Robert Pepper
This month has been a rather typical month for the Discovery – a 4×4 trip or two, the usual mundane school runs, shopping and personal transport duties. We went for a snow run after keeping a close eye on the snow reports, which promised much so we dropped everything and bundled into the orange beast, aiming to get at least 1100m above sea level. In good years, snow is found from 800m upwards and most seasons you can generally run into it from around 1000m. But this year it was slim pickings, as the photographs show.
The D3 does this sort of medium trip very well, as the drive to the snow mountains is around two hours and includes some very twisty and often wet tarmac, then off-road onto dirt tracks that are relatively high speed but still require clearance and traction. So all was good, except one of the D3’s major design faults and that is the park brake. For off-roaders it is the most troublesome part of the car, bar none, and that is because it is prone to clogging with mud or sometimes dust and dirt. Given the Discovery was developed in England, land of the long muddy green lane, it’s a bizarre design and even worse, it’s been carried over into the D4 when it should have been carried over to the rubbish bin. On this particular trip the activator light just lit up over corrugations, not activating the brake, but irritating. Yet another clean is in order. Why, oh why did they make it this way?
As you would expect for such a top pick-up, there are some excellent new accessories coming to the market for the Ford Ranger. Tim Snowdon at 4x4at.com has told us about a new canopy, appropriately also designed by Ford Australia and built by Aeroklas. Twin-skinned, this ABS canopy is available with pop-out side windows, or solid sides. It costs £1199.99 (plus VAT), warranted for off-road use and comes with a three-year warranty. The guys at 4x4at.com also stock the famous Mountain top chequer plate lid for the Ranger. This durable and secure cover has now been tested in over 20 countries and is likely to be a big seller for the Ranger. You can get this from 4x4at.com for £875 (plus VAT). And for those serious about working their Ranger, 4x4at.com also has a tough recovery bumper, black powder-coated as standard, but can be colour-coded to the vehicle. They can be supplied with a 10,000lb winch. Prices start at around £700. All these, and many more accessories for all model pick-ups are available at 
Isuzu’s new D-Max was a serious contender for our overall 4×4 Pick-up Of The Year; it’s going to be in demand, that’s for sure. The guys at Up Country have some interesting accessories available for this new model. One thing pick-ups ‘suffer’ from is the fact that the suspension has to work when the vehicle is empty and fully loaded, so we were particularly interested in the air suspension kits that they have available at Up Country. The kit comes from MAD, there are no steel springs, only two air bellows installed with existing springs ensuring that the car can be adjusted to meet the driver’s needs – hard or soft spring action, high or low; increased comfort through optimum auxiliary air suspension. This can be operated easily from the dashboard while driving. The basic air suspension kit for the D-Max starts at only £294 (plus VAT) up to £757 (plus VAT) for the automatic version.
Surely we’ve had too many Land Rover shows, we need a broader outlook with these events. The recent Adventure Overland Show was a great example of what can be done…
Rumoured for some time, Jaguar Land Rover has now announced that it will build 4x4s in China, probably the most significant global motor manufacturing deal for many years
You can read how the vastly improved 2012 Isuzu D-Max pick-up truck fared in our Pick-up Of The Year test starting on page 46, but Isuzu hasn’t stopped at improving the outgoing Rodeo this year, having just announced the introduction of two new body styles to join the range for the very first time in the UK. And it has also confirmed a four-star Euro NCAP safety rating, writes Hils Everitt. 
The UK’s pick-up market is varied, and highly competitive – from bargain basement, to high tech, high end. But which represents the best option? Our comprehensive group test offers some answers 
For many, this is the ultimate dream for any real off-roader. The great thing, however, is that this is available to all. Get yourself to Moab, Utah, hire a Wrangler and hit the rocks… not literally, of course
The three generations of RAV4 have amassed more than 4.5 million sales in more than 150 countries worldwide. European markets have accounted for more than 1.2 million of that total, with sales in the UK surpassing 155,000 units by the end of last year.
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