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Monthly Archives: January 2024

In last month’s issue, part one of this story explained the purpose of the expedition that took me to Antarctica.
Expeditions 7 was an adventure dreamt up by Greg Miller and Scott Brady, a pair of Toyota Land Cruiser fans whose
aim was to explore every continent on the planet; this was the sixth of the seven, and to make it happen they enlisted the expert help of Arctic Trucks.

Arctic or, in this case, Antarctic. Either way, it was cold.

Cold and unbelievably uniform. Crossing a continent is one thing – doing it when all around you is unrelentingly white, now that’s a whole new kind of endurance. The minutes, hours and days were starting to meld into a cyclical and never-ending dream of drive, refuel, eat, sleep and drive. When the sun was directly ahead of us, it was midnight. When it was at our ‘six’, it was noon. A blurry moment later, it was directly ahead again.

For those of us who live outside the polar regions and have regular periods of darkness, adjusting to continuous daylight can wreak havoc both physically and psychologically. This falls into the realm of a circadian rhythm sleep disorder. After 20 or 24 hours of consciousness, though the body becomes exhausted the mind finds it difficult to shut the system down. In a world without night, do you awake at 0500 hours to have an omelette or a cocktail?

Read the full article in the February issue:

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/202302

Dave Price is a veteran Australian outback adventurer who, over the years, has driven through most of the country’s vast interior. He’s been to the Simpson Desert on numerous occasions, driving all its many iconic tracks – but never to its geographic centre.

This significant location is indicated on the Hema Great Desert Tracks map at 25’21’58”S/137’05’05”E – close to the
marked tracks, but the last few miles would entail driving through trackless country; over rough, tricky sand dunes.
Which is exactly why Dave wanted to go there. It’s a big challenge, but an absolutely top-notch adventure.


He’s invited me to join him and wife Maureen on the trip, kindly loaning me the Land Rover Discovery 2 based Challenger ute that he built in 2016 and which I’ve previously used for Aussie adventures in 2017 and 2019. The Prices are in their own TDCi-engined G4 Challenge Defender 110, and joining us are Graham Grether in his Td5 Discovery plus Kin and Heather Roy, making the fi rst big overland jaunt in their new-shape Defender 110 D250 – a big step forward after many years of travelling in
another Disco 2.

Read the full article in the February issue:

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/202402

The Green Lane Association’s efforts on behalf of all rights of way users have helped secure the right result at a public enquiry on the status of Excelsior, an unsurfaced road near Grindleford in Derbyshire. The route was put under threat by the actions of anti-freedom fanatics who, in their usual self-serving fashion, applied for it to be downgraded to a bridleway.

In a perfect example of why a GLASS subscription is such good value for money, the association dipped in to its fighting fund to employ a professional researcher – who unearthed valuable historical evidence and led a second campaign for user evidence in support of motor vehicle rights.

Phil Hobson, GLASS’ Rights of Way Officer, compiled and submitted a statement of case together with proof of evidence to the inspectorate, and attended the inquiry with the association’s local rep team. The inquiry lasted three days, overseen by a government inspector who walked the lane twice herself in addition to listening to evidence for and against vehicle rights.

Read the full article in the February issue:

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/202402

Korean 4×4 specialist SsangYong, whose Rexton SUV and Musso double-cab have been perennial winners of the value category in our 4×4 of the Year awards since launch, has changed its name to KGM.


The company’s UK importer, which is now known as KGM Motors, had long accepted that the SsangYong name was an
obstacle to growth here. However this new identity comes following a 2023 buyout in Korea by the KG Group – which rescued the factory from financial difficulties. The process of rebranding its dealerships has already begun, with a new white-on black identity featuring SsangYong’s old twin-wings logo alongside the KGM name, and this is expected to be complete by the middle of 2024.

KGM Motors’ franchising boss Andrew Cookson says the network-wide rebranding exercise will be taken as an opportunity to expand its spread of dealers. ‘While other brands are restructuring and may be reducing their numbers of dealers in favour of the agent our remaining open points. The new corporate identity is a great opportunity for us to work with our partners to improve the quality of our dealerships and customer service – we’re committed to exploring and implementing innovative solutions in the UK market to achieve this objective.’

Read the full article in February’s issue.

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4X4202402

JLR has opened the pre-order book for the Range Rover Electric. A fully electrified version of the current model, which was launched in traditionally powered form during 2021, the vehicle will be built in Solihull alongside existing mild and plug-in hybrid variants – a move which coincides with the opening of a new £70m underbody facility at Land Rover’s original home.

While the main focus with the electric Range Rover is to ‘amplify its modern luxury credentials,’ JLR promises that it will remain a workhorse for those who want it to be. ‘Its go-anywhere capability will ensure towing, wading and all-terrain technology surpass any other luxury electric SUV,’ to quote. Also to quote, ‘towing will substantially affect EV range,’ but at least they said it – and will 800V electric architecture, owners will be able to make the most of the fast-charging options available in the public network.

Indeed, JLR says that its customers will enjoy ‘a seamless electric ownership experience.’ This includes ‘effortless charging, energy partnerships, software over- the-air updates and intelligent technology to maximise range.’ The vehicle’s batteries and motor units will be assembled at JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton. That’s the new name for the Engine Manufacturing Centre, which itself hardly seems to have been open for five minutes.

The Salar de Uyuni is one of the world’s most iconic destinations for overland travel. But there’s more to this famed region of Bolivia than a salt pan half the size of Wales. Venture just a few miles south and you’ll find yourself amid the tangled remains of a railway that was once a wonder of the engineering world.

In Britain, we tend to think of narrowgauge railways as quaint old things, short sections of track amid the worked-out late mines of North Wales plied by gleaming little engines for the amusement of tourists. The idea of crossborder heavy industry being built on such a thing sounds impossible. Exactly 150 years ago, however, the first trains ran on what was one of the most ambitious railway projects the world has ever seen. One of the most ambitious and, at the time, the highest above sea level anywhere on the planet. The Ferrocarril de Antofagasta a Bolivia (FCAB) runs between the Bolivian capital of La Paz and the port of Antofagasta, some 715 miles to the south. On the way, it climbs to an altitude of 3956 metres – that’s not far off halfway to Everest, on a route for which ground was first broken at a time when the world’s highest peak was still more than a quarter of a century away from being conquered.

Read more in the January 2024 issue of Overlander 4×4 – buy it here

Toyota’s new Hilux Hybrid 48V will go on sale in the middle of 2024. Initially available just in Invincible and Invincible X grades, and only with automatic transmission, this mates the vehicle’s familiar 2.8-litre diesel engine to a 48V hybrid system, adding up to 16bhp and 48lbf.ft to its overall output. The result, says Toyota, is enhanced acceleration, power and efficiency.

The system comes at no loss to the Hilux’s towing or payload capacity.  Toyota says it will allow smoother driving in town and off-road, too, thanks to a lower idling speed of 600 rather than 720rpm, and that the motor-generator within the hybrid set-up has been designed to withstand harsh working environments. By waterproofing the 48V battery and DCDC converter and using anti-slip and strengthening measures on the motorgenerator pulley and belt, Toyota has been able to retain a 700mm wading depth for the vehicle.

Audi will return to the Dakar Rally in January with the latest version of its RS Q e-tron. Headed by a new Technical Director in Dr. Leonardo Pascali, Audi Motorsport has focused on five main areas of development – safety, reliability, comfort, performance and maintenance times.

Various detail changes mean the new vehicle is slightly lighter than before, and changes in the event’s regulations mean its electric motors can now be tuned for greater output. Suspension uprights have been redesigned to help prevent stones from getting stuck behind the rim and brake disc, something that has previously caused time-consuming damage, and the wheels will be shod with a new tyre featuring stronger sidewalls.

The suspension has also been rethought to reduce peak vertical acceleration during landings, with a better distribution of loads also allowing enhanced handling control and a longer crash box at the front of the chassis. This is now more efficient at absorbing the energy generated during a hard frontal landing – such as the one which put Carlos Sainz out of the 2023 Dakar when his RS Q e-tron dug in and somersaulted.

Sainz is one of three Audi drivers at the 2024 Dakar, all of them returning after last year. He’ll be co-driven by Lucas
Cruz; other teams are Mattias Ekström/Emil Bergkvist and Stéphane Peterhansel/Edouard Boulanger.

‘Our engineering team has improved the RS Q e-tron even further with many creative solutions,’ says Audi’s Head of Motorsport Rolf Michl. ‘Drivers and co-drivers, as well as all of the mechanics and engineers, benefit from the imaginative ideas. We feel that we are prepared for the Dakar Rally in the best possible way.’

Toyota has upgraded the Yaris Cross for 2024, giving it more power and tech as well as tweaks to its styling. The former comes from the addition of a new, more powerful hybrid powertrain in the GR Sport model; this will also feature in the Premiere Edition, a new model introduced for the launch of the updated vehicle.

The Premiere has an exclusive new Urban Khaki paint finish with a bi-tone execution, along with new 18” machined five-spoke alloys that enhance the dynamic, rugged look and matching stitching inside. Across the range, meanwhile, seat upholstery has been improved and there’s now a soft covering on the lower instrument  panel. Toyota promises improvements to the vehicle’s refinement, too, as well as further safety aids and a ‘completely new digital user experience.’ 

Nith Inshore Rescue, based near Dumfries on the Solway Firth, has become the first blue-light emergency service in the UK to order an Ineos Grenadier. Based on the Utility Wagon model, the vehicle was prepared by specialist supplier Emergency One with a variety of equipment including an extendable roof-mounted camera.

‘We deal with life-and-death situations, very harsh weather and challenging terrain,’ said Peter Bryden, secretary of Nith Inshore Rescue. ‘So when it came to evaluating the options for a new support vehicle, there were few options and the Grenadier stood out, ticking all the boxes.

‘We were very impressed with the way it has been engineered and built to last, as well as how straightforward it was to convert it for this role. Together with our revitalised lifeboat, we expect it to serve our team for the next 40 years.’

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