Howard Sherren

Well, after an eventful first few months to the year, there were thankfully no surprises in Discovery ownership throughout April and May. After finishing the multiple jobs that had reared their head I was looking forward to some peaceful driving. The only expense I have had to fork out for was a pair of light guards courtesy of John Craddock Limited. After fitting some rear light guards over two years ago I finally decided to bite the bullet and go the full way and guard-up the headlights. The easy to install kit was in my opinion a bargain at £61.75 delivered, however these were for the replacement items at half the price of genuine Land Rover parts. However I have been informed they may no longer be available in the future, so the genuine article will be the only option – good timing!

Now the plus side is all the lights are protected from the rogue cow or stray pheasant but cleaning the lights will now certainly be a challenge!

Bob Cooke – contributor

It’s that time of year again, when my daughter Kerrie presents a play at an annual drama festival in Rochester. And since that play involves a variety of bulky items of scenery, which has to be transported from workshop to theatre, she requires a vehicle to do the transporting, which inevitably means the Cherokee on account of the ease with which it converts into a van-like cargo carrier. The play this year involves four metre-and-a-half box-like frames that open to reveal a garden – don’t ask – along with a matching garden bench and – again don’t ask – a ventriloquist’s dummy called Benny.  Since the garden frames pretty much stretched the Cherokee’s internal cargo space to the limit, the bench had to go on the roof, leaving Benny to share the remaining passenger space with me… and yes, I know, it was hard to tell which of us was the dummy as we carted the scenery down to the theatre.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

So now it is time to say goodbye to the VW. We’ve had a Tiguan of some description on the fleet for a long time and have got to know them well. The Escape model was a decent upgrade to the standard auto-engaging SE that we ran for six months previously. In the most recent winter snow it was comforting to have the additional off-road switch, which meant a smoother journey in the deep snow that Kent enjoyed, and the increased approach angle that the redesigned nose of the Escape offers.

The Escape is really not a bad off-roader, it’s just that, being a lower-slung SUV than more traditional off-road vehicles, it feels inappropriate to take it anywhere really rough. Although the Escape’s angled nose allows for more serious playtime, the lower ground clearance that crossovers/modern SUVs offer makes me rather nervous to tackle anything too strenuous.

Nigel Fryatt – editor

From the thumping macho behemoth that was my Hilux, to the nimble, buzzy, almost hot-hatch like three-door Suzuki Grand Vitara. Madness. Actually, it doesn’t quite work like that. My personal Toyota Hilux has now gone – after a hugely successful trip to Scotland for my recent sailing holiday. We had four adults and more clothes, sleeping bags, wet weather sailing gear, booze and food than you can imagine, completing an 800 mile round trip, effortlessly. Am I sad to see it go? Certainly, and I still haven’t decided what to buy next. In the meantime, I’m going to have a few months of long term testing with our new Mighty Mouse off-roading Suzuki!

OK, so the Suzuki, especially in three-door form, does look somewhat ‘cute’ and may not appeal to everyone. Look at the spec, however, and it does start to appeal to this writer. It is powered by a 2.4-litre 16v petrol engine, that just loves to be revved, and delivers 166bhp and a very reasonable 225Nm of torque, which has to be one of the biggest capacity engines for a small SUV on the UK market. It’s very sprightly and we fear that enjoying that might make it reasonably thirsty – something that we will be reporting on.