North Wales air ambulance have received the generous donation of a Land Rover Freelander 2 from Conwy Land Rover - a dealer in the local area. The Wales crew primarily use a helicopter to reach emergencies in the area, but when conditions are unfit for flying their task is considerably harder. The surrounding countryside is rough and hard to traverse, so the Freelander is an essential addition to their arsenal, allowing them to reach people in need when regular cars cannot manage the terrain.

Normally costing £25,000, the Freelander is the third such vehicle that Conwy has provided the ambulance.

“Over the past 16 months the Land Rovers have proved invaluable on occasions when the weather has prevented the helicopter from taking off or when it was being serviced,” said paramedic supervisor Ian Binnington.

The Dirty Weekend Multi Sport Festival at the start of July in the Scottish Borders has a competition sponsor in the form of Land Rover G4.

The G4 Challenge sees national competing in an active adventure, pushing their Land Rovers and themselves to the limits. The competition takes 18 months in all, beginning with recruitment competitions in all 18 nations participating, and then a final off-road multisport adventure in Asia with the teams.

The Dirty Weekend is offering a male and female place in the group that will represent Great Britain in the final competition in Asia. Winners of the ACE Race Adventure are in for the price, and that ACE adventure already carried a £5k prize.

Anyone can enter, and you can find more information on the weekend’s activities here: www.dirtyweekendadventure.com

You may also want to check out the G4 website, to find out what you’re letting yourself in for, before competing for a place on the Great Britain team! You can find the site here: www.landroverg4challenge.com

After the recent buyout of Land Rover from Ford, Tata are considering the possibilities of bringing the model to India. They have not discussed whether they are proposing importing the vehicle, or moving manufacture to their country. Most arrangements of this nature involve importing, so it seems the likely way they will go. Add to this the agreement that Tata made with UK unions to keep manufacture within the UK (to maintain employment levels) and they don’t have many options. Tata have a formidable task ahead of them, and are hoping that the high volumes of Mercedes and BMW cars in India bode well for their plan to rebuild Land Rover’s profits.

Tata are now going through the process of looking for replacement financial support for the company in the UK, while Ford Motor Credit are providing cover during the transition.

Yet another success for Land Rover, with the Discovery 3 maintaining its title as ‘Best Towcar Over 1900kgs’ at the Practical Caravan, What Car? and Camping & Caravanning Club Towcar Awards 2008.

Facing tough competition from the likes of Mercedes ML and Audi Q7, the Discovery proved its mettle with a towing capacity of 3500kgs and superior stability, parking assistance, suspension, terrain response, brake assist and many other features.

Judges were high complimentary of the vehicle after awarding it for the second year running, “Last year the Discovery 3 was a clear winner in this class. In 2008, some very tough competition ran the Land Rover close, but it has held on to the heavyweight class for a second year. Other cars can’t match the Discovery’s broad blend of talents. In particular, the cabin is exceptionally spacious and versatile. In fact, the Discovery barely dropped a point in our practicality tests.”

What Deisel? Magazine has voted the Freelander 2 as the Best 4×4 at their 2008 Car Of The Year Awards.

The 2.2 litre engine drew favour with the judges, beating both the Nissan X-Trail and Land Rover’s own Discover 3. Ian Robertson, editor of the magazine, commented, “Not only does the Freelander 2 now take compact SUVs to a new level of competence in off-roading, it ups the ante to such an extent that most manufacturers will find it intimidating to share the same road space with it.”

Land Rover were happy to accept the award, “It’s outstanding news for the Freelander 2 to have received this recognition in such a competitive sector. It is testament not only to its refined diesel engine but also to its all round capability.”