Bob Cooke – contributor

For some time, I’ve been toying with the idea of upgrading the Cherokee to make it a little more off-road friendly. A quick recap: I bought the car from a farmer after it had been stood in a field for several years – hence the low mileage has to be balanced against the possible deterioration of having been unloved and unused for so long. One of the problems is that an immobiliser of some sort has been fitted, but there was no fob or key for that system when I bought the car, so I dread the day when the immobiliser sets itself – and since I consider it likely that disconnecting the battery will have just that effect, I’ve not done any work that involves disconnecting the battery, and I’ve always taken care to make sure that I don’t let the battery drain down through lack of use.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

I have rather neglected my Grand of late, so much so that it died on me! I had been buzzing about the countryside in the long-term VW Tiguan and the Jeep has been quietly resting in the garage waiting for a bit of quality time with its owner.

I meant to take it out for a cruise, to show it I still cared, but got waylaid by something or other, which had to be done ASAP. I then started packing for a two-week holiday to Canada and, in the rush to get everything done and dusted before the big trip, I didn’t get time to take it for that much needed spin.

Finally, I managed to find time to grab the keys and jump into the soft and now highly creased leather seat, put the key in the ignition and turned it. Click… nothing at all, all the dash lights came on but obviously the poor battery was straining at the leash and there was no power there to get us started.

Ian Seabrook

Somehow, I’ve managed to own the Maverick for over six months now, which as anyone who knows me is all too aware, is rare for me. Cars come and go like the seasons. There’s a reason the Mav is still here. It’s really quite good.

More remarkable is that despite only living a handful of miles away; I’d not yet tested the Mav on the fabled Strata Florida greenlane. In late July, I finally got to remedy this, thanks as ever to the West Wales Laning group (www.westwaleslaning.co.uk). Unusually, we were Land Rover-free for this trip, as friends Franz in his modified Maverick and Lewis in his Suzuki Grand Vitara came along one pleasant evening. I was a little anxious about this lane, as once I’d reached the end of it in my Range Rover last year, the side steps were as straight as a Snowdonia skyline. They took a right beating!

Sue Loy

Another RAV4? Some might accuse me of a lack of imagination, but in truth, the finances wouldn’t stretch to a Range Rover Evoque. The Editor had one on test recently; a manual (which I had not driven) in Dynamic spec. I have to say that I really fell for it, somehow the fact you had to physically change gear got you a lot more involved with the car, and if I could, there would be one parked on our drive…

It’s somewhat ironic, therefore, that we were actually driving the Evoque when we first went to see my new RAV4. Regular readers may know that I had a 2002 model, then completed 105,000 trouble free miles – not all of them with me, but certainly most of them were. I really like the RAV4, it suits me, is nice and light and easy to drive and since if I need anything ‘tough’ to off-road, then I can always borrow the Editor’s Hilux.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

I used the Tiguan as an airport run vehicle recently for the annual summer holiday and I have to say that one of the few things that lets it down is the depth of the rear cargo space.

My hairdresser had a Tiguan until recently but he swapped it for the bigger Touareg as he now has two small sons and found that he just couldn’t get enough of the paraphernalia that is required for a couple of lively lads in the boot; you can’t obviously, use the rear seat to compensate as that is taken up with baby seats.

I was hoping to get two large pieces of luggage (one rigid suitcase and one soft canvas bag on wheels) plus two pieces of full-size hand luggage (again one rigid suitcase full of camera gear and one soft canvas on wheels) in the boot. But the available depth only comfortably allowed one large case and one small, without a major squeeze, so the back seat was needed.

Robert Pepper

The first set of tyres I put on the Discovery 3 were a set of General Grabber AT2 265/65/17 all-terrains, in passenger-reinforced construction. I’d always run light-truck construction tyres, so I thought I’d see how the passenger-construction tyres fared. Well, the answer is badly. We picked up three or four punctures in the course of 60,000km when I’d normally expect a trouble-free run. Then I went to Morocco, and found our Discovery 4 was the only vehicle to suffer a puncture. Back in Australia and on a recent trip one of our group stopped, then rushed to catch up, ripping a sidewall on his passenger tyres in the process over a tree root that really shouldn’t have caused a problem. The moral there is not to rush, because that’s when all sorts of bad things happen, but it also highlights the fact that for serious bush use you absolutely need light-truck construction tyres, and in the highest profile you can fit. In the case of the Discovery 3 that’s 245/70/17, unless you want to start fitting oversize tyres, which is a whole new discussion.

Nigel Fryatt – editor

Has it got something to do with when we were kids and liked to splash around in puddles, that when we get bigger, there’s still an attraction but where we once had brightly coloured wellies, we now have a 4×4 pick-up?

Taking my now Cooper tyre-shod Hilux down to John Morgan’s excellent Slindon Safari site, saw me splashing about in the puddles, a lot! Now, we all know what the rules are about water and 4x4s, although there wasn’t enough deep water to need to check the depth before ploughing through, trust us we were being sensible – even when encouraged to show a little more vigour by the photographer. Despite care, an annoying minor problem was to occur, however.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

The long-term VW Tiguan has stolen a fair chunk of my heart, but I have to say there are a few little things about it that do irk me somewhat. Here’s one of them.

First of all, I will say that the Auto Hold function is brilliant, although I have to mention that I am one of those drivers who take great pains to set off from the lights or at a junction on a hill without rolling backwards anyway. I apply my handbrake and use clutch/throttle control as I was taught in my driving lessons! I really loathe those in front of me who use the footbrake and always roll backwards before setting off. You would fail your driving test if you did that, so why do people do it when they’ve passed? It’s appalling!

Bob Cooke – contributor

I really couldn’t understand why ‘er indoors didn’t like driving the Cherokee. It may be getting on a bit, and I can quite understand that she doesn’t like getting dirt on her tights as she steps in over the mud-caked sidesteps (they’re useless as sidesteps, but serve well enough as sill protectors) but once she’s inside she has all the creature comforts of any modern SUV, especially the supportive electrically-adjustable seats giving her that commanding view of the road ahead. I’d also assumed that, being a somewhat pushy driver, she’d approve of the Cherokee’s traffic-dominating size, not to mention the availability of tar-scorching acceleration. Her main dislike, however, seemed to be that “the steering’s too vague,” which adds up to a feeling of success when I eventually persuaded her to join me on a day’s off-roading at the Slindon Safari site near Arundel.

Ian Seabrook

The summer has proved a quiet season for the Maverick. For two whole weeks, the Maverick didn’t turn a wheel. I’ve been very busy with work and events and when there’s a long trip to go on, my 45mpg Citroens are a lot more tempting. Still, it gave me time to sort out a few issues. The towing electrics took a mighty pounding at a Pay and Play site a few months ago and it was time to do something about it. I’ve actually opted to keep the electrics inside and will thread them out via the door seal on the rare occasion that I’m towing. A family friend has been doing this for decades as he was fed up at how quickly the electric socket can deteriorate when its out in all weathers. I’ve also finally repaired the heater blower resistor, so I finally have four working speed settings. Bliss!