Since the Dacia Duster went on sale in Britain, we’ve bought enough of them for every single resident of St Albans to have one. There’s a factoid to reckon with. Our editor was in St Albans a couple of
months ago, taking photographs of a hot rod for Custom Car magazine (never a dull moment in this job), and he can confirm that that would be a lot of Dacia Dusters.

Apparently the actual number is around 105,000; the boss man from Dacia told us that at the UK launch of the all-new one, before dropping the St Albans thing to drive the point home. He also told us that since orders opened for the new model, 1000 punters have put down a deposit for one.

And that’s before any actual vehicles have arrived in the
company’s showrooms. They’ll be doing that very soon, though – and in such numbers that despite having all those orders ahead of you in the queue, at the time of writing you’d still be able to stump up and get one on your
drive by Christmas. Hint, etc.

Read the full article in the Winter issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmnetmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202413

It’s a symbol of modern excess. And it’s forever being dropped by rap stars who don’t have the imagination to spec up a lowrider instead. But the Mercedes-Benz G-Class is also a legendary off-roader – and the new G 580 EQ promises to build on that legend, not just trade on it.

Yes, EQ is Merc’s code for electric. Not a hybrid: all-electric. And no you can’t carry spare electricity in a jerry can to get you across the Sahara. So take to the forums and fulminate on, o worthy soldier of diesel. None of us wanted it to change. But it has. And you know what, it might mean our grandchildren will get to live until they too are old enough to hate everything that’s new and unfamiliar, and there’s an outside chance that that’s worth a bit of inconvenience to us lot now.

Anyway. Whether you like EVs or think they’re the devil, the technology has come an incredibly long way in a short space of time – and it’s still developing as quickly as ever. So while it’s true that you can’t put electricity in a jerry can, it’s equally true that the equivalent is on its way.

In the meantime, the G 580 EQ is possibly the most convincing sounding electric off-roader yet to come from a
mainstream manufacturer.

Read the full article in the Winter issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmnetmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202413

We’ve always been huge fans of the Touareg, all the way back to when the original model arrived on the scene with its thumping great 5.0-litre V10 engine.

Now here we are on the fourth generation of Volkswagen’s premium SUV, and what started out smooth is, predictably, smoother than ever. There are currently three models in the Touareg range: Elegance, Black Edition and R. Each has an engine of its own. The Elegance and R have 3.0 TSI plug-in hybrid units with 381 and 462bhp respectively, while the Black Edition has a 3.0 TDI with 286bhp and 442lbf.ft.

We added the torque figure there because it’s the Black Edition we’re testing here. You can have it in any colour you want so long as it’s black (or white, silver, grey, beige, brown, blue or red) and of course you can have it with an almost limitless range of options. Ours came with an on-the-road price of £68,215 and an extras list befitting what was after all a press demo vehicle; were you to tick all the same boxes, you’d be paying £80,470.

Read the full article in the Winter issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmnetmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202413

DAVANTI HAS BEEN IN THE UK FOR SEVERAL YEARS with its Terratoura All-Terrain, a solid all-round performer that
does a sterling job of bridging the gap between the premium and budget ends of the market. It’s a good bit of kit at prices that don’t make you cringe, in other words.

Now there’s another good bit of kit to go alongside it, because Davanti has followed it up with the new Terratoura Mud-Terrain (M/T). This has a more aggressive tread pattern along with a rugged construction
designed to let it get you where you want to go off-road without getting wrecked in the process.

Most are classified as Professional Off-Road, making them exempt from certification, however a few sizes do carry
the EU label.

Read the full article in the Winter issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmnetmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202413

As was widely expected, the government’s autumn budget statement introduced a set of new rules for double-cab pick-ups. These are essentially the same as those brought in earlier in the year by the previous government but then hastily abandoned in the face of protests by the farming industry.

From April 2025, double-cabs (even those with a payload of 1000kg or more) will be treated as cars for most taxation
purposes – though not for VAT. This means employees choosing them as company cars will no longer enjoy the minimal benefit-in-kind (BIK) allowance that comes with driving what has previously been classified as a van. If you’re already in this situation, there’s no need to panic. Existing company car drivers with double-cabs will continue to
be taxed at the current rate until April 2029 – though if you sell the vehicle or its lease ends before that date, the exemption won’t roll over to its replacement.

Prior to the budget, double-cabs were classed as light commercial vehicles for income tax purposes, meaning they were subject to a flat BIK rate of £3960 a year. This meant employees would pay £66 or £132 a month, depending on their tax bracket. Under the new rules, the rate will be based on the truck’s P11D value – to all intents and purposes, what it would cost if you were to buy it yourself.

Everyday cars (and indeed SUVs, and double-cabs not capable of carrying more than 1000kg) are already taxed this way; for a typical one-tonner, it will see your tax bill rising by around 350%.

Read the full article in the Winter issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmnetmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202413

When 4×4 manufacturers send us vehicles to test drive, nine times out of times they’re either top-spec models,
stacked up with options, or both. This is nice for us, in a larging-it-in-someone-else’s motor sense, but it makes it very hard to review what their vehicles are like for people buying at the other end of the range.

So, respect to Skoda. When we asked if we could get our hands on a new Kodiaq, they offered us the very cheapest model in the range.

The SE 1.5 TSI e-TEC 150PS DSG, to give it the name on its birth certifi cate, is powered by a petrol engine mated to a 7-speed auto box (there’s no such thing as a manual Kodiaq any more). It costs £36,645 OTR, and it comes with equipment including cruise, tri-zone climate, a 10.25” digital dash and 13” media screen, DAB, smartphone
mirroring, sat-nav, reversing camera, LEDs, heated front seats, 18” alloys, wireless charging and all the safety kit that matters.

Read the full article in the December issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202412

The all-new Ranger is our reigning Pick-Up of the Year, having won the overall title last year at the first time of asking. This was despite a hefty set of prices, which didn’t stop Ford from carrying on where it left off and grabbing a hefty chunk of the one-tonne market for itself.

This year, those prices have climbed yet again. There’s been a £1000 bump on models powered by the 2.0 diesel engine and £2050 on those with the 3.0 diesel. The Raptor, which remains the halo model, is hiked by £1500 for
the 2.0 diesel and £2000 for the 3.0 petrol.

Below that elevated level, the everyday range remains as comprehensive as ever. The base-spec XL, which is available in Chassis, Single and Double-Cab form, comes with a 2.0-litre, 170bhp diesel and a manual box, and gives you cruise control, DAB, Ford’s Sync4 media system and plenty of safety kit, while the XLT (Double-Cab only) has the same
power train and adds alloys, air-con, better media and a damped tailgate.

Read the full article in the December issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202412

This year, Land Rover has been celebrating the 70th anniversary of its association with the British Red Cross. There’s a lot of history there – and the company has come up with an ingenious way of putting it in the public eye.

Working together with the Red Cross, Land Rover has commissioned the creation of what is believed to be Britain’s smallest museum. This is housed in a specially converted Defender 110 plug-in hybrid containing a variety of artefacts,
photographs and audio guides, which ‘brings to life the humanitarian work delivered from 1954 to the present day.’

Land Rover estimates that during the history to date of its partnership with the Red Cross, 500-plus vehicles have played a role in assisting some two million people in more than fifty nations. The mobile museum, which is free to visit,
‘tells the story of 70 years of supporting communities in crisis around the world.’

Up to five visitors at a time can fit inside the vehicle, while many more view a timeline of pictures on its side panels
– as well as examples of equipment used by the Red Cross mounted on its roof rack. This all covers the history of
the partnership over the course of its 70 years, which includes multiple locations, conflicts and disasters.

Read the full article in the December issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202412

It won’t be coming anywhere near Britain, but Nissan has just unveiled the seventh-generation version of the Patrol. The simple 4×4 workhorse we knew and loved has become a high-tech luxury wagon – but behind the 22” alloys and eyeball-searing red leather interior it’s still an off-roader at heart.

Creel Maritime, which specialises in developing solutions for sustainable transport, has introduced ForestBiodrive
– a project designed to demonstrate the potential of methanol-powered vehicles. As part of this, the company has been testing a Land Rover Defender 90 Tdi converted to run on methanol – something which it says demonstrates the technology’s viability for use on a larger scale.

The vehicle, which is undergoing rigorous testing in the forests of northern Scotland, promises a number of benefits.
As well as producing much lower levels of CO2 and particulates compared to diesel, methanol delivers performance that is comparable if not actually superior. Creel Maritime points out that this gives it the potential to be used in the marine, forestry, heavy plant and haulage sectors. In addition, methanol can be produced from recycled waste and forestry by-products, making it especially attractive as an automotive or industrial fuel in areas where local manufacture is possible.

Read the full Article in the December issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202412

We’ll be bringing you a first UK drive of the all-new Dacia Duster in next month’s issue of Overlander 4×4. But even as initial supplies are starting to arrive in the company’s showrooms, Dacia will be turning its attention to another all-new SUV. And if you thought Duster was kind of a peculiar name for a car, get yourself ready for the Bigster.

It may sound like a porn star from a Borat movie, but the Bigster is Dacia making a bold move into the C-SUV segment with a vehicle based on the altogether brilliant Nissan X-Trail. A size up from its high-selling stablemate, it leads with bold styling, interior space and ‘real off-road capability.’

The power train options include three different petrol hybrids. Among these, the Hybrid 155 can operate in all-electric mode in up to 80% of city driving, while the TCe 140 combines a Miller cycle three-pot with a 48V mild hybrid system and manual box to improve efficiency by around 10%.

Read the full article in the December issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202412