[X]

Sarah Kidd

219 POSTS 0 COMMENTS

The July issue of 4×4 hits newsstands today – and it’s a pick-up special!

Toyota’s rugged one-tonne Hilux Active wins us over with it’s no nonsense attitude and we learn how the Isuzu D-Max Huntsman hits a very specific nail on the head.

Featured vehicles include a six-wheeled Land Cruiser and a Ranger that’s kitted for professional off-roading, plus we ponder when a Land Rover becomes too long.

Our Project 90 muddies its boots and the long-term Skoda Kodiak Scout… gets overtaken by a cyclist.

All of that, plus the monthly update of trail guides and much more!

Buy it in all of the usual ways – from WHSmiths, independent newsagents or via our online store, where you can currently get the next 12 issues for £12!

The fourth generation of BMW’s X5 has been revealed, with an active chassis system and a choice of three engines.

With a new, refreshed design, the X5 remains simultaneously rugged and sleek, and is longer, taller and wider than its predecessor – with a longer wheelbase too. Xline models are differentiated from M Sport models with aluminium grille bars, window surrounds, roof rails and pearl chrome details – M Sport have body coloured wheel arches and bumper trim, and gloss black roof rails and exterior trim. M Sport lines also get bigger alloys, a choice of 20-inch alloys and 22-inch for M Sport Performance models, whilst Xline vehicles have 19-inch standard alloys.

Two diesel and a singular petrol engine will be on offer in the new X5 – the 265bhp, 457lbf.ft xDrive30d, the 400bhp, 560lbf.ft M50d and the 340bhp, 332lbf.ft xDrive40i petrol. The bigger diesel hits 60mph in 5.2 seconds, whilst the smaller option manages a combined mpg of 47.1.

Each of the engine choices comes with the latest eight-speed Steptronic automatic ‘box, with a wider ratio spread and new electric controls for improved efficiency.

M Performance models get a lockable rear diff, with all models fitted with the xDrive 4wd system – featuring a rear wheel drive option.  The new chassis setup includes a double wishbone front axle and five link rear, features a dynamic damper control system and sport or comfort settings. The system also combines active roll stabilisation, active four-wheel steering, and an optional off-road package including underbody protection, and sand, rock, gravel and snow traction control settings.

A fully digital instrument cluster shares the same graphics as the control touchscreen, in an interior with minimal physical buttons. Leather sports seats are electrically controlled and offered in a choice of four colours. M sport models get an M Sport steering wheel, pedals and accent piping on the upholstery.

Four-zone air conditioning is new, as is the panoramic glass roof which features LED lights that can imitate a starry night sky, and thermo controlled cup holders. An optional rear-seat entertainment package places two 10.1-inch screen on the rear of the front seats, and has access to a Blu-ray enabled DVD player, HMDI and USB ports and two headphone jacks.

Driver assists include adaptive cruise, stop and go functionality, the ability and adhere to speed limits, lane and steering assist, traffic assist, and lane change, crossing traffic and rear-end collision warning systems.Parking the X5 has been simplified with parking assistant, and front, rear and panoramic camera views.

Mobile connectivity is available on a subscription basis, whilst a hard drive of 20gb is embedded into the X5’s system, which remotely downloads updates when they are released. An integrated Microsoft Office 365 function brings the office to the cockpit, making emails and calendar appointments easily accessible on the move.

The fourth-gen X5 goes on sale in the UK in June, with prices beginning at £56,710 for xDrive30d models. The M50d starts at £70,690 whilst the petrol xDrive40i kicks off at £58,100.

 

 

Audi’s new flagship SUV has been revealed. The Q8 is a coupé version of the former range-topping Q7, and becomes the new face of the German marque’s growing SUV portfolio.

The new Singleframe grille, accentuated by the front spoiler and air inlets, provides a striking face for the luxury SUV, which is rounded off with contrasting door and wheel arch trims on a body that is shorter, longer and wider than the Q7.

Inside, the Q8 offers quilted leather seating, an elegant and smooth dash featuring two touchscreen control panels and optional contour lighting. The 10.1-inch touch screen on the dash controls the infotainment and navigation functions, whilst the 8.6-inch display below it covers the heating and air conditioning, convenience functions and text input, too. Usefully, this is designed to be operated whilst the driver’s wrist rests on the selector lever. Responsive voice control helps the driver, for example, if it hears a statement of hunger, it will respond by suggesting local eateries. Behind the wheel sits a third, 12.3-inch screen that shows the driver the usual info and stats, which can also be seen in the heads up display.

The infotainment system also works in conjunction with the MyAudi app, controlling the navigation system, music and transfer the smartphone’s calendar into the Q8.

Permanent four-wheel drive powers the Q8, courtesy of a mild hybrid system, with a 48-volt lithium ion battery and belt alternator starter working alongside a trio of combustion engines – initially a 3.0-litre 282bhp diesel V6, that will be followed by a 228bhp version and a 335bhp petrol. Regenerative braking can recover up to 12kW of power for the battery.

Adaptive air suspension has 3.5-inches of adjustability, and there are 10 inches of ground clearance on offer. Four wheel steering is optional, with five-degrees of added agility available from the rear wheels.

Driver assistance is plentiful on the Q8, with four driver assist packages. The Tour package includes adaptive cruise control and lane assist functions, and manages speed in corners and on roundabouts. It also has Emergency support, which detects within system limits whether the driver is active, if not it sends out an audible alert, and if required stops the vehicle in its lane and sends out an emergency call. These work alongside emergency safety systems that avoid collisions in traffic. Park package contains manoeuvring assistance, avoiding collision with steering input and automatic braking, plus kerb warning, automatic parking pilot and its close relative the remote garage pilot – controlled via the myAudi app. However, Park plus suite won’t be available upon initial launch.

The plus assist package will combine the tour, emergency and parking packages into one… package, plus assistance in steering with a hitched trailer.

No official information has been released regarding the price of the Q8, but the flagship SUV is set to go on sale in the summer.

 

Land Rover have revealed their CORTEX project will explore the future of autonomous all-terrain vehicles.

Using LIDAR technology that monitors light, acoustics, video, radar and distance sensing, CORTEX looks to develop vehicles that can handle themselves in all conditions – dirt, rain, ice, snow and fog. The result aims to be level 4 and 5 off-road autonomy.

‘It’s important that we develop our self-driving vehicles with the same capability and performance that our customers expect from all Land Rovers,’ said Chris Holmes, head of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Research at JLR. ‘Self-driving is an inevitability for the automotive industry and ensuring that our autonomous offering is the most enjoyable, capable and safe is what drives us to explore the boundaries of innovation. CORTEX gives us the opportunity to work with some fantastic partners whose expertise will help us realise this vision in the near future.’

The CORTEX project will utilise algorithms, sensor optimisation and physical testing on off-road terrain in the UK, and will be conducted in conjunction with the University of Birmingham and Myrtle AI, leading experts in machine learning.

A Range Rover with a 2.0-litre petrol engine. Truly, we never thought we’d see the day.

Last time Land Rover put such a small petrol unit in a proper-sized vehicle, it was the first-generation Discovery MPi. And just look how well that worked out.

But there’s no cause for concern. The P400e is a million miles away from that bad old Disco. It’s petrol engine is part of a plug-in hybrid system – which dishes out a total of 404bhp and 472lbf.ft. The latter peaks from 1500rpm and most of it is there from standstill, electric motors being what they are, so the only resemblance between this vehicle and the wheezy, breathless MPi is a small, green, oval one.

Well, there’s also the fact that it’s built to be masterful off-road, albeit thanks now to a cornucopia of electronic sensors rather than any reliance on basic engineering. That’s just an inevitable by-product of Land Rover’s march to where it is now, however, so there’s no point being rooted in the past – and anyway, there was no off-road part to the brief test drive we had in the vehicle, though a set of back roads rougher than many a green lane proved that even with 21” wheels to cope with, the Range Rover’s air suspension is capable of smoothing out pattery corrugations and crashy pot holes alike.

But what we’re here for is to experience the effects of the hybrid powertrain. It has an EV mode, which allows you to glide around at low speeds with literally no mechanical noise to be heard, though the petrol engine does still kick in under enough load. In theory, you can do 31 miles on battery power, and with plug-in charging this means that under the right circumstances, you can get to and from school, work, Waitrose and so on without ever using a drop of petrol.

In the real world, where the electric motors simply assist the engine, the results are impressive to the point of being startling. You can build speed smoothly, quietly and with ridiculous ease – the engine doesn’t sound strained, and the electric side is impossible to detect in action.

That’s not the case when you’re pulling out at T-junctions, however. Twice on our brief drive, as we put out foot down the Range Rover eased out with an initial hesitancy followed by a sudden surge of torque that kicked out the back end  and brought the traction control rampaging in to keep us from going into a spin. Definitely not a very Range Roverly state of affairs.

Nonetheless, this is a sublime 4×4 whose smoothness and refinement are backed up by a claimed 101mpg. And at £95,500 as tested, it almost looks cheap by the standards of today’s luxury SUV market. Turns out a 2.0-litre petrol engine was a welcome addition to the Range Rover range after all.

FCA have this morning outlined their latest Five Year Plan, and it focuses on it’s best-selling marques. You may have guessed that Jeep is one of them, and it is set to have nine new or refreshed vehicles by 2022. The presentation pencilled in an exciting new DesertHawk badge for high-speed sand coverage due in a couple of years.

Plans for the brand outline a brand-new A-segment baby SUV, filling the presently vacant rung below the Renegade, which will be replaced by an all-new version.

C-segment vehicles will remain as the Wrangler and the Compass – the latter of which will be refreshed – whilst the D-segment will see a new Cherokee, plus new entrants of a 3-row SUV and the long anticipated truck.

Above them a two-row Grand Cherokee will sit alongside an E-seg three-row, and in the category above Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer models will return.

Each of the vehicles in the plan will come with plug-in hybrid as an option, and hybrid and electric power will replace diesel engines in Jeep vehicles by 2022. The brand intends to offer 10 PHEV models and four purely electric. Autonomous features will grow into the range over the next five years, with level 3 autonomy expected by 2021. European targets are set at nine PHEVs and five mild hybrids.

Only the latest JL Wrangler will remain as it is on the current European line-up.

It was also announced that FCA plan for the Ram Trucks brand to also grow, with a production Ram TRX off-road pick-up, a new mid-sized pick-up to compete with the Ford Ranger et al, plus new versions of the Ram 1500 and Heavy Duty models.

 

Refinement is a big part of what makes a Range Rover what it is. The Sport has always played up to that, but the SVR model has made a virtue of being, if not unrefined, then certainly unrestrained. It’s monstrous V8 shove and trademark boorish exhaust note leave you in no doubt as to the sort of people to whom it’s trying to appeal.

For the new year, the SVR gains yet more power, with 575bhp backed up by 516lbf.ft. Top speed is 176mph and it’ll leap from 0-60 in 4.3 seconds. Yet it’s also more of a luxury SUV than ever – albeit a very showy one. The vehicle we tested had 22” rims, special paint and loads of carbon fibre on top of its in-yer-face body kit, and of course if you don’t see it coming, with that thundering exhaust you’ll certainly hear it.

Is it appreciably different to drive than last year’s model? No. It remains a big, loud handful whose willingness to erupt forward when provoked makes it endlessly entertaining but less than relaxing. Needless to say, it gathers pace more or less instantaneously, but on the way into corners it feels like you’re having to harness a large, tall, heavy weight. It doesn’t think much of big pot-holes, either.

We’ll acknowledge here that we only had a short drive of the SVR, which barely gave us time to get used to it – which, we’re confident, we would on a longer session. However, immediately afterwards we drove the same route in a Bentley Bentayga V8 – which, by comparison, felt like a hot hatch.

Perhaps that’s the difference another £35,000 makes – though at prices like these, that sort of money is probably irrelevant. Either way, various racing drivers have demonstrated that the SVR is incredibly capable through corners. But to everyday punters like us, it’s a beguiling speed machine and look-at-me device rather than an easily accessible driving tool.

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has been very popular ever since it was released in 2014, with more than 350,000 vehicles sold. Feel like you’ve seem more of them recently? You have. Last year, it sold more than 126,000 units, breaking the single-year sales record for any Land Rover model in the process.

To celebrate this, Land Rover have announced the Discovery Sport Landmark Edition. The options list for the limited-edition Disco Sport comes with a choice of two engines – the 178bhp Td4 and the 237bhp Si4 – and a trio of colour schemes. Bodywork can be painted in any of Narvik Black, Corris Grey or Yulong White – each in conjunction with a contrasting Carpathian Grey roof, and Gloss Dark Grey alloys of the 19-inch variety. Whatever shade you choose, the Landmark has a unique front bumper and sports graphite-coloured exterior accenting.

The interior is just as tonal, pairing Ebony grained leather seats with matching Ebony headliner, with dark grey aluminium finishers around the centre consoling.

Along with all other engines in the Discovery Sport range, those in the Landmark Edition will be fitted with particulate filters for cleaner running.

Prices for the Landmark Edition start at £40,400, with the celebratory model available to order from the Land Rover website.

SsangYong is on a roll. Buoyed by a steady stream of new, modern products to replace the staid vehicles it relied on for way too long, the Korean 4×4 specialist started this year by celebrating overall success in our 4×4 of the Year awards with the new Rexton.

Based on the same platform as the Rexton, with the same engine and choice of gearboxes and very similar cabin, the new Musso is a quantum leap forward from the model currently being sold under the same name.

We’ve had an early test, on British roads, of a Korean-spec Musso. Aside from the fact that it’s left-hand drive, the only difference between this and the one coming to Britain is in the details, so this is a good indication of what’s on the way.

Starting in the cabin, the Rexton’s influence is clear. There’s even a strip of leather across the dashboard, complete with contrasting stitching.

Elsewhere, materials remain high-quality by pick-up standards, with soft-touch surfaces on much of the dash and excellent leather seats which managed to be both soft and comfy yet impressively supportive. They put you in a good driving position, too, from which your view all around is particularly fine – even over your shoulder, thanks to a C-post that’s no bigger than it needs to be.

There’s plenty of headroom, too, and enough leg room to let a six-footer drive without needing to move his seat all the way back. This is handy if there’s another six-footer sat behind, because the seat-backs have no give in them at all – but the good news is that aside from the Ford Ranger, we think the Musso probably has the most rear knee room in the double-cab market. It’s possible for two tall adults to ride in tandem without either feeling the squeeze, and there’s not a lot of trucks we can say that about. All-round, few double-cabs can match it for accommodation.

There’s a decent amount of oddment stowage, too, and overall build quality appears close to that of the Rexton. As does the equipment you get for your money – we’ll leave the specifics out, as UK models will likely differ from this one, but there’ll be a range of three trim levels and at the top, you’ll get a truly premium level of kit. As an indication, the vehicle here had stuff like air-conditioned seats and a heated steering wheel.

It also had 20” polished rims, complete with 255/50R20 tyres, which are pretty much the exact opposite of what we like to see on pick-ups. But if the Musso range is going to mirror that of the Rexton, this is what top models will come with.

One definite difference to the Rexton is that whereas that vehicle comes with independent rear suspension on AWD models, all Mussos have a live rear axle. This is coil-sprung, which remains a rarity in the pick-up market.

You also get a part-time, dual-range transfer case as standard, mated to a choice of six-speed manual or auto gearboxes. This all goes together to make what looks on paper like a well sorted vehicle for on and off-road use.

Starting with the latter, we found that the limits were definitely set by the low-profile, road-pattern tyres. No surprise there – but what was very pleasing to note was that when pushed, the rear axle displays excellent articulation, particularly on the bump stroke. A rather low rear bumper, coupled with the inevitable long overhang, means there’s an element of vulnerability back there, but based on the limited amount we were able to do on this early drive the suspension is unusually good at following the terrain.

What the coil springs can’t do is hide the fact that they’re specced to hold up a tonne. Inevitably, this means the suspension is upset by all but the smoothest roads – though while there certainly is plenty of thumping, even in sharp-edged pot-holes the impacts are never harsh. The body does get jolted around a fair bit at lower speeds on uneven urban roads, but once you get it moving things are a lot more settled. We haven’t yet had the chance to drive the Musso at cruising speeds, but at this stage’s we’d say the results are promising for a composed motorway ride.

We haven’t been able to tow with the vehicle yet, but SsangYong advises us that it will be rated to haul 3500kg (3200 with the manual box) while also carrying 1050kg of cargo. At the time of writing, the testing and approval process was still underway, but the company believes this will give it the highest gross train weight in the market.

It certainly has the brakes for the job, as we found out when a driver in the employ of a very well known courier company lost control of his 7.5-tonner while coming towards us round a corner. And while an unladen test can only tell you so much, the engine does pull strongly – 181bhp is backed up by 295lbf.ft at 1400rpm in manual form, and 310lbf.ft at 1600rpm in autos. It raises its voice when your foot goes right down, but is quiet enough not to cause a disturbance at higher speeds. Again, though, we can’t yet comment on motorway cruising.

What we can say is that from this first, brief look, the Musso does appear to do a good job of taking the good stuff from the Rexton and applying it to the pick-up market. It’s solid, spacious inside and, without rewriting the rules, represents a quantum leap forward from the truck it will replace, vaulting SsangYong from the bottom of the one-tonne pile to a position in which it can compete on a level footing with the rest of the pack.

It also comes with a five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, and with running costs mattering so much to most people that could go a long way to convincing some buyers. So too could prices which SsangYong says will start at less than £20,000 plus VAT – these are yet to be confirmed, as has the exact spec of the three-strong UK range. But it’s clear that value for money will continue to be a key part of the proposition.

Weigh all that up against fuel consumption and emissions of 35.8mpg and 211g/km (32.8 and 226 auto), and residuals which will likely be on the weak side, and you have a number of questions to ask yourself. By no means are they clear cut, though – and for the first time in the UK pick-up market, SsangYong certainly does have an answer.

Back in January, Land Rover kicked off a special year for its company with news that the much-loved Defender was alive and well. Sort of.

As part of the 70th anniversary celebrations, Land Rover decided it would be a good idea to ‘re-engineer’ a few Defenders by opening the bonnet, lobbing the Transit engine aside and squeezing the SVR’s thumping big heart under the hood instead – albeit without the supercharger.

That makes for a 400bhp Defender, effectively, with Land Rover branding it the fastest and most powerful iteration they’ve ever made. Given that it can do 0-60mph in just 5.6 seconds, we’ve no reason to suggest otherwise. And if you’re feeling especially ballsy, it tops out at 106mph.

I say ‘could’, because embarking on such an experience is likely to leave you with some form of scarring: physically, because your eardrums may disintegrate from the noise, and mentally, because it feels as safe as strapping a jet engine to a shopping trolley.

Alongside the newly-fitted V8 furnace, this re-worked Defender gains the popular eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and a raft of other enhancements, including better brakes and a handling kit of uprated dampers, springs and anti-roll bars.

You may think that with this revised road-biased setup, that the Works V8 now prefers to find the racing line through a series of apexes rather than ruts – but don’t be fooled. Sure, they’ve given the Works V8 a handling kit, but that’s like fitting a handling kit to a Boeing 747.

When you plant your foot into the throttle, there’s a significant pause while the Defender reluctantly calls the ZF ‘box into action. A gear is eventually selected and then your ears become victimised by an onslaught of thunder, whilst the cabin seems to tremble in a manner akin to that of a launching space shuttle.

And after you’ve hurtled down the road and you’ve become aware of the fast-approaching bend, your thoughts quickly turn to the shedding of speed and the fact the brakes aren’t doing as much of it as you’d like.

Then you’ve got the corner itself. It’s like trying to thread the Defender through the eye of needle, only you seem to have all the precision of a half-canned Jackson Pollock. It really is quite a spectacular mode of travel.

With the Works V8 Defender, even though it has all the subtlety of a burning hammer, it’s a machine that is capable of stirring the emotions. Any Defender, whether it be this £150,000 collector’s item or a knackered Tdi from the nineties with several hundred thousand miles on the clock, every one of them has that ability to get under your skin.

This one has a stubbornness that makes it endearing and while it has the road manners of a JCB in a tracksuit, you can’t avoid getting sucked into the theatre of it all, even if the performance isn’t what you were expecting.

Sadly, only 150 people will get the ticket to own one of these special Defenders. They are, chiefly, for collectors – a select few who have the funds to buy up toys, even if it means they will rarely ever come out of their boxes.

It’s a wonderful thing, the Works V8, and a fitting limited edition to mark a special year for Land Rover. It’s just a shame that so few eyes will ever get to see them in the flesh. And so few of these Defenders will ever have flesh grappling their steering wheels in anger.