ROVER RESOLUTIONS

Patrick reflects on what was 2016 and looks into the future

“Why own a Land Rover if you are not going to use it to create lasting memories?”

So, 2016 has been a massive year for Land Rover. They stopped producing the Defender as we know it on January 29, 2016 and this just led to a dramatic increase in the prices of secondhand vehicles. I, too, succumbed to the mad rush and purchased one ,as it is without a doubt my favourite Land Rover ever produced. Then, towards the end of the year the all-new Discovery was unveiled. Some lucky souls like myself got to drive it off-road in Scotland and you can read all about that on page 40.

It looks like Jaguar Land Rover will once again announce record annual sales while their chief executive Dr Ralf Speth announced that they would like to double annual production to one million cars. Who would’ve predicted that 15 years ago? What can we expect from them in 2017? Will we see the first official images of the new Defender? Only time will tell.

On a personal level, 2017 excites me. I have already drawn my Land Rover bucket list for the year. It goes a little like this: explore the Western Isles of Scotland, visit the British Motor Museum with my Land Rover mad son Isaac, attend a round of the Defender Challenge and go camping with the family in the Lake District. Last but not least, to go off-roading somewhere new in Europe.

I know that work, family and life keep us pretty busy but why own a Land Rover if you are not going to use it to create lasting memories? I truly hope that all your Land Rover dreams for 2017 become a reality.

DEPUTY EDITOR

PATRICK CRUYWAGEN