Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

As mentioned last month I was planning to get my Grand’s front brake pads replaced. The MOT in February registered 80 per cent wear, although the rears were a way healthier 40 per cent. Since then the brakes have gradually started to feel a bit lumpy and six months on it was time to bite the bullet and replace them.

I booked the Grand into my mate’s garage, Central Auto Centre in Green Street Green, and didn’t bother to ask what the cost would be as it was something that needed doing and not an issue to think; ‘ooh that much? I’ll put it off for a while’.

Bob Cooke – contributor

Don’t laugh. Not yet, anyway, wait until the next issue. All I’ll say for the moment is that I wasn’t sure whether the Cherokee would survive the coming weeks, so when the sun burst out unexpectedly on the Bank Holiday weekend, I headed straight to the Slindon off-road site near Arundel to give the old Jeep what could well have been its last bit of mud-plugging action. Just for a moment, thinking that I might as well let the Cherokee go out in style, I considered taking on the legendary bomb hole. Fortunately I came to my senses and decided that I didn’t want to wreck the Cherokee quite yet, not least because I still needed to drive it home afterwards.

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

The famous quotation goes something along the lines of ‘marry in haste, repent in leisure’, well I have a newer version; ‘wash your truck in haste, repent in leisure’. Repent? I’m sodding furious with myself, and there won’t be much leisure in the repenting.

Personally, I want to blame the hose pipe ban that we had in Surrey, which continued even during the early summer deluge that we experienced. Happily sporting my new Cooper tyres, the Hilux had experienced a great day off-roading at Slindon. Now, since the Coopers do, just, protrude from the wheel arches of the Hilux, the splashing muddy water that I was enjoying was splattered up the smart shiny black paintwork. No problem, and to be honest, many people mentioned the rather impressive pattern it made.

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.