[X]

KELSEYAdmin

1413 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

1stdriveThe Range Rover is celebrating a significant birthday this summer. In company with most of its customers, Land Rover’s flagship 4×4 has passed the big 4-0, and by way of celebration it has been equipped with a new, more powerful and cleaner diesel engine plus a few cosmetic touches.  

Words: Sue Baker; photos: Sue Baker & Nick Dimbleby

In place of the previous 3.6-litre TDV8, the Range Rover, at a rather fabulous 40 years young, has acquired a new 4.4-litre double turbo unit. The gearbox is new too, an eightspeed ZF auto accompanied by steering column paddle shifts.

Phil Weeden – editorial director

isuzuPhil Weeden editorial director I’d been looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Rodeo. When we acquired the company Mazda BT-50 pick-up in 2008, the Rodeo was firmly on our shortlist. It’s better looking than the Mazda and the 3.0-litre turbo diesel feels uber strong, with a purposeful induction roar, a decent turn of speed, plenty of traction and reasonable refinement on the motorway. Only a killer lease price made us choose the Mazda over the Isuzu in the end.

It’s been well documented in previous reports from Hils and Bob that we’re not fans of all the chrome accoutrements, and I certainly agree. The grille is fine, but the tail-light trims look a little tacky in my view and the sidesteps look too bulky as well as prohibiting the Rodeo’s otherwise excellent off-road ability. What a pity that the market for these pick-ups seems to be dictating this level of bling…

Garry Stuart – freelance photographer

nissanIt seemed a good idea at the time. We were due to go down to our house in South West France for a few weeks in July when I learned of a new Land Rover event near Clermont Ferrand, deep in the Massif Central. We needed to be down there on a Friday, but only found out about it the day before, so the Terrano had to be fettled and loaded in a hurry so that we could drive down to Dover overnight and sleep for a few hours at the ferry port before boarding an LD Lines ferry to Boulogne at 05.00hrs.

Louise Limb – contributor

vitaraIf I was concerned last time that my finances were becoming stretched by my coy little motor after a couple of big garage bills, I was set to see even more moths fluttering from my rapidly emptying purse this month. I’d forgotten for a moment that my insurance was due.

I’d been with a big broker attached to a very well-known breakdown organisation. It handles a fair proportion of the nation’s roadside repairs and gives me peace of mind. The insurance side of things had been okay last year, too. The renewal premium for 2010 had me stunned. As I’m the wrong side of 50 now, I wasn’t expecting my car insurance to be over £450! I run a three-door Grand Vitara with a sensible diesel engine and with the same specifi ation as she left the factory, not a Hummer with blacked-out windows, Lenso wheels and running on nitrous! I rang a couple of the specialist 4×4 insurance guys and not only got myself back down below £380 but with the addition of off-road and business cover. No longer would I have to pretend that the Grand only ever drove on the M6 and that I am a shop assistant.

Nigel Fryatt – contributor

rav4While buying a new 4×4 is fun, it is also undoubtedly frustrating and, at times, stressful. Why do some traders insist on writing ‘immaculate’ in their advertisements when even the most cursory inspection shows the vehicle to have been used and seriously abused? Why, after phoning up to check, do you find out when you arrive to view a vehicle that, ‘there’s a small problem with the air flow sensor so you can’t go for a drive, I’m afraid. The mechanic should have changed it this morning but he’s a DJ and last night he had all his gear nicked so he’s not come in…’ Would you buy a 4×4 from some absentminded DJ who can’t even be bothered to come to work? No, neither would we.

Bob Cooke – contributor

HotchkissNever again will I allow a lunatic at the wheel of the Hotchkiss…well, maybe ‘lunatic’ is a bit strong, it’s just that it’s a while since Ivor had done any off-roading and he’d never before driven anything as much fun – and as open – as Eugene. Now Eugene may be close on 50 years old but the old dog can still move; the 2.2-litre Willys engine may only be puffing out around 55 of its original 60 horses but with its stroke of nearly 4.5 inches it’s still got surprisingly muscular lowdown torque, so when Ivor saw a gap in the undergrowth and went for it, his enthusiastic flooring of the accelerator saw Eugene leaping into the bushes like a startled rabbit, leaving me hardly any time to hang on, let alone blink.

In consequence, weeks later, I’m still trying to blink fragments of shredded gorse bush out of my eyes. Resolution No 1 in consequence of this: three pairs of eye-protection goggles becomes standard equipment in Eugene’s glovebox, one for driver, one for passenger and one for anyone crazy enough to sit in the back while Ivor’s driving.

Shion Scudamore – contributor

bedfordThe sun has been beating down in North Wales and so there has been little excuse not to get on with sorting the TM for its MoT. I started well and the lower cab panels have been removed, revealing even more rust, I have exposed even more daylight through the cab floor.

The problem is June is also a good month to do several other things that are considerably more fun than grinding rust and welding. The start of the month saw a trip to France on the bikes with a crowd of my ex overland driving buddies, some enjoyable miles spent in the Alsace region meant I needed some tyres and brake pads to get home so that blew the vehicle budget for the month. A landmark birthday party meant a great weekend of camping at our place and rerunning some of the old stories over a few drinks (well, a lot of drinks really). The Bedford was present which seemed fitting as many of us had driven them all over the globe but not yet fit for active duty. Finally, I failed to get her ready for Glastonbury but taking a VW camper instead meant the budget looked better, it would be cheaper just to charter a jet these days rather than drive her to Somerset; 300 quids-worth of fuel is a very conservative estimate.

Kevin Baldwin – contributor

defenderIt was only a couple of months ago that I was telling you about the spate of Defender thefts in the West Yorkshire area which had reached such epidemic proportions that it had prompted the local Police to implement a stop and check policy on any Defender, night and day. I reported that although this hadn’t seemed to deter whoever was responsible, thankfully my 90 had managed to escape the attention of the local ‘TWOC’ers’. That’ll teach me…

For the first time in 25 years of motoring I’ve become a car crime statistic, with an insurance claim, another first for me, for my stolen Defender Td5 90. Ironically, it wasn’t at home where the Defender was stolen. Instead, a Holiday Inn car park in Northampton was the last known sighting of my 90. And it was the first time K3MUD had been outside West Yorkshire in months! As I sit here typing this two weeks after the event, I’ve finally resigned myself never to see it again.

cold-comfortHere’s an astonishing fact: these ICEY-TEK cool boxes keep ice frozen for up to 10 days. They don’t use power, but have an advanced insulation system that makes them ideal for overland travellers. Thanks to their insulating properties, the cool boxes can keep food hot or cold for epic amounts of time. The internal lining is non-staining, non-odour absorbing and easy to clean.

A choice of colours is available – including white, blue, red and lime green. Sizes range from 25 litres to 450 litres and every box comes with a 12-month warranty.

Visit www.coolboxesuk.co.uk for more details. 

bagAnyone interested in family camping trips may find these Outwell sleeping bags might be just what they need to help pass the nights in comfort. Available in both single and double versions, the Lakeview range of sleeping bags is filled with natural duck down and designed so that the filling stays in place.

The soft touch microfibre outer shell features an easy-glide zip system for ease of access – and an internal security pocket provides a useful hiding place for watches and other valuables.

Other designs are available, including the Camper collection, which is especially suitable for chilly climates, and the lightweight Coastal range. This is ideal for summer camping, with bags that pack away into diminutive storage sacks.

Visit www.outwell.com to find out more about the Outwell range.