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Monthly Archives: April 2014

genevaTHIS YEAR’S Geneva Motor Show did not disappoint when it came to new 4x4s. Obviously the most significant model unveiled was the Jeep Renegade, and we have given this a detailed description starting on page 20 of this issue, but there were some other highlights to get the year started; special editions and new concept vehicles shown to the public for the first time.

PERFORMANCE EVOQUE
The Autobiography nomenclature has now been given to the Range Rover Evoque in what Land Rover describes as being ‘the most performance-focussed Evoque’ yet. The new Autobiography Dynamic has the Evoque’s 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine upgraded to 281bhp and 400Nm. This is a substantial increase of some 45bhp and 60Nm respectively, and will certainly give the Evoque a particularly sporting character when matched to the new nine-speed ZF automatic transmission. This additional power has Land Rover’s Active driveline as a standard fitting for this model (it’s optional on other Evoques) which is said to improve traction, enhance agility and also improving fuel efficiency by engaging just the right amount of drive to each wheel as necessary. The Autobiography Evoque also has upgrade suspension geometry, firmer spring rates and recalibrated adaptive dampers – while not, it is claimed, affecting the ride quality. Upgraded 350mm front brake discs have been fitted and the Torque Vectoring by Braking system is now standard, which is said to reduce understeer and therefore give a sharper handling feel.

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FRIDGE ACCESSORIESFinding a mobile fridge freezer that suits you both in size and cost is one thing, but you have to be sure that it can be connected correctly to your vehicle. ARB now has a variety of new power accessories to cater for a wide variety of installation types and is claimed to make sure that the electric performance of both the vehicle and the fridge is maximised. The one thing that you do not want is a voltage drop while the fridge is keeping those beers cool for when you finish driving! To this end, there’s a new DC Wiring Kit, DC Threaded Socket set and 12/24V DC Plug available. Produced by ARB, the quality will be high and is available in the UK at Arbil.

Website: www.arbil.co.uk/4×4/   

FRIDGE ACCESSORIESIt’s fair to say that standard original Land Rover headlamps are not that powerful… even the latest models use conventional reflector lenses according to specialists Ring Automotive. To improve matters, Ring has produced a seven inch Complex Surface Reflector headlamp which means that owners can make a simple replacement and actually see where they are going. If fitted with Ring’s XenonUltima bulbs it is claimed that there will be 120 per cent more light available over the original headlamps. The headlamp units come as a pair obviously and both have fitted the XenonUltima H4 bulbs and IceBlue side light. They are H4 fitment for full beam and dipped beam and come with a three year warranty and are E approved. The suggested RRP is £69.99.

Website: www.ringautomotive.co.uk 

PEDAL HARDERVehicle security, especially for Land Rover Defender and Discoverys is something that most owners are keenly aware of, Defenders in particular being top of the ‘must have’ list for car thieves. As well as making your vehicle secure, it’s good to have a product that is highly visible and this Pedal Lock from the guys at Tune My Defender certainly does both of these things. It’s available for the Discovery TD5 (with or without Air Con) and the Defender 2.2 and 2.4 TDCI. It’s fair to say that it’s easy to fit, and no one will be driving your Defender away once fitted. For only £89 (plus VAT) it sounds like a sensible choice to us. Available at The Man For Land Rovers, if you contact them, make sure you say where you heard about it.

Website: www.themanforlandrovers.com

Buying a 4×4 for the very first time can be a confusing affair. To help you out, the Editor gives some initial advice on how to get started, to make the best decision, and our contributors and industry experts confess on just what they chose for their first 4x4s…

BUYING YOUR FIRST 4X4Looking to buy a 4×4 for the first time? Well, as you might expect, our first reaction is, well done – and our second is, what took you so long? But to be serious, a fatuous comment like that is of little help to someone considering a 4×4 vehicle for the very first time and if that’s you, hopefully we can offer some pointers for you to consider and ensure you make the right first choice.

One of the most exciting things about the world of 4×4 ownership is that it is so broad; the variety of vehicles on offer to you is enormous. If you are buying new, then at one end of the market you can have a Fiat Panda 4×4 for around the £14,000 mark, or you might consider a top spec Range Rover which has a starting price of £71,310 or for the long wheelbase option a staggering £102,120 (and that’s before you look at the impressive option list and start personalising your machine). Now, would someone sit down and ask: ‘Shall I buy a Panda or a long wheelbase Range Rover?’ Of course not, but what is true, and what makes 4×4 ownership such an excitingly broad church, encompassing such an enormous breadth of vehicles, is that they are linked, they have a similar basic DNA; they are both 4x4s and they are different to other vehicles on the road.

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BUYERS’ GUIDE: NISSAN QASHQAI For many city folk the lure of 4×4 ownership is such that a car only has to look like a 4×4 to succeed. Nissan’s prescience in tapping that resource has made their ‘urbanproof’ Qashqai a best seller

TARGET RANGE: £5000 – £23,000

We have to admit to being somewhat baffled by the mass appeal of the Nissan Qashqai. It certainly seems to be a good-value package as a family hatchback, with sensible pricing and good equipment throughout the range, but that has nothing to do with any four-wheel drive pretensions it may have, and we’ve always considered the interior to be somewhat featureless and unexciting. The Qashqai has smart enough modern exterior styling, if you like that very Eastern rather startled bug-eyed expression on the bluff front and can live with the swept-down roofline and rising waistline that starves rear occupants of headroom and visibility, but it’s hardly a design that stands out among a dozen other modern mid-range SUV-type hatchbacks. Still, it’s good news that the Qashqai is doing so well, because it shows that the British automotive industry is still a force to be reckoned with.

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Hils BlogIt seems that the planned withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan will mean the end of a serious, iconic, and much-admired off-roader

We are now well into 2014 and it will prove a momentous year for UK and US troops, as they finally pull out of Afghanistan before it is over. A recent episode of BBC2’s Top Gear saw James May travel out to Helmand Province to see just what a mammoth logistical task the British forces have in transporting all the Land Rovers, Jackals, Ferrets and other military machines back to the UK. They are worth millions and millions of pounds and cannot be left out there, quite rightly.

For the US troops, however, it is a very different story. And the shame of it is that the pullout also represents a major change in military transportation and the end of a very long and iconic era. It has been suggested that tens of thousands of AM General Humvees probably one of the conflict’s most recognisable combat vehicles, along with our own Jackals and Ferrets are expected to be left behind. And, according to Pat Ware, the author of Haynes’s new AM General Humvee Manual (available from www.haynes.co.uk, priced £25.00), the end of US involvement in Afghanistan will mean the end of the Humvee’s combat role and the beginning of the end of its military career altogether.

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May 2014 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

may cover Opinions are mixed about the new small 4×4 Renegade from Jeep. The traditional view may be that it’s not a ‘real’ Jeep, that it’s unfit to carry the famous badge. Jeep has, after all, been building 4x4s ‘Since 1941’ as the badging proudly embossed on the new Renegade’s facia confirms. But a vehicle based on an Italian Fiat 500 floorpan, with an on-demand ‘leverless’ 4×4 system is hardly a Willys or a Wrangler, no matter how bright the red paint on the signature tow hooks may shine. However, contemptuous dismissal is not the answer. Perhaps, there is a different way of looking at this, and perhaps, even the most diehard Jeep enthusiast can be persuaded to take a step back, re-evaluate, and concede that the new Jeep Renegade is indeed a very good thing.

Firstly, however, you have to accept that 1941 was a very long time ago. It’s all very well having a heritage to be proud of, but to slavishly refuse to change with the times, the culture, and more importantly, the market is – amongst other things – a recipe for disaster. Turn the clock back only a few years to the height of our recent global recession and the very existence of Jeep as a manufacturer was in doubt. The only place you would find the iconic Jeep badge looked like being at an autojumble, certainly not on a brand new design of new small 4×4 SUV. Things had to change, and with the help of the US government and the drive of the British-born president and CEO of the Jeep brand, Mike Manley, a merger with Fiat was established. Fiat? What on earth does this Italian manufacturer know about 4×4, for heaven’s sake? Well, for one thing, it seems to understand the global value of the Jeep brand, as the excellent newly revised Grand Cherokee, new Cherokee and now the new small 4×4 Renegade clearly demonstrates. And the most important part of that sentence is ‘new small 4×4’.

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