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 –

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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 –

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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 –

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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 –

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Salisbury Plain has a special place in 4×4 culture. On the surface, it’s a wilderness – yet there are few parts of the British countryside more overtly influenced by human activity. It’s distinctive yet poorly defined. It’s damaged but flourishing. And it’s one of the most restricted parts of the country – yet there’s a greater concentration of green lanes here than anywhere else.

Most of all, there’s nothing ‘plain’ about it at all. It covers around 200,000 acres in the southern half of Wiltshire and the western fringes of Hampshire, and a huge amount of it is empty and uninhabited. That’s because about half of it is owned by the Army – the Salisbury Plain Training Area (SPTA). Much of the military land is leased for farming and grazing. So the ‘wilderness’ part of the Plain that’s used day-to-day for troop training only covers less than half of its total area. Nonetheless, by British standards it’s a strikingly vast and empty place. And with so many rights of way open to motor vehicles, it’s paradise in a 4×4.

There’s something wonderfully bleak about driving there in bad weather, too. In some parts of the Plain, the rights of way are subject to voluntary restraint during the winter, but the majority are usable all year round – and it’s as majestic beneath scudding grey clouds or, even better, pouring rain as it as glorious in the balmy, sunlit days of summer.

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

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Which came first? Sorento or Sorrento? That’s easy. The Italian city was founded in the 7th Century BC, while the
first Sorento rolled off the line in 2002 AD. Yeah, I’ll use BCE if you explain to me what happened in Year Zero of the Common Era.

Actually we’re not even certain if the Kia is named after the city, but it seems likely even if it’s spelt differently. But, since we’re on the biblical subject, ‘Kia’ in the Bible means ‘a follower of Christ’, although it probably leans more towards the Korean ‘The rise of Asia’. And not, as some might surmise ‘Killed in Action’. Glad we’ve cleared that up.

So we know it’s called the Kia Sorento, and we know it’s been around for over 20 years in one form or another. And if we’ve been reading this magazine long-term, we know that it’s a multiple class winner over several generations of 4×4 of the Year. And here it is yet again in yet another form. This is an updated version of the fourth generation, so not completely new.

And yet it looks it. The bodywork now follows the style set by the wildly successful EV9. A style which, depending on your state of mind, looks like a rugged off-roader or an armoured personnel carrier.

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

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Arcane. It means: ‘Known only by a few’. Although in this case it also means: ‘Bought only by a few’. The Ineos Grenadier continues its journey away from the original idea of a simpler, back-to-basics off-roader – what the Defender should have been. And now that journey is not only accelerating, it’s going on a detour.

Ineos has formed Arcane Works, to create short-run limited-edition versions of the off-roader. And the first version is called the Detour. Whether that name works depends on your state of mind. On the one hand: endless roadworks, being sent down small lanes only to find the detour signs disappear, getting lost. On the other: ‘let’s go down this lane, it looks interesting and we’ve got some time to go exploring, such fun.’

So you’re now off the beaten track and your satnav has shrugged and gone for a lie-down. What vehicle do you own to conquer this terra incognita? We start of course with a stock Grenadier, with the 3.0-litre straight-six engine, either diesel or petrol. The only change is, in the petrol version, an exhaust system that more loudly announces its presence. That’s an indication that the Detour is more about appearances, outside and in, rather than any uprated engine, suspension or chassis changes.

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

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The all-new Ariel Nomad 2 is, according to the makers, ‘the ultimate go-anywhere sports car’. Given it was launched at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, that seems a bit of a stretch, since you need to arrive with your linen suit uncreased and your panama at a jaunty angle on your head as you give your smoothest smile.

Turning up in a Nomad 2 means a suit crumpled by sweat and dust and an overtight harness, a panama possibly now being worn by a surprised cow two fields away and a grin that is only just this side of sane. But men of a certain age are certain to be attracted, helped in part by a video of it focusing on ‘65% stiffer, 50% more travel’. Frankly that’s a future many would pay handsomely for.

But, Viz-level humour aside, it’s actually pretty amazing just how different and improved this second version of the Nomad is. It’s like everything, every element, is now better than it was, and it was mighty good to start with.

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

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Three and a half decades of the Land Rover Discovery. Feeling old yet? That’s three and a half decades, five generations, a generous sprinkling of 4×4 of the Year awards and heaven only knows how many limited editions.
It’s heaven only knows how many plus one now, anyway. Because how does Land Rover celebrate an anniversary? Why, with a special edition, of course!

And not only is there a special edition on the cards. It’s going to premiere a new engine, too. This is the D350, a six-pot mild hybrid diesel with outputs of 350bhp and 516lbf. ft. The most powerful engine used in the Disco so far, it displaces 3.0 litres and launches the vehicle from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds while returning a best-case WLTP figure of 34.0mpg.

What else about the 35th Edition is going to make it stand out from the rest of the range? It’s based on the Metropolitan model (or ‘inspired by,’ to use Land Rover’s words) and features 22” black alloys, a sliding pan roof, four-zone climate, a cooled cubby box, head-up display, massage seats and the Cold Climate and Towing packs among the highlights.

Find the full article in the October issue of Overlander 4×4 –

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202410