A lot of things have a tough time off-road, and a mobile phone is one such product. How many iPhones do you see with broken screens? If you need a phone outside, in a working environment, why not consider a JCB Toughphone. These original phones were launched in 2010 and now there’s a JCB Pro-Smart which features an Android 2.3 handset with full app capability, a 3.2inch HVGA touchscreen. It’s tough and waterproof and dustproof; probably won’t work if you bury it in the mud and drive over it, but it’s certainly going to survive a working day better than most. For more information about the JCB Toughphone range visit www.jcbphone.co.uk
KELSEYAdmin
Pick Up-Country
Don’t know about you, but it’s easy to be a little cautious of any product that’s called Smart, but these new pick-up truck tops are exactly that. It’s a new brand to the UK pick-up market and it’s available from Up-Country Autoproducts. The Smart Arctic glazed hardtop is a great looking pick-up truck top that comes complete with roof rails as standard, sliding side windows, heated screen and lighting. Pick-up truck tops do often look particularly ‘add-on’ and clumsy, but this range has a much more authentic look. Check out the Up-Country website and you will see they are good value too. The Arctic glazed top is available for the Ford Ranger T6, Isuzu D-Max 12+, Nissan Navara D40, Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi L200 long bed and the VW Amarok. For more details go to: www.upcountry4x4.co.uk or call the guys on 01986 875171
Polaris Ranger XP900
For some years the Polaris Ranger has been the side-by-side ATV to beat. For 2013, it’s got a new chassis and engine. Is it still the best ATV on the market? We froze to death in January to find out. Boy, it was great fun!
Words and photography: Wayne Mitchelson
The terrain was harsh, heavily potholed and the pace was faster than I would have liked. My mind and body was expecting spine-jarring impacts as the Polaris XP900 skipped its way across the rough terrain of the Peckforton Castle Estate. But the impacts never materialised as the 10inch long-travel, adjustable suspension at the front, and fully independent at the rear, fitted to the all new chassis, seamlessly ironed out the challenging Cheshire Estate tracks.
It was sub-zero temperatures aboard the new Polaris Ranger XP900 ‘sideby- side’, my fingers were frozen and my face chilled by the passing cold air, but that didn’t seem to matter. Having used Rangers for many years and witnessed the moderate progression of the now iconic, ‘side-by-side’, this year’s improvements are more impressive, for one the power plant is all new. The British-designed Pro Star 900 engine is a parallel twin cylinder, four stroke, producing 60bhp and more importantly, a class leading 54lb ft of torque.
April 2013 Issue Editor’s Blog
April 2013 Issue of 4×4 Magazine
In the last 12 months or so, I have had the privilege of being asked to test a number of new tyres from some major tyre manufacturers. This has ranged from driving in deep snow to race circuits, driving on ice, rock, tarmac and a mixture of all three. Different manufacturers will obviously portray why their particular rubber is the best available, market-leading in one area or another.
If anything, my personal conclusion is that there are now some superb tyres on the market for the 4×4 enthusiast. Which is best? Well that depends on what you want the tyres to achieve; what are your specific requirements. So much of this is a compromise, and it always will be, and that is not a criticism of the tyre producers. If you want a tyre to give maximum mileage, then its construction may mean a compromise on wet weather grip and resistance to aquaplaning. Then again, you probably don’t want something that gives you limpet-like grip in the torrential weather we experience, if it wears out within a few thousand miles. So, which is best?
Perhaps you should consider the new European labelling to compare tyres and find the best for you. That, in my humble opinion, is a complete waste of time. Laudable though the labelling regulations concept might be, they only cover three areas; rolling resistance, wet grip and noise. And remember, each tyre manufacturer self-regulates and decides which grading its tyre deserves. Fair enough comparing tyres across a manufacturer’s own range perhaps, but is it really to be trusted as a comparison between different tyre manufacturers? More significantly, it will not answer that question; which is the best tyre for me?
MAN FOR ALL SEASONS
For many, there’s only one real 4×4 and therefore only one vehicle that you should consider modifying. Even for those not complete devotees, the Land Rover has to be an ideal 4×4 to get the personal touch – as this Defender owner explains…
Words and photography: Michael Konstantinou
This Defender is a 300Tdi Station Wagon and it serves as a daily driver, a long distance tourer, as well as a weekend toy. The beauty of the Defender is that it does it all, and it does it all so well, you can really get stuck in and personalise, whether that’s for the ultimate cross continent expedition, or just for a touch of occasional weekend mud-plugging. Or even, just because you can!
Taking a look around my Defender, at the front, the TJM Bull Bar was actually fitted by the previous owner. He chose the TJM bar as it accommodated the Warn Hi Mount winch better than the ARB bar. What has been pleasing is that over time, the TJM Bar has proved to have much better rust resistance than similarly aged ARB bars, though the redesign of the later ARB bars seems to have addressed that issue.
JEEP CHEROKEE
Bob Cooke – contributor
My favourite Top Tip from the anarchic magazine Viz: Put a £20 note in the inside pocket of your dark suit jacket so the next time you go to a funeral you’ll find something to cheer you up! Now, it was just as well the Cherokee had been through a car wash as part of the cleanup for its MOT examination, because along with the bills that came through the front door was an invitation to a funeral. It was the last ceremony of a bloke I didn’t like very much, but I figured it would be a chance to meet up with some distant relatives I’d not seen for years. The fact that it would be a 185- mile drive each way was a bit irking since the Cherokee’s comfortable with it; I reckon if I ever upgrade to a newer model I’ll switch the seats with those from my current Cherokee.
It was quite a pleasant drive on one of those rare sunny days and the Cherokee was still gleaming after the long haul up the A1, the bodywork remarkably clear of dents and scratches and its dark green paintwork still largely unblemished. Just for a brief moment, though, I rather wished the Cherokee had a more modern, softly rounded body style. It was when I arrived at the crematorium and turned in through the entrance gate and made my way sedately past a waiting group of mourners; some older folk removed their hats and bowed their heads as I cruised past, having briefly mistaken the Cherokee for a hearse…
LR DISCOVERY 3
Robert Pepper
Back in the October 2012 edition of 4×4 magazine, I reported on our BFG KM2 245/70/17 mudterrain tyres and promised an end-of-life update. That time has now come and the verdict is in. A few years back the general rule was that you never used mud terrains on the road. This was because of poor handling, noise and excessive wear. Fast-forward to 2013 and now mud terrains are more ‘streetable’ than ever before, offering much improved levels of grip and refinement compared to their ancestor tyres. And today’s 4x4s are also much quieter, sharper handlers and better insulators of road noise than their ancestors, so combine those two factors and the mud terrain becomes a viable daily-driver option. But that said, the muddie is not without its disadvantages. The first is cost, not only in the purchase price, but wear.
VW TIGUAN ESCAPE 2.0-LITRE TDI BLUEMOTION 4MOTION
Hils Everitt – Editor at Large
Well, I got my wish from a previous month and it did, as we all know, well and truly snow in late January – plenty of it, enough to bring the whole country to a halt. Well, all those without the sense to own a 4×4, that is. And I got the chance to see what our Escape version Tiguan was really like in the snow. You’ll see from my Fiat Panda 4×4 report on page 28 that this winter marked the very first time I have actually been in an ‘SUV’ rather than a ‘proper’ 4×4 with low ratio etc etc onto the slippery white stuff. The Panda was shod with winter tyres, which made a heap of difference to its performance in difficult conditions. Our 4MOTION Tiguan, on the other hand, is shod in a very un-winter/snow/ice tyre, although it is the Escape version, with an off-road electronic switch that gives you Hill Descent Control, among other things.
WIN A HUMMER MOROCCO DRIVE
FANCY DRIVING a Hummer for 1000 miles over the Atlas Mountains and through the sand dunes of the Sahara? If that’s the case (and who wouldn’t?) then it makes sense to enter the 2013 Conti 4×4 Trophy, and it makes sense to enter pretty sharpish. We ran a feature on the event last year from reader Josh Rice who was one of the lucky UK winners – well, it wasn’t all luck, it took some skill to win the driving and navigation qualifier event. The Conti 4×4 Trophy is surprisingly less known in the UK, last year saw entries being four times the number needed for the qualifier event which, as with last year, will take place at Land Rover Experience at Gaydon. Some 200 teams at Gaydon will be fighting for the 28-team places for the event itself. The event is a cleverly designed promotional campaign for both Continental customers and retail outlets.
Mad dogs, Freelanders and frostbite
FORMER ENGLAND rugby captain Lewis ‘mad dog’ Moody recently competed in the Yukon Arctic Ultra, claimed to be the toughest Ultra Marathon in the world. Moody was supported by Land Rover who provided a Freelander 2 to help with the training. Polar adventurer Alan Chambers MBE and Phil Wall, founder of HopeHIV, were also in the team, which raised money for the HopeHIV charity. The Marathon covered a 300+ mile trek across the Yukon in Canada, for eight days with temperatures dropping to minus 50degC, not so bad if they were doing it ‘in’ a Freelander, but Moody and his team had to pull their equipment and food on sledges. Unfortunately, Moody got frostbite in a little finger, and the rules of the competition meant he had to retire. All that macho stuff and let down by your little finger! Moody was gutted to have to retire, but has resolved to return next year. Mad dog, indeed.
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