Kevin Baldwin - 28/06/2004

In order for Devon 4x4’s Simon Buck to show off his latest creation to yours truly, I’m informed that before I make any notes I need a demonstration drive to understand what this vehicle is all about. However, rather unusually I won’t be actually sat in the vehicle with its creator, but instead I’m told I have to stand on the appointed spot on the Devon 4x4 forecourt. We’ve been specially invited to Devon to check out Buck’s latest baby, which breaking with the traditional mud and guts off-roading that the green and yellow Devon 4x4 livery is so famous for, is this time aimed primarily at owners who want to buy into the Land Rover lifestyle, but don’t necessarily have any designs on getting their designer boots dirty.

As Simon returns with the keys to the double-cab, I’m reminded to stay right where I am. ‘Just listen to this’, beams the clearly chuffed owner as he fires up the Td5 engine. An unusually shrill exhaust note on tickover rises to a deep throaty snort as Buck dabs the accelerator. With almost childlike enthusiasm, I’m invited to listen to sound of the 110 while treated to a 60mph forecourt flypast.

As I wait patiently for my ‘demo’ and Buck waits for a gap in the busy early morning traffic to do his first pass, a smartly dressed designer clothes wearing trendy in a brand new Mitsubishi Evo leans casually on the oversized tailfin of his car while filling with petrol. Over his shoulder, Buck spies a gap in the traffic and floors the accelerator. With a puff of black smoke, the 110 launches itself off the Devon 4x4 forecourt leaving four black lines and a good 500 miles worth of best BF Goodrich rubber on the tarmac. The Evo drivers head snaps round as he hears the tyres howl and proceeds to watch in bewilderment as the 110 rapidly vanish out of sight into the distance, its engine barking as the Buckmeister demonstrates his racing change technique with a R380 gearbox . Turning toward my direction, the Evo driver mouths something to me with the gentle shake of the head and a grin. Above the roar of the busy trunk road it was difficult make out exactly what he’d said, but to quote a line from Rowan Atkinson’s Captain Blackadder: “I think the phrase rhymes with 'clucking bell”. Echoing much the same sentiment myself, I nod back at the stranger in acknowledgement… I could imagine him thinking ‘Land Rovers just don’t do that…’ Except when they’ve been given the Devon 4x4 treatment they do!

Aimed unashamedly at what is now know as the ‘lifestyle market’, it should be stressed that this kind of petrol-headed behaviour should be frowned upon, especially on the school-run. Curb any excess with the right-foot and take comfort from the fact the kids will arrive at school in the best looking truck on the block.

Simon Buck bought the 110 double-cab with every intention of putting it straight onto the company forecourt. However, when it arrived with a generous amount of ‘rent’ (dealer speak for road-fund licence) in the window, Simon began to use the car more and more for himself and the more he drove it the more his creative juices began to stir. ‘We’d been looking at building something other than an out and out off-roader and this seemed like the perfect vehicle to use as a starting point. Japanese lifestyle Double-Cabs are getting more and more popular at the moment, so we thought why not have a go at building our own ‘Lifestyle’ Land Rover double cab.’ I think the result ended up better than we expected. The Devon 4x4 forecourt is always an eye-catching sight, thanks to the familiar green and yellow fleet of competition vehicles gracing its line-up, but the latest fire-engined red addition to the display has already got the phone ringing from punters wanting to know how they can give their own double cab a Devon 4x4 makeover.

In an attempt to ‘avoid a tacky look’ the changes made to the vehicle are actually fairly minimal; proof that good taste and a good eye for the right products are all it takes to transform the appearance of what was once a bog standard double cab into a real head turner. It also makes the job, cheaper than you might think.

Granted, it helps when you’ve got the store cupboard belonging one of the countries leading supplier of off-road goodies at your disposal, but as you can see, the look has been achieved using a conservative selection of, off the shelf parts, rather than the a budget busting pile of custom accessories often needed to give you the edge in the custom stakes.

For maximum impact, the truck needed to sit a little higher in the saddle, so to accommodate those 33x12.50/15 BFG Mud Terrains, extended Old Man Emu springs and shocks were fitted to each corner. These are ably assisted by an OME steering damper to look after any kick from the oversized rubber mounted on four and half inch offset Mach 5’s.

Externally not a lot else has changed. The roof has been colour matched to the body to excellent effect; an ARB bumper acts as a mount for the IPF spotlamps and you’d have to be an anorak worthy of Olympic standard to spot the IPF replacement headlamp units whose improved performance Simon can’t rave enough about. At the time of our visit, plans were afoot to mount a heavy duty tubular bar behind the cab to mount some spots and to fill in the deck of the loadspace with chequer plate If you’d seen the truck at this years LRW show you’ll have seen the bar and the chequer plate platform in place, but Buck still hadn’t got round to the swingaway wheel carrier mounted and side hinging tailgate that currently in the offing.

Inside is where the Defender is traditionally lacking in the lifestyle department, so naturally Devon 4x4 has tried to make the inside as comfortable as you can… for a Land Rover Defender. Most of the standard trim has been retained except for the steel Exmoor Trim cubby box in place of the Land Rover original while handsfree car-phone kit and a Garmin GPS system sit in the spot in the dash where the radio would normally live. This is made possible thanks to the fitting of the South African sourced ‘Outback’ overhead roof console which now provides a convenient and smart way to locate the Sony CD head unit (the multi-changer lives in the lockable cubby box) and provides both driver and passenger with other conveniences like directional courtesy lights, CB mounting and drop down oddment bins. Simon admits the console wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to fit (his exact words have to be censored!), but when you inspect the professional finish of the end result, it makes you wonder why Land Rover has never bothered to utilise this hitherto area of wasted space.

The most noticeable difference to this truck though is when you take it for a drive. After Simon returns following the Royal flypast in front of ‘Buck House’ (he does it twice just in case I missed him the first time), I’m invited the take the wheel myself. The wonderful exhaust note has been achieved by replacing the centre silencer box with a straight-through pipe, while credit for the extra get up and go is down to master Land Rover tuner Jeremy Fearn. It was he who supplied Devon 4x4 with the enlarged intercooler and the remapped chip to up the Td5’s power to just short of 200bhp. Mind you, you need all the help you can get when you’re running 35in tyres, which might also explain the fitting of the GKN overdrive. Although the GKN unit has been around for a number of years now, this was the very first time I’d actually found myself behind the wheel of a Defender with one fitted. Ten minutes was all it took to realise why those that have them rave about them so much. Drive a Defender with one fitted and I guarantee you will want one! It really is that good. Simon encourages me to make use of the available power and the overdrive by accelerating up the nearby dual carriageway splitting every gear without lifting my foot off the throttle. Thanks to the Overdrive being able to shift without the use of the clutch, the 110 suddenly turns into a fire breathing behemoth to match its in your face road presence. As Simon says: ‘people just don’t expect to see a Land Rover crawling all over you…’ How fast is it? According Simon Fast enough to out sprint a Mercedes Sprinter. Now that’s fast!

Simon confessed to liking his 110 so much that when it came to deciding which car of the cars on the forecourt to take on holiday Spain, he ignored the P38 Range Rover and the top of the range Discovery 2 and went for the double cab instead. Despite its state of tune and the extra effort required to turn those larger tyres, Buck reckons it’ll do 24/25mpg ‘no problem’. Drive it hard and exploit all of JJ Fearns handiwork for prolonged motorway work or towing and Simon can get that figure down to 13mpg! That’s some difference, but the glint in his eye suggests, the rest of us might just be able to do better. Mind you, having had a ‘play’ behind the wheel, there’s also a chance you might not!