At home in the Range Rover
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CM learns why the authorities like them
MUNICIPAL and public authorities are finding more use these days for four-wheel-deve vehi cles which will go anywhere and can double as a saloon car or load carrier when necessary.
Police forces use them as motorway accident tenders, loading them with all their necessary paraphernalia, while the Forestry Commission employs them in rugged country such as parts of Wales. Such vehicles are even converted to ambulances.
There are two main contenders on the British market - the American Jeep version is imported in very small numbers -namely, the Toyota Land Cruiser and Britain's own Range Rover. Without doubt the Range Rover is the more
popular in the UK so CM decided to carry out a brief test on one to see what it offers a potential operator.
Rather than take any specific performance figures the vehi cle supplied by Leyland cars was a couple of years old and had covered more than 30,000 miles) we tried it over rough terrain at a military proving ground and on normal roads, and immediately felt at home.
When driven hard over the rough terrain, fuel consumption was fairly low at 18.1 lit/100km (15.6mpg). However, normal road use brought this up to an average of 15.3 lit/100km 18.5mpg).
Bearing in mind that the Range Rover is fitted with a 3.5-litre
1214cuin). V-8 petrol engine and is a heavy vehicle, these figures are quite good.
Load carrying
• From a load carrying point of view the Range Rover is used as an estate saloon. The comfortable rear seats can be folded to give 1.65cum (59cuft) of usable space. To increase its carrying ability the rear tailgate can be left down providing extra stowage space.
Unfortunately, the large spare wheel takes up a fair amount of space on the nearside at the rear. Despite this, the other intrusions are small, being confined to two halfround wheel arches. The rear cargo space is covered in rubber matting which I would 'doubt could survive much hard use.
When the rear seat is folded forward, its base forms a useful steel bulkhead. At the back, the upper tailgate section is held open by two gas fitted struts and the lower part has two folding metal stays.
When in use to carry passengers, the front seats are folded forward permitting access to the rear. Cleverly, Leyland has provided a handle at each end of the large front doors to allow rear passengers to get out unaided.
Driving impressions
• The Range Rover is a definite compromise between a road-going car and a crosscountry vehicle. As such it's a good one.
However, the permanently coupled four-wheel-drive transmission is terribly noisy, especially in top gear.
Over rough ground the long travel of the Range Rover's suspension kept it on a level course and gave a ride reasonably free of bumps. But on ordinary roads I found the suspension to be too soft and the vehicle just like driving a jelly. Coil springs with longstroke shock absorbers are fitted to trailing arms at the rear and these were probably the chief cause of the trouble.
The overall specification of the Range Rover is, in fact, excellent with servo-assisted disc brakes front and rear. These were more than adequate for all eventualities both on and off road.
In spite. of the large amount of water about on our crosscountry test, they never failed to stop the vehicle quickly and evenly.
In the cab
• A luxurious interior is provided for the Range Rover driver with a carpeted floor not very practical for muddy areas) and seats in brushed nylon.
Instrumentation includes a bank of vertically mounted warning lights flanked by a speedo to the right and a combined fuel and temperature gauge to the left. An oil temperature gauge and voltmeter mounted on the lower . half of the dash are effectively masked by a thick-spoked steering wheel in the straight ahead position.
Controls for washers, wipers, lights and indicators are fitted around the column. In fact, there are four switches, which tends to be confusing especially at night.
Our test vehicle was fitted with the optional power steer ing which I would class as a necessity rather than extra. It proved to be light but respon
sive while still allowing plenty of feel, Nevertheless, it wag• noisy especially on full locks.
A long floor-mounted lever controls the four-speed gearbox and there is a separate selector for high and low ratios. This also has a neutral position to drive ancillary equipment by means of a power take-off.
A third diff is incorporated in the transmission and this can be locked using a vacuum switch mounted on the gearbox tunnel. Unfortunately, this switch was broken on our test vehicle, so it was lucky we didn't get stuck in the mud going cross country.
Access
• A large rear-hinged bonnet gives good access to the VB engine with items such as plugs and points being easy to reach. The under-bonnet compartment seems to get covered in mud and water but without affecting the electrics. A reservoir for the power steering is mounted high on the nearside and is easy to top up.
Summary
• As a compromise between a go-anywhere workhorse and a comfortable car, the Range Rover comes out very well. Even with a six to 12-month waiting list and a £6,850 basic price tag it still appeals to many operators. • Stephen Gray