To add to its already impressive list of awards, the Land Rover Discovery has also been awarded the prize for best used 4×4 car by the What Car? magazine.

The vehicle impressed with its versatility and long-lasting road capabilities.
The award takes account of a number of factors, including price, performance, availability, desirability and reliability for used cars. The Discovery triumphed over the Nissan X-Trail and the Kia Sorento. Land Rover’s used vehicles are also backed up by the Land Rover Approved User Scheme, which can offer rigorous checks of vehicles and ensure they are the best possible condition before going on to new owners.

Written by Martin Love of The Observer.

Land Rover Defender 90
From £18,905
Miles per gallon: 28.2
CO2 per km: 266 GRAMS
Good for: dirt tracks
Bad for: rare grooves

It’s been a busy year for Huey. He’s appeared at motorshows in Detroit and New York, visited a quarry near Dusseldorf and been to a book launch at Eastnor Castle. Huey, or to give him his full name, HUE 166, is the first Land Rover that was ever built. He rolled off the production line in 1948 and to celebrate his 60th birthday he’s been on a global tour.

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to catch up with him in a field outside Milton Keynes. He may be a little a creaky in his joints, but with the sun glinting on his fresh Keswick-green paint job, he looked in high spirits. Huey’s handler gave me the keys and I clambered in, feeling quite starstruck. I can’t say it was the smoothest drive I’ve ever had. But it was certainly one of the most historic.

Since Huey was introduced in 1948, more than 4m of his brothers and sisters (can a Landy be female? I’m not sure) have travelled to the far corners of the world, working in many of the planet’s most hostile places and, yes, that includes Kensington High Street. Indeed, for thousands of people living in the most remote areas, those early Land Rovers would have been among the first machines many of them would ever have seen.

You may have believed that the Land Rover - the archetypal British battler - came into being as part of the war effort. But the war had been over for three years when Huey was created, and he was actually born into a life of agricultural labour. For years he was known as the Farmer’s Friend.

The first sketch was made in the sand on the beach at Red Wharf Bay in Anglesey by the engineering director of Rover, Maurice Wilks. He wanted a versatile vehicle that could double as a light tractor and off-roader. It was christened the ‘Land Rover’ and his first prototype was built using an American Willys Jeep. The launch price was £450 and in that first year 1,758 vehicles were sold. Today, around 25,000 are sold every year, but many of the original models are still going strong. Series I Land Rovers sent to Costa Rica to work on coffee plantations in the Fifties, for instance, are still in daily use.

To get to know Huey’s ways a little better, I’ve spent the past week driving a Defender 90 - his direct spiritual heir. And it seems his spartan approach to life has survived almost perfectly intact. Everything is built to be indestructible and easy to use. The switches are enormous and are labelled ON or OFF. There’s no Softie Walter creature comforts. No gimmickry, no computers, no see-you-home lights. It’s a car that’s made to work hard and won’t break or complain in the process. Compared to the brain-numbing complexity of modern cars, the Defender is a Luddite’s delight. There’s no vanity mirror, no carpeting, no glove compartment. There is a stereo, though - which, tuned to The Archers while I parked in a muddy field for a wet picnic, seemed the perfect way to celebrate Huey’s 60th.

Land Rover’s first properly fuel efficient car was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in October this year, showcasing some of the green technology that the company has been discussing for quite some time. Collectively they are called e-Terrain Technologies, and encompass a number of additions. The start/stop idea means that the energy cuts at traffic lights, boosting engine economy.
CO2 emissions are claimed to have been reduced to 179g/km.

They have also fitted more efficient tyres, a gearshift monitor, engine mapping, a more powerful starter motor, and have released their intention to install the stop/start technology on all new Freelander 2 TD4 models from mid-2009, with no price increase.

Land Rover have announced plans for expanding their CO2 offset program to the Gulf and Levant.
Land Rover has shown ongoing commitment to reducing environmental impact, and their offset program aims to help both the company and their customers to balance CO2 emissions and address the issue of climate change.

Land Rover has been putting efforts into four areas - sustainable manufacturing methods, humanitarian projects, co2 offsetting, and work on their e-terrain technology.

The Gulf and Levant are among the first regions to implement this program, and the Managing Direction of Land Rover Middle East, Robin Colgan, said, “We are determined to make sustainability a key element in our business. The extension of Land Rover’s industry leading CO2 programme in this region is an important step in reducing our impact on the environment. Land Rover is very well established in the Middle East and is the market leader in the premium SUV sector. This brings with it a certain responsibility and we feel that it’s time to act.”

The company has shown excellent results in Solihull with their CO2 offset program, where emissions from their manufacturing plant have been cut by 30% over the last ten years. Their move outside the UK demonstrates their commitment to enabling this change wherever they feel they have a responsibility.

Hampshire has become the first county to obtain an armoured vehicle for this type to aid its policing with protection that can withstand gunfire, grenades and bomb blasts.

NP Aerospace helped develop the vehicle for the Hampshire Constabulary, and their chief executive Roger Medwell commented, “This is possibly the most advanced vehicle we have ever produced. It’s made of the strongest material known to man - Dyneema. It will stop all the threats you are likely to get in the UK and is extremely good against bomb blasts. If there was a bomb blast this is the vehicle you would want to be in as it actually absorbs the energy of the blast. We have been working with the Army for 30 years and built the armoured vehicles used in Northern Ireland. No army in the world has this sort of advanced technology.”

Although it is somewhat hard to imagine the vehicle being tested the fullest of its abilities in Hampshire, this move makes more sense as we see it as the beginning of an initiative to kit out UK-wide constabularies with similar equipment.

The Land Rover vehicle base means the car will be capable of supporting the extensive armouring without sacrificing stability.

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.”