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How many hobbies should a person have? The answer appears infinite. Certainly in my own case,
in addition to green lane activities.


I birdwatch, help run a charity and do a load of other, sometimes questionable things. The most questionable of all is a love of fact checking. You know the kind of stuff – using Facebook to sensitively correct misunderstandings about stuff like immigration, electric vehicles and especially the flat earthers. And in that latter case I have a particular speciality, having spent many happy hours arguing with many Americans about the nature of our planet.


One thing I have learnt (although I don’t actually seem to have really learnt it as I’m still banging my head against the wall) is that arguing with fanatics is entirely pointless. They simply are not interested in facts and truth and common sense, or even the evidence of their own eyes. The have an opinion, however mad it might be, and all they are interested in is shouting about it, regardless of how unrelated to reality it might be.

Read the full article in this month’s issue of Overlander 4×4.

Little more than a day’s drive from Britain, the Alps of northern Italy combine a sublime landscape with a rich military history that dates back to Napoleonic times – and has provided a network of rough
mountain trails that are perfect for exploring by 4×4.

When it comes to adventure, I consider myself genre-fluid (yes genre…). My adventures have thus far consisted
of climbing mountains, hunting, scuba diving, getting up close and personal with dangerous animals and most recently
riding across the Sahara Desert on top of a freight train carrying iron ore – so I certainly don’t consider myself a specialist in any adventuring discipline. However I will put my hand to anything in the name of
expanding my comfort zones and visiting places most would consider inaccessible – and 4×4 driving has always been a means to an end for this.

When I was looking for an adventure for last summer, I considered the usual options – and a few unusual ones.
Eventually. I decided that I would take my dogs to explore the military trails and instalments in the Alps, which date back as far as the Napoleonic era.

Read the full article in the March issue https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4X4202403

It’s a strange name isn’t it? Anyone who has watched real-world giant pandas for any length of time will come away
astonished that they’re not extinct. Sure they look all cute and cuddly but they’re also clumsy, often helpless and have a ridiculous diet.


They’re bears, for heaven’s sake, with a digestion set up for eating meat, yet they eat only bamboo shoots, which have low nutritional value and the pandas aren’t good at extracting even that. So they have to eat up to 38kg of bamboo shoots and leaves a day. It doesn’t leave a lot of time for personal development or musings on the meaning of life. Plus they have a lot of bulk to keep fed, about the same size as an American black bear. Standing on its back feet it would loom over you, weighing in at around 250lb (113kg ). And it’s the national symbol of China. There, it’s known as ‘GuoBao’ or ‘national heirloom’, something that’s usually priceless and fragile.


So when Fiat launched its cute little new vehicle you have to wonder what thought process led to the name Panda. And yet here we are, celebrating 40 years of the Fiat Panda 4×4. That’s slightly longer, by the way, than any panda has lived, in the wild or in captivity.

Read the full article in the March issue https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4X4202403

There’s a facelifted version of the Jeep Wrangler on the way in the next few months. It has a new take on the famous seven-slot grille, additional safety features, revised wheel designs and a more upmarket cabin with 12-way power adjustable front seats and a 12.3” touch-screen running the company’s latest Uconnect 5 infotainment system, and
the Dana rear axle on the Rubicon model gains strength by becoming fully-floating for the first time.

Worth waiting for? Quite possibly, yes, given that pricing remains unchanged – and since that means a Wrangler will cost from £60,785 OTR in Sahara form and £62,785 for the Rubicon, you’re going to want everything you can get to ease the pain. It remains hard to believe that the previous model to this one started in the teens.


Anyway, facelift incoming or not Jeep can sell every Wrangler they can get their hands on in the UK, as those prices
illustrate. So between now and when those first deliveries these shores, you’re going to get the chance to buy one of the soon-to become-old-shape examples at a discount of precisely zero.

Read the full article in the March issue https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4X4202403

Carlos Sainz made history in the 2024 Dakar Rally – by becoming the first driver to take overall victory in an electric vehicle. The Spanish veteran has now won the legendary event four times for four different, having triumphed with
Volkswagen in 2010, Peugeot in 2018 and Mini in 2020 prior to taking the wheel of Audi’s revolutionary RS Q e-tron.

Sainz was aided in his run to the title by team-mates Stéphane Peterhansel and Mattias Ekström, who were going well before dropping out of contention with technical issues on the sixth and seventh stages respectively. With victory out of their reach, both crews got to helping their colleague, Peterhansel stopping for six minutes on Stage 9 to wait for Sainz to pass, so that he could run behind him as a support car.

The value of this could never have been better illustrated than on Stage 10, when Sainz suffered not one but two punctures – a misfortune that would have cost him any chance of the title had it not been for Ekström coming to his rescue and getting him back on his way within a few minutes.

Read the full article in the March issue https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4×4202403

The Nissan X-Trail won our 4×4 of the Year award when it was launched, thanks in no small part to its remarkable off-road ability. But the model is nothing compared to the X-Trail Mountain Rescue – a one-off designed to highlight the tractability of the electric layout that allows the e-4ORCE drivetrain to react almost instantaneously to changing levels of grip. It is of course very apparent indeed that the headline modification to the X-Trail Mountain Rescue is the addition of snow tracks instead of wheels. However equally important is the removal of its rear seats to let it carry a stretcher, plus medical equipment and personnel.
In addition to all this, an evacuation stretcher and snow shovels are carried on a bespoke roof rack and the front bumper has been strengthened to mountain electric winch. The extra width of the tracks is covered by extended wing flares, while there are heavy-duty towing hooks front and rear and running boards for access to the cabin – very necessary for some as the vehicle rides 230mm higher than standard.
Nissan built the vehicle as part of a campaign it’s supporting to prevent accidents by encouraging responsible skiing in Europe’s major resorts. It will be displayed in a glass box in one of them, Cervinia in Italy, and feature in promotional material encouraging people to slow down on the slopes.

Dave Price is a veteran Australian outback adventurer who, over the years, has driven through most of the country’s vast interior. He’s been to the Simpson Desert on numerous occasions, driving all its many iconic tracks – but never to its geographic centre.

This significant location is indicated on the Hema Great Desert Tracks map at 25’21’58”S/137’05’05”E – close to the
marked tracks, but the last few miles would entail driving through trackless country; over rough, tricky sand dunes.
Which is exactly why Dave wanted to go there. It’s a big challenge, but an absolutely top-notch adventure.


He’s invited me to join him and wife Maureen on the trip, kindly loaning me the Land Rover Discovery 2 based Challenger ute that he built in 2016 and which I’ve previously used for Aussie adventures in 2017 and 2019. The Prices are in their own TDCi-engined G4 Challenge Defender 110, and joining us are Graham Grether in his Td5 Discovery plus Kin and Heather Roy, making the fi rst big overland jaunt in their new-shape Defender 110 D250 – a big step forward after many years of travelling in
another Disco 2.

Read the full article in the February issue:

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/202402

The Green Lane Association’s efforts on behalf of all rights of way users have helped secure the right result at a public enquiry on the status of Excelsior, an unsurfaced road near Grindleford in Derbyshire. The route was put under threat by the actions of anti-freedom fanatics who, in their usual self-serving fashion, applied for it to be downgraded to a bridleway.

In a perfect example of why a GLASS subscription is such good value for money, the association dipped in to its fighting fund to employ a professional researcher – who unearthed valuable historical evidence and led a second campaign for user evidence in support of motor vehicle rights.

Phil Hobson, GLASS’ Rights of Way Officer, compiled and submitted a statement of case together with proof of evidence to the inspectorate, and attended the inquiry with the association’s local rep team. The inquiry lasted three days, overseen by a government inspector who walked the lane twice herself in addition to listening to evidence for and against vehicle rights.

Read the full article in the February issue:

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/202402

Korean 4×4 specialist SsangYong, whose Rexton SUV and Musso double-cab have been perennial winners of the value category in our 4×4 of the Year awards since launch, has changed its name to KGM.


The company’s UK importer, which is now known as KGM Motors, had long accepted that the SsangYong name was an
obstacle to growth here. However this new identity comes following a 2023 buyout in Korea by the KG Group – which rescued the factory from financial difficulties. The process of rebranding its dealerships has already begun, with a new white-on black identity featuring SsangYong’s old twin-wings logo alongside the KGM name, and this is expected to be complete by the middle of 2024.

KGM Motors’ franchising boss Andrew Cookson says the network-wide rebranding exercise will be taken as an opportunity to expand its spread of dealers. ‘While other brands are restructuring and may be reducing their numbers of dealers in favour of the agent our remaining open points. The new corporate identity is a great opportunity for us to work with our partners to improve the quality of our dealerships and customer service – we’re committed to exploring and implementing innovative solutions in the UK market to achieve this objective.’

Read the full article in February’s issue.

https://shop.assignmentmedia.co.uk/issue/4X4202402

JLR has opened the pre-order book for the Range Rover Electric. A fully electrified version of the current model, which was launched in traditionally powered form during 2021, the vehicle will be built in Solihull alongside existing mild and plug-in hybrid variants – a move which coincides with the opening of a new £70m underbody facility at Land Rover’s original home.

While the main focus with the electric Range Rover is to ‘amplify its modern luxury credentials,’ JLR promises that it will remain a workhorse for those who want it to be. ‘Its go-anywhere capability will ensure towing, wading and all-terrain technology surpass any other luxury electric SUV,’ to quote. Also to quote, ‘towing will substantially affect EV range,’ but at least they said it – and will 800V electric architecture, owners will be able to make the most of the fast-charging options available in the public network.

Indeed, JLR says that its customers will enjoy ‘a seamless electric ownership experience.’ This includes ‘effortless charging, energy partnerships, software over- the-air updates and intelligent technology to maximise range.’ The vehicle’s batteries and motor units will be assembled at JLR’s Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton. That’s the new name for the Engine Manufacturing Centre, which itself hardly seems to have been open for five minutes.

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