Hils Everitt – Editor at Large
So we finally bid a fond farewell to our L200 Warrior pick-up truck. It has clocked up 5672 miles and served as a comfortable road hauler that has deposited me all over the country on various magazine jobs, plus as a handy off-roader on a great day out with the Mitsubishi L200 Club.
It has also served as a house moving truck for our designer Paul and editor Nigel took a spin in it for a while but he didn’t really bond with the mighty warrior. His dislike was mainly due to its consumption, although we have since proved that it wasn’t that bad compared to his Toyota Hilux; the fuel gauge just appeared rather deceptive and the computer readings for consumption were pure nonsense! It registered 36.7mpg at one point on one of my motorway journeys that included crawling on the dreaded M25. I worked out, using the more reliable, old-fashioned method of fuel receipt and calculator, that it was actually an average of 29.57mpg. Not the most economical of the trucks and with the Amarok on the scene and new Ranger, that figure looks decidedly unattractive for the bulk fleet buyer perhaps.
Bob Cooke – contributor 
It’s always good to take part in one of the All Wheel Drive Club’s drive-arounds. Though the club is more usually engaged in serious competitive events such as trialling and comp safari races, they do occasionally make a stonkingly good off-road area available for less competitive people to have a good off-road blast, with anything from competition specials to ordinary road cars, so the Cherokee was at Broxhead Common, near Bordon in Hampshire, good and early to take advantage of the excellent variety of cross-country conditions available.
Nene Overland’s growing reputation for enhancing Land Rover Defenders has reached new heights with the launch of its latest, and most significant venture yet, the Defender Icon
The first ever Maroc Challenge, covering some 2700km across Morocco, was a low-cost ‘rally raid’ event for both two and four-wheel drive vehicles. The actual route differed in places for the 4×4 vehicles, but the rules and regulations prevented ‘expensive’ vehicles from competing. 
The guys at Extreme 4×4 now have the new Koni range of Heavy Track “Raid” shock absorbers developed for extreme off-road driving conditions. These big diameter RAID shock absorbers contain more oil, thicker rods and bigger pistons. The RAID units also have Koni’s hydraulic rebound valve system, which substantially increases the damping forces for the last 40 or 20mm of the rebound, and therefore prevent the damper topping out. Proven units in top competition, these versions have been built for Discovery 2 vehicles and are retailing at £165 (plus VAT) each. A good match for these shockers this month are the new progressive coil springs for Land Rover TDCi Defender 110 County (station wagon, utility and hardtop). These springs can help get rid of that unpleasant choppy ride. They retail at £57.50 (plus VAT). As ever, for your Land Rover requirements in areas of suspension, call the guys at Extreme 4×4 on 01255 411411 or check out: 
Toyota’s flagship 4×4, the mighty Land Cruiser V8, enters the 61st year of the model range with an even higher level of luxury and claimed improvements to its off-road performance. The most obvious changes will be seen in the new exterior design at the front of the vehicle, with its over-sized bumper and fog lights and new grille. 
The partnership with Fiat, and the new model range that we saw in 2011 has resulted in a staggering increase in Jeep sales across Europe. The company claims a 61.8 per cent increase over the same period of 2010. Of course, any increase measured as a percentage does depend on where you start, and Jeep sales in 2009/2010 were on the floor. However, when the overall sales trend for the industry is down, this has to be a reason to smile for the iconic 4×4 brand.
The UK pick-up market is becoming even more interesting with news that from March, sales of the Chinese pick-up from Great Wall will begin in the UK. 
If you are an enthusiastic DIY mechanic then you’ll need to be able to carry out diagnostic testing, to enable your own problem solving. ESP Automotive’s Scanalyst is a top-selling scanner that is ideal for the amateur mechanic, and should stop you having to get expert advice on what might well turn out to be a very insignificant – and cheap – problem. The Scanalyst is compatible to all 2000-on petrol and 2003-on diesel engine cars sold in the UK (and many pre-2000 models, call to check). It provides real-time information on a vehicle’s performance and ECU status. Engine fault codes can be easily read and faults diagnosed, it’s then up to you to repair or replace and solve that problem! The Scanalyst is compatible to any PC that runs Windows. Each package comes with the necessary interface cable with USB connection, the Scanalyst CD and a full user manual. As this is being written, Scanalyst is available at a special discount price of £139.99, which is a big saving from the RRP of £249.99. To find out more go to the Scanlyst website 
Once you’ve made sure you wheels are properly cleaned from winter’s grime, it makes sense to protect them. Wheel Guard is a tough, clear coating that protects aluminium, chrome and alloy wheels from oxidation and corrosion. There is a one-part, selfAlevelling coating that doesn’t wash off. It is claimed not to have a nasty ‘plastic’ look, but give the look of a newly polished wheel. Touch dry in 5-10 minutes, you need to leave the coating to thoroughly dry and harden over a couple of hours before returning to the roads. The bonus is the claim that once treated, wheels are a lot easier to clean – and you know they are not corroding. The kit includes wipes, gloves, applicators, instructions and is available from 
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