Robert Pepper

Six recoveries this month, each of which has their own little story. No sooner I had finished enjoying the nostalgic delights of a Series 1 then it was into the most talked about car of the year, the Evoque, on a mission to see just how good it really is in the rough stuff. I have the answer, which will be featured in this magazine shortly, but I also managed to get our standby recovery Navara stuck because I didn’t check a mound that can usually be driven right over, and which had changed a bit since the last visit to the area. The Nissan’s lack of clearance didn’t help, but I’ll put my hand up for driver error there even if the recovery didn’t take long. Of course, I say this because as we finished the Evoque shoot and prepared to depart, the radio crackled into life and it was my assistant who had managed to get the Nissan properly stuck in a different location, well and truly high centred with all four wheels dangling in the air!

Matt Carson

The stock headlamps on a Jeep Wrangler are just about good enough, in other words, OK but not great. So when I got a call offering a test of some LED headlights, I was intrigued. Sharp-eyed readers may have spotted these sort of lamps making their way onto bespoke, high end Land Rovers from the likes of Nene Overland and others, but they haven’t hit the mainstream yet.

The lights in question are LED not HID, and are manufactured by JW Speaker. JW Speaker is probably the biggest light company you’ve never heard of and has been producing top quality lights for the military, mining and construction industry for many years. More recently, these lamps have filtered down to the aftermarket, where JW Speaker is already the bestselling LED lamp brand in Europe.

Ian Seabrook

Having sold my Range Rover Classic just before winter, as the heater blower motor wasn’t working and I didn’t fancy the dash-removal job to extract and repair it. I soon missed 4×4 ownership though, even if winter snow was in short supply.

The problem was, my 4×4 budget was on the low side. I set myself the challenge of buying a 4×4 at the height of winter for £800. Choosing which one was a challenge. This is the very bottom of the market, and there’s an awful lot of rusty junk out there. I fancied a Land Rover Discovery – they’re very popular around here as they are cheap and very capable in the mucky stuff. My budget would only get me a very tired and rotten one though.

Bob Cooke – contributor

Derek, whose spatial awareness verges on the incredible, said it would go. I, whose off-roading experience verges on the historic, said it wouldn’t. But Derek is persuasive, so I relented. The thing is, the Cherokee’s ground clearance isn’t that good and it was a rather deep hole in the ground, and there was also something of a twist in the terrain that I reckoned would get the Cherokee cross-axled on the way up even if it didn’t plant its belly in the mud.

Hils Everitt – Editor at Large

This month has marked a rather sad day for me and my Jeep. One of the reasons I bought it in the first place five years ago, apart from the fact that it would be far more economical than my outgoing 3.2-litre V6 Frontera Estate – and that I’d always wanted a WJ since Jeep first introduced the diesel and auto ‘box mating in 1999(!) – was for its payload and cargo-carrying capacity.

Apart from the fact that holidays often mean lots of camping, backpacking, mountain biking or rock climbing kit or skiing gear needing to be ferried around, one of my off 4×4 duty jobs is the manager of my local rugby club’s 1st XV. And that means lugging a huge kit bag, tackle shields, training balls, water bottles, water canisters, my own kit bag and various other bits and pieces, plus the physio bench on occasion, to all the away games.

Robert Pepper

This time last month I was writing just before heading out on a day trip to parts unknown. That trip turned out to be straightforward, until the fabled ‘Four o’clock Track’ – the “one last drive” to round off a triumphant day, which the group decided to tackle at the inauspicious time of 4:05pm.  Well, let’s just say three hours later and four recoveries we towed one of the now-dead cars out of the bush. But that’s what off-roading is about, if you want a predictable drive then motor on down to the local shops.

We’ve done a couple more trips since then and right now I’m sat in a camp chair in shade provided by the Discovery, next to our family tent. We’re away again, this time with some Land Rover Series owners on a three-day event. Apart from writing this column, I’m also looking up the best places to buy batteries, as the D3’s main battery has suddenly started failing to hold charge, running down to around 10v overnight. We have a dual battery system and the second battery runs all the accessories such as the CB radio, fridge, navigation devices and laptop power so that’s all fine. But before that we need to get the D3 started, and it’s an automatic, so no jump-starting! It’s not usually a good idea to connect the starter car battery directly to the dead car’s battery then start it, but in the case of the D3 the service techs assured me that’s what you can do.  However, we play safe and just use a Discovery 2 to charge the D3’s battery up to 12.5 volts before starting it, and off she goes. 

Nigel Fryatt – editor

It’s a case of almost, but not quite, this month. Haven’t actually managed much with the Hilux in the last few weeks; apart from the collection taxi for the daughter’s Springer Spaniel. But despite this, there has been some excitement in the Editor’s 4×4 garage with the arrival of some super chunky new off-road tyres.

The Hilux original equipment rubber are Bridgestone Dueller H/T. OK for the road, although care has to be taken when the truck bed’s empty that even on bone-dry tarmac a little too much right foot exiting roundabouts can make the rear skip and loose grip. Off-road they are… well, they are on-road tyres and we have been thinking of improving the situation as soon as we can, and thanks to the guys at Cooper Tires, we now have a set of Discoverer S/T Maxx rubber.

Phil Weeden

While some people are horrified at the idea of a large MINI, let there be no doubt: the Countryman fulfils a crucial gap in the market. While these vehicles will never be classed as true off-roaders, they have formed a valuable new market sector, catering for people with busy and varied lifestyles who need to stay mobile whatever the weather, and so it was great to spend some time behind the wheel to see what this ‘Dakar-winner’ is like in the real world.