There is a lot of importance placed on prepping your Land Rover for winter, the magazines run whole articles on it, social media discussions abound on the subject. But what about summer?

OK so we are not always blessed with long hot summers in the UK but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the effects that hotter, drier weather will have on the performance and economy of your Defender.

On a hot and sunny day you’ve all seen the them at the side of a road, probably on the way back from a green lane trip or pay‘n’play day, covered in a layer of stickers, and then a layer of mud with the bonnet propped open and whisps of steam emerging from the front.

A couple of trips frolicking in the mud earlier in the year went by without a hitch, but now, with the radiator fins all clogged up the poor beast has died of heat exhaustion, leaving a couple of young lads with unsuitable footwear scratching their heads as they peer under the bonnet. Now that shouldn’t happen to a fine British steed, after all Land Rover owners are renowned for their fastidious maintenance; so how are we going to prepare for a hot summer?