BORN in Middlewich, Cheshire East, Leonie Tagan moved to Australia with her family in 1992 – when she was just six-years old – to Hallett Cove, a coastal suburb of Adelaide in a protected conservation area. Like most young girls Leonie had a serious love of nature and sports and most of her weekends were spent seeking out some of the best off-road destinations with her parents and younger sister. By the age of 12 she was already driving their Mitsubishi Pajero in the outback or on friends’ land.
“I think it’s in the blood that I would have the Land Rover disease,” quips Leonie a few minutes into our interview. “I’ve always loved four-wheel drives, and once my parents bought their first green oval-badged 4x4 – albeit a Range Rover [1998 Vogue Plus] – I was smitten. It had air suspension and I loved watching it trying to level itself, especially on a hill or a curb; we were so mean to that poor car! Once the Discovery came out I just loved them and knew one day I’d have one. Not everyone in Australia likes Land Rovers, though. I’ve had several partners that wouldn’t let me get one, a lot of them forget that Toyotas are Japanese.”
At 16
