As we come to the end of the year, and complete our 2014 4×4 Of The Year mega test, things look good for the future of quality 4x4s
Another 4×4 Of The Year has come and gone. Every year throws up something new and fascinating to get our teeth into as 4x4s continue to have a real presence in the overall car market. These days, any manufacturer that doesn’t offer a 4×4 of some form seriously needs to redress that glaring omission.
The SUV/Crossover sector has ballooned in the last few years, as has the luxury end of the market. And it’s going to get even bigger with Jaguar and Bentley soon to be in the mix. Then we have Land Rover continuing its gradual phase of development, creating particular families within the group. Range Rover has established itself with the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Evoque. Latest news is that a Discovery range is about to become a new family. The ageing Discovery is being revamped. A new baby Discovery will replace the Freelander and there will be a larger sibling to replace the Discovery 4. In many markets the name ‘Discovery’ doesn’t actually exist. For instance, in the USA it’s known as the ‘LR4’. In future this and other markets will come to know the Discovery name as all the vehicles built on that platform will have ‘Discovery’ badged on the bonnet, like all the Range Rovers do now.
Mudmaster is planned with military precision; “improving road safety, developing both on and off-road driving and map reading skills”, the organisers say, and it does all of these and more. So what can crews expect? All action navigation, trials, autotests, regularity runs and orienteering through forest, over field and quarry sites across central Scotland. This year a dozen or so MAN SV military trucks are in the mix, going through their off-road paces on various sites; they are truly impressive, with semi auto selectable boxes and diff locks to die for. What if they got stuck? The army has the latest recovery answer on site – a 32 ton MAN heavy recovery truck capable of retrieving the heaviest vehicles on operations. Powered by a 440bhp, 10.5-litre, Euro 4 compliant six cylinder turbo diesel engine, it has 8×8 wheel drive and self-levelling suspension to negotiate rough ground. It can pluck a truck right out of the mud with a lifting capacity of 15 tons at a distance of 2.3m, and can tow a 44 ton vehicle should the need arise. It’s well impressive.
Land Rover has renewed the sponsorship agreement with the Born Free Foundation, continuing its successful Global Conservation Partnership first forged in 2002 and confirming Born Free as its primary global conservation partner.
THIS IS A BLAST from the past! The 1989 Camel Trophy is now available as a DVD. This is actually the year that Bob and Joe Ives represented the UK on the event, and it’s a year after the Editor was in the UK team’s Land Rover bouncing around Sulawesi, in Indonesia. From first hand experience, therefore, we can confirm that this 1989 event was a lot muddier than Sulawesi, and this is clear in the DVD! Gary Critcher is the guy behind the project as he has taken charge of the Camel Trophy archive, and promises that this will be the first of the material due for re-release. If you are a Camel Trophy enthusiast, or indeed if you have heard about it and wondered what all the fuss was about, then this DVD is for you. It’s priced at £15, including p&p for the UK, £17 for the Rest of the World, and is available from 
A new front grille, front bumper, LED daytime running lights and headlamp design gives the 2014 model year Land Rover Discovery a fresh new look. More significant, however, is the fact that for some markets, the words Land Rover will be removed from the bonnet, replaced by Discovery. On the tailgate the ‘4’ has been removed, leaving just the word Discovery. Engine badging also moves from the tailgate to an ingot mounted on each of the front doors – this will appear as SDV6 for the UK market. In the US and Middle East, however, the vehicle’s badging will remain as before. The new models get some of Land Rover’s very latest hi tech gizmos, including Wade Sensing, Blind Spot Monitoring, Closing Vehicle Sensing, Reverse Traffic Detection and T-junction cameras. Also to link up with the rest of the range, the Discovery will now be available with the excellent Meridian audio system. These new models can be ordered in the UK now, for delivery in mid-November.
For an off-road enthusiast who believes big is beautiful, there can be few more awe-inspiring sights than watching a six-wheel drive Scammell clambering over a huge rocky outcrop or seeing a Stalwart emerge from a lake and without a pause clamber up the bank and disappear into the undergrowth. Most people do simply look on in awe, because the thought of driving one of these beasts, let alone actually owning one, seems a dream too far, partly because of a natural fear of their perceived complexity and partly because of the assumed high cost of purchasing one, not to mention having to acquire the necessary heavy vehicle driving licence. That latter point aside, most of these all-wheel drive behemoths are actually quite easy to drive, the basic controls are all as straightforward as in an ordinary passenger car, you may just have to spend some time getting used to the pre-selector gearboxes and exhaust brakes sometimes included in the specification of more modern vehicles. As to the cost of purchase, you needn’t pay more for a big six-wheeled off-roader than you would for a good-condition ordinary four-wheel drive. What you will have to consider, however, is that you’ll need somewhere to park it when it’s not in use and if you don’t treat it with respect you could end up frightening yourself with repair and maintenance costs. If neither of these factors causes you concern, then maybe it really is the right time to have a look around at what’s available in the way of heavy-duty awe-inspirers.
Nigel Fryatt, Editor
Some interesting off-roading this month, far away and certainly off-road. It’s been vacation time, which has seen Sue and I on a camping and canoeing trip in Zambia; paddling around hippos, avoiding crocodiles and photographing elephants. Of course, there’s been a little conventional off-roading as well, courtesy of some interesting Toyotas. You cannot help but notice that throughout Zambia, the off-roader of choice has a Toyota badge on the bonnet. Land Rovers? As elusive as leopards, to be honest. They are there but you have to search them out. When it comes to Toyotas, however, a bit like Impalas, they are everywhere.
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