The Matra-Simca Rancho was a crossover that appeared in 1977, decades before anyone had thought up the term. Back then, it was known as a “lifestyle” vehicle, and in many ways, it set the template for ...

Lou is a freelance journalist and content writer with a focus on the automotive world. After graduating from Coventry University (Automotive Journalism MA) in 2020, she worked in automotive e-commerce ...

A combination of tough, off-road looks yet without four-wheel drive predated the current trend for 'soft-roaders' by almost 50 years Dr. Andrew Roberts is a cinema and motoring historian whose writing ...

If you’re a child of the 1980s, chances are you played with a Matra-Simca Rancho – later known as the Talbot-Matra Rancho – without ever really knowing what it was. The Rancho certainly looked like an ...

If you thought SUVs based on regular cars were a new thing, then pack your bags as we’re heading to France in the late 1970s. The car needed to be relatively inexpensive to bring to market, and offer ...

On the eve of Land Rover promising to crack down on dodgy Chinese rip-offs (specifically the gold nuggets that come out of unfortunately-named ‘Land Wind’) we remember the dodgy French Discovery ...

Right now, off-roaders (also known, amusingly, as Sports Utility Vehicles - SUVs) are hot property. There's a whiff of political incorrectness about them, but millions of buyers still want them, ...

WHAT IS IT? Back in the Seventies, if you wanted a 4x4 that was a decent steer, you pretty much had a choice of one: the Range Rover. The Matra Rancho was a brave attempt to marry the butch off-road ...

Gilbert Smith is an automotive journalist with over five years of specialized research and writing experience. Before joining CarBuzz in 2024, he produced in-depth buyer’s guides and feature articles ...

This front-drive 4x4 lookalike for impecunious Range Rover wannabes was, nevertheless, ahead of its time and quite popular, with almost 58,000 sold. With three rows of seats it was a mini-MPV and, ...