o ~ o n to s the rig& q

~vehieks~nahotdticsinthe United Slates in this mm value-ions, ~ego-drivu,dsdc.-nlclackof~ Thc scene this t i m is set of I I E GMC Syclooc and Lonrs E l m offer n c W in the middle of thc last centurv nor ample evidenoc on th.1point. on the Crimun Peninsula. Were it facing m I y tough tenain there It is the volatile U.S. ruu, nurttl of the m l d be no doubt about the Defender's 1990s wbae sudden death can lie in wait m all the chances for success. It benefits f m u n d the comer. (The corps^ of Dai-1's heritage and tradition and today's htw. Pcugcot and sterlig smwn rrogF tcclmolosy. It is rugged, nimble and capthe I.ldsapeattgc to that.) D e f a u k r l l O w s t b r o a d c a t h e b u c ~ . Me of climbing slopes and fading waleas And what is charging on to the scene What threatens its sucaas is not shcll and that most drivm would fear to tackle. fmmBritliaiswctheLightBrigdebua WefdthepmfofthismthegmmdD biml-edition Land Rover. It is M old of EYma Caslk in early June. k f d UUIE, but a ncw name as well. Thc f a shire and indeed mosl of England war exLsad Rover ;lppard in 1948. Mvativce pcrimeing such a dry spring that the natives war, sold bae h g h 1974. What is oew wemswingto(allrofdrou@.Hoareva, isthatthemeisnowbeingappliedtothe mmyoftheMOOacmofihc~ale ~.asmUastoyccanotbcrversioll dwithwoodssodtacedmd~ ortkraigillal~k. that they may srmntely be dcswibcd as Effective Aug. I. Range Rover of NORh h n p ~ zone e nin forrsts. Amuica, h e r u o f o ~ importer sokly of the Mile of tracks and trails cross the cmts estarned Range Rover, beeunc LmdR o w and valleys th.1 run mmu@ the popcny. of Nath America. Thc switch was lnde to Ooc look at the landrsp and it's clear why rradeonthecl0utihcLandRover~h.p Land Rover docs much of its development built up over the last 45 years and to denote lCItWviag bae. a broadening of the company's product Thc airl on the trails incrcsscd in diffirange. Thc point being tbat the company culty somewhat as the drought broke during needs to establish itself in the U.S. market our drive. What had been hickln cmsing as someth'ig morr than just the purveyor of themck8accPnesueamasasteadydrira luxury 4x4 wagon for the honey set. rk fell. Low spas shallow poodr. Another wav that Land Rover of NORh Amaica will fapinlize on its heritage is by scnding rnoss the ocun 500 copies of the . gmmd m u dto mud. lstesl version of its original product, which lberr were somc hills on which the five is being called the Defender 110. This is the ~ c l(orwt c on o ( m Defendas in our caravan f.hercd. But tbat h S l m d b t a ~ h R D C C o f ~ g t h (en ~A m . t ( o p ) ~ ~ l l W 8 r * Q *w u i d u e t o m o v e r t y ~ ~ o n

f h , Co~ons to the leff ofthem. Cannons in from o f them dIeyd and thvndcred.

ch.ngcs in fcdenl regulations. The Defenderwillarriveinearly fallandbesround for d y the '93 model year, but it will pave the way for aha models. The Discovery, the newest member of Britain's 4x4 c h , is almost sun to follow a huure dcrivhvCS of the t0pof-hLice, luxtuiously trimmed Range Rover. But fw the tried-aadaue Land Rover m u s t p nnr mns into the brrrh. Thc

L.nd Rwer over hac becaw of upcoming shot bu the fact tbat high-QUar law-vol-

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pry( of drivers unfamiliar with such rugged off.rosding. Coached by our British hosts. the slopes wce we eonqu~red a more confident tack was taken and nwre lhronle used to makG the grade. The Defender is equipped to laclde impressive impdiments. Lad Rover of Nonh Amaica claims this fourdim 4x4 can handle a 45-degrae slope, a rather formidable degnc of difliculty, and wade Uuwgh as much as 20 inches of watcr. Its an& of appoach is given as 50 d e w and its angle of departure as 26. Ground clearance is 8.5 inches beneath the diffemtials a d a full fwd undcr the axle tubes. GenwMts suspension vsvel allows it t o walk over sizable obstacles. This is the stuff of offmading. Serious o f f - d i n g . If you think this means the Defender is ill at ease on the highway, you're wrong. Doubtless those who do opt for this $39.900 sportlutility vehicle will be able to afford something more suited to freeway duty. But if they must or if they choose they would fmd linle to complain about if they were to spend an hour or three cruising eross-country in the Defender. Thwgh the front and rear axles are live, coil springs al each comer and a Boge Hydromat self-activaing load leveller positioned between the rear axle and the body serve to handle streets and highways with nearly the same aplomb as they do ruts and nrks. As is the Range Rover, the Defender is a full-time fwr! wheel-drive vehicle. It also shares the Range Rover's 3.9-liler 180-hp V8. When the powertrains differ is in the transmission used. While its slabkmate is fined with an automatic, the Defender l I0 comes only with a fivespeed manual. Straight-line performance is not a Defender strong point. But given a curb weight of 4840 pwnds il shouldn't be expated to h e r e the Defender shows its muscle is be. W in the towing department. Lad Rover of North America says it can tow a 5000pound trailer with brakes when the twospeed Vansfcr case is in high range. and a 7700-pound trailer with brakes when in low

the

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a roof-mounted luggage rack (capable of carrying 220 pounds) and a ladder that runs up the back of the Defender to provide access to that rack. More reinforcements are found inside in the form of a rollover bar behind the front buckets. ss There are seats for seven EI <. C. more occupants in a t k - s e a t bench behind the buckets and fwr jump seats in the cugo area. Most sportlutilities would have trouble pmviding room for nine psengers. let alone moving them about. With a gmss vehicle weight ntinc of 6504 mu& the Defen& should isve no mubie. That rating, by the way. also helps the Defender avoid falling prey to the federal luxury tax. The IRS exempts it because it's classified as a multipurpose passenger vehicle with a GVWR above 6000 munds. So if vou , add TIN 1lWa W la .bud in deiivery charges (5675) b W R-r: and the only option available 1nt.rlor k D.lmcMa from the factory (an 8WO-' howWW,tmndUh pound capacity Warn winch t o Vn four m r jump &, ot k.vlw at S1.W) a fully equipped Defender totlls 543,475 be~~otlctfw wfi ug. fore s w e and local taxes. expond la 10 help That puts il smack up wmbollpr lha Liarcl mllhnyk against the more luxurious Range Rover. But "Range Rovers aren't going to he $40.500 forever." according to a spokesman, indicating something more is afoot in Range Rover land-and the Land Rover range-for the 1993 model year. Beyond that, the two vehicles are iumed at different parts of the high-dollar sportlutility segment. The Range Rover caters to the horsey suburban set while the Defender l I0 is betler suited to the Keds of ranchers, farmers. hunters and haulers. If Land Rover of Nonh America is right, there are 500 of them willing to buy : Defender. And if the npany is wmng ... Well, it has essentially forrange. Of course that's for on-mad towing. ever to sell the 500 vehicles. No mom will Off-mad the limit is 2200 pounds for both come to the United Slates. thanks to tougher high and low range. safety standards for multipurpose vehicles And the Defender 110 lwks the part of a lhat kick in come 1994. big and burly go-anywhen vehiek. All 500 By then there should be a U.S. version of will come with what Land Rover calls a the more modem Discovery, which though safari cage, a grid of metal tubing lhat po- 110-based, will appeal to younger buyen tects the vehicle's aluminum flanks from looking to step into the Land RovedRange damage by the brush. The tubing also forms Rover lifestyle. AUTOWEEK AUGUST 3. 1992

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