March 2012 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

What a lousy month! When something breaks, or you damage your 4×4, at least you can shrug and perhaps blame yourself or come up with the thought that you had got your money’s worth, it’s been good value etc etc. Or even that it is an opportunity to upgrade and improve the vehicle with a new, better, replacement part. Not quite the same for me this month, when turning on my Toyota Hilux’s engine, an awful tank-like noise came from under the bonnet. What the….?

As you can read in Our 4x4s this month, the reason for the ridiculous noise was that some low-life had actually stolen the vehicle’s catalytic convertor! They had rolled under my truck, presumably in the early hours, and hacksawed off the cat. A violation that cost over £1200 to repair and netted the scumball probably £60 or £70 for the precious metals inside.

February 2012 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

Moose on the loose! Sounds a bit daft, until you realise just how dangerous this can be – something I was reminded of this month when reading the excellent expedition stories in this issue. The expert expedition guides we have writing for us this month give advice on a variety of different regions; from North African Saharan sand dunes, Australian bush, and North American deserts, all the way to the European Arctic. Different regions, maybe, but one thing they all have in common is the warning to look out for wild animals and the dangers that they can cause your 4×4 expedition, in some cases bringing it to an abrupt halt.

Beware of the moose was something I became aware of when driving through Canada’s wonderful province of Newfoundland. The cartoon Canadian road signs display a somewhat disgruntled moose, scowling at a particularly crumpled vehicle. What a hoot…. That is until you see other signs describing not just how many accidents there have been in the area that year, but how many fatalities. And that’s people, not moose.

January 2012 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

Welcome to a very special issue; known to all on the 4×4 team as, ‘the big one’. It’s our annual 4×4 Of The Year issue, when we get as many new models as possible together, in one place, put them through their paces, judge them scrupulously, and find a winner. So, what wins our 4×4 Of The Year 2012? I’ll let you enjoy the magazine first, so you can see how we came to our decision.

Of course, awards’ issues, ‘best ofs’ and ‘mega’ group tests are all the rage with motoring magazines these days, but there was a time when that wasn’t really the case and proudly, this magazine can justifiably confirm to be the first to ever look at matching up a group of 4x4s, and deciding which is best. I can confidently claim that because, back in March 1986, we were the ‘only’ 4×4 magazine on the shelves! Oh how times have changed. Our name for one, and 4×4 is somewhat shorter than Off Road and 4 Wheel Drive!

December 2011 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

Met up with 4×4 magazine’s Australian correspondent Robert Pepper last month. We had never met face-to-face and while I wasn’t quite expecting corks hanging from a bush hat, I did think I’d probably get a ‘G’day mate’ in a typical Aussie twang. Turns out, he’s an ex-pat, and left these shores over a decade ago, and still speaks English (a fact for which he is to be complimented). We had a good chat about things 4×4, planned some excellent future features and then just chatted about how things had changed since Robert last lived within these shores. One thing he was finding hard to understand was the increase in crime here, compared to his life ‘down-under’. Sadly, I had to agree with him, since only a few days before we had received a knock on the door from one of the neighbours who lives further up the road. Now, we live in what is best described as in the suburbs of Surrey, certainly not some war torn deprived urban wasteland. The very good natured neighbour had noticed that we have 4x4s parked on our driveway and she just wanted to warn us about what had happened to her the previous night. It appears that while she was sitting, alone, watching the TV at about 11pm, she became aware of a strange noise, which was actually a pair of scum-balls trying to jemmy open her front door. Thankfully, turning the lights on meant that the pond life scarpered and left her alone.

When the police arrived – whom she commented were ‘absolutely brilliant’, so, given they often get a bad press, it’s hats off to Surrey’s finest this time, that’s for sure. The officers explained that the morons were actually trying to open the front door on the expectation that the owner had left the keys to the 4×4 on her drive, just inside the front door – as so many of us do apparently. They would grab the keys and drive off. My neighbour had dropped by just to warn other 4×4 owners in the street, which I was very grateful for – as was a neighbour further down the road who declared, “Blimey, I never even lock mine when it’s on the drive!” Guess that his insurance company aren’t actually aware of that fact!

November 2011 Issue of 4×4 Magazine

What a complete clot! When one 4×4 reader asked his insurance company why his policy had been invalidated because he had taken the eminently sensible decision to fit a set of winter tyres to his VW Touareg, the prize plonker at his insurance company answered, ‘the tyres are a winter tyre and should only be fitted in winter.” Asking when Privilege insurance defined winter actually occurred, he was told “December, or when it snows.” This flippant and stupendously idiotic response just shows the ignorance that still exists with some insurance companies, and why, when you fit winter tyres to your 4×4 – and trust us, you really should consider it – you do need to check with your insurance company to see if fitting invalidates your policy. If it does, the solution is simple: move insurers! Which is exactly what this Touareg owner did – he’s now with AVIVA.

We have our annual winter preparation feature in this issue, starting on page 24. And just in case there are any bewildered brokers reading this, fitting winter tyres is not “just for December, or when it snows”. The reason for fitting such tyres is not just for snow, or for any particular calendar month. Winter tyres are designed to work at their very best when the temperature drops below 7deg C. Now as this is being written while we are enjoying a wonderfully warm late September, that may seem very cold! Actually, the average UK temperature, during morning rush hour and in the evenings, drops below 7degC for some six months of the year!