Overlander 4x4 June 2024 by Assignment Media Ltd

LATEST: DEFENDER CLOSES IN ON £200,000 | DRIVEN: NEW WRANGLER | LANING: HAPPY VALLEY GETS ITS SMILE BACK

GEORGIA ON MY MIND Crossroads of the ancients in the North Caucasus

June 2024 £5.99

DISPATCHER Jeep’s 375bhp Willys tribute

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SHERAZEE

The birth of an off-road motorhome

HERE AT LAST

Full details of the new Land Cruiser

29/04/2024 16:15

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SUBARU FORESTER fuel economy and CO2 results (WLTP): Combined 34.7mpg, CO2 emissions 185g/km. MPG figures are official EU test figures for comparative purposes & may not reflect real driving results. Fuel consumption achieved in real life conditions & CO2 produced depends on a number of factors including accessories fitted (post-registration), variations in weather, driving styles & vehicle load. Offers available until 30.06.2024. Stock subject to availability. Subaru reserves the right to amend or withdraw offers at any time without prior notice. Private customers only, not available in conjunction with any other offers. Excludes Personal Contract Hire and Business Contract Hire. Available at participating dealers only. *£2,000 Subaru Deposit Contribution (incl. VAT) on a 2.0L Forester XE, Sport and XE Premium. †Credit is subject to status. Must be 18+. This credit offer is only available through Subaru Finance provided by International Motors Finance Limited, St William House, Tresillian Terrace, Cardiff, CF10 5BH. **3 services for £299.00 (incl. VAT) offer applicable when you purchase a brand-new Subaru Forester eBOXER, Crosstrek or Outback. All services should be taken at the relevant service intervals - either 12,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes sooner. All services must be completed by an authorised Subaru Retailer. The customer’s failure to redeem the services within the designated mileage or time will void the manufacturer’s warranty. Available to retail customer only. Does not cover any non-service related parts or repairs or general wear and tear. Servicing is transferable with the vehicle. #A comprehensive 3-Year Recovery and Assistance Programme is included, valid in the UK and Europe.

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Editor

Alan Kidd

Design

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Chris Collard, Graham Scott, Mike Trott, Gary Martin, Olly Sack, Gary Noskill, Dan Fenn, Paul Looe, Tom Alderney, Kaziyoshi Sasazaki

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t’s a cause for celebration, of course, that Happy Valley, one of the most scenic green lanes in the land, will once again be open for all to enjoy. But why did it need a court case for the local authority to ﬁnally relent and agree to repair it? I can see the argument from the non-laners’ point of view. The country is skint, local councils are going bust, there’s no money left even to pay for kids with special needs to get the right education and you want us to stump up for a muddy hole in a track over a mountain somewhere so you can drive over it in your 4x4s? As we all know, it’s a bit more involved than that. Yes, our nation has spent the last decade turning itself into the place everybody else looks at and says at least we’re not like that, but even when the last quid in the public coffers has ﬁnally been handed over to a Whitehall crony or minted fraudster, the government’s duty will still be its duty. And in the case of rights of way, various local governments have been shirking that

duty since way back before any of this latest ﬁnancial uselesness kicked off. More importantly, green lane user groups offered to help with repairs to Happy Valley. Which is what they do; just look at Cumbria as an example of what can be achieved when everyone works together. But the local authority wouldn’t engage. Court action is a last resort for the likes of the Green Lane Association, but that’s what it took. The doubly sad thing is that now, the local authority is saddled with paying for a repair that could have been done at least in part by skilled and willing volunteers. And on top of that, it’s footing the bill for the legal action it took to make it do its duty. This could so easily have worked out for the best. We’ll get Happy Valley back, which is perhaps the main thing. But let’s hope this whole sorry affair also demonstrates to delinquent local authorities that while the green lane fraternity makes a powerful enemy when it has to be – what it wants is to be an even more powerful friend. Alan Kidd, Editor

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Sarah Moss Email: sarah.moss@assignment-media.co.uk To subscribe to 4x4, or renew a subscription, call 01283 742970. Prices for 12 issues: UK £42 (24 issues £76); Europe Airmail/ROW Surface £54; ROW Airmail £78 Distributed by Marketforce; www.marketforce.co.uk Every effort is made to ensure the contents of 4x4 are accurate, but Assignment Media accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions nor the consequences of actions made as a result of these. When responding to any advert in 4x4, you should make appropriate enquiries before sending money or entering into a contract. The publishers take reasonable care to ensure advertisers’ probity, but will not be liable for loss or damage incurred from responding to adverts Where a photo credit includes the note ‘CC BY 2.0’ or similar, the image is made available under that Creative Commons licence: details at www.creativecommons.org

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29/04/2024 18:40

LATEST: DEFENDER CLOSES IN ON £200,000 | DRIVEN: NEW WRANGLER | LANING: HAPPY VALLEY GETS ITS SMILE BACK

GEORGIA ON MY MIND

75% OFF

Crossroads of the ancients in the North Caucasus

June 2024 £5.99

DISPATCHER Jeep’s 375bhp Willys tribute

SHERAZEE

The birth of an off-road motorhome

HERE AT LAST

Full details of the new Land Cruiser

01_4x4 Cover JUN24 _195x275mm (wxh_1pg).indd 1

Six issues for the price of 12 sounds like half-price – but when you subscribe to Overlander 4x4 for a year, you actually end up getting 75% off the price on the cover

29/04/2024 16:15

CONTENTS JUNE 2024 4x4 Scene 4

News

Full details on the all-new Mercedes-Benz G-Class and Toyota Land Cruiser. Plus the lowdown on the also new Dacia Duster and the Defender that’s set to cost close to £200,000

16 Rights of Way

Another court action in Wales sees Gwynedd council finally agree to repair Happy Valley

18 Products

Clever electrical stuff and water-toting solutions for every kind of camping truck, plus a new lease of life for your Defender’s interior

Every Month 14 Subscribe

Get Overlander 4x4 delivered for a fraction of the cover price

64 Next Month

A Bedford MJ becomes an overland motorhome, and a desert rally becomes a rescue mission as freak weather hits the desert

Driven 22 Jeep Wrangler

Revised for 2024, the new-look JL has more tech but is still true to its off-road roots

24 Jeep Grand Cherokee

From luxury barge to slick SUV, Jeep’s big cheese remains as up-for-it

26 Subaru Crosstrek

The vehicle formerly known as XV gets a new name… and things like a new chassis, too

Vehicles 42 Jeep Willys Dispatcher

Fresh from the Easter Safari, Jeep takes a Wrangler and turns it into something cool and retro

30 50

50 Rolling Tundra

Ironman builds a full-size expedition truck – and you could have one in right-hand drive

52 Sherazee

Ten years on, looking back at the off-road motorhome conversion that could have been the next big thing in overland travel

Travel 30 Georgia

Exploring the ancient lands of the Caucasus mountains aboard a very local 4x4

60 The Ox Drove

An ancient trail in Wiltshire reopens after a winter under voluntary restraint

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NEWS

TOYOTA REDISCOVERS ITS ROOTS

remember the look of horror on my son’s face. Late teens, slim, fit, enjoying wearing tight-fitting clothes. And the realisation as our conversation went on that there was an awful inevitability that at some point there would be a return of flared trousers. Because there are only so many things you can do in terms of cut of trouser and it just goes round and round. And behold, two years later flares are back and my son is so upset by it we still

can’t discuss it. Because what he is seeing is something sculpted and slim giving way to something baggy and floppy. And he’s not yet reassured that the only way this can go is to go back towards slim or some sort of cut fit. Yes, obviously you’re ahead of me. The Toyota Land Cruiser. Only we’re at a different part of the cycle and boy is it a welcome one. The last one was indeed the equivalent of flares. Big, rather bulbous,

complex, expensive and sort of saggy. We’re talking loon pants. But not any more. So many people have bemoaned the way the Land Cruiser has chugged steadily away from its roots into a place full of tech, complexity, weight and luxury opulence for people who never venture off-road beyond their gravel drives. But now we’re not exactly going back to basics, however this new model looks like what it is. A return to the basic idea

www.overlander4x4.co.uk

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of a solid, less complex off-roader. Chief Engineer Keita Moritsu explains: ‘We have changed our perception and believe that this Land Cruiser model should be offered as a practical and affordable off-roader. We resolved that going back to our roots would be core to the Land Cruiser brand going forward.’ Hurrah. Gone are the slabby yet saggy lines, and in are some taut, sculpted lines that make the vehicle look smaller even

though the wheelbase stays exactly the same at 2850mm (112ins). It’s a ‘proper’ 4x4 with separate frame and body, using the GA-F platform that you’ll find elsewhere in the Toyota range. Toyota makes much of the fact that the frame now has 50% more torsional rigidity, which is quite an improvement over what was anyway a pretty robust chassis. And bolted to that chassis is a doublewishbone suspension at the front and

solid axle at the back with coil springs – again, something we can all recognise. That’s great for most on- and off-road applications, but at the flick of a switch the driver can disengage the front anti-roll bar to increase front suspension travel for slow, gnarly off-road crawling. And there’s an engine. Not the one that owners of yore would recognise. There’s no V of any size. There’s ‘only’ a four-cylinder in-line, a 2.8-litre turbodiesel. Bed-wetters

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may be aghast that it isn’t all electric but Toyota has never really believed in that anyway. Instead the diesel will get backed up in 2025 by a mild hybrid 48V system using a motor/generator to bump up torque and drivability. As it is there is already 201bhp from 3000rpm and 368lb ft of torque from just 1600rpm. With a kerb weight of 2330kg, it has at least 100kg less weight to haul around too. From the outside it looks absolutely great, Tonka-toy tough and ready for action. Front lights are set high, fog lights are set deep, bumpers are designed so elements

like easily-hit corners are simple to replace. One element that might not be so welcome is that the rear window glass can be opened separately but the split tailgate is gone – the rear door opens up as one unit. Gone is your picnic perch. The interior can be configured for seven people and there’s a simple elegance to it all. Switches look simpler and more rugged and many functions are handled by pushpull, or toggle switches so you don’t have to lose concentration trying to scroll through sub-menus on the central screen. There is extensive use of the sort of high-quality plastics that Toyota uses that

we know last for decades. In fact the word ‘reliability’ figures large in every aspect of the press material. Toyota knows that it can’t start cutting corners with this most iconic of off-roaders. So it’s all good and real and the return of a Land Cruiser for everyman, right? Well, just as we were getting ready to print these words, along came another press release and this one was about its price. Which is £74,995 for the Invincible and £79,995 for the First Edition. What was it that Moritsu-san was saying earlier on? ‘A practical and affordable offroader?’ You are, apparently, looking at it.

www.overlander4x4.co.uk

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29/04/2024 17:32

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10/04/2024 10:01

NEWS

MERCEDES BRICKS IT

lsewhere in this issue you’ll see that Toyota is moving the Land Cruiser a bit more towards its roots, but away from people who’d like to be able to afford one. The Japanese company is aware it needs to be careful since the heritage goes back to the first 20 Series of the 1950s. And here’s Mercedes making a lot of noise about its latest G-Wagen, which was first produced in 1979, when the Land Cruiser was already about 20 years old. It’s not the only difference between the two either. Toyota may be going back to basics, but Mercedes is straight out of the box boasting of its ‘transparent bonnet’, digital user experience and electrification. It’s a long way from something for German soldiers to move around in.

Although they weren’t the first military to use the G-Wagen. We know this, he says slightly smugly, because the Argentinian army got them first and had them in 1981. When we captured one, hmmm, can’t remember where now, but it was an island with a lot of penguins. However, since then the G-Class has been through perhaps more of a metamorphosis than most vehicles, more even than a Range Rover. If you want to look cool in Sloane Square or you want the same vehicle owned by everyone from Arnie to Britney Spears and dropped by all the rap stars you like to hate most, it has to be the G-Wagen. On the other hand, at no point has Mercedes lost sight of what underpins the flying brick. It still has that ladder

frame, it still has high and low range, it still has a solid rear axle and it still has three mechanically-operated diff locks. But now it has adaptive adjustable damping for that suspension as standard (it used to be an option), it has 48V mild hybrid electrification and it also has what looks suspiciously like the idea that Range Rover had of using a camera to look forward as you climb a slope – hence the ‘transparent bonnet’. And Mercs has taken steps to make the vehicle more aerodynamic. Yes you read that right. Yes it still looks like something you’d see laid in rows between mortar, but there are some dinky little improvements to the front end, from bumper to grille, and there’s even a small spoiler at the top of the windscreen where it meets the roof.

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It’s never going to be what you’d call slippery but now, along with changes to the interior, it’s actually quieter on the road, which is the sort of lifestyle improvement owners will appreciate. After all, this is a classy interior in there, and at every turn, every movement, you’re reminded of the sheer quality of components, materials and build. Everyone comments on the sound the doors make when you get in and close them. Once in, you’re sitting on standard Nappa leather, with ambient lighting and the surround-sound system from Burmester. Back in the day it wouldn’t quite have been like this, especially when the vehicle was full of troops. What would they have made of the MBUX infotainment system, with its ability to superimpose

graphical navigation and traffic info onto the live images on the 12.3in media display? Actually, they’d probably have broken it in five minutes, it’s what soldiers do, but the more fragrant owners of a the latest Gelandewagen can doubtless use it to stay calm and serene even if the city traffic is backing up. With a view to this vehicle being used a lot in city and urban situations, the new G-Wagen is powered by a 1.6-litre petrol engine with electric back-up, running on fuel that comes from quinoa seeds. Or, in an alternative reality, you can have the G450d – straight six turbodiesel with an immense 700lbf.ft of torque; the G500 – 3.0-litre straight six twin turbo with 445bhp; or if you’re not in the mood for messing around, the AMG G63.

The G63 is the full-bore 4.0-litre V8 biturbo pumping out 585bhp and 625lbf.ft of cheer. As if that wasn’t enough, the electrification can temporarily add another 20bhp and another 147lb ft of torque. Too much is just enough. Guess which model you’re more likely to be seeing in the streets around Harrods or the Burj Khalifa. However, since the G-Wagen is doubtless going to be popular there’s the hideous risk that someone else may have a very similar model. The horror. So Mercedes makes much of the customisation programme for both interior and exterior. The ‘Manufaktur’ range will let you customise it to your personal taste, whether you’re an oligarch’s mistress or the owner of a country estate. All-terrain, all tastes, but not all pockets.

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MORE OF THE SAME FROM NEW DUSTER

acia has unveiled full details of the all-new Duster, which will go on sale in the UK later this year. The third-generation version of the high-value SUV, this replaces a vehicle whose popularity is such that the factory in Romania builds around 1000 every day. Based on a new, more modern platform, the Duster promises more space for passengers and luggage, greater stability, improved dynamic response and much lower noise levels in the cabin. The platform also points the way forward as it was designed to accommodate both mildhybrid and full-hybrid powertrains. At launch, the Duster will offer a choice of three engines. The Hybrid 140 is a full hybrid with a 1.6-litre petrol engine, 49bhp motor and high-voltage starter generator; the 100 Bi-Fuel can run on either petrol or

LPG; and the TCe 130 is a 48V mild hybrid based on a 1.2-litre triple. The latter is equipped with a six-speed manual gearbox and is the one we’re interested in as it can be had with all-wheel drive. Dacia quotes a ground clearance of 217mm for 4x4 versions, with approach angle at 31°, departure 36° and breakover 24°. Hill descent control is standard, and 4x4 models gain a palette of drive modes including Auto, Eco, Snow, Mud/Sand and Off-Road. Underbody protection is extended to shield the entire vehicle from ‘light bumps and scratches,’ while a heavy duty cabin is standard on all trim levels. There are four of these: Essential is the entry-level spec, with Expression above it adding 17” alloys, a 10.1” touch screen, phone mirroring, a reversing camera and more. There are then two parallel

range-toppers – Extreme, with roof bars, washable upholstery and rubber floor mats, and Journey, with fogs, hands-free keycard, electronic handbrake, wireless phone charging and 6-speaker ICE. Both of these also get 18” alloys, automatic air-con and an upgraded infotainment system featuring satellite navigation. There will be various options, too, when the vehicle goes on sale, the most interesting being the Sleep Pack – a box containing a double bed, tray table and storage space which a solo driver can assemble in less than two minutes. Dacia says the new Duster ‘will combine the most affordable prices in its segment with a larger passenger compartment than ever before.’ UK prices will be announced during summer 2024, with first deliveries expected in the autumn.

www.overlander4x4.co.uk

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NEWS

LAND ROVER CLOSES IN ON £200,000 DEFENDER

et ready for the Defender equivalent of the Range Rover Sport SV. Called Octa, it will go on sale later this year powered by the SV’s twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 and likely to be priced close to £200,000. ‘Original British adventure brand Defender will introduce a new high-

performance, all-terrain hero in 2024,’ says Land Rover. Actually it’s not Land Rover saying it any more, is it, because Land Rover is just a ‘trust mark’ now. But then Defender isn’t just a car, it’s an ‘adventure brand,’ so that’s alright. The same engine puts out 625bhp and 590lbf.ft in the Range Rover Sport SV,

allowing it to dismantle the 0-62 sprint in a disarmingly cheerful 3.8 seconds. It might be expected to be down-tuned for use in the Defender – though as the two vehicles are now from completely different ‘manufacturers’ within JLR’s still fabulously pompous sounding House of Brands, why should it be?

www.overlander4x4.co.uk

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Either way, the Octa will also be the first Defender with 6D Dynamics air suspension. An interlinked hydraulic system, this controls pitch and roll control to keep the vehicle near-level stance under acceleration, braking and cornering – while also allowing the maximum possible articulation on uneven terrain. Land Rover promises ‘an unparalleled breadth of capability, comfort and composure, whether on-road or off-road.’ On that subject, as well as being the toughest and most capable Defender ever, the Octa will also be the most luxurious, it sez ‘ere. To prove the point, it will have a ‘diamond-inspired signature graphic’ (or ‘badge’, to use the English language). This will appear in various place inside and outside the vehicle, including as a

gloss black diamond within a machined and sandblasted titanium disc on each Signature Graphic panel. In the words of brand boss Mark Cameron, ‘Defender has been synonymous with all-terrain capability, with a bloodline tracing back to the Series 1 in 1948.’ Those had Signature Graphic panels, too, you see. ‘New Defender Octa will take this to another level, with a dramatic stance (hands up if you’ve got ‘stance’ on your Land Rover press release bingo card), innovative technology and unparalleled attention to detail. With astounding performance and a bold new attitude, it will enable our clients to master epic adventures in heightened luxury.’ The Octa badge (sorry, signature graphic) is being seen for the first time

on this model but it won’t be the last. Fear not. In future, it will be used on every flagship version of the Defender, with the diamond image representing a combination of toughness and luxury which, it would appear, is what the vehicle is now all about. The Octa is currently ‘undergoing the most exhaustive development regime in Defender history,’ which is sure to make you feel valued if you already own one. This involves it being test driven in the snow and ice of Sweden, the deserts of Dubai desert and the slickrock of Moab, as well as on the Nürburgring. Is it really going to cost £200,000? Maybe, maybe not. But looking at the price walk up to the Range Rover Sport SV from the model below it, if they do the same again here it’s going to be mighty close.

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10-OFF BURFORD EDITION ‘THE PINNACLE OF RANGE ROVER PERSONALISATION’

hat comes into your mind when you think of the Cotswolds? A traditional agricultural landscape of rolling hills and authentic villages of honey-coloured local sandstone, perhaps? A much loved escape from the city whose aesthetics border on perfection? A community lain waste by floods of pernicious money from outside? Farmhouses priced far beyond the means of farmers and now occupied, occasionally, by millionaires from London and abroad? Behold the Range Rover SV Burford Edition which, ‘whether in the city or the idyllic Cotswolds landscape… represents the pinnacle of Range Rover personalisation.’ It’s based on the SV P615 V8 Long Wheelbase model and is

limited to just 10 units, all of them offered exclusively in the UK to existing Range Rover Autobiography and SV owners. Burford was chosen for the vehicle’s name because it’d known as the gateway to the Cotswolds and because it’s ‘synonymous with luxury rural lifestyle’ (and shop workers who have to travel in from Gloucester and Swindon every day to serve said luxury rural lifestyle, most of them presumably not in Range Rovers). Aether Grey paint, with a satin finish and metal script badging, was chosen to reflect the ‘calm and beautiful British countryside,’ as was a Light Cloud and Cinder Grey interior using woven textiles as a luxury alternative to leather. The rear seats also feature co-ordinating scatter cushions. ‘We’re immensely proud to offer this highly desirable and rare limited edition to

our most discerning UK clients,’ says JLR boss Patrick McGillycuddy. ‘The Burford Edition builds on Range Rover’s exclusivity and luxury and captures the essence of the Cotswolds – one of the most beautiful locations in the UK and the heartland of Range Rover.’ Designed by Range Rover’s SV Bespoke commissioning house, the Burford Edition is ‘an exclusive curation inspired by the Cotswolds.’ You knew the C-word was coming, didn’t you? As is the P-word, which is simply ‘on application.’ Code for if you have to ask, you can’t afford it. The base model lists at £192,000 before you start messing with the options (sorry, curating it) so we’d be surprised if the 10 clients deemed worthy of buying one take home much change out of a quarter of a million quid.

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27/01/2023 14:09:12 01/03/2024 10:34

Rights of Way

Happy Valley to be happy once more after court orders local authority to repair neglected byway

Happy Valley is a celebrated public right of way north of the Dovey estuary near Tywyn in Gwynedd. Also known as Cwm Maethlon, it’s a little more than three miles in length and is famous for its spectacular views of the mountainous landscape around it. It’s not the most challenging of lanes – it does also include some narrow and moderately tricky sections. However it has traditionally been driven as an appetiser to the nearby Horseshoe Lane (also known as Bastard Lane), which would be the technical highlight of any day out. Over the course of many years, however, Happy Valley has become a lot less of a happy place to be thanks to a cycle of damage and neglect which has allowed a localised area of moderate erosion to degenerate into an impassable barrier to progress – not just for 4x4 drivers but cyclists, horse riders and even pedestrians too. Part of the problem is that getting past

the damaged ground means detouring on to what is a protected landscape. As can often be the case, once a lane falls into this kind of disrepair it can be lost to a spiral of inertia. The damage gets worse with every vehicle that tries to get through, the local authority does nothing, the route becomes unusable, the local authority still does nothing, the route might as well never have existed. Eventually, the local authority sniffs the chance to wash its hands of a problem and puts on a TRO, temporary at first but knowing full well that it’ll just keep on renewing it until everyone gives up on the lane ever been open again. That’s not quite what happened at Happy Valley, however it’s been well over half a decade since the problems started. Responsible 4x4 users, led by the Green Lane Association (GLA), have been standing by ready to help with repairs, and for several years the lane has been under voluntary restraint to prevent further

damage to the route and the land bordering the problem section – but it has taken until now for a happy ending to show itself. Regrettably, it has taken court action to finally bring the situation to a head. Following legal action by the GLA, Llandudno Magistrates Court ordred Gwynedd Council to repair the byway so that it can once again be used by walkers, cyclists, horse riders and drivers. And in what seems like a completely unnecessary use of public money, the local authority’s unwillingness to carry out its legal duties without this compulsion has resulted in it being forced to pay the GLA’s legal fees for bringing the action. ‘There have been problems with the route for the last seven years,’ explains the Association. ‘The surface of the byway has deteriorated over time, including after damage during Storm Doris in 2018. ‘Later that year, the GLA successfully worked with Snowdonia National Park

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Authority (SNPA) to carry out repairs. The Association funded the work, which brought this section of the route back into good repair. ‘Unfortunately, a later section of the byway then deteriorated to the point where it was impassable to all users and anyone, including walkers, cyclists and horse riders, trying to use this section of the byway, had to go on to a protected landscape in order to pass through. The GLA again sought to work with SNPA to carry out repairs but these efforts were unsuccessful and the Authority, which has day-to-day responsibility for highways in the area, imposed a Traffic Regulation Order on the route to ban motorised access because the byway was in such a poor state. ‘After the GLA tried repeatedly to engage with both SNPA and Gwynedd Council about helping with repairs, the situation remained unchanged and the Association was left with no option

but to serve a Section 56 notice on Gwynedd Council, which has overall legal responsibility for highways in the area. After two procedural hearings, the council agreed to the consent order without going to trial. ‘The order states that the council must repair the surface of the route and carry out drainage work between two specified points within 12 months so that it can once again be enjoyed by all users, including those in vehicles.’ Gwynedd Council has agreed to make the right of way passable once again by September 2024. This is right at the start of the now-traditional winter TRO season, and it’s not unusual in these cases for a further six-month closure to be implemented while repairs bed in, however the good news is that like the nearby Carn March Arthur, this iconic lane will soon be repaired and ready once more to be welcome responsible users.

‘This is a great result for everyone who wants to access our countryside in a responsible way without encountering accessibility problems,’ said GLA ViceChairman Chris Mitchell. ‘This was a route that had not been maintained for several years, despite the local authority having a statutory duty to do so. ‘We would have preferred to work with the national park authority and the local authority to help carry out repair works but, unfortunately it was not possible. Taking legal action was a measure of last resort and we are pleased that so many users will now be able to enjoy the beauty of the route again, as is their right. ‘While we recognise this as a significant success in our fight against the unfair exclusion of users from public rights of way, the GLA is reminding its members, and other users, that they are expected to comply strictly with the GLA code of conduct when using the route.’

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PRODUCTS

Autosparks introduces reverseengineered wiring harnesses for Td5 Defenders From £248.27 | www.autosparks.co.uk

Autosparks has introduced a range of wiring harnesses for Td5engined versions of the Defender. The company, which specialises in electrical components as well as harnesses for classic vehicles, kit cars and OEMs, developed these items by reverse-engineering and rebuilding the harnesses and supporting cable assemblies on three different Land Rovers. These are the 90 and 110 from 1999-2003, and the 110 from 2003 on. Autosparks says further harnesses are still undergoing inspection, too, so you can expect the list to be fleshed out in the near future. ‘With TD5 engines fitted to Land Rover products from 1998,’ says the company, ‘this new addition extends the Autosparks Land Rover offering, already consisting of over 300 harnesses and battery cable sets for the Series 1 onwards, thus ensuring more classic Land Rovers stay on the road for years to come.’

Water carrying solutions from Euro4x4Parts

From €50 | www.euro4x4parts.com It’s not sexy like a winch or a set of tyres, but on proper off-road travels water transport is just about the biggest thing you need to think about. Hence these Equip’addict Autonomy tanks from Euro4x4Parts, which are designed to carry non-drinking water. Made from HDPE and ranging in capacity from 11.4 to 18.9 litres, the tanks promise a safe and reliable way of storing water and distributing it when you need it. They come with carry handles and can also be fixed to your vehicle with tailored mounting kits. Other accessories include filler plates, pumps and water level sensors kits.

Replacement panels for Defender cabin £561 (90), £720 (110) | www.mudstuff.co.uk Mud-UK has introduced a range of interior trims for the pre-2007 Land Rover Defender 90 and 110. These are made to mirror the look and feel of the original panels, by using thermoformed polypropylene sheet capped with a textured soft-touch finish. The kits are supplied with everything you’ll need to fit the panels. Apart from a pair of hands, presumably. Window panels come with a comprehensive fitting kit which, Mud says, ‘accurately mimics the original Land Rover trim fittings and fixings including the obsolete seat-belt escutcheons.’ All metalwork, meanwhile, is custom-made specifically for these kits, and of course full fitting instructions are supplied. ‘We used 3D laser scanning technology to faithfully replicate the profile of the

original Defender Station Wagon window trim panels to ensure an accurate fit,’ says Mud. The colour of the panels, meanwhile, is closer to the darker Granite Grey used in later Defenders than the light finish on early ones, which was very good at showing up every mark. A full Defender 110 kit includes Station Wagon Window Trims (pair); Rear Quarter Window Panels (pair); B-Pillar Trims (pair); Cant Rail (pair); Cant Rail Handles (pair); and all the fixings and fixtures required to successfully mount the trims, as well as full colour instructions. All these items are available to purchase separately, however if you order the whole lot together you’ll save a handy 15% over the cost of buying it all piecemeal.

www.overlander4x4.co.uk

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COMPLETE READY TO DRIVE CARS OR SELF BUILD KITS • Build manuals & full kits, & ready-made bodies available controlled speed, lights, horn, • Manual includes full component • Pre-cut panel sets and body cutting dimensions & ready-made bodies available • Battery powered DIY kits or parts • Manual includes full component For more information please contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com and body cutting dimensions For more information please contact 01291 626141

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• Build manuals & full kits, • Build controlled speed, lights, horn,manuals & full kits, controlled speed, lights, horn, • Pre-cut panel sets • Pre-cut panel sets & ready-made bodies available & ready-made bodies available • Manual includes full component • Manual includes full component and body cutting dimensions and body cutting dimensions • Battery powered DIY kits or parts • Battery powered DIY kits or parts

Knowledge is power, they say. But sometimes power is just Toylander kits and ready built vehicles power. Though you need to have the knowledge first or you available in stock, hand built cars won’t know where the power comes from. that children love to drive. Fortunately for you, you’re reading this so you know it For more information please contact 01291 626141 contact sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com Please us for more infowww.toylander.com at comes from the Terrafirma Power Station. And now you also For more information please contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com sales@toylander.com know that you can get this with the same company’s Solar For more information please contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com For more information please contact 01291 626141 sales@toylander.com www.toylander.com Power Panel thanks to a tasty bundle deal from the guys at Maltings 4x4 Store. The Power Station has a 500w, 240v AC output, a 481 watt-hour battery pack and a pure sine wave power inverter. 4x4 Magazine_2024_04_April_Toylander_QP.indd 1 27/02/2024 10:08 Its features include three 60w USB ports, three 12v DC ports, Tyres cheap. Not cheap tyres!! a cigar lighter socket and power input ports, as well as an LED information screen and all the charging cables you’ll need. So wherever you go, that’s all your portable electrical requirements covered from one power source – cameras, phones, torches, laptops, mini coolers, lighting, sorted. The Terrafirma Power Panel, meanwhile, is a foldable twosection, self-supporting, 100w solar panel that folds into its own carry case for protection when not in use. You might not turn to this kit for a major expedition, but for a camping motor it’s spot-on and you don’t need to be beneath the African sun for the solar panel to do its thing. The Power Station comes in a metal case with a sturdy carry handle. It can be charged from the mains, too giving you Main supplier of the best of both worlds.

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Storm Jeeps have a number of modified Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon's for sale, including the new 2024 facelift. More details on stock available via our website.

Tel: 01482 666491

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JEEP WRANGLER

t hardly seems like any time since Jeep brought the Wrangler JL into the world. But six model years have passed since it was first introduced; there are cars that haven’t managed to stay in production for that long, so we can forgive Jeep for giving the vehicle a mid-life facelift. You’d need to do something pretty seismic to make the Wrangler look like anything other than the Wrangler, and anyway of course that’s the last thing they’d ever want to do. Nonetheless, the big change from last year has been made to one of the most iconic and distinctive parts of the vehicle. Yes, the seven-slot grille has been redesigned. Cue ominous music. Out from a cloud of dry ice emerges the new, 2024 model year Wrangler, and… it’s still got a seven-slot grille. But look again and you’ll see that this is now flatter than before, trading the upright appearance for something more modern and assertive. Sporty, dare we suggest? Either way, it’s no longer as tall as it used to be and when you see old and new Wranglers together, you realise that actually, yes it makes quite a difference between them. There are others, too. The old model had a lil’ bitty screen (getting into character there, sorry) but the new one has a 12.3”

beast of a thing which makes a huge difference to the appearance of the dash, making it look far more modern. This now runs wireless CarPlay and Android Auto, while other new technology includes Drowsy Driver Alert, Lane Departure Warning and Traffic Sign Information. Further additional safety kit includes side curtain airbags and structural updates also aimed at improved side-impact performance, while the front seats are now 12-way adjustable and the antenna for the radio and so on is integrated into the windscreen rather than sticking up waiting to be fetched off by a low branch. Other stuff? New alloy wheel designs, and a new colour called Anvil. Which we’ll assume is dark grey, unless ‘Anvil’ is a contraction of Aston Villa and it’s claret, but we suspect not. If you like funky colours, though, later this year they’re going to be bringing Tuscadero to the UK, and that’s a bright metallic pink. Anyway, that’s quite a lot of fairly small changes to go with one or two big ones, but it all adds up to a mid-life refresh that turns the wick back up beneath a vehicle that hadn’t gone off the boil anyway. Actually, there’s one other change which relates only to the Rubicon model, which is the adoption of a Dana 44 back axle with fully

floating halfshafts. With the weight of the vehicle borne by the axle casing rather than the shaft itself, this means the shaft’s only purpose becomes to transmit power to the hub. With that much less stress on a critical component, the entire axle is stronger and more robust. What does all this mean when you’re behind the wheel? To be fair, a lot of the new tech is stuff you don’t tend to notice, but with it all working away in the background the Wrangler is as much fun as ever. Big, hefty, a bit of a handful but in a cheerful sort of a way. It’s one of these vehicles you drive and it makes you smile, so you don’t mind the compromises. In fact, for most owners the things others would see as compromises are what you like most. A seating position that’s like driving a block of flats. Ride quality that doesn’t so much smooth out the bumps as beat them into submission. There are cars that make a 10-hour journey tolerable because you never notice them. Rather than making it tolerable, the Wrangler would turn a 10-hour journey into an adventure. Hell if you don’t get what it’s about, an absolute blast if you do. Not that we got to spend ten hours on board during the vehicle’s launch, but we did get to drive it up Fremington Edge and that’s

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about as good as a trail riding experience gets round here these days. We were in a Sahara model for the road sections to and from the lane, and we’d have been perfectly happy to use it on the famously steep and stony climb (if you don’t know Fremington, check it out – a treat awaits), but one of the other journalists in the group wanted photos of themselves in a red one so we gad to jump into a waiting Rubicon for this part of the route. Damn. As it has been since the previousgeneration Wrangler first came to Britain in 2007, the Rubicon has been the ‘tuned’ offroad model. As well as the aforementioned fully floating back axle, it gains deeper low-range gearing, push-button front anti-roll bar disconnects, electronic locking front and rear diffs and BFG Mud-Terrains on 17” rims (the Sahara has 18” road rubber). The list also used to include rock sliders under the sills, but all Wranglers get that now. The turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol engine is still there too (no, they’ve still not let us have the 392 V8), dishing out a revvy 272bhp and 296lbf.ft which, in normal road trim, goes straight to the rear wheels. This can make things very entertaining when you’re pulling away from a T-junction, especially in the wet, but these days the

Wrangler’s transfer case also has a full-time four-wheel drive position with an open centre diff, allowing you to use it on the road with the reassurance of all-wheel drive. If you owned an XJ Cherokee back in the day, it’s basically the same as that. You might put it in two-wheel drive for the motorway (and if you want to draw attention to yourself by smoking a rear wheel at junctions, of course) but that apart, we’d leave it in four the whole time. We didn’t need to use the lockers on Fremington, but we disconnected the front anti-roll bar and could just about discern some extra freedom in the movement of the Wrangler’s nose relative to the horizon. It’s for much more extreme stuff than you’ll find anywhere on our sadly lobotomised green lane network, to be fair. But one feature that certainly did work well was Select-Speed Control. This lets you choose a target speed, which you can knock up and down using the gear selector in its manual position, and the Wrangler will stick to it. We set 3mph and from the bottom of the climb to the top, all we had to do was steer. Whether it would be any help on the sort of rocks where you’re travelling at fractions of a mile per hour, we can’t say, but for general trail work it’s a very worthwhile tool to have in your box.

’Tool’ is a word people sometimes use to describe battered old Land Rovers or Nissan Patrols. We’re old enough to want to add Lada Nivas to that list, too. Either way, you’re unlikely to hear anyone saying it about a Wrangler. It’s not a doughty workhorse of a thing: it’s a statement, a fantasy, the biggest of big boys’ toys, whatever… but it’s also a world-class off-road vehicle. The best? Well, that’s a question for another day. But no-one else can match Jeep’s heritage, and it’s a heritage which the company continues to build rather than just trading on it. The engineering know-how that goes into the Wrangler is time-served like no other. And with the Sahara costing £61,125 and the Rubicon £63,125, it now undercuts anything comparable by a long way. Not that there is much to compare it to. The Wrangler is an individual vehicle for individual people, and if it’s right for you then not a lot else will be. If it was right for you before this facelift, it still is now. It looks a little sharper, it has a much better media set-up and the stuff going on behind the scenes keeps it up to date. But it’s still the Wrangler, same as ever. We’d have loved it with that V8 engine, but at least you’ll soon be able to buy a pink one. What’s not to love?

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JEEP GRAND CHEROKEE SUMMIT RESERVE

hat goes ZJ, WG, WK, WK2, WL? That’s a sequence with no apparent rhyme or reason, to be sure; but if you know your Jeeps, you’ll recognise it as the five generations of Grand Cherokee. You used to see loads of them on the road, but then the financial crash happened, the market caught a cold over big, traditional 4x4s and though there’s been a whole model cycle since then, the Grand has never recovered its old position as an up-for-it allrounder for the working man, with not much subtlety but swathes of leather, lots of kit and a price real people could afford. Cars like that don’t make big margins, and with the numbers taking an inevitable hit there was only one way for the Grand to stay profitable. So upmarket she goes. See also Land Rover Defender, Toyota Land Cruiser and Ineos Grenadier. The Grenadier was going to cost thirty-five grand, they said. The Cruiser did cost thirty-five grand, not so

long ago. Now everything is laden with kit, every single bit of it marked up to get the max out of every single punter, and you’re shelling for Dom Perignon when all you wanted was a tin of Irn Bru. Or is it? Let’s look at the price list. It starts at £69,915 for the Limited and climbs to £85,615 for the Summit Reserve. In between are the Trailhawk (hurrah! Ot should that be yee-ha?) at £73,915 and the Overland at £75,915. The Trailhawk won’t be the big seller, but it’s the one we’re instantly drawn towards because in Jeep speak, the name means ‘let’s off-road.’ It comes with a range of good stuff including air-suspension, disconnecting front anti-roll bar, limitedslip rear diff, underbody skid plates and all-terrain tyres on 18” rims. There’s more too, but that should be enough to give you the picture. Unfortunately the Trailhawk only comes in black, unless you pay another £1100 for a

two-tone finish. Seems like someone down Jeep way doesn’t know what the worst colour is for showing up scratches when you’ve been off-road. Either that or they don’t think any of their customers will ever leave the tarmac behind, even in this model. Which would be a shame. Because even though the vehicle we got to drive on the UK launch was a top-spec Summit Reserve, with 21” wheels and a firm focus on luxury, it was still effortlessly capable on a series of green lanes including one of the most challenging Britain has left. That should be no surprise. The Grand Cherokee is Trail Rated, which means Jeep’s engineers have done the Rubicon in it. And if you’ve had the good fortune to experience that route among routes, you’ll know that the most extreme terrain Britain’s lanes have to offer would count as a tame liaison section between the interesting bits over there. Deep, tyre-clogging mud apart, you’ll find little here to test it.

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Every Grand Cherokee has a dualrange transfer case. This is pretty much fundamental to making the vehicle what it is. It also has a 1995cc turbocharged petrol engine, which is a far cry from the big V8s of old, but it’s part of a plug-in hybrid system that puts out 280bhp and 470lbf. ft. Emissions are from 60-69g/km; fuel economy is currently under homologation, but a 6.3-second 0-62 time ought to keep you happy in the meantime.

It’s predictably cushy on the road, isolating you very well without leaving you wondering where you are. It’s taut, precise and smooth to drive, with no shortage of immediacy when you need it, yet it also feels lazily comfy the way a Grand Cherokee should, all wood and leather and armchair luxury. You instinctively sit back and relax when driving it, enjoying the king-of-the-road vibes that wash over you the moment you climb on board. The model tested has nappa leather and lovely wood inlays which look all the more convincing for not being polished to within an inch of their lives. This means the steering wheel no longer feels like a bar of soap in the bath, too, which can’t be a bad thing. The cabin is elegantly laid out, with a nicely integrated media screen and a businesslike looking bank of switches for the off-road systems at the front end of the floor console. There’s no denying it felt very nice indeed – an impression which, on a hail-swept Yorkshire moor, could hardly help but be strengthened by a driver’s seat that gently toasts you while at the same time giving you a massage. Off-roading an old Willys MB was never like this. At first impression, the front of the Grand Cherokee is definitely the place

to be. There’s a monumental range of adjustability in the seats, and if you use it all up you’ll make the back pretty inhospitable for anyone close to adult-sized. We didn’t have time on the launch to fully examine the cabin for its accommodation, but that was a strong if somewhat surprising first impression – tempered by the rear seats folding down to leave what looked not so much like a boot as a self-propelled hangar. Not because it’s sparse, because it’s huge. Certainly, our impression is that the Grand Cherokee remains as usable and up-for-it as ever – albeit in a rather more sophisticated way than it once was. It was a bit of a well-heeled bar room brawler back in the days of the WG and WK; with the WK2 it went from John Wayne to Warren Beatty, if you get that notion, and now it’s gone a little further still in that direction – without losing the steel that made it an honest toiler among fancy dans in the first place. Now, with the arrival of this fifthgeneration Grand, it’s more of a fancy dan itself than ever before. But its appetite for honest toil remains as profound as ever. It’s the real thing, this – whatever the initials say, a Grand Cherokee is still very much a Grand Cherokee, and hurrah (sorry, yee-ha) for that.

Summit Reserve model sits on top of a four-strong range, delivering kit and luxury by the yard. We’re attracted straight to the Trailhawk, which is the off-road focused one, but every Grand Cherokee is built to tackle serious terrain – Jeep knows how to cherish its heritage June 2024 I Overlander 4x4

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SUBARU CROSSTREK

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here was a time when Subaru was just about the sexiest car brand in the world. It was a time of Richard Burns and Colin McRae, of the SVX coupe showing Beemer lads what cool looked like and countless hot Imprezas showing wide boys in Porsches and Ferraris what fast looked like. But it was also a time of cool wagons. The Legacy and Forester were born from everyday cars but they had all-wheel drive and, oh God yes, low range. Low range! To know them was to love them. The Legacy spawned the Outback and it also became available, for all too short a time, with a glorious quad-cam turbo engine that turned it into one of the all-time great street sleepers. Subaru was riding the crest of a wave – its cars were so sexy, they even made practicality look cool. Somewhere along the line, the fun factor disappeared. Subaru is no longer a brand young lads aspire to being seen in. But it still pretty much defined the crossover estate market, which has seen many other names come and go – and to know it is still to love it. The Outback and Forester are hugely popular among country dwellers, and once you’ve owned one you tend never to want anything else. Subaru’s smaller crossover, the XV, came in two generations ago to add a smaller, more urban-friendly option beneath its two illustrious brothers. It did well enough and won a couple of class victories in our 4x4 of the Year awards, but now it’s gone. Or not. Ever since it was first introduced in 2012, it’s been getting sold under different names in different markets, but following the introduction of the latest model Subaru has decided to stick with one for everybody. So in place of the XV, we now have the Crosstrek. What are the differences? Well, it says Crosstrek on it now. But it still looks and feels a lot like the XV did, which is no bad thing. But the body has been revised, with a new grille the main thing to see, and inside the cabin there’s a much improved media system based around an 11.6” touchscreen. There are detail changes, too. The seats have been improved to combat fatigue and a focused sound deadening effort has gone in to reducing noise in specific frequency ranges that cause greatest disturbance to cabin refinement, while underneath the vehicle Subaru’s engineers have worked to achieve a smoother air flow – something

which, the company says, has resulted in less lift on the front tyres and a reduction in rear body sway caused by trapped air. On top of this, the Crosstrek is based on the latest version of Subaru’s Global Platform, whose rigidity has been improved by 10% over the old XV – which already had the world’s best crash-test score for child occupant protection when it was new. Talking safety, the latest version of Subaru’s EyeSight technology is standard, with a wider field of vision and quicker reactions than before. There are two models in the Crosstrek range, the £34,290 Limited and £36,290 Touring. The latter gets a slew of extras including 18” alloys, high beam assist, a sunroof and a dual-function version of the familiar X-Mode system, adding further to what the vehicle can offer off-road.

Surrealism

And let’s get straight into that. The XV could do remarkable things on steep, rough and even muddy terrain, with an ability to find traction that was verging on the surreal. And the Crosstrek carries on where its predecessor left off. Aided by a standard auto box, it can scale remarkably steep gradients. On the way down the other side, you’re looking at one of the most effective hill descent systems around – this is the kind of 4x4 that needs one, of course, and it works without drama to prevent it from running away even when you’re hanging in your seatbelt. Given the grip, it could crawl down a cliff. Grip is of course always an issue on relatively low-profile road tyres, and there are things a set of 35” muds will do that the Crosstrek’s standard 17” and

18” fitments won’t. But even then, it’s remarkable how little it slips and slides, even on wet and relatively slick surfaces. Either the mechanical tractability built in to its drivetrain is overwhelming, or you’re witnessing traction control operating so smoothly you don’t even notice it. Both, we’d guess. The suspension is short-stroke by off-road standards, but it follows the contours of the ground nice and smoothly while also allowing a pleasingly Subaru-like degree of handling on the road. Here, the steering gains feel with speed, making it more enjoyable when you’re pushing on than ambling around. The body crouches positively in corners and of course there’s no end of grip, so once you’re used to it you can have fun on fast B-roads, however at slower speeds on poorer roads the suspension is fussier than we’d like, allowing bumps through into the cabin that don’t do anything for the feeling of calm. This was already disturbed by an engine note that gets rather loud and coarse when the 1.6-litre hybrid unit is working hard, so we didn’t come away from this first drive overly impressed by the vehicle’s refinement. What we do like is its improved cabin layout, excellent practicality and up-for-it dynamics – plus, of course, it’s off-road ability, which continues to impress every much as the XV’s used to. Subaru says it’s a brand people choose because they NEED one, which is why you see so many of them in the countryside – and like its awardwinning forebear, that’s exactly where this latest Subaru will show other crossovers how it’s done. Subaru might not be the world’s sexiest car maker any more – but if you know what it can do, you’ll still want it as much as ever.

Cabin retains much that was good about the old XV, but the dash is now based around an excellent 11.6” touchscreen June 2024 I Overlander 4x4

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CROSSROADS OF THE ANCIENTS Weaving a strand of the Silk Road through Georgia, where the Old World stands firm Words and pictures: Chris Collard

‘S

o you wanted to kill Russians, yes?’ I considered this unexpected statement as I manoeuvred around a hairpin turn, a steep wall of stone to my left and a sheer cliff to the right. I glanced at Vsevolod, my co-driver, whom I had informed that I wanted to be an Air Force fighter pilot during my younger days as a nascent aviator. He was a lanky and energetic guy, about my age, who was rumoured to have a past as chequered as a New York taxi. I knew little of him, except that he had been

a soldier in the Soviet army and served in Cuba. For all I knew he was a sniper, sites trained on Uncle Sam’s best just across a razor-wire fence in Guantanamo Bay. My thoughts spiralled into a time warp of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Cold War and superpowers with itchy fingers on big red buttons. Paranoia set in. I was an American among a group of Russians in a land on which my country had its nuclear crosshairs for decades. Maybe they wanted to dispatch one more Yankee for old times’ sake? I gave him a no-bull eye. ‘If I wanted to kill Russians, I’d drive this car off that cliff and

jump out just in time to watch you fall. But today, I like Russians.’ A beaming grin spread across his face. ‘Yes, and I like Americans! We must stop and drink chacha and toast that we don’t want to kill each other!’ Na Zdorovie! I had arrived in Moscow a few days earlier, where my friend Vitaly had arranged an extended test drive in a UAZ Patriot (a mid-size SUV, but not a soft-roder). We piled our gear in the back and headed south toward the Greater Caucasus Mountains and a two-week exploration of one of the planet’s most mystical quarters.

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This was Georgia, an ancient land steeped in the entangled annals of Old World religion, politics and trade. Resting on the cusp of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it was once a crossroad of commerce, a thread of the Silk Road where cultures of the known world had throughout millennia been swept into a cyclical torrent of conflict and concord. Considering the protracted cast of characters that have poured into this whirlpool of humanity to control its resources – the Romans, Mongols, Ottomans, Persians and Russians – its

The author’s UAZ Patriot is a mid-size SUV from the makers of the legendary 452. Others in the group drove a VW Amarok (main pic) and Toyota FJ Cruiser, which may sat something… June 2024 I Overlander 4x4

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In a land that’s been invaded by innumerable occupiers down the centuries, the Christian faith has been a rock for Georgian culture. Bee keeping is a different kind of tradition, with artisan honey on sale everywhere

people have remained resilient, preserving a culture that is uniquely Georgian.

Colliding Cultures

The Greater Caucasus range rises to more than 18,000 feet in elevation and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the east to the Black Sea to the west, forming a natural border between the vast farmlands of southwestern Russia and the Middle East. Winters are harsh and settlements to the north and east, accessed only by high-elevation dirt switchbacks, are isolated from the world during much of the year. After ascending the mother of all switchbacks to Abano Pass, tall columns of stone strategically positioned on a high outcrop came into view as we descended the northern slope to the hamlet of Ardoti. Constructed of carefully stacked layers of shale, in ancient times these were sentry

posts where members of the community kept a vigilant eye on access points, warning others of invading clans. Trees of any measure were few, evidence of thousands of years’ occupation and of the need for wood to build shelters, ox carts and battering rams. Darkness encroached as we set up camp at the edge of a gently flowing river. Some 300 feet above, dusk revealed the ghostly form of structures, silhouetted in the waning light. How life must have been for the souls who lived in this remote and forgotten land a thousand years ago, I wondered to myself as the moonlight washed the valley. I awoke to the gentle chorus of clanging cowbells resonating through the canyon. A figure appeared on a narrow track leading down from the edifice. Nicholi Ardotelli approached and we offered him tea, a universal gesture of friendship. Weathered

skin conveyed a laborious existence, but his youthful smile and gleam in his eyes told a different story. He shared that his family had lived here for centuries, tending cattle and growing crops in small patches of soil along the river. His family, along with the rest of the villagers, had moved to the city in recent decades. But he remained to watch over his 82 cows, determined to keep his community’s legacy from slipping into obscurity. Nicholi’s message would be a recurring theme in the following weeks.

Spiritual Roots

As is the case in many areas of the world, religious conviction has driven Georgia’s political landscape for millennia. It has not only shaped the character of its people but also a spectacular architectural panorama. According to historical record, apostles Peter and Andrew began spreading the

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Trees were few, evidence of thousands of years’ occupation and of the need for wood to build shelters, ox carts and battering rams

teachings of Christ here in the 1st Century. By the mid-4th Century, Christianity was acknowledged as the official state religion, and this common belief system the bond that has held Georgian culture together through feast and famine, war and occupation. Early domiciles of worship were no more than dank caverns carved from sandstone cliffs. But as technology advanced, grand temples, cathedrals and monasteries began to dot the landscape. In the north, we walked through Gergeti Trinity Church, a magnificent 14th Century cathedral perched on an isolated mountain top. To the south, near the Azerbaijani border, we peeked into the cave dwellings of 6th Century monks. While some have been preserved and restored, attracting modest tourist traffic, we passed many that clung to lonely cliff walls; only the seasons remain to hear their tales of time immemorial.

After camping near the village of Aspindza, we followed a steep, newly cut two-track up the mountain and through a window to antiquity. Constructed in the 5th Century, there are few records of when the architects of the Shoreti Monastery moved on. These were centuries of war and strife, and invading forces usually destroyed most traces of opposing religions. Renovation of the site had begun recently, but we were free to explore at will. I passed through dark and musty stone corridors, under Roman-style archways and into a dimly lit chamber, the earth crackling with each step. As my pupils adjusted, a pair of eyes came into view, and then another. My heart skipped a beat and a chill shot through my spine. I slowly looked down. The crunching sound underfoot was not that of small stones but thousands of bone fragments, slowly dispersed by the

forces of nature from a macabre collection of skeletal remains in the corner. In many cultures, the tradition is to dismantle the remains of kings, dignitaries and spiritual leaders, preserving part of their physical being to guide future generations. I was standing amid holy deacons of another era. Kneeling down, I stroked their dusty and fissured craniums, pondered their lives and wondering if God had delivered them to the divine hereafter.

Chacha Cha

There is much to be learned about a culture by studying the nuances of the daily life of its people: what they eat, how and when they drink, causes for festival and dance and why a funeral may be a celebration of one’s life or the bereavement of their passing. We asked the archaeologist at Shoreti if he knew of a good place for

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lunch, and he directed us to a back street café in Aspindza. In the corner near an old soda machine, two men played a board game, intermittently taking drags from a shared cigarette. After ordering khachapuri, khinkali and chacha, a Georgian spirit distilled from the husks of crushed wine grapes, I wandered outside to explore. Hearing voices, I passed through an open pair of wood doors into a large banquet room. Its occupants, dressed in black, looked up at me simultaneously; they were a bit perplexed by this stranger that had disrupted their family wake. A woman who was a wife, mother, aunt and sister

had passed away, and the gathering was a celebration of her life. An awkward moment. Nodar Peridez, the head cook, approached bearing a half-smile. He kindly escorted me out and into the kitchen area, where several women were preparing a feast. A dressed goat appeared, along with a side of beef. They were morning-fresh, as refrigeration is limited and most livestock here goes from hoof to platter in a matter of days. Picking up a large knife and an axe, with the precision of a diamond cutter he proceeded to whittle the carcasses down to bite-sized morsels. After lunch I met a group of men in the courtyard. They were passing a plastic jug

of wine, pouring a measure into a hollowedout horn and tipping it until dry. The younger man was the decedent’s nephew. He told me his aunt had adopted him when his parents passed away, and we proceeded to pass the horn, honouring her life.

Nectar of the Gods

The years following the break-up of the Soviet Union were difficult for Georgians. Economic support ceased, factories closed as Russian military orders dried up and infrastructure systems such as banking needed to be created from a semi-blank canvas. On a micro level, communities turned inward, falling back on centuries of

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Overlander4x4_2024_06_June_SV Tech_FP.indd 1

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NORWICH 282a Heigham St. NR2 4LZ 01603 766402 NORTHAMPTON Beckett Retail Park, St James’ Mill Rd 01604 267840 NOTTINGHAM 211 Lower Parliament St. 0115 956 1811 PETERBOROUGH 417 Lincoln Rd. Millﬁeld 01733 311770 PLYMOUTH 58-64 Embankment Rd. PL4 9HY 01752 254050 POOLE 137-139 Bournemouth Rd. Parkstone 01202 717913 PORTSMOUTH 277-283 Copnor Rd. Copnor 023 9265 4777 PRESTON 53 Blackpool Rd. PR2 6BU 01772 703263 SHEFFIELD 453 London Rd. Heeley. S2 4HJ 0114 258 0831 SIDCUP 13 Blackfen Parade, Blackfen Rd 0208 3042069 SOUTHAMPTON 516-518 Portswood Rd. 023 8055 7788 SOUTHEND 1139-1141 London Rd. Leigh on Sea 01702 483 742 STOKE-ON-TRENT 382-396 Waterloo Rd. Hanley 01782 287321 SUNDERLAND 13-15 Ryhope Rd. Grangetown 0191 510 8773 SWANSEA 7 Samlet Rd. Llansamlet. SA7 9AG 01792 792969 SWINDON 21 Victoria Rd. SN1 3AW 01793 491717 TWICKENHAM 83-85 Heath Rd.TW1 4AW 020 8892 9117 WARRINGTON Unit 3, Hawley’s Trade Pk. 01925 630 937 WIGAN 2 Harrison Street, WN5 9AU 01942 323 785 WOLVERHAMPTON Parkﬁeld Rd. Bilston 01902 494186 WORCESTER 48a Upper Tything. WR1 1JZ 01905 723451

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tradition. As nationalised land was returned to the public, small-scale agriculture and the production of staples began to fill the void and jump-start a lagging economy. Passing hundreds of small farms, where the earth was being turned by steel spades drawn behind beasts of burden, it was difficult to fathom the fact that agriculture accounts for nearly half the country’s GDP and occupies 25% of its labour force. Fortunately for us, and the world, Georgians love wine. Boy, do they love their wine. Historical accounts reflect a culture immersed in wine making dating back to around 300 years before Christianity. During the span of two millennia, Georgians have

developed nearly 500 specific strands of the fruit, and there is nary a home with an arable patch of soil that does not include grapes. Unless you are hell-bent on uncorking a glass bottle, this juice of the gods can be found in cart-based roadside kiosks nearly everywhere – no worse for being served in recycled plastic bottles. Rolling into the village of Ambrolauri late one night, we found a guesthouse with $6 beds. While Western standards would mark it as a flophouse (it looked the part), the foreboding two-story structure was the previous mansion of a wealthy merchant, its magnificent halls adorned with spectacular floor-to-ceiling murals of the region. The

owner, Katia, was refurbishing the home in hopes of attracting a slowly budding tourist industry. She shared a detailed account of its past, that her family had been in the region for generations and were vintners, and asked if we would like to visit their home the next morning. A narrow dirt path along terraced vineyards guided us to what was once a grand estate. Katia’s father, an elderly man in his mid-70s who had acquired the land upon Georgia’s emancipation, greeted us. After showing us around the house, he walked us through vineries and to a courtyard bordered by weathered tool sheds and workshops. His son, David, stepped

As is so often the case, when the modern world first comes to a nation it has to exist alongside very traditional ways. Georgians hold on proudly to the life that has sustained their culture against all the odds

How must life have been for the souls who lived in this remote and forgotten land a thousand years ago?

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into the centre of the yard and tapped his walking stick on the damp soil. He raised an eyebrow and grinned as it responded in a hollow thud. He explained that his grandmother, while working in the garden, had discovered a patch of stone. Further investigation revealed a dozen vessels, large hidden wine vats from the communist era. Removing a lid, he retrieved a sample of the fragrant liquid with a large gourd ladle. David’s mother and sister appeared with platters of khachapuri, a traditional flatbread topped with cheese and spice, and we feasted on this uniquely Georgian experience. Before moving on, they filled our arms with plastic bottles of wine and paper-wrapped bundles of cheesy delight, for which they refused compensation.

War and Gouda

After camping near the Azerbaijani border, on the tranquil shores of the Black Sea, and walking through dozens of 1st Millennium monasteries, we made our way north-west to South Ossetia. While most of the region is politically stable and seemingly peaceful, in the years leading up to and following the demise of the Soviet Union, a number of civil uprisings and military conflicts sent bloody tremors across the country. The heart of these disputes lay in the self-proclaimed independent states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, where Russian-backed separatists clashed with supporters of a unified Georgia. As recently as 2008, the two parties have engaged in merciless battles over the disputed north-west. Although artillery shells ceased to fall a decade ago, many issues are still unresolved. Avoiding the disputed zones, we skirted the western edge of South Ossetia, stopping at a guesthouse in the lee of Ushba, a mountain known as the ‘Matterhorn of the Caucasus.’ The proprietor, Raya, excitedly said that I was the first American to visit since she purchased the property 22 years prior. Her outpouring of hospitality, as was the case with everyone I encountered, was humbling. However, when I delicately presented a question about the conflicts that swept the area, her reservations were clear. Memories of difficult times are still close to the surface. Dodging herds of cattle, sheep and goats, we passed through alpine hamlets fortified by the stacked-shale towers that typify the Caucasus. Glaciers, pressed by

gravity and the elements, poured into the valleys in a centuries-long race to the sea. We stopped at a small shop to buy Gouda, a lightly salted cheese made with sheep’s milk. Behind a small wooden table stacked with pale yellow rounds in various sizes, a warm burst of light bounced through an open door of the faded-green structure. I asked the proprietor for permission to enter, to which I received a perplexed shrug and wave of approval. Anna, a woman in her mid-30s, was engaged in the timehonoured toil of bread making. Flames whipped toward the ceiling as she shoved bundles of twigs into the tone, a large clay open-top furnace that occupied the centre of the room. Forming clumps of dough into long crescents, she leaned in quickly and slapped them against the inner walls. Through my viewfinder, I watched in awe as she transformed flour and water into shoti (traditional bread). A few minutes later, I was squeezing fresh honey from a used plastic soda bottle on to piping hot bread and slabs of salty Gouda – a meal fit for a king. The deeper I immersed myself in Georgia, the better I came to understand its resilient people and their culture. They embraced the west and the prospect of lasting peace, while tenaciously protecting that which is truly Georgian – Christianity, centuries-old family ties, khachapuri, shoti and handmade wine. Turning north toward Moscow and the Darial Pass, the site of the fabled Gates of Alexander, I realised I hadn’t even scratched the surface of this crossroads of the ancients, a confluence of the Old World placed squarely at the junction of colliding continents. After more than 6000 kilometres, my little UAZ Patriot, with its solid front and rear axles, manual transmission, and proper two-speed transfer case, earned big points in my book. It was comfortable and capable and daintily sipped fuel. As for my Russian comrades, we had refrained from killing each other, and our governments’ propaganda-machine paranoia of snipers and big red buttons had dissolved long before the last horn of chacha was passed around our closing campfire. It will be obvious that this tale dates from before the invasion of Ukraine, but I have no doubt that if I were somehow able to make the same journey again, we would still be comrades now just as surely as ever. Na Zdorovie!.

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Land Rovers are returning to Newark Showground this June for a Summer Sunday filled with Land Rovers. Exhibitors old and new will join us, selling everything from parts & accessories to tyres, clothing and toys. Talk to overland adventure specialists about your next trip, discuss modification options with companies with the know-how and other experienced Land Rover owners.

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GETTING THE WILLYS T

he Jeep Willys Dispatcher Concept – there’s quite a bit to unpack in that name. Well, perhaps you’re familiar enough with the Jeep part and you’re doubtless aware that the company routinely showcases a series of concepts at the annual Warn Easter Jeep Safari. In the case of this Easter there were four new ideas presented amid the soaring grandeur of the Utah red rock terrain, but we’re going to home in on just one. What do you think when you look at the Willys Dispatcher? What you’re meant to think – as opposed to that very unsettling and weird thought you just had – is to think of the post-World War II civilian Jeep. Which is very much where you get the Willys. The ubiquitous Jeep was made in the hundreds of thousands during the war by mainly two companies. Jeep was one and the other was Willys. Less than a month before the Zeroes appeared over Pearl Harbour, Willys-Overland signed agreements with Ford to simply hand the bigger company its own blueprints for the General Purpose Willys.

Although the two companies made virtually identical vehicles, you could tell the Willys in a few ways but one of them was that WILLYS was stamped into the bodywork, on the front of the bonnet above the grille and under the jerrycan on the rear. And, lo and behold, what do we see stamped into the sides of the concept’s bonnet, in the same blocky capitals? But of course this Wrangler-based concept is not just a hark back, it’s a look forward. The original Willys had the famous Go-Devil engine and a jolly fine four-cylinder unit it was, pumping out a reliable 63bhp. Rather better than Ford’s original effort in their Jeep which used a Ferguson Dearborn tractor engine, complete with an ancient Model A three-speed transmission and no sign of synchromesh. But of course this is – *checks notes* – the 21st Century. Which means we have to focus not on oil wells but on coal and wood pellets to feed the power stations that provide some of the motive force for this most modern of vehicles. Which, looking at it one way, means it’s coal-powered, which really is progress isn’t it?

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But at least, as the smellies would be quick to point out, this means that the aforementioned soaring grandeur etc is not exposed to so much exhaust pollution at that point. And it means you get the 4xe 2.0-litre plug-in hybrid ‘propulsion system’ (it’s like an ‘engine’) so you have 375bhp to play with, backed up by 470lb ft of torque, which is going to be mighty useful when you’re scrabbling for grip on those smooth, high rocks at Moab. All this feeds through an eight-speed auto and from there it goes through two hefty Dana 50 axles to the old-school 16in alloy ‘steelies’ which are shod with 36in Super Traxion tyres. Whether I’d trust a tyre

that isn’t even spelt right is another matter, but if it all fails then there is a hefty Warn 8274 winch on an old-style bumper. Anyway, we rather like those creamcoloured steelies, particularly when they are offset by the rather luscious Element 115 Green paintwork – no chance of blending into the background with this thing. That’s a strange choice of name by the way. Element 115 is Moscovium which was, as the name suggests, jointly discovered by a team of Russian and American scientists. It has a half-life of 220 milliseconds. Your Jeep may need regular respraying. If you find that thought distressing then you’ll love the interior, where we find a rather

Typical of a Moab build, the interior looks like a gentleman’s club

How strong is the Dana 50 axle? Well, the Rubicon that tops the Wrangler range for off-road preparedness is upgraded to the Dana 44, and the higher the number the heavier-duty it is. So you needn’t expect them to throw a toy out of the pram at the sort of loadings a 36” tyre and standard 2.0-litre engine can put through them

www.overlander4x4.co.uk

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The dash treatment is not a dealer option. The media screen is now standard, though

Next time someone tells you that only alloy wheels can be truly cool, show them this Jeep. The Dispatcher looks awesome with its 36” tyres on 16” steels

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This Wrangler-based concept is not just a hark back, it’s a look forward

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gentleman’s drawing room combination of houndstooth cloth, and saddle leather which has already been distressed to match its owner. Once again, we’re transported back, although not so far back that we’re perched on really uncomfortable thinly-padded cotton duck seats. The vibe is old-school club rather than Spartans at Thermopylae. Naturally there is the whole range of dials, luxuries (or ‘essentials’ as they’re now known) and information displays but it’s fairly practical too. There’s viny on the floor and you get a JPP onboard air compressor which actually would be useful in Moab since most folk want to reduce tyre pressures before tackling the daunting smooth rock faces.

We know Jeep doesn’t just do this for the fun of it – although that’s a good enough reason for many of us. Jeep Performance Parts are trialled in these concepts and many make their way into production, even if the whole vehicle does not. There’s something joyous about this concept too. The ebullient style of the interior, the steelie rims, the light touch connecting post-war Jeep and current wars-going-on Jeep. Imagine Land Rover or Range Rover (or JLR as apparently they’re only known as now) doing something this great and this lighthearted. When was the last time a JLR 4x4 ad or concept or anything made you smile like this Jeep makes you smile?.

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THE RIGHT STUFF

Toyota’s full-size Tundra pick-up is about to be made in right-hand drive. And Ironman 4x4 has showcased one with a hardcore camping build. Tempted…? Words: Kaziyoshi Sasazaki Pictures: Ironman 4x4

ast month, we featured a Toyota RAV4 built by Ironman’s US importer as a kind of medium-core off-road demo motor for the 2023 SEMA show. Lifted on heavy-duty +2” suspension and equipped with steel bumper guards, an engine and gearbox skid plate, auxiliary lights and roof bars ﬁt for a tent, it looked purposeful, ready for action and a whole lot cooler than anything you’ll see on the average school run – and though we’ve not driven it, we’d willingly take it on to the trails for a few weeks in the wilderness. But the RAV4 wasn’t the only Toyota on the Ironman stand. We love trucks at SEMA, and I love Toyotas everywhere (growing up in Aichi does that to you), so it wasn’t long before I was smitten by a mean looking Tundra standing proud among the other cool rigs down Ironman way.

The Tundra is Toyota’s full-size pick-up, which of course means it’s made for North America only. Having said that, an initial batch of 300 was sent to Australia last year to be converted to right-hand drive and sent out to selected lease customers for evaluation – following which, it’s expected to go on sale Down Under in 2025 with a price tag of $150,000 – very nearly as much as the new Land Cruiser will cost in the UK. So the message from this is that if you really want a right-hand drive Tundra in the UK, it’ll cost a small fortune but you’ll be able to get one. And Ironman’s show truck might make you want one a little more. It sits on the Aussie company’s +2.5” Foam Cell Pro Suspension Lift Kit, making space for a set of 35x12.50R18 Toyo Open Country R/Ts on Raceline wheels. If you’re

going to make a truck look meaner, that’s a pretty sure-ﬁre way to start. A premium Overland front bumper helps here, too, especially as there’s a 12,000lb Monster winch bolted to it. This is wound with synthetic rope, even if the only sign of this is that there’s a hawse fairlead attached in front of the mount rather than a set of rollers. There’s another Overland bumper at the back, too, protecting the truck all round against the sort of hard knocks it’s bound to get when someone starts using that suspension properly.

Heavy-duty

In between, a set of heavy-duty side steps promises to protect the sills and doors. It’s well lifted, this truck, but it is still a double-cab and we all know what those are like on sharp breakovers. The steps have a

www.overlander4x4.co.uk

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Ironman’s +2.5” Foam Cell Pro suspension lift keeps control over the Tundra’s body movements while making space for a set of 35x12.50R18 Toyo muds. And that’s a lot of weight to handle – especially with heavy-duty bumpers hung over both its front and rear ends

grippy section to tread on, but I took a look underneath and mainly what I saw was a set of very heavy-duty mounting arms. They’re made to take the truck’s weight when you sit it on a rock or stump (and that’s a whole lot of weight). Something else there’s a whole lot of on this Tundra is lights. I think I counted 14 on the front of the truck alone, but apologies to Ironman if I missed some. There’s a bank of four Score 7” LED combination driving lights on the bull bar – is it just me, or are rounds lights making a comeback after all these years of long bars? Then there’s a pair of compact LED cubes in what my hotrodding buddies would call the Appleton position at the base of the windshield posts. Add in a set of LED rock lights and you have a truck capable of taking you over the Rubicon in a one-night ride.

“You have a truck capable of taking you over the Rubicon in a one-night ride” Not that you want to rush it, of course. Getting out into the wilderness is all about just enjoying being out in the wilderness, which means camping – and if you look carefully at the back of the Tundra, you’ll see a Nomad 1300 hard-shell roof tent mounted over the bed. It’s pretty rare for a vehicle to be able to carry something like this without ending up about twice its stock height, but this one manages to keep it all below its roof line. Not sure if aerodynamics will be your main thought if you’re building a rig like this, but since the Australian version is powered by a

hybrid version of Toyota’s 3.4-litre V6 mill someone’s obviously trying to keep on top of its thirst for gas, so hey. There’s a slide-away tonneau cover beneath the tent – manually operated, though Ironman did also demonstrate a cool electric one at SEMA. Then down below, they’ve installed a powered 8-gallon food-grade water tank. For sure, there’s still more to add if you want to build a full camping rig. But this is a pretty neat starting point – I sure wouldn’t mind taking it home and fitting it out for expeditions of my own.

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WHERE THE HEART IS Introduced ten years ago, the Sherazee was a motorhome conversion for a range of 4x4s. The company behind it didn’t last – but the demo truck it built offers plenty of inspiration to anyone thinking of turning a vehicle into a high-quality way of exploring the world Words and pictures Mike Trott

urning your 4x4 into a goanywhere home from home is not something you do on a whim. There are many things to take into consideration – not least whether to do it yourself or get someone to convert your pride and joy for you, on the assumption that they’ve done this kind of thing before and are less likely to make a mess of it. Of course, taking a vehicle designed to carry people, or cargo, or some combination of both, and turning it into something designed to be lived in, is a major undertaking. You’re only likely to do

it, though, if you’ve set your heart on leaving the world behind and doing some proper travelling – which is an even more major undertaking, and every year many people do just that and have the experience of a lifetime. So however you go about prepping your truck, the important thing is that you do it well. You could go down the ever-popular route of carrying a tent on top of your 4x4. Obviously, a big challenge when prepping a 4x4 for travel is that you need it to be your bedroom, kitchen, wardrobe and everything else all in one. Oh yes, and your car. So

shifting the sleeping quarters on to a roof rack makes ample sense, especially with some of the exceptionally good tents and accessories on offer. But there’s an alternative. Motorhome conversions are not new; companies specialising in them take vans in chassiscab form, build a dedicated body on the back and then ﬁll it with everything you need for life on the road. But not off the road. Hence the noble art of turning 4x4s into motorhomes. It’s a niche within a niche, but it does exist – though the volume of customers won’t ever be the same as those

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you get crowding round the roof tent stands at every 4x4 show. Hence the Sherazee, a bespoke overlanding conversion from Footloose 4x4 which debuted ten years ago. It looked like it was going to be the next big thing in vehicle builds, but a couple of years later the company behind it was gone. So this article has a nostalgic vibe to it, plus a bit of what might have been – though mainly it’s an opportunity to steal the pros’ time-served ideas for your own overland build. Footloose 4x4 based its demonstrator on a Land Rover Defender 130 Double

The last thing you want to do with an overland vehicle is modify all the standard reliability out of it – and you certainly don’t want to be turning it into an off-road toy. In this case, the demo truck was fitted with a +2” suspension kit featuring Koni shocks, just to compensate for the extra weight and get it sitting at the right ride height again June 2024 I Overlander 4x4

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Even where there’s a hatch through into the cabin, a normal set-up for motorhomes based on 4x4s is for the living compartment to be accessed primarily through the back door. The window bars you see here are a reminder of the more depressing realities of life on the road. The Sherazee’s monoblock GRP body was shaped so as to maintain as much of the standard vehicle’s approach, breakover anbd departure angles as possible – in the case of the demo truck, a 2” suspension lift also helped here

“When you’re building an expedition motor, what’s absolutely essential is to tailor it to your own needs” Cab, because that’s what people in the UK are most familiar with. But the shell was designed to go on a range of 4x4s. The Sherazee was actually a secondgeneration development of an earlier design whose name you may have heard of, the Azalai. Footloose 4x4 brought it up to date after listening to customer feedback – making it a good design to pay attention to, even if you can’t buy one any more.

Best compromise

‘The objective is to provide the best possible compromise for off-roading and being a camper,’ in the words of the company’s big boss Ian Hobday. ‘People are going to travel a very long way in our vehicle, so it has to work on-road, off-road, in the Arctic, the desert or wherever. The Azalai is a good vehicle, but we’ve listened to feedback from customers over the years and looked at what could be done better and the Sherazee is a development of that.’

The Sherazee was designed around a monoblock shell construction of glass fibre and insulating composite sandwich panels. It had an elevating roof whose sides were made from UV blocking fabric and included air vent openings complete with insect-proof gauze. All the panels were finished in white GRP gel coat, as was the internal furniture. White is the normal colour for motorhomes, and there’s a good reason for that. If you’re in a hot climate, it reflects the heat, while in a cold environment it’ll be better at keeping it in. Which means less of your precious fuel wasted on either air-con or heating. Certainly, this was more of a motorhome than a mere camper. It was designed to be self-contained to an unusually high degree, so that you could go days without having to get out of it at all. Obviously, that’s the opposite of what you want to do when the whole point of going travelling is to see the world. But

you can easily appreciate the benefits this could bring in terms of safety and security, whether from the climate, dangerous animals or, far more likely, your fellow man. Being up on the roof of your vehicle certainly keeps you out of harm’s way if a lone bear or pride of lions waltz through your camp in the middle of the night, for example. But what if you unzip your tent, pop your head out and see that same pride of lions curled up on the ground below? The same ground you’ve got to walk over to break camp and get to your driver’s seat? More likely, how about if you wake up and realise there’s a bunch of local ruffians waiting to jump you when you climb down from the roof? Most travellers will tell you that the most dangerous animal you’ll ever meet on an expedition is the human kind. Admittedly, a determined gang of criminals will always find a way to get at you, whether it’s by letting your tyres down or just smashing their way in. But you can

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UK Destinations To Explore 1

Llanerchindda Farm Cynghordy, Llandovery Carmarthenshire, SA20 0NB Tel: 01550 750274 info@cambrianway.com www.cambrianway.com

Riverside Caravan Park High brentham, North Yorkshire, LA27FJ Tel: 01524 261272 info@riversidecaravanpark.co.uk www.riversidecaravanpark.co.uk

Kingswood Caravan Park Rowan House Gravelly Bottom Road, Kingswood, Maidstone, ME17 3NU 01622 842 096 info@kingswood-caravans.co.uk www.kingswood-caravans.co.uk

Smytham Holiday Park Smytham Holiday Park, Little Torrington, Devon EX38 8PU 01805 622110 info@smytham.co.uk www.smytham.co.uk

Blue Hills Touring Park Crosscoombe, Trevellas, St Agnes, Cornwall, TR5 0XP 01872 552999 camping@blue-hills.co.uk www.bluehillscamping.co.uk

The Hop Farm Family Park Maidstone Rd, Beltring, Tonbridge TN12 6QF 01622 872068 reception@thehopfarm.co.uk www.thehopfarm.co.uk

Woodhill Park Cromer Road, East Runton, Cromer Norfolk, NR27 9PX Tel: 01263 512 242 info@woodhill-park.com www.woodhill-park.com

Locations to stay in the UK

Kingswood Caravans

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The idea was that you could spend days on end locked inside the Sherazee, if that’s what you wanted or needed to do. But getting there means getting out there, and we’d wager your first thought would be of spending every evening beneath that awning

The pop-up roof section was made with UV-blocking fabric sides, whose air vents were screened with insect-proof gauze

No mere cool box, this. A fully fledged fridge-freezer marks the Sherazee out as a proper motorhome among mere camper vans

In every good motorhome, however spacious, the living area needs to be as multi-functional as they get. Here, a rigid base is added beteem the bench seats to convert them into a double bed

After several years making the Azalai conversion, Footloose 4x4 went out and asked customers what they would change about it. The big answer that kept coming back was more storage – so the Sherazee was designed with bins and boxes everywhere it was possible to put one, both inside and out June 2024 I Overlander 4x4

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This is no place for being flash. Superstrong Wolf rims and tyres with a sensible size and tread pattern, plus robust sidewalls that won’t get opened up by the first stone they meet, are the stuff of overland happiness. Some people actually plan to go travelling on massive hardcore mud tyres with look-at-me alloys and huge suspension lifts; planning to go travelling is normally where it begins and ends for them

Roof tents won’t ever stop being the most popular choice among overland travellers. But one issue with them is that if you need to get out of trouble by driving away, you can’t get from your bed to the driver’s seat. The Sherazee was designed with a hatch through from the living area to the back of the cabin, allowing you to make some sort of getaway in desperate situations. Various electrical services can be seen on the panel above it, including a monitor for the batteries – as well as the main unit, the vehicle also carries a second leisure battery certainly imagine plenty of situations in which being able to get out of bed, crawl through into the cabin and drive away could be an enormous comfort. Most of the trouble you’ll get on an expedition is from chancers, not pros, and the Sherazee offered a very neat solution to the attentions of that sort of petty crook. In any case, the options list included window bars to prevent unwelcome guests from climbing aboard. There’s no such thing as invulnerable in this world, but you balance the risks against what you can do to protect yourself.

Contain yourself

Having got that very necessary but slightly depressing subject out of the way, a perfect example of how the conversion was designed with overlanding in mind is that the Sherazee would fit inside a shipping container. Not with a lot of room to spare, but a miss is a mile. Since this opens up large parts of the world to you (how else are you going to get your truck to Australia or the Americas, for example), as well as giving you the option of shipping your way around parts of the world you don’t fancy risking (or aren’t

allowed to), for a serious traveller it’s pretty much essential. As for the parts of the world you DO want to visit, the Sherazee was intended for the kind of traveller who craves a turn-key solution. For many people, the planning and vehicle prep are part of the fun; others just want to pay their money and hit the road. With an electric flushing toilet, a shower that could be used inside or outside the vehicle, a table and seating area which converted into sleeping space enough for four and while we’re at it, a fridge and double-ring gas cooker, plus of course a kitchen sink, we’re firmly in the latter territory here. Further features included a storage locker for recovery equipment, camping gear and other accessories, a 110-litre fresh water tank and a gas locker big enough to store a pair of 2.75kg Camping Gaz bottles. Something Ian learned from Azalai owners was that the Sherazee needed more storage space. ‘They would have boxes or shelves glued to the walls inside the Azalai for extra storage,’ he told us. The result was more rigorous use of space, with some sort of shelf, hatch, closet or compartment everywhere you looked. And the unit’s dimensions were improved,

too, providing more room for everything from sleeping to just getting aboard. No-one would expect to find a mansion hanging off the back of a 4x4, but smarter packaging means more space full stop. Inside the demonstrator, for sure it never felt cramped. In terms of equipment, Ian’s team installed an electric circuit board and displays allowing owners to check leisure circuit charging levels and so on. The cabin gained a reversing camera, which sounds pretty necessary, and the leisure battery was linked to a solar panel with regulator. As you’d expect, there was an options list. And as you’d also expect, it was a long one. No two customers for an all-terrain motorhome are ever going to want the same thing, after all. Air-con, you might see as an essential. You might also expect the base vehicle to have it, though whether it would be up to the job of maintaining the temperature in a large habitation unit parked under the midday sun in a desert on the Equator is another matter. A second spare wheel and a breather kit sound like essentials too, and no base vehicle would come with those as standard, but then you could also order the Sherazee with an auto box – something that sounds a lot more

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“It was designed to be self-contained to an unusually high degree. You could go days without having to get out of it at all”

We’d send the spare wheel cover crashing firmly to the bottom of the nearest skip, but otherwise this is the very picture of a sorted all-terrain motorhome

speciﬁc to the old-shape Defender, as most other potential donors would have such a thing as a factory option at the very least.

Tailor made

What this points to, albeit in a slightly vague manner, is that when you’re building an expedition motor (or getting someone else to do it for you), what’s absolutely essential is to tailor it to your own needs. It will be your home, after all, as well as your car and your life support system, and whatever it is you need there will always be someone, somewhere who can lighten your wallet to satisfy your needs. What you want to avoid in a vehicle whose reliability you’ll be depending on is to modify it the way you might with a playday truck or lane wagon. Nonetheless, the 130 you’re looking at here was given a two-inch suspension lift with upgraded Koni shocks. That’s simply because the extra weight on the back would cause the standard set-up to sag; the heavier-duty kit kept it sitting right and ought to stay that way over many tens of thousands of miles’ hard use. Obviously, extreme off-roading and overlanding don’t mix. You could describe the latter as ‘extreme travel’ if you wanted,

but the point is that while a base vehicle like the Defender is capable of bashing on unperturbed when the tarmac runs out (which can mean tackling some very rough trails indeed), only a true fool would treat mud, rocks and deep fords as the opportunity for a laugh and a play in what is their home from home. We can tell you from experience that even with the Sherazee conversion on the back, the 130 we tested was no less capable than standard. If you wanted to wrestle it up the Sani Pass or over the Sahara dunes, it would stay with you all the way – and when you got there, it would still be home. Behind the wheel, it was just like driving a standard Defender. And just like a standard Defender, motorhomes are known for holding their value in a vice-like grip. Each, in their own way, behaves more like the housing market than the used car market. Use it but don’t abuse it, keep it clean and look after it like it was one of your children and you’ll get back a good big chunk of what you spent on it. If you can ever bear to sell, of course. Which is good, because a 4x4 built professionally to this sort of standard is going to cost premium money. Based on

the price Footloose 4x4 was quoting for the Sherazee ten years ago, for a similar vehicle now you’ll be doing well to get on your way for less than a hundred grand. But then, you could get an entry-level new Range Rover for that and guess what the dealer will be offering you for it in three years’ time? More to the point, guess how many life experiences you’ll have had if you choose instead to put your money in a vehicle built to carry you, sustain you and house you wherever in the world you choose to travel? You can’t guess, no, because the number is incalculable, and inﬁnite. The Sahara and Sani Pass? Iceland, Uyuni, Tibet? The Dempster Highway, the Canning Stock Route…? Or a comfy seat for the jams on the M25 each morning. Life choices, huh? Yes, we’re telling you all this in the context of a conversion you can’t buy anymore. But this hasn’t been a story about a product so much as a story about an idea. There are many ways of prepping a 4x4 for world travel, and this is not the most conventional of them. But as it illustrates, there are plenty of possibilities beyond the usual roof tent set-up. Being an overlander already makes you a free thinker, after all…

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Our 4x4s INFO

VEHICLE: Isuzu D-Max GO2 YEAR: 2018 RUN BY: Alan Kidd LAST UPDATE: August 2023 FLEET DEBUT: January 2020

SEEING SENSE Words: Olly Sack

Pictures: Richard Hair

As we ﬁnally get to spring and the nation’s green lanes emerge from under a blanket of seasonal closures and voluntary restraint, it’s still time to treat them with care – while getting out there and exploring once more Words Olly Sack Pictures Vic Peel

very year, across England and Wales a wide range of byways and unsurfaced roads go into hibernation for the winter. Some are formally closed by seasonal traﬃc regulation orders, while many fall under the blanket os voluntary restraint – requests made by user groups, often in consultation with local authorities, to avoid using the lanes in ways which are likely to do harm. Voluntary Restraint can take many forms. On a number of lanes, drivers are asked only to use them in one direction. In some cases, you might be requested to avoid them during certain times of the day or, more likely, night – or indeed at certain times of the year, for example lambing or nesting season. Following repairs to a lane, VR may be used instead of a prolonged legal closure to let the land settle. But by far the most common is to minimise the number of wheels rolling over

the surface of the ground when it’s too soft and wet to take it. Whereas seasonal TROs have to state ﬁxed dates (normally 1 October to 30 April), voluntary restraint can be more ﬂexible. It’s open to interpretation, of course (and therefore abuse, though the few who would do that are most likely to ignore commonsense requests anyway), but a responsible green lane user will interpret ‘winter’ as lasting as long as it must to let the lanes ground dry out. This year, the autumn and winter months have been exceptionally wet and the ground in many parts of the country remains saturated. By the time you read this, the seasonal TROs will have been lifted (some local authorities are very trigger happy when it comes to extending them, however) and even with late April having brought yet more rain, nobody is going to believe you if you say it’s still winter.

Down in the depths of Wiltshire, south even of Salisbury Plain, the Ox Drove is a classic example of a lane under voluntary restraint. It’s open all year round – however the Green Lane Association requests drivers to give it a miss during the winter. You can see why. It’s a strange lane, in that some sections of it are very wide and well surfaced while others are tightly enclosed, scratchy, rutted and soft. You can certainly tell which bits are used by farm traﬃc – however the whole length of the route, from Win Green in the west to a junction with the A354 in the east, is worthy of VR.

Long acres

The Ox Drove dates back to Bronze Age times, and for centuries cattle herders used it as a route to market. Here and there, the ‘long acres’ to the side of the track, where drovers could make camp and graze their

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The junction at the eastern end of the Ox Drove needs a great deal of care – not least because it’s so overgrown, other drivers won’t understand why you’re slowing down and preparing to turn into what appears to be a wall of bushes

Some parts of the Ox Drove, which are used by agricultural traffic, are wide and well surfaced. Here, the farm road goes off to the right – and immediately the byway is plunged back into tight undergrowth

beasts en route, are still in place between wide hedges. The same is true of another lane a couple of miles to the north, which runs vaguely parallel to the Ox Drove. Commonly known as Compton Down, it’s different in character in that it’s not as tightly enclosed by trees – but it too can be scratchy and rutted in places, making voluntary restraint a valuable investment in its future. Between them, they make a great out-and-back route – though either can be combined with any of the myriad other lanes in the vicinity. The Ox Drove was one of the first routes we followed in our Isuzu D-Max GO2 after finishing its build. It was in July, after a generally warm and dry first half of the year. Other lanes in the area which are famously good at holding surface water had none – but so shaded and low-lying are parts of the Ox Drove, we were still driving over sloppy ground and at times through

Green laning is a great way of exploring the UK, but many insurance companies don’t cover off-roading and green laning. That’s why our Isuzu – pictured here – is insured by Adrian Flux, a specialist insurance broker that covers offroading and green laning. Whether you’ve modiﬁed your 4x4 or you own a classic 4WD, they can help. Give them a call on 0800 085 5000 for a quote.

Where it’s not used by tractors, the right of way is tight, rutted, enclosed and very likely to be holding surface water, even at the height of summer

big, deep puddles. You can see how wet it would be after a prolonged wet season. The D-Max got its ﬁrst war wounds here, with encroaching branches clawing at its paintwork as we pushed through the tightest sections. Its 33” General Grabbers were never troubled by the ruts beneath them, and traction wasn’t once an issue (having an ARB Air-Locker in your back axle is always reassuring though), but it was certainly hard work as we alternately scraped loudly though the tight bits then lurched alarmingly over side angles hidden beneath the murky water. Thinking about it, the Britpart winch bolted to our ARB front bumper was quite reassuring too… All this may make it sound as if the Ox Drove has been annihilated, but in fact the opposite is the case. It’s very little used, and the tight undergrowth is evidence of that. Some of the worst has been cut back since we took these pictures, but the parts

of the route not used by farm vehicles are always going to be deeply enclosed in dense woodland – and poorly drained as a result, meaning a rough surface – and ensuring that voluntary restraint will continue to be required. Of course, the cattle drovers whose beasts’ hooves used to pound the land along this ancient road didn’t ever exercise voluntary restraint, and as time went on and it developed into a cart track it’s hard to imagine the sort of state it must have got into over the course of every winter. That’s history, though, and as always history is something we can learn from. So the Ox Drove, and other trails like it, will continue to have a rightful place as byways today. And us, their users, will continue to have a responsibility to look after them – even after this wet and miserable winter ﬁnally squelches off into the realms of memory.

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NEXT MONTH

BIG WAY DOWN Africa overland in a home-built Bedford MJ

PLUS Mid-Welsh laning in the latest Isuzu D-Max

Defender built into a family expedition wagon

Desert drama as trouble hits the Fenix Rally

JULY 2024 ISSUE: ON SALE 6 JUNE 64

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All fuel consumption and emission values are based on the new WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure) test cycle which uses real-world driving data. Official fuel economy for the standard Isuzu D-Max range in MPG (l/100km): Low 25.1–27.6 (10.2–11.2). Mid 31.4–36.4 (7.8–9.0). High 36.0–39.4 (7.2–7.8). Extra-High 29.0–30.8 (9.2–9.7). Combined 30.7–33.6 (8.4–9.2). CO2 emissions 220–241 g/km. Visit Isuzu.co.uk or contact your local Isuzu dealership for more information.

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