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

Conventional off-roading wisdom has it that when you’re preparing a vehicle for overland expedition travel, you should modify it as sparingly as possible. The more standard it is, the less potential for something to go calamitously wrong because it’s been taken out of spec.

All the same, there will inevitably be things you have to change. You’ll want a proper set of heavy-duty all-terrain tyres on it for starters. Heavier duty suspension, too, to cope with all the extra weight you’ll be carrying. A reliable means of self-recovery.

Consumer electrics you can rely on. A radical new engine. Stuff like that. Spot the odd one out in that list. Yet here it is – a Defender 90 built for adventure travel and packing a 4.3-litre Lexus 3UZ. An absolute lion of an engine, this was used in the GS430 and LS430 where it put out a super-smooth 300bhp and 325lbf.ft – though to drive one, you’d think it had plenty more than that.

Read the full article in this month’s issue –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202411

There’s a rule of thumb in the brotherhood of road testers that says if all you can find to criticise about a car is the way it looks, then it’s a good car. In the 4×4 game, we call it the Terrano II effect, or at least we do if we’re depressingly old.

Conversely, if the only thing you can say about a car is that it looks good, that suggests it’s not much of a car. We all know, though, that there are many people who buy a car for that reason alone – and indeed who will reject one because they just don’t like the look of it.

So where does that leave us with this Skoda Karoq? We clapped eyes on it at the new Kodiaq launch earlier this year
and spent the rest of the day engaged in ridiculous fanboying over its paint. As did everybody else. It’s called Phoenix Orange and it’s just stunning – when we’re not doing this magazine we tend to be found hanging around hot rods, a world in which people routinely spend five-figure sums on paintwork, and this here Skoda would stand out alongside more or less any of them.

Read the full article in the latest issue –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202411

Toyota introduced the GR Sport to the top of the Hilux range last year, attracting a lot of attention and no small amount of orders. It had a styling package inspired by Toyota’s recent history of success in the Dakar and other cross-country rallies, and it had tuned suspension designed to sharpen up its steering and handling in corners and
prevent its responses from softening under prolonged hard use.

We tested the GR Sport last year and concluded that, to quote ‘our prayers have been answered.’ That was in reference
to the suspension package, because our biggest criticism of everyday Hiluxes has been that we’d like to see more steering feel and response on the way into corners, particularly at speed.

Safe to say, the GR Sport got a massive thumbs-up from us. So what happened? Toyota replaced it.

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

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202411

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.

Launched in Abu Dhabi in front of an audience including members of the UAE royal family, the Patrol is now powered
by a choice of naturally aspirated 3.8-litre and twin-turbo V6 petrol engines, the latter giving it 425bhp and 516lbf.ft. In each case, all four wheels are turned via a nine-speed automatic gearbox and full-time, dual-range transfer case.

Very different to the Patrol we remember is the new model’s all-round air suspension, which allows its ride height to
be lifted for off-road use. You also get six drive modes – standard, sand, rock, mud/rut, eco and sport – and, more to the point, a locking rear diff.

Read the full article in the November issue here –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202411