The Burghley Horse Trials celebrated its 50th anniversary this year and once again benefited from Land Rover’s sponsorship, in particular with a particular dramatic ‘Land Rover Arch’. There were no less than 60 Land Rovers at the event, including of course the new Evoque.

This is probably the first major UK event where the general public has been able to see the latest model, an ideal event to try and sell the latest Range Rover one would consider… Apparently Zara Phillips is the first person to take delivery of an Evoque. Guess she knows the local dealer.

Honda has confirmed that the next generation CR-V will be built at Swindon. A further boost is news that weekly production will now return to normal after a period of parts supply interruption following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan earlier this year.

Parts supply from Japan have also improved significantly in the last month, so good news that a lot of things are getting back to normal and new models will also continue to be built in the UK. The new CR-V will go on sale in Europe from Autumn 2012. The CR-V is one of the top-selling SUVs, sold in more than 160 countries throughout Europe, Asia, North America, South America and Africa. As you read this, the new model will have been on its first public display at the Orange County International Auto Show in Anaheim, California.

However, if you are currently looking for car sales in Edinburgh and fancy one of the old models from Honda, you can do the trick by visiting Motors.Co.Uk , a great site where you can find quality used cars for every price range.

Land Rover has entered three concept Range_e 4wd Plug-In Diesel Hybrids in the RAC Future Car Challenge 2011, the company’s first opportunity to showcase three of its Range_e concept models in the UK. This is a new motoring challenge for Electric, Hybrid and Low-Emission ICE vehicles to use the lowest energy on a 60-mile route from Madeira Drive, Brighton to Pall Mall and Regent Street, London and will take place on the 5th November.

The Range_e has an advanced plug-in hybrid diesel-electric power train that Land Rover expects to make available in future production models, following the scheduled launch of its diesel-electric hybrid in 2013.

Morecombe Bay claimed another unfortunate victim recently when a Land Rover became stuck in a channel just off the shoreline near Bolton Le Sands. The vehicle had become trapped while driving on the beach in the soft sand in the bottom of a water gully. Several attempts had already been made by members of the public and local farmers with tractors and ropes to get the vehicle out, but with no success, which led to a call to Gary Parsons, station officer of Bay Search and Rescue.

The recently launched Volkswagen Amarok pick-up is certainly proving to gain popularity, and sales, through a variety of clever promotions. The latest is a fleet of 14 pick-ups that have been rescuing surfers and swimmers in Portugal this summer.

The Portuguese National Institute for Search and Rescue has chosen the Amarok, each of which was fitted with an emergency lighting bar, racking for surf boards and an exclusive exterior design inspired by the original Volkswagen SAR pick-up concept vehicle that previewed the Amarok at the IAA Hanover commercial vehicle show in 2008. It is going to be very interesting to see how the Amarok stacks up against the other pick-ups on the market when we collect them together for a special group test later this year.

Details published last month explained how the new structure at SsangYong was to ensure the continuation of sales throughout the UK. At the Frankfurt Show, this was further enhanced when details were revealed about the forthcoming Korando which is available in the UK now, with prices for the 4×4 models starting at £21,445.

Designed in Europe by Giugiaro, the Korando has a two tonne towing capability and SsangYong claim that the pricing and comprehensive specification gives the all-new Korando best in class value compared with cars such as the Hyundai ix35, Kia Sportage, Mitsubishi ASX and Nissan Qashqai. Much emphasis is being placed on the work done by Giorgetto Giugiaro of Ital Design and they claim the all-new SsangYong Korando will have “highly competent off-road handling with on-road refinement”.

It seems that this year more people will make the, somewhat obvious, decision to consider getting some winter tyres on their vehicles. It’s best described as a ‘no brainer’ and even on a 4×4, you will often seriously improve grip, traction and more importantly, braking efficiency and stopping distances.

We have run a set of Continental ContiCrossContract winter tyres on a Toyota Rav4 and the difference is stunning. The important part about winter tyres are not necessarily the tread pattern, but the actual tyre compound. Winter tyres are designed to work best in temperatures of 7degC and below, whereas ‘normal’ road tyres are often designed to work on a temperature spread of +30degC to -15degC. That’s quite a range, and leads to a compromise. And perhaps, most importantly, in the UK the average temperature on the roads during rush hour mornings and evenings is lower than 7degC for more than six months of the year – when you need that grip the most.

Dakar fans might still be reeling from the decision of Volkswagen to turn their attention away from the world’s longest and toughest motorsport event, writes 4×4 overseas competition contributor Robb Pritchard, but next year’s event will see a new manufacturer step up into the dusty theatre of dreams and nightmares. The Vikings are readying themselves for combat and conquest in foreign lands once more as Volvo gear up to take centre stage with the all-new Team Pewano XC60 RR.

Team founder Pelle Wallenthiem tragically lost his life to illness in June but the team he put together is continuing to develop the car after their latest very positive test. “The holiday season is in all its glory, but not for Pewano,” the team reported. “We can now reveal that several successful tests have been conducted over the summer and to our delight, the superlatives have been many. In fact the reality outperforms even our highest expectations.