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ONELIFE #37 – English

  • Text
  • Cars
  • Onelife
  • Landrover
  • Rover
  • Rovers
  • Cape
  • Epic
  • Defender
  • Vehicles
  • Donegal
  • Phev
  • Arctic
  • Kolisi
Land Rover’s Onelife magazine showcases stories from around the world that celebrate inner strength and the drive to go Above and Beyond. For this issue of Onelife we visited Maneybhanjang in the Indian Himalaya, where Land Rover Series Is and IIs rule the roost, we followed the north star to the Land Rover Ice Academy in Arjeplog, Sweden, which offers thrilling ice driving action and bring you the story of outdoorsman Monty Halls and his family who are out with a Discovery for a scenic escape in Ireland.

“ THERE´S SOMETHING

“ THERE´S SOMETHING ENCHANTING ABOUT GLIDING SILENTLY THROUGH THE FOREST” Overlooking the spectacular 250 km 2 Lake Hornavan, the Land Rover Ice Academy offers three- and four-day ice driving courses with expert instructors. Guests learn how to handle the latest Land Rover vehicles around a series of tracks, from intricate slaloming, to exhilarating high-speed drifting and off-roading through the snow-covered trees. As learning curves go, it’s a steep one. Driving on ice is a very different experience to negotiating everyday roads and patience is key, as the (very patient) instructors continually point out. It’s a fine balancing act between throttle, steering and brakes get it right and you’re floating at right angles around corners; get it wrong and you’ll quickly spin into a snow bank. Earlier in the day, I experienced this first-hand behind the wheel of a Range Rover Velar. After a briefing in the Experience lodge next to the lake, the first challenge is to negotiate what appears to be a simple slalom course. “Find the balance and let the momentum take you,” says my instructor Andre D’Cruze, as he tells me when to steer, brake and put my foot down. “You can’t make immediate adjustments like you can on tarmac, so don’t steer too hard.” Despite the Velar’s undoubted off-road abilities, my initial lack of expertise sees me pirouetting more often than an ice dancer. But after a few runs, it becomes easier to pick the right moment to ease off on the throttle and flick the steering wheel. It’s still a long way off Andre’s Hollywood stunt driving skills, but it’s a reassuring sign of progress nevertheless. In addition to the thrills on the track, a Land Rover Experience visit to Arjeplog has plenty of lower-speed highlights to offer, including a drive north to take in the dramatic beauty of the Arctic Circle, a bracing snowmobile tour, as well as the serene husky sled ride. “This is a beautiful place and there’s something quite enchanting about gliding silently through the forests,” says Malin, as we slowly warm up after the sled ride, in the Hotel Silverhatten overlooking Lake Hornavan. Over a delicious meal of reindeer steaks and moose burgers, the couple explain how they set up 64

RIGHT XXXXXX Left: Cap an invigorating drive by relaxing in front of a crackling fire at Hotel Silverhatten. Below: The Velar takes the Arctic wilderness in its stride SMOOTH OPERATOR The Velar’s striking looks saw it crowned World Car Design of the Year 2018. But its beauty isn‘t just skin deep. Torque-on-demand all-wheel drive gives it outstanding performance both on- and off-road, while the Terrain Response system ensures confident handling in even the most challenging conditions. 65