Eight years have passed since the Rexton first arrived in Britain, to a variety of fanfares topped off by
overall victory in our 2018 4×4 of the Year awards. It was a watershed moment in the development of SsangYong (now KGM) as a brand in the UK, one which heralded the arrival of an all new and vastly improved model range.

At the time, we remarked that the Rexton could be viewed as a more affordable alternative to a Range Rover, which caused a few raised eyebrows. But up at the top of the range, it really did have a very credible air of luxury to it.

They’ve scaled back on the poshness since then, losing the gorgeous quilted leather that made the launch model feel so classy. The Rexton is still a nice bit of kit all the same, with plenty of creature comforts and a colossal list of standard equipment.

We’ve got the K50 on test here. This is at the top of a three-strong tree whose prices range from £42,995 to £48,710. Not a huge price walk, that, and it illustrates just how well equipped even the base K30 model is.

Read the full article in the September issue of Overlander 4×4 now –

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Remember when Ineos said it was planning to get the Grenadier on sale for less than £40,000? Well, they ever so slightly missed that mark – but even then, the latest version of the vehicle has landed with a fairly otherworldly
price tag.

Called the Trialmaster X LeTech, this comes in at a cool €170,000 plus VAT and local taxes. A monster of a price, to be
sure – but you get a monster of a vehicle for it.

That’s because of what LeTech does. Founded in 2009, the German company started out restoring and modifying
classic 4x4s before branching into oneoff, custom off-roaders and low-volume production vehicles for OEM clients. The
company has been an official Ineos sales and service partner since 2021 – and now it’s created the most extreme version of the Grenadier so far.

Shown in prototype form at last year’s Festival of Speed, the conversion is built around a pair of portal axles. Allowing
the fitment of 37” BFGoodrich Mud- Terrain tyres on 8.5×18” ET55 Hutchinson Industries forged beadlock alloys, these
increase the vehicle’s ground clearance to 450mm and its wading depth to 1050mm.
Since that first public unveiling, the vehicle has been developed and readied for production – and now, almost exactly a year later, the order books are open.

Read our full review in the September issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202509

The Toyota Land Cruiser 250 is still new enough for many of us never to have seen one in the metal. New enough and, of course, rare enough, thanks to a limited supply that’s nowhere near enough to keep up with demand.

Could that be about to change? Well, even before it was launched, Toyota said the 250 would be getting a new 48V mild-hybrid version of its existing 2.8-litre diesel engine a year or so after its introduction. And now it’s here.

Mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, this gains an electric motorgenerator, lithium-ion hybrid battery and
DC-DC power converter, which go together to deliver smooth, linear and powerful acceleration from a standing start, as well as more refined and responsive operation for the engine’s stop-start system. Turning the engine into a hybrid can hardly help but improve its efficiency and economy, too, but Toyota very much concentrates on the effect it’ll have on what the vehicle’s like to drive.

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

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Subaru will launch a trio of all-electric SUVs next year – including the E-Outback, which will eventually take over from
the current petrol-powered version of the company’s long-running flagship vehicle.

The existing Outback will continue to be available for the foreseeable future, however the arrival of the three new EVs signals the ramping-up of Subaru’s transition away from fossil fuels. In addition to the E-Outback, the influx of new
models includes a heavily revised version of the current Solterra – as well as an allnew model, the Uncharted.

With coupe styling and a high-tech interior boasting a 14” media screen, this is a compact SUV ‘for outdoor-loving
explorers and performance enthusiasts alike.’ It promises a ‘responsive and agile driving experience,’ with steering and
suspension tuned for entertainment and a choice of drivetrains led by a dual-motor, all-wheel drive system with 344bhp and a 5.0-second 0-60 time. This version of the vehicle can also tow 1500kg and will have a range of up to 292 miles. An alternative front-wheel drive model will increase the latter figure to a predicted 363 miles.

The E-Outback promises to do the same job as the petrol model of being a dependable carry-all workhorse with
startling levels of ability off the beaten track. It will have 210mm of ground clearance and come with the familiar X-Mode traction management system, as well as all-wheel drive as standard – but while the petrol model is no slouch, the EV will leave it standing with 380bhp and a 4.4-second sprint time.

Read the full review in the September issue of Overlander 4×4 now –

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Casual fun every other weekend or so can easily turn into something more expensive. We could be talking about affairs of the heart, but affairs of the metal are more expensive still. And dirtier…

You know how it goes. It’s just a bit of fun to start with. The occasional dirty weekend, no regrets, no harm done and forget about it ’til next time you fancy some action. But then you start wanting to go further, you want to get more dirty… and in return they start wanting more of your time and money.

No wonder so many car enthusiasts refer to their motors as ‘she.’ Projects are more like relationships than we care to think. But at least this one hasn’t ended in bitter acrimony and suits cut up with scissors. Like any relationship, it’s cost good money. But for that, Ben Halls gets what he calls comfort and enjoyment – which are not the qualities you’d first expect on seeing this tough-looking rig.

It’s the age-old tale of man meets Land Rover. It then progressed to ‘pay and play’ (or ‘affair’ to give it the human equivalent) and that then moved on to serious competition. Ben’s dirty weekends at least do not contain moral hazard, despite him spending time with a sidekick called Sizzle. Ben is an engineer, based in Kent, and most engineers are far from frivolous people. Sample question and answer from our chat together: ‘So, tell us, what got you into off-roading Ben?’ Answer: ‘A friend.’

Read the full feature in the August issue of Overlander 4×4 –

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There are things you think you know. The sun will come up in the morning. The tide will go in and out. An old Land Rover will get you almost anywhere and leave a trail of oil so you can find your way back. And a Lexus, any Lexus, is out of your class.

Toyota’s premium brand is known for its faultless build quality and brilliant dealers, and for having a level of customer
satisfaction at least one other premium car maker we could mention with an SUV or two in its line-up can only dream of. But it’s also known for making vehicles that cost a lot. You get what you pay for, but if you can’t afford it in the first place that’s a bit of a moot point.

Obviously, it remains so if you need, or want, a large SUV like the superb RX. And Lexus has never made an off-road vehicle as such, at least not for the UK market. But for the very many people who go about in smaller SUVs like the Ford Puma and Kia Sportage, the LBX promises to be a game changer. It’s a proper Lexus – yet it starts at less than £30,000.

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

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A former winner of our 4×4 of the Year title, the X-Trail is a superb all-rounder whose blend of practicality, class, driving abilities and, in all-wheel drive form, off-road skills make it an outstanding family vehicle. It wanted for very little when it was first launched – but Nissan clearly did think there was something more it could do, because last year they added a further model to the range in the shape of the N-Trek.

This falls between Tekna and Tekna+ in terms of price, putting it second from the top in a five-strong model line-up. It has a specialised purpose, however, to set it apart from the rest of the range – it’s designed to appeal to ‘daring and adventurous families with a love of the great outdoors.’ To help it do this, the N-Trek gets a variety of adventure-focused equipment.

On the outside, there are protective lower bumper trims with a gunmetal finish and integrated LED fog lamps, which flow into the wheelarch extensions that were already in place from the rest of the X-Trail range. Beneath the latter, 235/50R18 Falken rubber is mounted on diamond-cut gloss black alloys that are unique to this model.

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

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Land Rover heads into the Arctic circle to subject the forthcoming Range Rover Electric to extreme cold-weather testing.

Back in our February issue, we brought you the story of how the Range Rover Electric was coping with hot climate testing in the extreme environment of the Dubai Desert. Not only did it have to perform the way a Range Rover should in terms of off-road ability – it also had to do so by maintaining the optimum cabin climate even while its motors and batteries were being taxed to the hilt by the powersapping sand and roasting temperatures.

Now we’re at the other end of the scale. If you’ve driven many electric vehicles, you might have noticed how switching on the heater can make your range drop pretty alarmingly (and if you’ve not, you’ll certainly have seen the trumpeting nonsense shouted non-stop by hateeverythings on social media who’d have you believe that they can barely make it to the end of the road in cold weather).

Find out more in the August issue –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202508

Land Rover has introduced a facelifted version of the new Defender. You might need to look hard to spot them, but there are details updates around the exterior including new front and rear lights – as well as the inevitable wheel designs and paint colours.

Inside, the highlight of the cabin is a new 13.1” infotainment screen – though again, there are various other details waiting to be noticed if you’re sufficiently sharp-eyed. The gear selector has been repositioned higher up on the dash,
while down below the floor console now combines a large stowage area with a hidden section for smaller items.

Optional side pockets are also available, as is a cable management system so you can charge multiple devices without feeling like you’re driving a self-propelled bowl of spaghetti. Sorry, truffle-infused artisan maccheroncini; this is the new Defender, after all.

Read the full article here –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202508