Nigel Fryatt – editor

Regular readers will know that in the previous issue I explained the horror story of having the Hilux’s catalytic convertor cut from the truck, while I slept peacefully, unaware of what was happening on my drive! The actions of these morons cost over £1000 to replace, and I have been concerned since then that they would be back to try again. There are now security plans afoot, but you still worry.

Bob Cooke – contributor

If we’re going to have a miserably cold winter, I guess we might as well have a bit of snow to brighten up the countryside. I do mean a bit of snow, enough to give a Christmas card look to the scenery, as opposed to last month’s blizzard that had people stuck all night on the M40 and M25. If only they’d all had 4x4s…

That snowfall was particularly welcome because it gave a chance for us to assess the white-weather performance of the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac mud-terrains fitted to the Cherokee. We’ve already found them to be more than adequate in the mud, as well as being surprisingly quiet at speed on the road, but only with that overnight fall that layered Kent with over 100mm of the crispy white stuff did we get to put Goodyear’s claims to the test. And yes, the Duratracs are impressive in the snow.

Louise Limb – contributor

It’s been an unexpectedly slithery couple of months since my last joyful report as I looked forward to adequate road holding and relatively stress free cornering after investing in new Bridgestone tyres. While I do little serious off-roading in the Grand Vitara – it is after all my only car, so it must take me reliably from A-B at all times, I do drive an awful lot of winding country lanes, usually slick with manure filled tractor tracks or strewn with windblown vegetation. I was looking forward to tackling these hazards with gusto, confident I could stop quickly after the work on my off side brake to even up the performance of both front brakes and with the reassurance of brand new rubber between me and the road.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

This year’s medical check-up was a special one for my silver machine as it coincided with its 10th birthday; yep first registered in January 2002. It looks its age in some ways, such as the Jeep badging losing its lacquer in some places and the alloys certainly show the signs of a double-figure life, but in others, it looks good with the interior not bad at all. OK, so the black leather seats are rather creased, but I rather like that lived-in, comfy look and they really are still some of the comfiest seats I have nestled into – and that goes for some of the current luxury models that my backside has experienced recently.

Sue Loy

Why is it that impending MOT day reminds you of school exams? All of a sudden all confidence disappears and you are convinced you are going to fail – or in this case, the vehicle’s going to fail. No matter that the thing has been ultra reliable, isn’t making any funny noises and all the obvious bits seem to work. Somehow you still have the feeling of impending doom.

Bob Cooke – contributor

It’s always good to take part in one of the All Wheel Drive Club’s drive-arounds. Though the club is more usually engaged in serious competitive events such as trialling and comp safari races, they do occasionally make a stonkingly good off-road area available for less competitive people to have a good off-road blast, with anything from competition specials to ordinary road cars, so the Cherokee was at Broxhead Common, near Bordon in Hampshire, good and early to take advantage of the excellent variety of cross-country conditions available.

It’s actually quite a good area for beginners, because it isn’t all thick mud and deeply-rutted tracks, though there are quite enough of those to please the harder-core participants. One large open central area with a sandy but quite firm surface has a good selection of humps, bumps, holes and gullies that can allow drivers to assess the capability of their cars without the inconvenience of getting them bogged down.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

So we finally bid a fond farewell to our L200 Warrior pick-up truck. It has clocked up 5672 miles and served as a comfortable road hauler that has deposited me all over the country on various magazine jobs, plus as a handy off-roader on a great day out with the Mitsubishi L200 Club.

It has also served as a house moving truck for our designer Paul and editor Nigel took a spin in it for a while but he didn’t really bond with the mighty warrior. His dislike was mainly due to its consumption, although we have since proved that it wasn’t that bad compared to his Toyota Hilux; the fuel gauge just appeared rather deceptive and the computer readings for consumption were pure nonsense! It registered 36.7mpg at one point on one of my motorway journeys that included crawling on the dreaded M25. I worked out, using the more reliable, old-fashioned method of fuel receipt and calculator, that it was actually an average of 29.57mpg. Not the most economical of the trucks and with the Amarok on the scene and new Ranger, that figure looks decidedly unattractive for the bulk fleet buyer perhaps.

Nigel Fryatt – editor

The Toyota’s 2.5-litre turbodiesel engine has never been the quietest around, but the other Monday as I drove up the road, it sounded like a tank. It also sounded that it would be inadvisable to carry on. On stopping to check, it appeared impossible to open the bonnet. It was obviously ‘one of those’ Mondays…

A cautious return down the hill, much of it freewheeling or on a trailing throttle (where the turbo overrun whistle sounded a lot louder than usual), I began to wonder. Hopefully there was a simple solution, something having worked loose, a hose gone astray, something…. well, cheap.

Nigel Fryatt – editor

Well, it’s been my first full month owning this Toyota Hilux, and there’s no hesitation in saying that I’m lovin’ it! Over the years I have driven numerous pick-up trucks on test launches and off-road events, but it’s all very different when you live with one. In some of the narrow country lanes around Surrey, it pays to remember that it’s a big truck and certainly reverse parallel parking is something of a hoot. Reversing into spaces, small hatchbacks seem to disappear underneath the load bed at times, which has led to the driver having to jump out to check how much room is left and ensure that the little Peugeot that was there a minute ago, hasn’t been impaled on the tow hook! Despite its size, the Toyota is light and easy to handle and manoeuvre, it’s just necessary to use some caution.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

As you will have read in last month’s issue, we recently tagged along with the Mitsubishi L200 Owners’ Club for a day of off-roading in the picturesque surroundings of Hawkestone Park Follies in Shropshire.

The L200 OC holds its AGM over a weekend at a site that can offer good camping and plenty of 4×4 fun for its members who own a wide range of L200s. I thought that our squeaky clean and shiny new Warrior model would stick out like a sore thumb among the heavily modded, knarly old trucks, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. There were a couple of other youngsters there, one with a novice off-roader behind the wheel who thought his truck was ‘awesome’ off the road and had a ball, blasting his way around the site, tackling some extremely difficult hillclimbs.