Tests

	HEAD 2 HEAD: GRAND VITARA vs KIA SORENTO Stephen Miller from St Albans writes: I was keen to read your advice guide for Â£16,000 SUVs in last month's magazine (May 2008), as you mentioned a model I'm particularly interested in: the Suzuki Grand Vitara 1.9 DDiS five-door. I've been offered a brand new one by a Suzuki dealer for Â£15,550, representing almost Â£1000 off the list price, which seems to be about the going rate. However, you mentioned about this not being a very refined diesel engine, and so I'm wondering whether I'd be better off spending my Â£15k or so on a new-shape Hyundai Santa Fe instead - but would only consider a diesel version. Would you recommend this - maybe a two-year-old example - more than a new Grand Vitara? My motoring consists of mainly local work during the week, with a 200-mile motorway trip every other weekend. Maybe this should sway my decision?	More...

	BUYING: WHAT CAN YOU BUY FOR Â£9000? Six years on from its introduction, the Land Rover Freelander was still selling exceptionally well. But, by 2003, it was admittedly looking a little stale, which is why its maker chose to introduce a facelifted range - complete with projector-style lights plus new grille and bumpers for a sportier, more modern look. There was even a new Sport edition, running on huge 18-inch alloys and lowered-by-30mm suspension, which absolutely looked the business. The Freelander as a range had truly come of age.	More...

	ROAD TEST: DAIHATSU TERIOS 1.5 SX On paper, the Terios looks like a decent proposition. Prices start at a fiver under Â£13,000, and for that you get full-time four-wheel drive and a stack of standard kit. Not only that, the Terios offers the benefit of relatively low CO2 emissions by class standards (an increasingly important marketing tool these days) and the usefulness of a five-door layout. But with so many other compact SUVs starting at upwards of Â£20k these days, is the Terios almost too good to be true?	More...

	PROFILE: KIA SPORTAGE There seems to be no stopping Kia at the moment. The company first came to Europe in the 1990s, selling cheap, dull machines that did an honest job but little more. How quickly they've learnt, though; since the turn of the Millennium, there's been a barrage of new vehicles from Kia, all of which edge ever closer to direct comparison with the best that Europe has to offer.	More...

	4x4s: THE NEW GREEN MACHINES? The environment and the whole debate surrounding global warming are subjects on just about everybody's lips at the moment. And for those of us who drive 4x4s and SUVs, it has taken on real significance over the past few years. It seems that not a day goes by when we're not under attack from lobbyists and campaigners for choosing to drive the vehicles that we do. And, sadly, the lazy term of 'gas-guzzler' has entered our everyday lexicon, with comments from all fronts continually being voiced about the inefficiency of our machines.	More...

	BUYING USED: LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 3 As soon as the original version appeared back in 1989, it was apparent that the Land Rover Discovery was far more than just a cheaper alternative to the iconic Range Rover. This was the vehicle that helped to create a whole new class of family-style 4x4, while the Discovery II that appeared some years later was the first Land Rover to benefit from the considerable technical clout of BMW. In their own individual ways, these were both highly impressive vehicles.	More...

	STAFF CAR: MITSUBISHI MONTERO I always had faith in our Montero, the 1990 long-wheelbase Mitsubishi that provides me with the daily transport I need during the times that I live in (and work from) Spain. Well, maybe not always; but at the back of my mind, I was convinced that the problems we'd been encountering since acquiring the poor old thing last August would - sooner or later - come to an end. And I'm happy to report that, unlike all previous updates on our Montero, this month's episode involves no expense.	More...

	HEAD 2 HEAD: FORD EXPLORER vs RANGE ROVER Mark Morris from Aberystwyth writes: I read with interest the article about the cheap Ford Explorers being auctioned recently at Brightwells, in Herefordshire. Although I haven't seen any Explorers quite as cheap as that, I know I can get a really impressive, low mileage and original example for Â£1500-Â£2000. And the prospect of running a big V6 doesn't put me off, as I only cover about 4000-5000 miles a year. The cost of petrol and a dearer tax disc over that mileage is nothing compared with the massive depreciation of a modern 4x4. The only trouble is, a friend of mine thinks I'm mad and is suggesting I spend the same amount on a decent V8 Range Rover Classic instead - but am I right in thinking it's more rust-prone than the Explorer, or perhaps less reliable?	More...

	PROFILE: MITSUBISHI L200 DOUBLE-CAB The previous-generation Mitsubishi L200 was, quite simply, the machine that made the double-cab pick-up famous in the UK. Sure, other manufacturers were quick to join the rapidly expanding double-cab market back in the late Nineties, but it was the top-selling L200 that was grabbing all the headlines.	More...

	ROAD TEST: MITSUBISHI OUTLANDER 2.0 DI-D There is plainly a vast market for large passenger cars like this one. Despite the current politically fashionable nonsense involving hypocritical madmen mouthing off at every opportunity about how everyone should drive cars with tiny engines, no performance and no space, in fact an ever-increasing number of folk appear to want the exact opposite. Democracy is plainly a wonderful, if slightly mystifying thing.	More...

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