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Monthly Archives: August 2010

Race Car Live, traditionally the grand  nale to the UK’s motorsport season, returns to Brands Hatch on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st November and is expanding to include 4×4 live action.

Brands Hatch is a world famous circuit, but many are unaware of the 4×4 and Rally stages.For the  rst time, the Race Car Live organisers have decided to open these up for would-be competitors, but also for 4×4 owners who want to ‘put their vehicle through its paces in a safe but challenging environment’. Organiser Philip Bunn explains: “A lot will be about live competitive sport and there will be an awesome array of 4×4 vehicles used in events such as the Paris Dakar, and the RX buggies with Honda 950cc  reblade engines. All these will be live on the Rally stage, driven by professionals, with some taking visitors as passengers.”

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bmAfter eleven years, one million BMW X5 models have been sold. The anniversary edition, a sapphire black metallic BMW X5 xDrive35i featuring cinnamon brown Nevada leather trim, came off the assembly line at the American BMW plant in Spartanburg/ South Carolina and is currently on its way to a customer in China.

Built in Spartanburg, the BMW X5 is now exported to more than 120 countries, with the BMW X6 also being produced there for export to the global market. Before the end of this year, production of the latest BMW X3 generation will start at Spartanburg.

colinSubaru UK has supplied a Forester 2.0 D XC to the Yorkhill Children’s Foundation.

The Glasgow-based Foundation, which provides support and equipment for sick children and babies from all over Scotland, will use the Forester as a go-anywhere ambulance support vehicle.

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mitMitsubishi’s all-new urban crossover vehicle, the ASX, is now on sale. The ‘New Active Sports Crossover’ (X-over) will compete in the expanding crossover marketplace against rivals such as Nissan’s Qashqai and is priced at £14,999 to £22,040. The range offers mainly front-wheeldrive models with one AWC electronically-controlled 4WD available on the 1.8 DiD option.

The four-wheeldrive 1.8 DiD turbodiesel develops 147bhp@4000rpm, with a torque figure of 221lb ft@2000-3000rpm.

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The Hyundai Santa Fe is the ‘Best Value 4×4 of the Year’ as judged by a panel from the Caravan and Camping Club and from What Car? and Practical Caravan. What Car?’s Steve Fowler said: “For more than £10,000 less than XC60, and nearly £20,000 less than the Discovery, the Sante Fe will tow most caravans, has room for seven and an enviable list of standard equipment.

Toyota has made the headlines recently by scooping up prestigious awards at the British Insurance Vehicle Security Awards at Thatcham, the Motor Insurance Repair Research Centre located in Berkshire. As well as its mainstream cars taking the spoils, the Toyota Land Cruiser V8 retained its top position in the large 4×4 category for the third year running.

lrThe Land Rover Discovery 4 has been awarded ‘Britain’s Best Towcar’ in the annual Practical Caravan, The Camping & Caravanning Club & What Car?

Towcar awards 2010. The Discovery 4 3.0 TDV6 XS – with 3500kgs towing ability and optional intelligent towing technologies such as Tow Assist and Trailer Stability Assist – won its class and the overall title against tough competition from the likes of the Volvo XC60 D5 SE Geartronic and the Range Rover Sport 3.0-litre TDV6 HSE.

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vw1Volkswagen’s new T5 4Motion Transporter van continues the impressive pedigree of its predecessors.

Words & photos: Toby Savage

Perhaps unusually for vehicle enthusiasts, Volkswagen van fans are equally keen on the new breeds as the old. The owner of a Wolfsburg built, 1950s’, ‘Barn Door’ Type 2 is rarely such a purist that he will turn his nose up at the latest model. The key to this broad acceptance is, perhaps, that the concept of the VW van has remained faithful to the original design.

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August 2010 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

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I recently visited Goodwood for the Festival of Speed, which is an amazing motorshow although, in the past, hasn’t been much known for its 4×4 content.

These days, however, there is the lure of a ride in a Dakar Rally vehicle, courtesy of the expert driving team at Bowler Off Road, and several manufactures showcasing their 4x4s to tempt the off-road enthusiast. For instance, this year we got to take a peek at Mini’s Countryman 4×4 – a rather bizarre-looking vehicle; Nissan was showing off its Juke Crossover; Mercedes exhibited its new G-Class, and the superb Hilux that took the ‘Top Gear’ North Pole challenge was there on Toyota’s stand. It’s good to see an ever-growing 4×4 presence and even better, the famous hillclimb was graced by Bowler’s new road-legal Nemesis EXR, which was, very prestigiously, allowed to race alongside the super cars on its debut!

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