Jeep Hurricane

2 x V8 / 2 x 5.654 cc / 670 PS / 740 lb/ft (1.000 Nm) @ 3.500 / 0 - 62 mph (100 km/h): 5,0 s

(click images for a larger view)

Heatons Bridge Military Vehicle Show 2012

IT'S not often you get to see a brace of tanks defending a pub in the West Lancashire countryside.

But if you've been anywhere near Scarisbrick this is the surreal sight you might have seen, as a host of military machines from decades gone by invaded the grounds of the Heatons Bridge pub.

Thanks to the enthusiasts of the South Cumbria and North Lancashire Military Vehicle Trust visitors could check out everything from Willys Jeeps and Land Rovers, through Ferret armoured cars right up to the massive trucks and tanks used by armies across the world.

Life On Cars took these pictures at the show:

 

Have you got a classic car event you'd like to promote? Get in touch with Life On Cars at david.simister@hotmail.co.uk

West Lancashire pub to host military vehicle weekend

MILITARY machines from as far back as the Second World War will invade West Lancashire this spring for a major public display.

The event is being hosted by Heatons Bridge Inn, near Scarisbrick, on the weekend of April 14 and 15, with enthusiasts from as far afield as Cumbria bringing machines to display on a field behind the pub.

Steve Flitcroft, secretary of the South Cumbria and North Lancashire Military Vehicle Trust, which is organising the event, said: “At other events in other parts of the region we see a lot of people turning up to take at look at the military vehicles because they generate quite a lot of interest.

"We are the largest military vehicle trust in the UK and Europe, with vehicles going back as far as the First World War, so we're hoping that over the weekend we'll be able to show off quite a good cross section of military vehicles from conflicts going right up to the present day."

Although the exact details of the displays included in the event have yet to be confirmed, the public can expect to see vehicles Willys Jeeps, Ferret armoured cars, Saracen personnel carriers and larger ex-military machines.

The club will incorporate a second world war pillbox, which still stands near to the pub, into their display.

Steve Winrow, manager of the Heatons Bridge Inn, told Life On Cars he was looking forward to seeing the event taking place in April and to seeing the variety of vehicles expected to attend.

"It's not something we've ever done before, but a couple of the trust's members approached us and asked if the big field at the back, and the pillbox, could be used to host the weekend show.

"I'm really looking forward to it - it should be a brilliant event which will offer the people of West Lancashire something a bit different."

The event, which will also include a road run, takes place throughout the day on April 14 and 15 at the pub, situated on Heatons Bridge Road. For more information contact Mark on 01704 545514.

Fire up the... Jeep Grand Cherokee

DESPITE its all-American pretensions the biggest bruiser Jeep sells in Britain speaks to you with a curiously continental inflection.

Peel away the glitzy and defiantly stateside bodywork and the latest version of the company's Grand Cherokee has more than a few components any Mercedes mechanic will easily clock; yep, underneath it's got an awful lot in common with the latest M-Class off-roader. Yet, for better and for worse, the Americans have managed to make it feel reassuringly different.

The way the diesel-propelled 3.0 litre V6 Overland drives is that it doesn't pretend to be a low-slung sports car, and it's defiantly off-roader in the way it rolls and lurches if you really press on when you're driving. If you want revolutionary handling from something so high-riding, look elsewhere.

Yet I can forgive it that because the Grand Cherokee was clearly designed for conquering territories a tad tougher than Tesco's car parks, something immediately obvious when you glance at the centre console. On say, a BMW X3 you're met with a slick and sophisticated iDrive computer system, but the Jeep instead offers you a big, chunky switch, which lets you choose whether to put it up against snow, mud, sand or the M58. It's touches like this that let you know it's a proper mudplugger more than capable of coming out to play in the rough stuff.

You'll also either love or loathe its interior which seems to modelled more on the world of luxury yachts than motoring. With smoked black wood and lightest of beige leather trimmings it is a very American sort of place to be, but it keeps up the Stateside feel by being wonderfully comfortable and more spacious than any of the rivals I've driven.

At a whisker under £45,000 it isn't the cheapest 4x4 you're likely to come across, but it has a commanding driving position and a sense of imperiousness thrown in as standard, alongside all manner of gadgets and gizmos.

The Grand Cherokee isn't the best off-roader I've driven but perplexingly it is my favourite, which has got more to do with its indomitable spirit than any ability to tick the boxes.

For better, for worse?

CAN a car be better and worse than its rivals at the same time?



That's the question that's been troubling me all the way back from Wetherby, North Yorkshire, where I've just been on one of the SMMT's test driving days. Thanks to having the A1(M), some sweeping A-roads and lots of twisty little country lanes just a stone's throw away, it's the perfect place to put some new motors through their paces and come to some contrived conclusions.



Last year it was the revelation that I'd rather have Suzuki's stonkingly good Swift over the rapid Lexus IS-F that got me, but this year it's Jeep's new Grand Cherokee, the big 4X4 bruiser you see pictured above. It is - and bear with me on this one - better than one of its key rivals despite being a bit worse.



I know this because I took it for a spin just after being let loose in BMW's X3, which aside from the £40,000 pricetag is annoyingly brilliant. Its 3.0 litre diesel quietly offers up all the punch you'd ever ask for, it's beautifully built, takes corners amazingly well for something so high-rise and even looks better than its slightly awkward predecessor. If you're in the market for a £40k off-roader, you really can't do much better.





But....but..... I'd rather have the Grand Cherokee, a car which - despite also having a 3.0 litre diesel unit - is thirstier, more roly-poly around the roundabouts and slower on the straights. Quantatively speaking it's not as good as the £5k cheaper X3, but it's the car I'd rather have because it has an indefinable X factor to it, a certain shine that makes it feel special.



I'll put it to you this way; on the X3's centre console is the circular silver switch which gives you access to BMW's iDrive system, which is a thing of technological beauty. Glance at the same space in the big Jeep and you're met with a chunky switch which lets you choose whether to conquer sand, rocks, mud or the M62. It's the little things. The X3 looks like an off-roader, but the Jeep - for better and worse - feels like one.



In that sense, the Grand Cherokee's a lot like the Wrangler I drove last year, because while it doesn't tick as many as the boxes you can't help but develop a bit of soft spot for it because it makes you smile. So it's worse than the X3, but it's also better.



Which would you rather have?



A full video report from the SMMT North test day will be posted on Life On Cars later this week.

Fire up the... Jeep Wrangler

IT'S oversized, overpriced and over here. The latest incarnation of an Stateside off-road icon, whether you love it or loathe it, has arrived in the UK.

Jeep is about as American as Burger King but - unlike many other car companies trying to make a stab at crossing the Pond - it's worked its way into our affections. The firm's latest effort, the four-door Wrangler Unlimited Ultimate Edition, is the newest spin on the 70-year-old four-wheel-drive formula, and they're hoping it'll build on the popularity of the last Wrangler. But can it pull same trick as its predecessor in our newfound age of austerity?

Even if you're used to the likes of Land Rover's Freelander the new Jeep's a big beast; you don't just get in this thing, you clamber onto a step beneath the door and climb your way up, like a mountaineer making their way through the Rockies. It's big on price too, at a mildly frightening £25,000, but if you've got this far chances are the Wrangler's beefy looks are bound to win you over.

But there's no way of sugarcoating the way the Wrangler drives, which unless you're venturing off-road is badly. You're given a very commanding view over the flat bonnet, but push too enthusiastically into a corner and it rolls and lurches, with a hint of tyre squeal even at lower speeds. You'd also think that with a 2.8 litre diesel at its disposal it'd get about quickly, but it doesn't.

Yet for all for its flaws you can't help but love this car, because it makes you feel like Bruce Willis on even the most mundane of outings. It just feels tough, and that's not just in terms of its impressive build quality.

Technically the Land Rover Freelander is a much better buy, but if you like your cars with bags of character and a sense of unstoppable off-road ability, make way for a Wrangler.

As published in The Champion on August 4, 2010