Nigel Fryatt – editor
EVEN the most cautious and careful driver can have an ‘incident’ when driving off-road. It’s one of those activities that you shouldn’t do, if you are not prepared for the consequences that might involve some damaged metal (or plastic), since it’s not always just your pride that gets dented.
That would be a good way of introducing, or indeed excusing, the dent that now appears on the Suzuki’s front bumper. I could regale you with stories of derring-do, on how the little Suzuki had been ploughing through the rough stuff, embarrassing vehicles more suited to serious mud-plugging, when one of those nasty mobile rocks ‘jumped out’ in front of me and caught the valance. I could say that, if it was true. Sadly, I have to admit that the damage was done… in a car park. Now it was the muddy, slippery car park at a small wildlife nature reserve somewhere in Surrey, and not a tarmac covered Tesco’s car park, but that still doesn’t quite excuse it.
Stupid thing was, when I drove in and parked I noticed the small wooden fence, less than a foot high, low down on the passenger’s side. It would be easy to miss that I thought to myself. Of course, some time later when I came to reverse out of the space, putting the wheel to full lock and looking over my shoulder to see all was clear behind and easing back, the resulting graunching noise told me that, basically, I was an idiot.
If, like us, laying on a beach for a week for your hols sounds about as interesting as doing your tax return, then read on. There has been much hype of late about doing a ‘staycation’ in the UK and we’re all for that – albeit for a day trip, short break or longer – even better if it’s combined with your hobby. And we’re pleased to reveal that there are some fantastic opportunities out there to get mud-splattered to your heart’s content doing 4×4 driving courses in your own vehicle or in ones that are supplied on a whole variety of terrain. But if you fancy something just that little bit different and are up for a challenge, why not try piloting a hovercraft, have a go at tank driving or quad biking? We’ve put together a wide selection to cater for all tastes and levels, so we’d suggest go make yourself a brew, kick back and get inspired from this selection.
Hils Everitt – Editor at Large
Robert Pepper
This is the last instalment of Our 4X4s from me about our Discovery 3, because it’s presently for sale. We’re replacing it with something quite different to the Discovery and why we’ve done that will be the subject of a forthcoming feature article. But with the Discovery passing from our lives it’s time to summarise the overall experience, which began back in 2005 when I first tested a D3. And I was hugely impressed, describing the car as a “traction bloodhound” while on-road capability was likened to a “skilled but obese ballerina”. I also did a 10-vehicle seven-seater comparison test and the D3 won that too. Even today a 2005 Discovery 3 can hold its head up high with 2014-spec competitors, let alone the very latest D4 which is improved in many, and significant ways from the headline-grabbing engine down to the front suspension design. The beauty of the D3/D4 is that it does so much, so well – towcar, towncar, off-roader, tourer, driver’s car, overlander. That’s why we bought it, as we needed a car that could do the school run on Friday and go across Australia on Saturday.
Bob Cooke – contributor
If anyone thinks it’s silly that I should own and run two gas-guzzling Cherokees, I’d like to explain that there is some reason for this apparent madness, and it does go further than to point out that the fuel consumption isn’t a problem because I can only drive one of them at a time. When I acquired my ’95 model in July 2011, I’d actually been on the lookout for one of the facelifted Cherokees from 1997 on; I bought the N-reg one because it came up unexpectedly and looked like a good deal at the time – £700 for a car with just 73,000 miles on it. Regular readers will remember the concerns I had about this car from the start – for instance there was no immobiliser reset key, the air con didn’t work because the reason for the car’s low mileage is that it sat in a field for years and the air con pipework had simply rotted away. Nevertheless, the old truck has given me excellent and trouble-free service for nearly two years, the only significant cost having been the few hundred I spent on fitting heavy-duty springs to give it a little lift. 
It’s big, bold and brassy. Sitting on my suburban drive, it dominates. Now it’s a long while since I drove my first ever Toyota Land Cruiser back in the mid-1980s – that was a 90 series diesel, very practical but with little passenger comforts. Since then we’ve both put on a lot of weight, and one of us has become rather clever at what it does; the other remains a motoring magazine journalist.
The Ford Bronco was originally launched to compete with Jeep, Land Rover, and even Toyota’s Land Cruiser. If you love 4x4s, you have to enjoy this retrospective of this great Stateside off-roader. Such is the Bronco’s following, you can even buy a new one, if you’ve got a healthy wallet!
TARGET RANGE: £10,000 – £23,000
The whole image of camping has changed immeasurably over the last few years, as increasing numbers of people look to the great outdoors for fun and adventure – and realise that camping is no longer the back-to-basics activity that it once was. These days there’s no shortage of fantastically well-equipped campsites offering clean and pleasant facilities. And, of course, the tents themselves are also vastly improved. 
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