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
KELSEYAdmin
Show starter
SEASONED 4X4 show goers will remember the British Indoor 4×4 Show started in 2002 by David Round of Llama 4×4, writes Hils Everitt. It was held at Donington Park, the famous F1 circuit that was graced by the F1 legends of yesterday including Nigel Mansell, James Hunt and Ayrton Senna. It was a top, mid-England venue for an early season indoor show and very popular. David sold the ownership of the show a few years ago, due to an offer he couldn’t refuse, and it stayed at Donington before moving to Stafford in recent years because Donington would no longer host the show due to massive renovations at the circuit.
Unfortunately, the Stafford show has been dwindling in visitor numbers and quality over the last few years and this year didn’t happen. The very good news, however, was that Hillside Leisure owned by David, still the proprietor of Llama 4×4, organised an indoor 4×4 show back at Donington; the previous renovations which included knocking down the exhibition building didn’t materialise, but it did get a gutting and spruce up.
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.
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.
WORLD’S FIRST 9-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
Land Rover will demonstrate the latest in a long line of technical firsts at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show with the announcement of the world’s first 9-speed automatic transmission for a passenger car. The ZF 9HP transmission is specifically designed for transverse applications, and is one of the most efficient and technically advanced transmissions ever used in a production vehicle.
Land Rover is the lead partner on the project, working together with ZF, which is widely recognised as the world leader in transmission technology.
Getting tooled up
Britool Expert has added ten new wrench sets and 54 individual wrenches to its excellent mid-price tool range. Forged in chrome vanadium steel these wrenches are tough and suitable for the home DIY mechanic. Standard combination, double open-ended combination, offset and racheting wrenches are all available in the Britool Expert range. Available at many motoring factor outlets, you can also visit www.britool-expert.co.uk.
Audi winter tyre deals
Given the weather in mid-January, it’s good to see another manufacturer is offering a winter tyre package this year. Interestingly, there was a full page ‘winter tyre’ feature in The Guardian recently, pointing out that much more should be done to raise the profile of winter tyre benefits. Appropriate, therefore, that we have heard from Suzuki and Toyota and now Audi who is offering winter tyre packages across its entire range. These packages do range from £799 to a wincing £3,659 – but then this does include some rather sexy wheels as well. The offer does include tyres only. To complement the winter tyre programme, Audi Centres are also offering customers a ‘tyre hotel’ service to tyres when they are not needed. For just £120 including VAT, tyres will be stored for 12 months in Audi branded wheel bags. Audi drivers can find more information by www.audi.co.uk/owners-area/winter-tyres.html. For other owners, check with your dealer what offers are available, or go to Kwik Fit as there are special winter tyre offers at many centres – unless they have all sold out, rather like sliced bread in most southern suburban supermarkets this January!
NEW HONDA SUV ON ITS WAY
Despite the bad news for Honda workers in the UK this month, the Japanese company revealed a new small SUV in Detroit that will be launched in Japan at the end of the year, will be available in the US in 2014, and then should find its way to Europe; demand willing. Built on Honda’s Global Compact Series platform (the Honda Jazz in Europe), the new small SUV will be built at Honda’s newest North American plant near Celaya, in Mexico.
Stainless Pins
Vehicles often look surprisingly tatty when seemingly insignificant nuts and bolts start to rust. The pins that hinge the fresh ait vents on the front of a Land Rover are one such item. You can now improve this with stainless steel hinge pins and nuts from the guys behind the Defender Demister. These shiny pins will improve the look of your Land Rover and available at only £15.95 Including VAT and delivery (UK), £17.95 (Europe) £19.95(ROW). They are available at www.defenderdemister.com
NISSAN DESIGNERS GET EDGY
Detroit saw a new concept crossover SUV from Nissan, which the company claimed has a ‘smart, edgy design’. Called the Nissan Resonance, it was created by Nissan Design America, San Diego, California, and is an efficient hybrid electric drivetrain model that ‘signals the desire by crossover drivers to be respectful of the environment without sacrificing driving pleasure’. The all-wheel drive system is driven by a 2.5-litre DOHC petrol engine, with a high-performance electric motor with advanced control technologies, and Nissan’s ‘one-motor/two-clutch’ hybrid technology system. Although this is strictly a design concept, basing on the very individual looks of production models like the Juke and the Qashqai, you can believe that this may well see the light of day in the future.
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