We waved goodbye to 'Tilly' as my every-day car and serice wagon in Feb of 2003, and made way for a new Nissan Navara pickup instead. Although Tilly was going fine and dandy, my work started taking me on long commutes and it just wasn't a good idea to ask Tilly to stand up to the mileage each week, the poor old girl. So in stepped the Navara and I hate to say it, much as I loved the old Disco, this thing's got it licked in pretty much every department bar one.

It's got room for 5 adults in climate-controlled, electric windowed, Japanese-plastic-wrapped comfort and while the interior is functional rather than stylish or charistmatic, you just know everything in there is still going to be working in 15 years. The engine is a corking 2.5 litre 4-cylinder diesel with 133bhp and, more importantly, a stonking 304Nm of torque (making it the most powerful 1-tonne diesel pickup on the UK market at time of writing). You've got a 5-speed manual box with high and low ratios and selectable four-wheel drive (hi-2, hi-4 and low-4). The thing will pull a house down, let alone a piddly little Peugeot 205 rally car.

In the back you've got a nice big load space, not as tall as the Discovery granted, but a more useful 'square' space. I've got a rear hard top for it, keeping everything out of the rain and secureable via a locking upper tailgate.

It's great to drive - it drives just like a car - and you're high up enough to read and see the road better. You've got the added benefit of four-wheel drive if and when you need it, but most of the time you can keep it in rear-wheel drive only mode and have some fun in the rain round traffic roundabouts! Naturally it's not going to really cope with any serious off-roading, which is where it loses out to the Disco... it's got a long wheelbase and it's leaf-sprung at the back, with low side-steps, so it's not very compliant over serious camber changes and it'd ground out pretty quick. But, hey, you can't have it all... and it's not like I do any off-roading anyway these days!

For the ultimate vehicle you can use everyday AND as a service barge, I can't think of anything better than one of the various 1-tonner pickups out there (Mitsubishi and Nissan must be the top selling, I imagine). Still no match for an out-and-out service truck, no, but if you have to make do with something that can support dual roles - this is your beasty.