA4914 Rear Carpet Kit - Black Defender 90 - Station Wagon - with inwardfacing seats. For vehicles with square arches

Includes - Wheel arches & ﬂoor.

DA4915 Rear Carpet Kit - Black

Defender 90 - Station Wagon - with forwardfacing seats. For vehicles with cut-away arches

Includes - Wheel arches & ﬂoor.

DA4917 Rear Carpet Kit - Black

Defender 110 - without rear seats. For vehicles with cut-away arches. Includes - Wheel arches & ﬂoor.

DA4918 Rear Carpet Kit - Black

Defender 110 - 10-Seat Station Wagon - with inward-facing seats. For vehicles with square arches. Includes - Wheel arches & ﬂoor.

DA4919 Rear Carpet Kit - Black Defender 110 - Station Wagon - with forwardfacing seats. For vehicles with cut-away arches Includes - Wheel arches & ﬂoor.

are pre-cut for a precision ﬁt

DA4913

DA4917

DA4911

DA4916

DA4911

ORIGINAL DEFENDER RETURNS IN SOFT-TOP FORM – WITH £195,000 PRICE TAG

The most desirable classic Defender variant returns,’ announces Land Rover Classic. Oooh, they’re bringing back the 300Tdi! ‘As a bespoke 5.0‑litre V8.’ Oh. They’re talking about the Defender 90 Soft Top, which they’ve brought back as the latest in the line of rebuilt from not quite new 90s and 110s retailing for the sort of money most people would like to be able to spend on a house one day. Built to order, the vehicle ‘pays homage to previous generations of Defender Soft Top, including the sought‑after NAS 90 from the 1990s.’

Its contemporary the 90SV was even more sought after in Britain, on account of you could get one, but the NAS 90 was a V8 so we can see where they’re going with this. Though whereas that model only had a 3.9 Rover lump (originally mated to an LT77 box), the newcomer puts its 405bhp and 380lbf.ft to the ground through an 8 speed auto.

We’ve experienced a number of Defenders with high powered V8 conversions which were frankly horrible to drive (horrible and completely unlike a Defender, even a fast one). To try and avoid this, Land Rover uses revised rate coil springs, Eibach anti‑roll bars and Bilstein dampers which ‘have undergone comprehensive testing and development to ensure they meet OEM standards’ and create a suspension set‑up which is ‘specifically tailored to the unique characteristics of the 90 Soft Top and combines traditional Defender capability with superior comfort in all environments.’ Stopping is by four pot Alcon brakes

NEWS

The 90’s interior is comprehensively reimagined to the client’s own specifications, with a wide range of trim options to go with the literally endless choice of paint colours on the outside. It looks reminiscent of the lifestyle Defenders that have been getting created by countless independent specialist over the last couple of decades; Land Rover says it is ‘the original manufacturer –the people that know it best’

whose discs measure 335mm in diameter up front and 300mm at the rear.

Not that people will be buying these for their driving dynamics. It’s all about being seen, and Land Rover is offering them in 49 different paint finishes to help you do just that. If that’s not enough, there’s the Works Bespoke match‑to‑sample colour service, allowing you to have one in the shade of vermillion you like so much from the Jackson Pollock hanging upside down in the guest suite of your Surrey mansion.

Further opportunities to express your impeccable taste to the admiring world come in the choice of grille, door handles and bonnet script, plus a great deal more besides. You can have 16” Wolf steels or 18” Sawtooth alloys, too (or just buy a Wolf, be more cool and save a couple of hundred large, etc), while on the inside there’s a choice of five monotone and eight duo‑tone leather options with colours such as Caraway, Garnet and Liberty Blue.

The options don’t end there. Actually, the options pretty much just don’t end full stop. Want an on board wine cooler? A custom surfboard rack? A lockable bulkhead to keep your designer drugs away from your harem? Land Rover Classic is adamant that it can ‘create one‑off examples to suit any lifestyle,’ so there you go.

The 90’s top is supported by a specially designed frame inspired by the original NAS 90. The canvas hood itself

is available in four colours, with Black as standard and Sand, Dark Khaki and Navy on offer for a bit extra.

Talking of hoods, people who can actually afford one of these things will pay £195,000 plus VAT (or the local equivalent) assuming they don’t select any options at all. So we’d be pretty staggered if anyone ever takes one home for less than a quarter of a million quid.

‘With the Classic Defender V8 Soft Top, we provide an even greater opportunity to turn Classic Defender V8 dreams into reality,’ says Land Rover Classic boss Dominic Elms. ‘We work with clients to provide a one‑to‑one bespoke service, so they can enjoy their vehicle safe

in the knowledge it has been designed and engineered exclusively for them, by the original manufacturer – the people who know it best.’ They certainly know how to profit from it best, that’s for sure.

TOYOTA MAZDA ISUZU

FORD NISSAN

FIRST ALL-ELECTRIC ONE-TONNER ON THE CV SHOW FOR GLOBAL UNVEILING OF NEW

Isuzu has lifted the wraps on the D-Max EV, which will be on the road in Britain by this time next year. Unveiled at the recent Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC, this is the. UK’s ﬁrst fully electric pick-up with a one-tonne payload, 3.5-tonne towing limit and full-time fourwheel drive.

drop when carrying or pulling heavy loads, as it does with a diesel engine.

Based on an amended version of the existing D-Max chassis, the EV combines a 66.9 kWh lithium-ion battery with two electric motors. These produce 58bhp and 80lbf.ft up front and 130bhp and 160lbf.ft at the rear for a total output of 188bhp and 240lbf.ft; as always with electric motors, peak torque is available from 0rpm.

The result is a 10.1-second 0-62 time and a top speed of more than 80mph. Much more importantly, however, the WLTP driving range is quoted at 263 kilometres (163 miles); this will of course

The D-Max, which is already a highly skilled performer off-road, boasts 210mm of ground clearance in EV form and can wade in water up to 600mm deep. That’s between two and two and a half feet. Approach and departure angles are 30.5° and 24.2° respectively, and the Rough Terrain Mode setting introduced earlier this year makes the jump from ICE to electric.

Almost as radical as the vehicle’s powertrain, at least from a pick-up point of view, is its rear suspension. This abandons the familiar live axle in favour of a de Dion tube; leaf springs are retained to help achieve the

required carrying capacity, however Isuzu says this arrangement offers handling and reﬁnement beneﬁts as well as achieving an NVH reduction of up to 10% under hard acceleration.

Prices for the vehicle are still some way from being announced, however it will be available in a choice of two trim levels, both of them high-spec offerings with a 7” driver information display, heated front seats, Bi-LED headlights, leather upholstery, dual-zone climate control, front and rear parking

WAY AS ISUZU CHOOSES D-MAX EV

sensors and Rough Terrain Mode. In a departure from the current ICE range, both will be offered in Extended Cab and Double Cab formats. Isuzu says the two trims are the equivalent of DL40 and V-Cross; on top of the equipment that’s common to both of them, the former has chrome styling, an 8” infotainment screen and 6-speaker premium sound system, while the latter upgrades to a gunmetal grey exterior theme, 9” infotainment module and in Double Cab form, 8-speaker entertainment.

Isuzu promises that the D-Max EV ‘delivers zero tailpipe emissions without compromising workhorse credentials.’ With a range of technologies on hand to eke out as much range as possible, it ‘provides a sustainable alternative to diesel powertrains, helping reduce the carbon footprint of commercial operations… whether used in construction, agriculture, utility ﬂeets or by ecoconscious adventurers.’ It comes with a lithium-ion battery warranty of 8 years or 100,000 miles.

Isuzu will open the D-Max EV for preordering in the UK during the second half of 2025 – prior to which an announcement will be made on pricing. The ﬁrst shipment is then due to arrive in February 2026, with customer deliveries beginning the following month.

LAND ROVER UNVEILS DEFENDER RACECAR AS STAR STUDDED TEAM FOR DAKAR RALLY

Question: How do you win the Dakar Rally in two easy steps?

Answer: 1) Get Stéphane Peterhansel to drive for you. 2) Er, that’s it.

It’s not quite that simple, obviously. But experience is everything in the Dakar – and the much-decorated Frenchman is a winner for hire.

During a career stretching back to 1988, Peterhansel has won the Dakar 14

times. He started on two wheels, winning six bike titles for Yamaha in ten attempts before switching to cars – since when he has raced for Nissan, Aixam, Mitsubishi, BMW, Mini, Peugeot and Audi. He scored an exceptional second place overall in 2000 aboard the unfancied Aixam Mega before winning three out of the last ﬁve Dakars to be held in Africa during Mitsubishi’s half-decade stranglehold on the event. Since then he’s won three times

for Mini and twice for Peugeot, with two other podiums and three fourth places thrown in.

The maestro’s ﬁgures have not been so successful in the last few years, however, with three frustrating events aboard Audi’s revolutionary electric racecar followed by a year off in 2025. But the big news is that Peterhansel will be back for 2026 – and he’ll be returning behind the wheel of a Land Rover Defender.

PETERHANSEL ANNOUNCED AS LEADER OF

Peterhansel was unveiled at the conclusion of a testing event in Morocco at which the first prototype of the Defender D7X-R was put through its paces amid the dunes of the northern Sahara. He’ll be joined in the team by 25 year old Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška, who followed podiums in his first three Dakars aboard T4 and T3 class Can-Ams with an 11th place in the cars category this year aboard a Toyota Hilux – making

him one of the most promising young drivers around.

Land Rover’s intention at this stage is that both Peterhansel and Baciuška will be entered into the full 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) programme. There’ll also be a third member of the team solely for the Dakar Rally, however; announced a couple of weeks or so after the other two drivers, this is Sara Price, a 32 year old native

of South California who is perhaps best known for the hat-trick of stage victories she achieved aboard a Can-Am Maverick in the 2025 Dakar.

This makes her one of only three woman in the event’s history to have won a stage, an honour she shares with fellow SSV driver Cristina Guttierez and 2001 champion Jutta Kleinschmidt – who remains the only woman to have won the event overall.

Motorsport

Above left: Defender’s bid for Dakar success will be spearheaded by a man who’s had more than anyone else. France’s Stéphane Peterhansel first won the bikes race in 1991, taking six victories in the next eight years before switching to four wheels – since then he’s won another eight times while racing for a list of manufacturers including Nissan, Mitsubishi, BMW, Mini and Peugeot. He most recently drove for Audi, taking a break in 2025 ahead of being named as Land Rover’s lead driver in its bed for W2RC success

Top right: Lithuania’s Rokas Baciuška won his class at the first attempt in the 2018 European Rallycross Championship. Triumphant in the T4 class for side-by-side vehicles in the 2022 World Rally Raid Championship, he was rewarded with a drive for the Red Bull Can-Am team in the following year’s Dakar and was leading going into the final stage, only for a broken suspension arm to cost him his win

Above right: Like Peterhansel, Sara Price started her racing career on motorbikes. She moved to four wheels more quickly, however, making her Stadium Super Trucks debut at the age of 23 and moving into Trophy Trucks a year later, finishing as runner-up in the Laughlin Desert Challenge at the first attempt. Extreme E followed another three years after that, then in 2024 she made her debut in the Dakar – where she remains one of only three women ever to have won a class

Price has raced in Stadium Super Truck, Extreme E and Trophy Truck disciplines, taking podium places in events including the Laughlin Desert Classic and Baja 1000. In he latter, 2019 saw her becoming the first IronWoman – an honour bestowed on drivers who complete the entire event solo. She went on to be crowned as that year’s Trophy Truck champion.

‘Defender is an iconic vehicle with extreme capabilities, as well as a brand fuelled by purpose,’ commented Price following the announcement. ‘To drive for this British adventure brand at such a huge moment in its history is an amazing accomplishment for me.’

The Defender D7X-R is a purpose built competition car, however as a Stock class entry it’s based on the same body architecture, transmission and driveline layout as the production model. It’s powered by the 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 from the Defender Octa, which produces 635bhp and 590lbf.ft in that vehicle.

‘It’s a fantastic feeling to be sharing these first images of the Defender Dakar D7X-R prototype with the world,’ says Defender boss Mark Cameron. ‘The team is really starting to take shape as we develop Defender to compete in the Stock category – which means the competition D7X-R will be very closely linked to the production Defender.

‘Our skilled and strong-minded drivers will showcase both Defender and explore the limits of human endurance as they navigate the desert dunes and arid plains of the Dakar Rally in January. Competing in the Dakar Rally and W2RC will be the ultimate proving ground for Defender’s capability, durability and performance and it won’t be long until our competition Defender D7X-R will be put through its paces on the world-stage.’

Following on from the test session, Peterhansel commented on his initial impressions of what will be the eighth make of vehicle he’ll have driven on the Dakar. ‘I am delighted to begin a new chapter with Defender. The World

Rally‑Raid Championship is the pinnacle of rallying and off‑road competition, while Defender is an iconic and capable 4x4, so for me it’s the perfect match. The team is committed to the championship and has a passion to win. I’m looking forward to taking on this new challenge and together I hope we can take Defender to the top step of the podium.

‘Despite competing in many Dakar Rallies before, both on bikes and in cars, I’m looking forward to entering the Stock category – and I’m excited to take it head on with this team. It’s been amazing to get behind the wheel of the Defender D7X‑R prototype for the first time in Morocco. While it’s early days, our testing is moving in a positive direction for our preparation for our Dakar Rally debut in 2026.’

While the Dakar has always had a class structure recognising the differences between the various kinds of vehicle eligible for the cars category, the 2026 running of the W2RC will see a new set of regulations introduced with the aim of adding significant extra competition to the Stock class. The organisers say this is a response to the increasing popularity of performance 4x4s and SUVs, explaining that the new rules will allow the vehicles to benefit more from the power their engines produce. It promises to make the race more of a spectacle than ever, with vehicles that look like familiar school runners travelling at speeds even some of the top prototypes would struggle to match. The competition may turn out to be ferocious – but Land Rover has laid down the biggest possible marker by recruiting France’s legendary winner for hire.

Here at FreelanderSpecialist.com, not only will we ﬁx the problem but we will look to determine why the problem occurred and discuss with you how you can avoid it happening again in the future.

Our di erential units are uprated, making them stronger than the originals.

Inverted is one of the many companies specialising in converting classic vehicles to run on electricity. It already offers a kit for the Range Rover, which has recently also become available to suit the Defender – and on top of that, it has just announced the addition of the Series I, II and III to its portfolio.

These use a 62kWh waterproof battery pack and an electric motor which delivers approximately 160bhp and 665lbf.ft directly to the vehicle’s transfer box. This is retained, along with high and low range gearing and four-wheel drive. There’s a choice of Eco, Traﬃc and Off-Road drive modes, offering tailored performance and regenerative braking proﬁles to suit the prevailing conditions.

Other features include electric power steering and servo-assisted brakes, helping transform the old classics into vehicles whose more reﬁned driving experience doesn’t come at the expense of their original character. ‘Inverted Series Land Rovers retain the timeless charm of the originals while being reimagined as fully electric, modernised machines with

INVERTED ADDS CLASSIC LAND ROVERS TO ELECTRIC CONVERSION RANGE

cutting-edge engineering,’ the company says. ‘These vehicles are now ideal for everything from countryside adventures and beach trips with the family to emissions-free city driving.’

They’re practical, too, with both a 6.6kW Type 2 charger and a 60kW CCS rapid charger included as standard. With the latter on the case, charging from 20% to 80% takes approximately 38 minutes. Inverted quotes what it describes as a ‘real-world range’ of around 120 miles.

‘Series Land Rovers are beautiful, iconic machines,’ says Inverted founder Harry Millington. ‘But let’s face it, not everyone wants to wrestle with a choke on a cold morning or breathe in exhaust fumes that waft through the car. Our electriﬁed versions preserve everything people love about these classics while making them more fun, more reliable, and inﬁnitely more usable.’

More luxurious, too, if you choose from the various additional packages on offer. These include custom interiors and paint colours, electric air conditioning, battery cooling and a host of others. You get a

24-month electriﬁcation warranty and technical support, too, which is twice as long as Land Rover Classic gives you on its £195,000 rebuilt Defender 90 Soft-Tops (see elsewhere on these pages).

On that subject, Inverted’s Series Land Rovers start at £125,000 plus VAT. The company will source a vehicle to suit your requirements, then restore it to your speciﬁcations while at the same time converting it into an EV – or you can supply your own Landy to use as a donor vehicle, in which case it’s price upon application.

Inverted has also launched an electriﬁcation kit for the Defender. Based on its existing Range Rover set-up, this has a heated and cooled 82kWh battery which can be mated to a choice of 300bhp and 450bhp motors. Permanent 4WD is retained, and the vehicle offers rapid charging up to 75kW.

‘An Inverted Range Rover Classic or Defender delivers serious performance with zero tailpipe emissions,’ the company says. Contact them for pricing, and to discuss your build in more detail, at www. inverted-ev.com.

Heritage 1948 are proud to introduce there all new wheel . The Culbone Dusk is our rst wheel to feature our exclusive Gun metal grey body. This premium 15 inch Hand stitched leather steering wheel has been designed for the Land Rover Defender and is crafted for durability and comfort, it’s thick robust rim ensures a secure grip in any driving environment, whether

Heritage 1948 is dedicated to producing a range of outstanding quality canvas Hoods for Series Land Rovers. Unlike some of our competitors, all of our Land Rover hoods are handmade in our Somerset factory from superior quality ‘Moorland’ canvas.

Our handmade Hoods are inherently more accurate than machine produced counterparts allowing for an enhanced t and exceptional quality control.

Heritage 1948 has taken great care to ensure all our Land Rover Hoods have an enhanced life span and are all nished with period correct Solid Brass ttings.

The Heritage 1948 range of classic Land Rover Hood Sticks parts has been developed to be the most accurate reproductions on the market. Unlike many of our competitors who produce their hoods sticks abroad, all of our hood sticks are manufactured right here in the UK.

your Landys on rugged trails or city streets. Meticulously designed and built with the craftsmanship synonymous with Heritage 1948. The gun metal grey is set o against a classic three-spoke design, enhanced by clean, crisp slots, adding a timeless touch to your Defender’s interior.

£348.50 (Including Boss Kit)

Shaped by hand operated tooling in the same process the original parts where manufactured, we have selected a high quality steel and low volume galvanising to produce the most accurate period correct Land Rover Hood Stick sets on the market.

£198.50 | www.heritage1948.co.uk

There aren’t many parts of an old Land Rover that aren’t prone to wearing out. One of them that definitely is, but which is unlikely to be the first thing you think about when the subject comes up, is its seats.

Chances are you’re now picturing a cabin with the classic combination of semiderelict dash, dog-eaten front seats and ingrained dirt everywhere. But the inwardfacing rear benches are in a high-traffic area too – and the traffic in question tends not to be what you’d call gentle. Tools, machines, animals, dead animals, half a ton of pea shingle, half a ton of drunk labourers… every cliche under the sun applies, and all of them have the potential to take their toll on your Landy’s rear seats.

Hence these 2-Man Galvanised Bench Seats in black vinyl, which are now part of the high-quality, made-in-Britain range of-

KAHN DESIGN’S NEW RS DC is an evolution of what the company calls ‘one of our most enduring and iconic wheel designs.’ Its ten V-spoke design has been revised for ‘greater depth and visual drama’, while updates to its form and profile promise to make it look sleek and muscular while giving it a more technical appearance.

In addition to looking good, in a satin black finish that ought to contrast well with all sorts of colours and styling approaches, the RS DC promises a combination of light weight and exceptional strength. ‘The

fered by Heritage 1948. These have been designed to perfectly replicate the original rear load seating found in Series Land Rovers since their first launch in 1948, and promise a traditional appearance combined with modern durability – not to mention precision manufacture to the highest standards of quality.

The seats are based on a heavy-duty galvanised frame and feature high-density foam padding, giving them improved comfort over the original. This is wrapped in a durable black vinyl which ought to be hard to damage but easy to keep clean.

The seats fit directly into the load area of any Series II or III and any 90 or 110, includ-

perfect balance of form and function,’ says Kahn. ‘Built for drivers who demand both style and substance.’

They’re also built for drivers who demand original equipment bolts and centre caps.

As you can see in the picture, Kahn will be

ing prePuma Defenders, thus covering the entire range of production from 1958 to the end of the Td5 era. Resting on the wheel box in the traditional way, they mimic the traditional folding operation of the originals, with retaining straps allowing them to be stowed vertically when not in use.

The benches come complete with a full fitting kit promising hassle-free installation. Seat belts aren’t included, however Heritage 1948 can sell you those too.

offering the wheels with fitments for the new-shape Defender, current Wrangler and Grenadier, as well also as the 70, 250 and 300-Series Land Cruiser. Prices are still to be announced, but they’ll go on sale later this year.

£49.99-£199.99 | www.osram.co.uk

GOING OFF-GRID HAS BECOME A HUGE THING IN RECENT

TIMES – as if it wasn’t already for us canny old dogs with 4x4s to get us there. You tend to feel less canny, though, and more dogged, if being off-grid turns itself into being off-grid with a flat battery.

Just in case you’re the new-fangled breed of off-roader who thinks ‘off-grid’ refers to anywhere that doesn’t have a concierge or at least 900Mb fibre broadband, we’re not talking about glamping pods here. Plugging in is not an option in the proper wilds.

Firing up a solar battery charger, on the other hand, is, thanks to Osram’s new BATTERYcharge SOLAR range. These are fold-out panels which can be used in all conditions, even wet and overcast.

The ones you’re likely to want are the 100W and 200W options, either of which can be used to charger and maintain 12V leisure batteries. Both come with USB outputs, connecting clamps, fivemetre cables and strong aluminium stands; the bigger unit only costs £50 more, which for double the wattage sounds like overengineering rather than overkill.

For smaller stuff, the range also includes a 20W option capable of charging phones, tablets and laptops. This too can be used in wet and overcast conditions, and it’s sufficiently compact and lightweight to be carried with you in a rucksack or day bag.

‘Automotive batteries naturally discharge when not in use,’ says Osram’s Terri Clark. ‘Therefore, solar battery maintainers offer an ideal solution for maintaining the vehicle battery when inactive, as well as supplying power for 12V leisure batteries. Our new range of battery maintainers give users confidence and peace of mind that their next adventure will be powered by a quality assured OSRAM product.’ They’re available now, backed by a two-year warranty.

On The Road And Beyond with General Tire’s new Grabber Cross A/S

Leading American brand General Tire has launched a new all-season 4x4 tyre that combines safe summer and winter driving with off-road capability boasting the 3PMSF symbol. This tyre is also EV ready, which means it’s suitable for all vehicles whether ICE, electric or hybrid.

The Grabber™ Cross A/S is a robust mild all-terrain 4x4 tyre offering good handling on asphalt, protection against aquaplaning, safe driving in warm and cold seasons, high mileage and good traction off-road. There will be a phased introduction of tyre sizes into the UK market from June this year offering 44 sizes between 16 and 22 inches.

All Season Capability

• Excellent grip on wet and snow-covered surfaces

• Good aquaplaning resistance

• Sipe density in tread blocks creates stability on wet and snowy roads

• Open shoulder leads to high ability of water drainage

• New cross over compound developed for snowy conditions

Fast Roads

• Excellent cornering performance on-road

• Comfortable and pleasant ride with low noise level and high mileage

• Supporting elements between tread bocks lead to stiffness of the pattern

• Optimised tread pattern providing even pressure distribution

• Optimised cross over compound for low abrasion even in higher-speed use

Tough Trails

• Robust off-road performance with good grip on loose surfaces

• Improved tread life in rugged terrain

• Chamfered edges in tread pattern grooves

• Hexagonal tread blocks with gripping edges support traction on loose surfaces

• Cut and chip resistant cross over compound resists damage

For further information and to ﬁ nd your local stockist, please visit www.generaltire-tyres.com/gb/en/suv-4x4/grabber-cross-as/ or scan here

X Fast Roads Tough Trails

THE NEW GRABBER CROSS A/S

DISCOVER NEW HORIZONS AND BE READY FOR WHATEVER COMES YOUR WAY!

The GRABBER CROSS A/S is the perfect tyre for SUV drivers looking for both exceptional on-road performance and reliable off-road capabilities in every season! Experience a new level of confidence and control as you embrace every journey, no matter if you are driving on smooth highways or conquering tough trails.

SKODA KODIAQ 2.0 TDI 4X4 SPORTLINE

The Kodiaq is our reigning 4x4 of the Year, a title it won on the strength of its all-round abilities as a family SUV. It’s practical, comfortable, well equipped and very well put together. But aside from some fun and games on the reassuringly ﬁrm sand of an Irish beach during the vehicle’s launch last summer, we’ve never really taken it off-road.

There’s a good reason for that, of course. Most Kodiaqs are two-wheel drive only – and although traction technology has improved over time to the point where that’s more than enough to get you places

on the sort of rough tracks and loose terrain that make up 99% of the off-roading people actually do in the real world, knowing you’ve got all four looking after you deﬁnitely adds a layer of reassurance when you’re out there having adventures.

Skoda does give you the choice of having your Kodiaq with four-wheel drive, though. The engine has to be diesel (there are still many people to whom this is no problem) and, as with every Kodiaq now, you get a DSG auto box as standard, so the choices are much more limited than they used to be in the days when we had a ﬁrst-gen Scout

model on long-term test, but they’re playing the percentages and that’s what your typical SUV buyer wants. And, as evidenced by its monumental popularity, a Kodiaq is what a whole lot of them want too.

It’s easy to see why. We’ve praised the vehicle’s cabin more than once before but it’s always worth a refresh, not least because last time out we tested the entrylevel SE and this time it’s the higher-spec Sportline. A model with a £48,725 list price (£54,300 as tested), compared to the £36,645 (£39,395) of last time. The diesel engine and 4x4 drivetrain count for a big

chunk of the difference there, as does a round of price rises in between times, but the Sportline trim costs £6100 more than SE too.

Premium feel

So this is a pretty high-level Kodiaq and that’s how it feels. The SE didn’t feel in any way low-rent but now we’re sitting in sports seats with suede and artiﬁcial leather trim, and we’re surrounded by yet more in the way of luxuries and equipment. Skoda doesn’t claim to be a premium brand but it feels like a premium vehicle.

The combination of tones and textures on the dash, doors and other ﬁttings is excellent. The steering wheel’s clad in leather, the bits you’re most likely to touch are in suede and the controls are superbly positive. It’s as tactile and usable as it is sturdy and well made – and it’s VERY sturdy and well made. There are no groans or creaks from the dash and the ﬂoor console doesn’t just feel like part of the chassis, it feels like part of the planet.

Said ﬂoor console contains a big, deep cubby box and twin-storey phone slots with two inductive charging pads, and as well as

In Sportline trim, the Kodiaq rides on 235/45R20 Rila anthracite polished alloys with black matte aero inserts. That’s how Skoda describes them, at any rate. They look good, but with so little sidewall we’d be constantly worried about damaging them every time we left the tarmac. Not that the Kodiaq is meant to be a big-time off-roader, but it does have a drive mode for this speciﬁc use

big door pockets there are two gloveboxes. So you’re not going to want for oddment stowage – and in the back, the boot is colossal. This version of the Kodiaq is a seven-seater, and with the third row folded down the luggage space is staggering. Drop the second too and it’s like a van, with a big, square aperture to load through and a variety of hooks and bins to help keep smaller items under control.

If you’re using the seats for sitting in, you’ll ﬁnd that the Kodiaq accommodates two rows’ worth of tall adults no problem at all. It’ll do so for three, too, though each will have to yield enough for it to feel snug. The third row is, predictably, best left for kids, but the second slides to allow the greatest possible level of ﬂexibility. Even with the optional panoramic roof in the vehicle tested here, a six-footer won’t have to stoop in the second row, though any taller and they’d better not be wearing hair gel.

The long and the short of it is that overall practicality is off the scale. It’s a fantastically executed cabin.

We mentioned the sports seats, which are very comfortable and have loads of adjustability to go with an excellent driving position. A high-quality fabric always beats leather in our book, and with four-way lumbar adjust it’s easy to keep on feeling fresh even when the Great British Crap Road System is doing its worst.

Skoda’s multimedia offerings are always good, and it’s no exception here with a 10.25” digital dash display and a 13” touch screen rising from the facia. The latter is not only big, it’s clear and crisp, responding quickly and hooking up to CarPlay without you needing to sit an exam first. The screen becomes a very high-res camera display when you engage reverse, and with sensors everywhere it takes all the stress out of tight car parks and so on.

Controlling urges

Driving it won’t tax you either. In keeping with every other Kodiaq, the 2.0 TDI is extremely smooth and easy; you very much feel in control behind the wheel. There’s plenty of urge behind it, too, with 295lbf.ft to go with its 193bhp. It’s utterly effortless around town, dismissing stop-start traffic

and bombing-raid road surfaces with the same composure. You’re only three presses of the screen away from shutting up the annoying speed limit warning all new cars are forced to have now, which is another good thing for your blood pressure.

Ride quality remains composed over most surfaces, though in this form we thought the Kodiaq felt slightly bouncier than the SE we drove last time. It was on lower profile tyres, with 235/45R20s as against the SE’s 235/55R18s, and also equipped with adaptive shocks as part of the Dynamic Chassis Control package, but we thought the more basic vehicle was also more settled. The margins are fine, though, and the Sportline certainly didn’t offend.

There’s no wallowing in corners, indeed, and the brakes and steering feel very natural, so it’s well equipped to make the most of

The Kodiaq’s cabin is superbly put together whichever model you choose, with mighty build quality and excellent electronics led by a massive 13” media screen. The Sportline model tested here has plenty of suede trim around its cabin, most notably on the excellent sports seats

the extra grip offered by its 4x4 drivetrain. You can hustle it along nicely, should that be your inclination, and it pulls away alertly, but without drama, at overtaking speeds.

On the motorway, there’s a mild swoosh from the tyres but very little wind noise. The engine is very well muted at this kind of speed, too – indeed the only time you ever really hear from it is under hard acceleration, though even then the rising note never actually becomes a full-on bark. Ride quality remains smooth at cruising speeds, and the steering is settled, with no need for constant small adjustments to keep you on line.

There are various drive modes to help you tune the details, and of course one other trick the menu has up its sleeve on the 4x4 model is an off-road setting. This is a suite of driver aids rather than a fully fledged magic button – there’s no low-

Second and third rows fold down to create a cavernous load space. The second doesn’t go completely flat but the sheer volume brooks no argument. It’s pretty massive even with the second row ready to accommodate passengers, too

range, obviously, nor height-adjustable air suspension – but it’ll help keep you under control by preventing wheelspin when you’ve got your foot on the loud pedal and, should you be going faster than you ought to have, bringing down braking distances on loose surfaces. Both of these could be filed under Just Learn To Drive, but hill descent control is something you’d be hard pushed to do without in a vehicle without low box, and it opens up a whole new kind of terrain to the Kodiaq.

In practice, you can accelerate very hard on low-traction surfaces without more than a brief chirp of wheelspin as you take off. Part of the road tester’s art is to drive badly and see how the vehicle copes, and lumping a size 12 on the anchors does indeed bring the Kodiaq to a smarter, more composed halt than you deserve. Similarly, with hill descent control engaged it crawls down steep descents without any hint of running away, even when the terrain is uneven

We tend not to use engine pictures these days, but when it’s an endangered species we’ll make an exception. The 2.0 TDI has been a stalwart across the VW Group and Skoda makes excellent use of it here in the version of the Kodiaq that wants you to take it off-roading

enough to have it shuffling the effort from wheel to wheel.

The result is a vehicle whose green lane skills demand respect. Add the clever electronics to its natural tractability and it’ll keep going in conditions almost no owners would ever dare to try. It doesn’t try to run away on the flat, so you’re not constantly driving it on the brakes, and it rides smoothly over things like tree roots and protruding stones. The suspension doesn’t have a great deal of articulation in it, obviously, but it follows the ground smoothly enough for the electronics to be kept quiet most of the time. There’s always the risk of coming to something you can’t deal with, but if you know the trails you’re driving it’s a 4x4 in which you can be confident.

We wouldn’t choose the Sportline’s 235/45R20 tyres for off-tarmac use, however not just because lower profile

equals lower flexibility on rough ground but because they don’t give anything much in the way of protection to the 20” polished alloys within. They do look great, but a hundred yards in some flinty ruts would see to that, and this is an area in which we’d choose that old Scout of ours instead. As always, off-road ability is not just about what you can make a vehicle can do – it’s about what you can make it can do without wishing you hadn’t.

We doubt there’ll be many Kodiaq owners who lack the common sense to appreciate this. It is, after all, a very sensible SUV. More than that, it’s a vehicle that makes you wax lyrical about how well it does everything –and if you take it off-road, within the context of what it is, you’ll soon be waxing lyrical about that too. The Kodiaq was already a world-class family SUV. Add four-while drive and it comes with heroism built in.

UNCONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Everybody knows that if you’re going to use a Land Rover for expedition travel, it needs to be a 110. Gareth Griﬃths, on the other hand, knew different – and set about creating a short-wheelbase overlander that proves size isn’t everything

Words Olly Sack Pictures Steve Taylor

We all have preconceived notions about things. If you were in your garden and suddenly saw a lion sitting watching you, you’d assume it was about to have you for lunch. A vehicle for sale at a suspiciously low price is sure to make you think it sounds, well, suspicious. For a bar owner on a Spanish costa, a bunch of beered-up lads in football shirts is likely to trigger a very speciﬁc reaction, even if you’ve never met any of them before.

There are many, many others, of course. Our instinct is that photographs are real, even when we’re wading through AI fakes on social media. Depending on how (or if) we’ve grown up, we perceive the world around us through a never-ending screen of perceptions warped by our feelings on race, religion, gender, class, nationality and much more. There are people who presume to know all they need to know about you because your shoes don’t look like they cost enough, or your car is too old.

There are plenty of preconceived notions in the 4x4 world, too. New or old, Brit or Jap, SUV or off-road wagon… wherever you are in these divides, you’re likely to assume speciﬁc things about the others.

And whatever your taste in motors, you’re likely to think that going overlanding in a Defender means going in a 110. Or a 130. But never a 90.

Which is where this expedition wagon comes into it. Built by Gareth Griﬃths, it’s apt to challenge more than just your preconceived notions on size. It’s a classic example of thinking like an engineer (which is indeed what brought him to it) rather than a customer, of solving problems with your brain rather than your wallet.

Prior to building the Defender, Gareth had owned two other Land Rovers – in fact, he’d never owned anything else four-wheeled in his life, so it’s safe to say he was a bit into the whole green oval thing. His ﬁrst Solihull motor was an early 90 (‘I learned a lot about ﬁxing Land Rovers at this point,’ he says), and the other was a Series IIA Lightweight.

Prior to all that, he’d grown up in a family with a Trooper and as time went and he was able to get behind the wheel, he took it out a few times with the North Somerset Land Rover Club. Now that’s a ‘dad, can I borrow the car’ situation worthy of respect and no mistake. ‘It was these guys that got me

Above: The only mod Gareth didn’t do himself was the roll cage, which he had supplied and fitted by Whitbread Off-Road. This is a full exo design, so it doesn’t take up any valuable space inside the vehicle – and it doubles up as a platform for the roof tent, a hard-shell Maggiolina unit that provides comfortable bedding for two

Right: Anyone who’s driven a Defender with anything more than a pizza cutter on the back will be used to the rattling you get as the spare slowly pulls the door skin to pieces. A swingaway carrier is the answer – and it also provides a handy mounting point for a high-lift jack

Above left: Box-section tree sliders, built out with tubular nerf bars, protect the sills and in turn the doors from inevitable damage. Running up to them from underneath, what you’re looking at here is one of two fuel tank guards…

Above centre: …and here you’re looking at the other. You hear horrendous stories of Landies getting hung up on rocks which get wedged between the back axle and rear crossmember, but the chances of this happening here seem slim at worst

Above right: Gareth lists the addition of a second fuel tank as the modification he’s been happiest with, quoting an on-board capacity of 110 litres and a new range of 650-700 miles before he even has to look at his jerry cans. The additional tank, from a TD5, is mounted on the rear anti-roll bar mounts – a job that meant making a slight alteration to the crossmember to make space. It backs up the standard tank via a 12-volt solid-state pump: ‘I wanted to keep this system simple and not interfere with original fuel lines and tank,’ says Gareth. ‘If it does go wrong, the original set-up has not been compromised.’ The Y-piece filler you see here was on the list for a rethink, though, as it was tricky to direct fuel to the auxiliary tank and, worse, on severe hills fuel could flow from one to another

interested and out green laning, and helped me out along the way,’ he told us.

Green laning grew into long range off-roading, and big convoys shrunk into travelling either solo or as part of a small group. Times changed for Gareth’s original 90, too – or rather, its owner changed and the need for PAS and an engine to rely on led him to take on a 300 Tdi County HardTop. He was its fourth owner but the first to have overlanding in mind.

Dog days are over

‘The vehicle was owned for most of its life by a lady who wanted something to take her dogs about in,’ Gareth explains. ‘Dealer

maintained and serviced, and only genuine parts fitted. It then went through two chaps in the space of three or four years who didn’t use it much but looked after it well – at which point I bought it.’

He didn’t waste any time in getting to grips with his new truck. Before the engine had even cooled down, he’d stripped off the roof rack, side steps and County decals –and by October of that year, when he took his first solo trip to Morocco, it was more or less the way you see it here.

Aside from the roll cage, a Blue-Band job which was made and fitted by Whitbread Off-Road, everything on the 90 has been put there by Gareth himself. Having replaced

the original springs and shocks with a +2” Terrafirma lift, he was able to slide 255x85R16 BFGs on Wolf rims under the wheelarches, and he followed this up with a modified Warn M8000 on an ARB front bumper. ‘The internals,’ he continues, ‘all happened around these and continued after.’

And what would those internals be? ‘Where do we start? You name it, we carry it!’ Here, we’re getting into the reason why 110s are a much more common sight than 90s on the overland trail, but Gareth’s happy that with the mods he’s made, the shorter vehicle has enough space to be a fully functional home-from-home for two people. As is always the case with real-world expedition

Above left: Note the absence of any fancy bolt-on bits, luridly coloured turbo hoses or shiny aftermarket intercoolers. This is a 300 Tdi looking the way it did when it left Solihull (plus deposits from grubby water, obviously) – it might not perform the way a turned-up one will, but it stands the best possible chance of not breaking down and, importantly, it’ll keep running on a diet of dodgy diesel from questionable sources

Above centre: As you’d expect on an expedition truck, the 300 Tdi engine has been left well alone and is in completely standard condition. As you’d also expect, it breathes through a raised air intake, protecting it from the worst of the dust and minimising the danger of catastrophic damage if a river crossing goes wrong. The presence of the cage means this has to be mounted forward of its ideal position, hence the ugly double-bend – this certainly won’t help the vehicle’s performance, though whether you’d notice the difference in a heavily laden overland warrior with a roof tent and 33-inch tyres is debatable

Top right: You cover thousands of miles off-road on an expedition without ever having to tackle a genuinely extreme terrain, but anyone who’s ever tried to do a failed hillclimb in a 300 Tdi will know that the exhaust is about as well protected as the bloke who believes that thing people say about cling film. A side-exit Infinity unit, on the other hand, looks like a sure-fire way of avoiding any dramas – it’s there as a justin-case measure, but the sort of peace of mind it provides means Gareth can get on with the serious business of exploring the world without worrying about something avoidable punching a hole in his adventure

Above right: The last thing you want to do when there’s a herd of zebras to follow, or a pride of lions to run away from, is take out a diff pan on a rock. A brace of Qt guards helps out here – and won’t do any harm on a common-or-garden laning trip, either vehicles, it’s not all pretty and high-tech, but it’s very much about fitness for purpose and making the most of every scrap of space.

Hence the dog guard behind the seats, which is home to a 300 Watt inverter, first aid kit, fire extinguisher and bug-out bag. Should you be wondering, the latter isn’t anything to do with insects; in fact, it’s a self-contained survival kit designed to keep you alive in the event of an emergency. The phrase was first coined by survivalists in the USA during the years when it seemed like a mere question of time before the nuclear posturing stopped and the missiles started to fly, but in terms of people who are ever likely to actually use one overlanders have got to be near the top of the list.

Love bug

People talking about vehicle-dependant travel often ask questions about what’s going to happen if the vehicle in question

Above: There are many winch bumpers for the Defender, and an ARB bull bar unit might not be the most obvious choice. But its structure is a genuine advantage on safari, and as well as mounting a pair of PIAA spots it keeps the Warn M8000 protected from sticky fingers. Given that the winch is fitted with an uprated Bowmotor and Albright solenoid pack, and spooled with 100 feet of Dyneema Bowrope, Gareth has more than one reason for not wanting to see it go walkies. Further good stuff here includes a secondary battery backing up the standard unit, with an X-Eng split-charge system and National Luna twin voltmeter

Above right: A tried and trusted bit of advice is that it pays to keep an expedition truck as standard as possible. We’ve seen people try to go overlanding in homespun hybrids, mini monster trucks and vehicles with retro-fit V8 engine conversions: the common theme is that they’ve all ended up wishing they were in something standard instead. This here is a +2” suspension lift made up using heavy-duty Terrafirma springs and shocks and located up top using D44 towers, which is about as far as you’d want to go. The suspension creates the clearance necessary for a step up in tyre size and is also better suited to the weight of all the kit the vehicle carries on a long trip. Even just a simple upgrade like this was enough to warrant a TD5 wide-yoke front propshaft to cope with the extra height

Right: BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains wrapped around a set of Wolf rims – it doesn’t get much more durable than that. The tyres are 255/85R16 in size, which makes them about 33” in height and 10” wide – plenty of ground clearance there, but minimal flab

breaks down in the middle of the desert; well, you summon help, stay with your truck and then wait for it to arrive. But what if something happens that’s so bad, it calls for a full-on evacuation? Summoning help is still a brilliant idea – but with your vehicle now on fire, under water or being driven away triumphantly by guerrillas, a bug-out bag is your passport to the land of Not Dead. Less likely to save any lives, but equally valuable in their own way, the original seats were re-foamed and then trimmed with Outlast fabric from Exmoor Trim. The cabin was further augmented by a 14” Mountney steering wheel, while a Mud-UK dash console and Mobile Storage Systems cubby box look after extra gauges and general oddments respectively. Strapped to the dash, a Hewlett Packard tablet PC running

ALL LAND ROVER VEHICLES 1948 - 2025

ALL RANGE ROVER VEHICLES 1974 - 2025

various mapping packages as well as playing music, DVDs and computer games sounds like one form of ideal solution for those long nights under canvas.

Out back, there’s a neat storage system made up using Mantec load slides, with a shelf mounted on aluminium channel to just clear a slide-out Engel fridge. Gareth finished off the sides using ply and marine grade carpeting, adding extra cargo nets at the same time. Up top, another shelf carries a pair of loudspeakers and everyday clothes.

Needless to say, the 90 also carries a thorough suite of recovery kit, whether it’s

for blazing trails overseas or just laning back home. Recovery gear lives in a pair of canvas holdalls while electronic equipment is stored in Peli cases, camping stuff goes in a pair of Zarges boxes and everything else is housed in a variety of heavy-duty Plastor plastic containers.

Boxing clever

If that sounds a bit ad hoc, don’t believe your ears. Gareth rates the Plastor boxes for their modularity, with so many different sizes and other options being available, and points out that this set-up is infinitely

adaptable to suit every expedition. ‘We use a boxed system over fixed drawers, so we have an adaptable approach to each trip and therefore don’t carry any unnecessary weight.’ Unconventional wisdom once again. He doesn’t take unnecessary risks, either – protecting it all, which is pretty essential when overlanders are all too often seen as easy prey, is a set of MSS window grilles.

As you’ll have worked out, this is very much a home-grown, self-made-to-measure expedition truck. There’s plenty that’s been bought from suppliers, of course, but the way it’s been put together is what makes

Zarges camping boxes and Plastor containers of varying sizes

Above centre: Just about visible above the upper bank of storage cases is a ‘top shelf’ Gareth installed which carries everyday grab-and-go clothing. Note also here the MSS window grill on the back door – one of the greatest pleasures in travelling to exotic lands is getting to know the people who live there, but there’ll always be a few for whom the lure of an expensive foreign 4x4 is too great to resist

Above right: This is the kind of kit stowage you won’t see in any glossy brochures. Lashed to a dog guard behind the seats are a fire extinguisher and first aid kit, as well as a bug-out bag – a self-contained survival kit to be grabbed on exit when abandoning the vehicle for good

Above left: The 90’s been fitted out in the back with a tailored storage system including a slide-out Engel fridge and a shelf mounted on aluminium channel. Kit in general is stored in Peli cases,

Above left: Piggy-backing on to the dashboard, a Mud-UK instrument console carries the original clock as well as Carling switches for items like the winch, rear worklight, air compressor and PIAA spots. There’s even a slot there for a Sony head unit

Above centre: With the Mud-UK console providing additional space for clocks, the original instrument binnacle now hosts a separate fuel gauge for each tank. The temperature gauge between them is a high-sensitivity unit giving exact readings

Above right: A Hewlett Packard TC1100 10-inch Tablet PC powered off a dedicated 12-volt laptop supply. This runs Memory Map, Garmin Mapsource, Autoroute and Fugawi navigational software, which should just about cover most eventualities, and also plays music through an external hard drive using Windows media player. It even lets Gareth watch DVDs and play computer games in his tent of an evening

it unique, with all its owner’s preferences built in. Ask even the best expedition prep specialist to build you a chequebook overland vehicle and however hard they try, that’s something you’ll never get.

You’ll not get a 90, either, unless that’s what you specifically ask for. But having bucked the trend with his choice of base vehicle, Gareth had no regrets when he told us, quite simply: ‘If I don’t like it or it no longer works for me, I just change it.’

On that subject, back when we spoke to Gareth he was thinking about fitting the 90 with stiffer dampers and a Detroit Locker in its rear axle. And painting it orange, as you do. But with Morocco and the Alps already under his belt, he was also starting to look further afield to places like Pakistan, Mongolia and North-Eastern Siberia. And you know what that means, right?

Yes, a bigger rig. So what are we talking, 110 or 130? Neither, actually. ‘We’re likely to

go down the overland trailer route and keep the 90,’ Gareth told us.

This is definitely not a truck, or an owner, that’s for following the crowd. Engineering is all about seeking answers to questions people didn’t even realise they were asking, after all. And ‘why don’t we just do the same as everybody else’ will never be one of them. Planning to see the world? In every sense, there was never a better time for leaving your preconceived notions at the door.

Land Rovers are returning to Newark Showground this August for a day ﬁlled with Land Rovers!

Exhibitors old and new will join us, selling everything from parts & accessories to tyres, clothing and toys Talk to overland adventure specialists about your next trip, discuss modiﬁcation options with companies with the know-how and other experienced Land Rover owners.

10-4

GOOD BUDDY

With its front end inspired by the M715 of old, Jeep’s Convoy concept was perhaps the most distinctive new offering to come from this year’s Easter Safari. But nine years previously, another concept with similar styling had alerted the world to the imminent arrival of a new Jeep like no other before it

Of all the seven concept vehicles Jeep built for this year’s Easter Safari, the Convoy is possibly most eye-catching. That’s saying something, because it was in spectacular company – but while every one of the others looked like a Wrangler, this military-themed take on the Gladiator pick-up stands out thanks to the ‘J-nose’ front end reminiscent of the 1962 SJ and military M715 Kaiser.

The original SJ Gladiator was sold in various guises until 1988, making it one of the few vehicles to last more than a quarter of a century on the same basic platform. It was the basis for the M715, which appeared in 1967 and saw service in Vietnam with some 33,000 units going on to be built.

The civilian SJ was available with a wide range of engines and gearboxes during its time, as well as options including two

and four-wheel drive, dually rear wheels and, on early examples, independent front suspension. It was also the ﬁrst truck in America to feature an OHC engine, the 3.8-litre, 140bhp Tornado straight six. Automatic transmission was another sector ﬁrst, and further options included power steering and hydraulic brake assist.

In addition to Jeep’s own Tornado unit, engine options during the vehicle’s lifespan

Words Tom Alderney Pictures Jeep

included 3.8 and 4.2-litre AMC sixes, a 5.7-litre Buick V8 and5.4, 5.9 and 6.6-litre AMC V8s. Three and four-speed manuals were augmented with the options of GM and Chrysler three-speed autos.

The Convoy concept, meanwhile, is based on the current Gladiator Mojave. This has a comparatively dinky 3.6-litre V6 producing a not so dinky 285bhp, which it puts down via an eight-speed auto. (While

checking this out, we’ve just noticed on Jeep’s US website that you can get a new Gladiator for the dollar equivalent of less than £30,000. In the immortal words of Johnny Rotten, ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?)

Slot car

Anyway. Jeep’s current version of its famous seven-slot grille is shorter and more

squat than we’ve seen before, and they’ve adapted it rather effectively into a one-off homage to the SJ which incorporates amber LED headlamp arrays. Also rather effective looking are its 40” BFGoodrich KM3s, which ride on 17” Warn steels. Jeep doesn’t mention anything about a suspension lift on the vehicle, but that’s quite a jump from the 285/70R17s fitted as standard – it does run high-clearance wheelarch flares, but more

than seven inches is a lot for a virtual lift to cope with and we’d be expecting to find bigger axles and taller springs under there.

Jeep also doesn’t mention that the engine’s air comes via a raised intake to help keep the dust out. There’s a 12,000lb Warn Zeon electric winch tucked in nicely below that custom grille, however, and that does get a mention.

So too do elements of the truck’s styling, which we’d describe as a take on the military theme that’s playful rather than dutiful. The bodywork is painted in a special-edition Ghost Ops matte, which contrasts very nicely with the chocolate brown canvas dressing the half doors and dual top and bed canopies. As the pictures show, it doesn’t exactly blend in to the background –but it’s a very, very cool way of being seen to be not being seen.

Inside, there’s more brown in the distressed leather covering on the low-back

seats. This contrasts (some would say clashes) with the spray-on bedliner used to cover the floor and and lower dash which is in a special-edition Mil Spec O.D. Green.

We don’t know what that means either, but

it was chosen to be seen, not to blend in. Used on the bedliner sprayed over the floors and lower dash, it definitely contrasts with the distressed brown leather on the low-back seats

any Army that tries to use it for camouflage won’t last long.

Jeep says the Convoy concept is ‘ready and equipped for duty, including long-range, off-road adventures.’ If you’re currently speccing up an expedition build, we think it’s less than definite that you’ll take one look and decide to do it just like that – but if we were going to spend a sunny week exploring the trails of Moab, we can’t think of many things we’d sooner do it in.

Special edition Mil Spec O.D. Green looks like

FOUR-DOOR BY FOUR

The Convoy concept isn’t the ﬁrst to have graced the Easter Safari with an M715 style front end. It’s been almost a decade since Jeep last pulled that trick, however – when the mighty Crew Chief announced to the world that at last it was going to build a four-door pick-up

Words Bill Bumley Pictures Jeep

Back in 2016, the rumour mill around Jeep was working at fever pitch. The new Wrangler JL was on the way – and all the talk was of it being available as a double-cab. Jeep had already shown a variety of pick-up concepts over the preceding decade or so, stoking the ﬁre of expectation that it was getting set to reintroduce pick-ups to its range. And then in 2016, it dropped the broadest hint yet.

The Crew Chief 715 was the most talked about of the concepts unveiled at that year’s Easter Safari. When you consider that the others included the 707bhp Trailcat Wrangler and the beautifully retro FC150 forward control, that takes some doing.

What was it that made the Crew Chief so signiﬁcant? No, not that it was the latest Jeep concept to feature a nose job inspired by the Kaiser M715, nor even indeed the military theme that ranged from aviationstyle diff lock switches to 40” army tyres. It was more importantly than any of that: it was that this was the ﬁrst double-cab Jeep had presented to the world.

Quoted in Outside magazine at the time, Jeep Chief Designer Mark Allen joked about it being ‘odd’ that the Crew Chief was the ﬁrst four-door pick-up the company had built – even going so far as to add a ‘hint hint’ afterwards. ‘There may be things you see on the Crew Chief that you might see on that truck,’ he added, referencing the new

Wrangler JL that was due to go on sale the following year.

The Crew Chief rode on Dana 60 axles turned by the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 engine from the contemporary Wrangler Rubicon. It was shod with 40x20 military tyres, which did a very impressive job of ﬁlling the space created by a +4” suspension lift with remote reservoir Fox shocks. As with the Wrangler, the Gladiator (as the double-cab came to be known) was designed with modifying in mind, with a huge aftermarket – not to mention Jeep’s own Mopar operation –already ramping up well before the vehicles went on sale.

Sadly, as we now know, the Gladiator didn’t make it to Britain. You can get them

here as left-hand drive grey imports but, while Jeep’s official UK operation was still expecting to be bringing them to these shores as recently as 2020, the changing economic and production climate brought these plans to an end.

With the new Convoy concept, Jeep remains as ready and willing as ever to pull crowds with the distinctive styling of the M715. It looks purposeful and distinctive, at once familiar and yet that bit different to what we’ve come to recognise as the traditional Jeep ‘face’. And most of all, it works really, really well with huge tyres. Now, there’s something the Crew Chief has in common with the Gladiator besides those two sets of doors…

Not quite as military as the rest of the truck, but every bit as hard, the bumpers were Mopar jobs mounted with Warn winches. Plural. These were modelled on the units originally designed for the Rubicon 10th Anniversary JK, but were modified slightly to suit the Crew Chief’s army theme

These days, Dana 60 axles are part of Mopar’s Jeep Performance Parts range. On the Crew Chief, they supported the JKU-based vehicle on +4” suspension with remotereservoir Fox dampers

No sooner had the Crew Chief been unveiled than Jeep purists and military vehicle lovers were getting misty-eyed about the idea of one with a basic steel-plate dashboard. But there’s a different kind of rugged in the world these days – in this case, one with multimedia, climate control and heated leather seats, but the dash still has the wipe-clean feel to it that we all love

Jeep said at the time that when you examined the Crew Chief’s design, you’d see hints towards the next-generation Wrangler JL. And sure enough, the Gladiator came to be part of its model line-up (not in Britain, naturally, because we’re never allowed nice things) complete with four-door layout and full-cabin fabric hood. The 40x20 NDT tyres on the concept didn’t become standard issue, though plenty of people have since built trucks which reference this one

LUXURY WAGEN

It’s a city you associate with another German car maker, but Project Munich is Legacy Overland’s latest remanufactued Mercedes G-Wagen. It’s a blend of luxury and off-road cred – just like Mercedes always wanted it to be, but with a distinctive vibe that could only ever come from a bespoke build

The Mercedes G-Class started life, way back in 1979, as a nononsense utility truck. Somewhere along the line, it turned into a thing that costs a king’s ransom and grime artists rap about.

You can see why. The modern G-Class is huge, imposing, very high-tech indeed and, of course, lavishly luxurious. Yet it’s still a

Words Olly Sack Pictures Legacy Overland

heavy-duty off-roader that you’d back to win any fight – without getting its Bottega Veneta jacket messed up.

The early G-Wagen was never like that. It was a heavy-duty off-roader, for sure, with a string of military users to back that up – but it was much more about business than strutting around Paris Fashion Week in three-grand leatherware. Do it right,

however, and a rebuilt original could be a classy as any new motor – and a great deal cooler, too.

And that’s exactly what Legacy Overland has done with the vehicle you see here. Called Project Munich, it’s a G230E dating from 1993 – and it’s been remanufactured to order, exactly to its owner’s vision. The company calls it ‘one

With diamond quilted saddle tan leather adorning the seats (all eight of them, with inward-facing benches behind two rows of two), this is a G-Wagen to which the phrase ‘bounty hole’ is unlikely to be relevant. That doesn’t stop it from being a serious offroader, but not the kind you don’t care about getting full of mud

of (our) most comprehensive builds yet’ – which, since every one of its builds is painstakingly comprehensive, is definitely saying something.

So to get down to brass tacks, then, ‘comprehensive’ in this case means the 2.3-litre OM102 petrol engine was dismantled down to the block and completely remanufactured from scratch.

Above left: The steering wheel is a vintage Mercedes unit with a polished wood rim. Legacy Overland are artists at heart and they matched it to the finish on the planks beneath the carpet on the rear floor

Above right: The design of the interior is still as when-I-were-a-lad as ever, but it’s been fully retrimmed and, up front, augmented with a custom console featuring USB sockets and a pair of cup holders

Everything that can be renewed, short of replacing it with a different engine altogether, was renewed, including internals, gaskets and injectors, along with sensors –which were upgraded.

The aim was for the oversquare four-pot unit to run as smoothly as possible while delivering the power to be expected of an engine which was rated to produce 123bhp when new. Behind the engine, the automatic gearbox and two-speed, part-time transfer

case were both inspected and overhauled before going again.

Down below, the famously strong Mercedes axles hold the vehicle up on a set of +2” lifted coil springs. Despite the extra height, however, these have a stock/ light load rating to maintain ride comfort in everyday use. You don’t commission a build like this to tow trailers full of firewood, after all. The suspension has been fully rebushed and the springs are paired up with

new shocks to ensure ride quality is as well controlled as it is plush – which, even with 33x12.50R20 BFG All-Terrains keeping the sidewall height to a minimum (the metric equivalent would be 315/50R20), it does with aplomb.

Austrian Icon

These aren’t necessarily the first tyres that would come to mind if you were speccing up a G-Wagen for off-road missions, but

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Above left: The fully rebuilt 2.3-litre OM102 petrol engine was fully stripped and rebuilt from the block up with the aim of getting it to run as smoothly as possible

Above right: The engine breathes in through a Canadian military style raised air intake. We in Britain are conditioned to seeing full-height snorkels and at first glance it’s easy to think that this looks vulnerably low, only coming halfway up the windscreen – but once you’ve learned what snorkels are actually for, it makes perfect sense

there’s no doubting its credentials. In addition to retaining everything Mercedes thought it needed (and who are we to argue), it’s been fitted with a Canadian military-style snorkel and bull bar with headlamp grilles, a custom rear step and tow ball, full LED lighting all-round and a heavy-duty winch mount integrated into the front bumper with a Horntools Alpha 12.0-Q bolted to it. Made in Austria, don’t you know,

and see if you can think of an iconic off-road vehicle which hails from that country too.

The G-Wagen is also fitted with a vintage Mercedes steering wheel with a polished wood rim, adding further to its classy and classic credentials if not to how much grip it’ll offer a pair of wet and muddy hands. Or sweaty palms, for that matter, should its owner have any thoughts of putting its diff-locks to the test down Rubicon way. It

doesn’t half look well, though, in a cabin that’s already set off by saddle tan leather upholstery with diamond quilting and dark grey piping on the seats, door cards and centre console. And talking of the seats, there’s a forward-facing second row with custom anchors and lap belts then, behind them, a pair of inward-facing benches. Between them all, the vehicle has the ability to accommodate eight people.

Above left: In the parallel universe where we could ever afford to spec a rebuild like this, we’d be asking for more sidewall and less rim. The 33x12.50R20 BFG All-Terrains do look cool, though, and it’s still going to take something approaching malice aforethought to do them any sort of serious damage

Above right: We spoke to a guy once who did winch challenges in a more or less standard G-Wagen and asked him why he didn’t have a roll cage. ‘No need,’ he said, pointing to the roof member above the seats – ‘it’s already got one’

Above left: You’re looking at an underside so clean you could eat your dinner off it here – as well as various Legacy Overland upgrades, of course, but the sheer lengths the company goes to when remanufacturing its project vehicles has seldom been more apparent

Top right: The G-Wagen is famous for the massively heavy-duty strength in its axles – not to mention the mechanical lockers they contain. Once again, they’ve been refurbished as far as necessary and present like new

Above right: The axles hold it up on +2” springs and Koni shocks. Nothing too fancy, but enough to let those 33” tyres sit comfortably under the arches without fouling on anything

Below: Talking of fouling on things, they’re not wanting the sump to make babies with the front axle, are they?

Beneath them, in the back of the vehicle the floor has been finished off with wooden planks whose high-gloss finish was chosen to match that of the steering wheel. These are the little things you tend not to notice but which make a big difference in interior design – though in this case so does the extensive use of Dynamat up front to keep things comfortably quiet. The whole lot is then overlaid in German square weave charcoal grey wool carpet mats, whose edges are finished in leather to keep them in good nick well into the future.

On top of this, there’s a floor console finished in distressed leather to match the lower dash and transmission surround. This is fitted out with cup holders, USB sockets and additional oddment stowage, while further up the facia is a Sony double DIN stereo unit with Bluetooth.

Double Top

The result of all this is that sitting beneath a custom bikini top in black mohair (or the matching full soft-top the vehicle was supplied with), you’d be forgiven for thinking that all is well with the world. The cabin still has the shapes and proportions of

Depending on how jaunty they’re feeling, the G-Wagen’s owner can smoke around under a custom bikini top in black mohair or seen here, a matching full soft-top

an early nineties model, but the trim and appointments are from right here, right now. It’s an old truck made new.

Not that anyone would look at it from the outside and think it was a new model – which is of course a major part of its charm. The G-Class must be one of the only vehicles of any kind that still looks more or less the same today as it did when James Callaghan was Prime Minister (we’re not even joking – it really has been going that long), but nobody would mistake this for one of the latest versions. It’s way too unique, too steeped in heritage for that.

Nonetheless, refurbished badging and exterior details bring the newness back with a bang, while red brake calipers up front and black rear drums chime in with a hint

The transfer lever on a G-Wagen of this vintage might put the fear of God into you, but it’s simpler than it looks. ’S’ is for ‘strasse,’ and that’s where it stays on the tarmac; ’SA’ is ‘strasse allrad’, meaning you’re in high range with full-time four-wheel drive; ’N’ is ‘neutral’ (English used as there isn’t a word for that in German, etc etc); and finally, ‘GA’ is ‘gelande allrad,’ keeping you in full-time four-wheel drive but engaging low range. It is of course all reassuringly mechanical – as are the diff locks, operated by buttons on the dash, which bring true four-wheel drive to the party

of visual drama. Not that it’s wanting for that, with its custom bronze metallic paint providing no shortage of drama of its own.

‘This project is beyond a mere restoration,’ says Legacy Overland. ‘It is a deep reinvention that fuses vintage authenticity with elevated, modern craftsmanship. With every element rethought and refined, Project Munich is crafted for those who demand not just a vehicle but a true legacy on the road.’

Project Munich, huh? We’re fairly sure the company has done a Project Stuttgart before, and Project Graz might sound a bit harsh even if that is where the vehicle was actually built first time round. Project Styria (the region where you’ll find Graz) is somewhat open to misinterpretation and

Project Steiermark (the German name for it) to being spelt wrong. So maybe Munich is alright after all, even if it is just ever so slightly associated with a certain other car maker that doesn’t have a bee in its bonnet about what Mercedes gets up to, oh no, absolutely not.

So Project Munich it is. And actually, the capital of Bavaria is pretty much halfway between Graz and Mercedes’ home city of Stuttgart, so that’s fine and anyway we’re overthinking now. Which is one of those things that tend to happen when you’re confronted by a vehicle so perfect your brain can barely comprehend it. All the off-road ability in the world plus all the luxury in the world equals all the 4x4 you could ever want – and boy do we want it.

AN OLD FRIEND

Our D-Max was built more for green laning than motorway miles, but it was pressed into service a couple of months back for a springtime jaunt that saw us cover around 750 miles in a weekend. Aside from getting through a wince-inducing amount of diesel, this gave the truck a chance to

demonstrate just how good it is at all sorts of stuff.

I already wrote about elements of the weekend a couple of issues back, speciﬁcally the free afternoon I ended up with on Salisbury Plain – which was the ﬁrst time in ages that the truck had seen a lane. And what a wonderful feeling it was to

be back on the byways again after far too long on nothing but tarmac.

So much so that the following day, I was back on them again. Not on the Plain this time, but in the quiet woodlands of Kent. In particular, a couple of byways I remember from when I lived down there in the mid-90s which, back then, were barely drivable mud runs.

It happened by accident, or lucky ﬂuke. That morning, I was due to meet with a guy whose car I was thinking of buying. Then afterwards, I was going to head west towards Surrey where I was due to photograph a hot rod for our sister publication Custom Car

Philosophy

Now, since we bought Custom Car and I started shooting these wonderful old vehicles, I’ve come to understand that you need to be philosophical about it when things go wrong. Never work with children or animals, they say. Or hot rods, they might have added. Like children and animals, they have the power to make your

VEHICLE: Isuzu D-Max GO2

YEAR: 2018

RUN BY: Alan Kidd

LAST UPDATE: May 2025

FLEET DEBUT: Jan 2020

heart sing when they’re in the mood – but they can’t half be unreliable.

So anyway, I went to see matey with the car I was interested in, a wonderful old Simca 1501 like the one my Dad used to drive. It was a great and very nostalgic couple of hours with an owner who was profoundly worthy of such a magnificent car, so I left to ponder the purchase while driving Surrey-ward.

Whereupon my phone rang.

‘I’ve been trying all morning to get it to start. I’ve changed all the plugs and leads and filters but all it’s doing is spraying petrol everywhere.’

There are times when you think yeah, let’s wing it. This was not one of those.

So now I’m in the middle of Kent without a bash. Might as well go home, but those two mud runs were just a few miles away so why not, I thought, let’s go and check out how they look nowadays. Both have long since been repaired, I hasten to add.

One had been repaired to the point where no-one was using it any more. I didn’t fancy the trashing it looked like it was going to give the D-Max’s paintwork, and possibly

even its panels, so I took a raincheck and headed round the corner to the other one. I’m not going to say exactly where they are, for reasons that will become obvious, but if you know the lanes round here and have been doing it long enough you already know where I mean.

The lane is, not to put too fine a point on it, unrecognisable from those old days. I had never even driven it from end to end; back then, I remember heading in a couple of times, seeing the state of it and turning back. On one occasion, I heard a V8 going crazy up ahead and got chatting to a couple of lads trying to do it with just an old Range Rover, a set of bald XCLs and a high-lift jack. I remember teaching them a few recovery techniques that day, too.

Now, it’s a delightful drive through a sun-dappled woodland. A sun-dappled bluebell woodland, in fact, at this time of year. The ground was wet but not soaking, and our CST Sahara AT IIs proved pretty much ideal for keeping us planted safely on the ground – without allowing any wheel slip and, just as importantly, without doing any unnecessary digging. We’re constantly having arguments with people who say the most aggressive tyres do the least damage, a point of view that’s oh-so-easy to sustain when you’re looking at a soft surface that’s just had a set of Simex-lookalikes claw their way across it.

Headbanger

Which, sadly, is exactly what we did. The lane is no longer susceptible to getting damaged but the woodland around it certainly is, and some of the local headbangers have noticed. The damage is very clear – thick, deep ruts cutting a trench that winds through the trees like an ugly scar. It’s gross, it’s crass and it’s an affront to all those of us who use 4x4s responsibly.

There was none of this back when the lane itself was deep with mud. Those lads in the Range Rover went there for a bit of fun but they stayed on the right of way. There’s a school of thought that says some lanes should be left like that to give people somewhere to play; I’m not expressing an opinion (though I have one), just noting a salient fact.

It’s also a fact that I had travelled a long way to Kent and now I had to travel a long way home. The D-Max has become a much nicer prospect on the motorway

Green laning is a great way of exploring the UK, but many insurance companies don’t cover off-roading and green laning. That’s why our Isuzu – pictured here –is insured by Adrian Flux, a specialist insurance broker that covers off-roading and green laning. Whether you’ve modified your 4x4 or you own a classic 4WD, they can help. Give them a call on 0800 085 5000 for a quote.

since the CSTs went on, and with cruise control engaged and some decent music on Spotify (it’s based on a Utah model and therefore has these things) even the M25 on a Sunday afternoon wasn’t too painful an experience.

The pain was to come later, when a seized slider in the rear brakes ended up with us needing to shell out for new discs, pads and handbrake drums. These are non-standard parts, as the GO2 has a Pedders rear disc conversion, but fair play to the Australian specialist’s British importer – they had everything in stock and it was delivered next day with no hassle. And while it all came to a few hundred quid, it was pennies compared to the main dealer experience we spoke about last time. Outstanding kit, outstanding service and, indeed, outstanding value. Yet again, the aftermarket shows that it is the off-roader’s friend.

WILD CROATI A

Words: John Pearson Pictures: Bob Atkins

Croatia is a three-day drive from Britain. For the prospect of exploring its beautiful mountain terrain on a network of tracks that range from deep mud runs to endless rock crawls, it’s worth every mile…

The Ineos Grenadier has earned itself a reputation as a very capable off-roader in the relatively short time since it was launched in 2022. But just how good is it really – when out there in the real world of steep, slippery climbs and bottomless mud holes of Croatia’s remote mountain tracks?

Wendy Ford and Tony Naughton have previously owned Defenders. But when their last one was stolen in 2023, they decided to replace it with a Grenadier. Now they are chucking their shiny new 3.0-litre BMW diesel-engined Trialmaster model in at the deep end, literally, for their ﬁrst adventure in it – and it’s looking to be coping with it all capably and eﬃciently.

Having front and rear diff lockers certainly helps with traction. More than that, though, the Grenadier is proving to be the real deal in all areas.

Wendy and Tony are here in Croatia with a group of four-wheel-drivers led by Tom Parkes of Bristol-based 4x4 Adventure Tours in his purposeful orange 300Tdi-engined Defender 110. There are also a brace of TDCi 110s, 300Tdi and TDCi 90s, Discovery 2 and 3, plus the growling 3.8-litre V6-powered Japanese import Jeep JK of Ed Cory.

demanding adventure in terms of vehicle capability and driving skills I’ve done for many years.

When the Going Gets Tough

Yep, it’s tough going once we’ve turned off the tarmac and on to a mountain track just a few miles south-east of Croatia’s capital, Zagreb. Almost immediately, my BFGoodrich Mud-Terrains are scrabbling for grip in a gloopy mud hole. Then we’re into a series of deep ruts and scary cambers, before tackling a tight slalom between trees in a deciduous forest.

Photographer Bob Atkins and I are tagging along in my ex-G4 Challenge Defender 110, savouring what is the most

I always knew this was going to be an eventful, exciting drive – Tom’s website leaves you in no doubt about that. ‘This trip is intended as an off-road 4×4 adventure, not a cultural tour,’ it says. ‘It will not speciﬁcally include any sightseeing, although time aside may allow for this. We will be looking to seek out challenging terrain that will test your driving skills and use the full capabilities of your 4×4 vehicles.’

I’m into a climb and descent on some nasty, washed-out V-gulley tracks. I’m holding my breath here, balancing the 110’s wheels on the sloping sides; one slip and the consequences could be serious. Eventually, the sides become so impossibly slippery that I have to drop one set of wheels into the base of the gulleys and struggle along at such an acute angle that it feels as if the Land Rover is going to pitch over on to its side at any moment.

The next mud hole is even worse, with the added diﬃculty of a slippery camber that’s trying to force us left towards a steep drop. It continues with a slimy, off-cambered hill with a sharp left turn through a mud pit at the top.

There’s been some heavy overnight rain and the terrain is indeed challenging. It’s horribly muddy – but mighty good fun.

My 110 lurches violently to the left as I plunge into a deep, angled mud hole, ﬂooring the accelerator in an attempt to reach the far side. It exits with wheels spinning, mud spraying up the sides, somehow ﬁnding traction. Then

Tonight’s campsite is at Šimunčevec, in the north-eastern outskirts of Zagreb, where the group sit around drinking cold beers and chatting excitedly about the day’s activities. It’s been challenging, fullon action – and we can’t wait to get out there tomorrow.

Power to the People

Our ﬁrst track of the following day is through a dark, dank forest, Then it’s on to some exceptionally sloppy rutted tracks. There’s no room for error here; shedloads of power and full commitment are needed to haul us through the lengthy mud run.

Tour leader Tom Parkes will be best known to long-time readers as a leading light in the North Somerset Land Rover Club, and most of the vehicles in the convoy did indeed have Solihull heritage. But 4x4 Adventure Tours welcomes all-comers, and so the group also contained the 3.8-litre Wrangler JKU of Ed Cory, complete with its ‘Angry Birds’ grille, and Wendy Ford and Tony Naughton’s diesel-engined Grenadier Trialmaster

Once out of the forests we’re spotting a number of the region’s distinctive ancient wooden buildings. Crafted from local oak, many of them appear uninhabited, but there are some that are lived in and in seemingly good condition.

Apart from that early mud run, most of this morning’s driving is on undemanding gravel forest roads. Then we’re on to tracks through open pastures where cattle and horses graze unconcerned, before we cross a rickety bridge over the river Odra.

It’s all change for the afternoon, when we encounter several steep forest climbs which become increasingly more demanding. The final one of the day is a real tester; it’s a massive climb, getting steeper, looser and decidedly off-camber near the summit. Tom blasts his way up in a cloud of diesel smoke, reporting over the radio that it’s going to need ‘full beans’ for a successful climb.

This puts me in a bit of a quandary. Ideally I would tackle it in third gear lowrange, but that’s too tall a gear for that

tricky ultra-steep final section. So not wanting to change down mid-hill, I have to do it all the way up in second. I’m revving the 110 harder and going slower than I would like at the bottom of the climb, but it makes easy work of the tricky top bit, so I got the gear choice spot on.

Wendy and Tony don’t have to worry about that, what with the Grenadier having a standard-fit auto box. The rest of the group make it up too – some needing a couple of attempts as the surface deteriorates, but their efforts are accompanied by much cheering.

There are two groups of 4x4s on this adventure, the others being a quartet from the Liverpool Land Rover Club. They’re driving the same routes, but on different days. Tom Parkes is alternating between

leading the two groups, with colleague Paul Meredith and partner Sara Price in a well-equipped Discovery 3.

Going Underground

After sleeping at Tradicije Čigoč, a small campsite behind a renovated wooden building in the Lonjsko Polje national park, we’re doing something very different the next morning. Different, as in driving underground at the former Željava Airbase, a subterranean Cold-War era installation near the border with Bosnia-Herzegovina. With more than two miles of 16-metre wide and 12-metre high tunnels under

Mount Plješevica, not far from the city of Bihać, the airbase once housed up to 60 of the then Yugoslavian airforce’s MiG-21 aircraft, along with radar and surfaceto-air missiles. All this was protected by 100-ton pressurised blast doors on the four entrances to withstand bombing raids. These days it’s an unofficial tourist attraction, albeit a slightly spooky one.

Back out in the daylight, we explore the airbase’s five runways. Now, we might spend a lot of time trundling around at low

speed in our 4x4s, but most of us are still petrolheads – and where there’s a long strip of tarmac at our mercy, we can’t resist some drag races!

Potentially the most interesting shootout is between Tony and Wendy’s Grenadier (245bhp six-cylinder BMW diesel), Ed’s estimated 300bhp Jeep and Paul’s Discovery 3, with its 187bhp 2.7-litre V6 diesel. Surely the Grenadier will prove fastest, followed by the rorty Jeep, with the D3 last? Nope, the Jeep is primarily an

Below: Above the ground, Željava had five runways – and what more encouragement could you need for an impromptu drag racing challenge? No pairing lanes, no cheat boxes, no Christmas Tree, no Gluebird (if you know you know), not even a nitrous purge – this really was no-prep racing at its, well, slowest. For the record, the Grenadier won this three-way shootout, with the Disco 3 in second and, thanks to its taller tyres, the Wrangler in third

Right: Another relic from another war, this time the civil conflict that tore apart former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, is the lingering presence of minefields in the Croatian countryside

A relic from the Cold War, Željava airbase now lies abandoned. This used to house fighter aircraft, missiles and mobile radar units behind blast doors in a huge warren of tunnels – which now makes for a very odd driving experience

off-roader, and those massive tyres provide so much drag that the significantly less powerful D3 nips into the runner-up spot.

After this excitement, we’re back out on to some forest tracks north-east of Gospić. Initially they’re twisty and muddy before we get on to a lengthy crushed stone route that meanders through a valley.

Worryingly, there are signs warning of landmines alongside some of the tracks which, along with bullet holes in the walls of some houses we’ve passed, are a stark reminder of the bitter Croatian war of independence from Yugoslavia back in the early 1990s.

Into the Valley

We stop overnight at the huge Camping Borje, near Vrelo Koreničko, making use of the adjacent restaurant and stocking up with provisions at the nearby supermarket. Then it’s back close to the border the next morning, threading our way through a long, verdant valley before climbing steeply

through mixed woodland to more than 4000 feet above sea level.

The tracks have mostly been easy going gravel so far today, but it’s all change when we encounter a twisty, muddy piste followed by some testing rock crawls. Next, a stony track takes us through a series of hairpin bends to a gated crossing over the single-track Zagreb-Split railway line. There’s a narrow section where trees and bushes have encroached – a bit too much, as it turns out, because one of them wrenches my CB’s antenna from its roofmounting bracket. Fortunately, I can still communicate with the group as I carry a spare hand-held unit in my cubby box.

We descend into a wide valley with big vistas of distant mountains, then there’s another tricky rock crawl that demands slow speed and steady throttle control to keep the underside of your vehicle from crashing on to the potentially damaging jagged rocks.

Our destination tonight is the town of Gračac, and both groups are meeting up to camp on the front lawn of a friend of a friend of Tom’s. We’re squeezed in tight, but the owner is cooking a delicious local stew over a wood fire in his garden shed and there’s a seemingly unlimited supply of cold Croatian beers to wash it down.

There’s rain overnight, and those who are tardy in packing away their tents the next morning are regretting it because it gets worse. A lot worse. As in torrential rain bouncing up from the road and a raging torrent running down the town’s main street. There really is no point in driving out to the mountain tracks – which would

be undriveable and potentially dangerous in these conditions, so we retire to a local café for a second breakfast and wait for the storm to blow over.

It does after a while, but it has done a lot of damage to the day’s first track, which we drove in the opposite direction yesterday. The top surface has been washed completely away to reveal a rough, demanding rock crawl that seems to go on for ever.

We do eventually reach the end, crossing through a wide valley before tackling a steep camber across a mountainside, twisting and turning through a series of hairpin bends on a rough, stony track. There’s no margin for error here, with some serious plunges down the mountain slopes should we slip sideways.

It’s Raining Again

In contrast to this morning’s rain, there’s a beautiful sunset as we set up in the terraced campsite alongside the Adriatic

at Starigrad Paklenica. It’s equipped with good facilities and there’s an excellent on-site restaurant serving good food and cold beers.

Inspired by last night’s idyllic conditions, there was a plan to get up and go for an early morning swim before driving off into the nearby mountains. But the wind has got up during the night and the sea is now grey, turbulent and distinctly uninviting…

Our convoy heads east out of the town before climbing due north inland. The gravel and crushed stone tracks are easy going and the views back over the Adriatic coast are stunning. The wind has dropped and the sky is blue once more.

All is good with the world… but not for long. Paul Meredith is back leading us today and he pulls up on a mountain track to let the group enjoy the scene and grab some photos. Which, as things turn out, is very fortunate indeed. As we come to a halt, my 110 looks like it has a boiling kettle under its bonnet. The top hose has split, allowing hot coolant to escape.

I hadn’t noticed anything while driving, and the temperature gauge was on normal, so if Paul hadn’t stopped when he did there might have been some serious engine damage. Fate was on my side there.

Fortunately, the hole in the hose is close to where it’s attached to the cylinder head,

The camping site in Gracac was interesting, on account of it was someone’s front garden. Kind of a tight fit, but at least everyone got to enjoy the rain together. It was bad enough overnight but the main event didn’t happen until the morning, when it became so heavy even a group of heavily prepped 4x4s had to sit it out

so we’re able to carry out the simple bush fix of slicing off the dodgy bit and reattaching the hose further along.

Back on the track again – with the 110 behaving itself once more – we continue climbing to over 3000 feet, wowed by the stunning geological formations and enjoying some seriously testing technical rock crawl sections and myriad hairpins with vertiginous drops to the side.

Next we appear to be driving in Croatia’s version if the Mongolian steppes, passing through a vast area of grassland with mountains in the far distance, before entering more deciduous woodland on gravel tracks en route to the Borje campsite once again.

The Eighth Day

We’re heading north on the eighth day of this enthralling adventure, once more noticing houses – and even a church –bearing bullet scars on the walls. We’re mostly on gravel or crushed stone forestry tracks near to the Slovenian border. On occasions the woodland opens out and we get some great views across to the coast.

It’s mostly easy going, but there is a tricky stone causeway bridging a deep valley to negotiate. Part of it has broken away and fallen several hundred feet to the valley floor below and we’re hoping the rest holds firm while we cross. Fortunately it does and we can breathe again.

After more miles of forest tracks, we drop into the conurbations of Rileka and

It’s a terraced site, topped out by a pair of German WW2 gun emplacements, part of a chain of coastal defences.

Day nine starts on some gentle gravel tracks as we head north from Matulji, but the going soon gets tougher through a series of sunken tracks. There are technically challenging areas where we’re fighting for traction over massive rocks while traversing extreme cambers.

Then it gets even more interesting with a series of murky deep water troughs as we work our way through a dank, muddy forest. A seemingly bottomless mud hole raises some mega splashes. Some of the group need tugging out, some power their way through. Ex-police officer Ian Johnson is successful in his white 300Tdi 90, but has left his front vents open and exits with a lapful of stinky water.

Echo Beached

More massive ruts continue to provide a challenge, as do a sequence of rutted troughs. I miscalculate the depth of the ruts towards the end of the final trough and tackle it far too gingerly, with the consequence that I’m well and truly beached, wheels spinning but going nowhere. More commitment would have got me through, as most of the others demonstrate. I, meanwhile, have to be ignominiously hauled out on the end of Tom’s kinetic rope.

There’s a section of track that’s seriously scratchy thanks to overgrown trees and bushes. Tom does some pruning, but I’m feeling the pain for Wendy and Tony’s previously pristine Grenadier paintwork –although it turns out to be pretty resilient and there are very few gouges.

The final challenge is a mighty one – a steep, rocky ascent up a mountain track.

Travelling in Croatia

• Language: Croatian (English widely spoken)

• Currency: Euro (credit cards widely accepted)

• Cost of fuel: Diesel £1.11/litre

• Maps: I used my Garmin Overlander, the mapping on which covered all the tracks we drove

• Camping: camping.hr/croatiancampsites

• Food and drink: Many campsites have restaurants with bars. Plenty of shops

and supermarkets, especially nearer the coast

• How we got there: 1082 miles – from my north Cambridgeshire home to the Channel Tunnel, then through France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Vignettes for Austria and Slovenia, and Austrian tunnel fees, can be paid for online (asfinag.at, vignetteslovenia.eu) or locally as you enter the countries. It’s a three-day drive to get there, but well worth it.

Matulji before heading south around the coast road to Camping Opatija.

• Escape Gear

• ...and many more!

• Aluminium canopies

• Roof tents and roof racks

• Off-road fridges and 12v gear

• Drawer systems and slides

• Bumpers, side steps and vehicle protection

• Campsite essentials, tables and chairs

It starts at just over 1100 feet and climbs relentlessly on loose, rolling rocks. It demands maximum concentration, good vehicle placement, sensitive throttle control and a lot of determination.

We climb slowly but surely, eventually reaching a left-hand hairpin – after which the track gets even steeper and looser. I’m delighted at what my Defender is achieving out here on these challenging mountain slopes, cheering loudly to myself as I reach the top at over 3500 feet. We’ve ended what has been a magniﬁcent adventure on a metaphorical and actual high – with more than 2300 feet of climbing.

This has been one of the most enjoyable adventures I’ve been on for a long time. Tom and Paul are excellent guides; they’ve taken us to a mixture of beautiful places and challenging terrain which has tested our driving skills.

Furthermore, the people on this trip have been great fun to socialise with in the evenings. Having drinks and meals while chatting about the day’s driving makes it extra special.

And what about the Grenadier? It won the drag race, but how did it perform in the often hugely demanding Croatian mountain mud? ‘We weren’t disappointed, either with the trip or the vehicle,’ says owner Wendy Ford. ‘It handled perfectly –in very deep mud, on tight tracks between

trees and up steep mountain ascents. We managed not to get stuck during the whole trip – we were sure this was due much more to the capability of the vehicle than the drivers!

‘It took a little while to get used to when and how to engage the front and rear diff locks, but once we had mastered them we were delighted by the improvement in capability they gave us.

‘The ride was extremely comfortable and the extra power in the engine over the Defender gave us a lot of conﬁdence, particularly approaching the hill climbs.

People for the Automatic

‘Overall we’re delighted with it. Initially, we were a little sceptical of an automatic gearbox. But we needn’t have worried, it performed ﬂawlessly. The on-road

4x4 Adventure Tours

performance is very good – it cruises happily at 85 mph. We’re full of praise for the paintwork. There was a lot of very unpleasant scraping when going through one very tight section, but afterwards it was hardly affected. If we have one criticism, it is that the turning circle is even worse that our old 110’s.’

The Grenadier set out to be a spiritual successor to the original-shape Defender. Its body shape is certainly similar, and its underlying mechanical layout will be familiar to all those who have owned a traditional Land Rover. It’s a very different and much more modern beast in a wide number of ways – but for Wendy and Tony, it was the perfect vehicle in which to take up the challenge posed by Croatia’s tough trails. And that, ultimately, is exactly what they wanted.

You’re guaranteed a wide choice of adventure destinations with Bristol-based 4x4 Adventure Tours. Tom Parkes’ trips in the UK include routes in Wales, Salisbury Plain, Devon and Cornwall, plus a Coast-to-Coast tour and even wild camping in the Pennines. His overseas expeditions, meanwhile, go as far aﬁeld as Morocco, Tunisia, Mauritania, Albania, Iceland, the Pyrenees and of course Croatia.

Tom also runs the 4x4 servicing, repair and preparation specialist Orange 4x4 in Keynsham, Bristol, and sells vehicle adventure storage gear and ADV roof tents. You’ll ﬁnd the two businesses at 4x4adventuretours.co.uk and orange4x4.co.uk.