8 December 2023 by David Morley
Are you familiar with the expression: Be careful what you wish for? It’s an all-purpose warning against confusing what you think you want with what you really need. And it often applies to car design. See, ever since the first soft-roader ditched its low-ratio gear-set and ladder chassis, and the...Read more
7 December 2023 by Stephen Ottley
Let's be clear from the beginning. If you're one of the many, many people who's willingly put down a deposit and are patiently (or impatiently) awaiting the arrival of your Toyota LandCruiser 70 Series there is nothing I can do to change your mind. You think this nearly 40-year old off-roader with...Read more
6 December 2023 by Richard Berry
The Jimny XL is an 'extra large' five-door version of the little three-door Jimny off-road SUV. Now, we love the three-door version of the Jimny for its retro looks and impressive off-road ability, but does the XL with its longer wheelbase increase space for people and their gear that’s lacking in...Read more
16 November 2023 by Marcus Craft
The Mitsubishi Pajero Sport has a solid reputation as a very capable off-road vehicle and it also functions well as a daily driver, without ever being truly exceptional. The top-spec GSR packs plenty of standard features onboard, so, with the next Pajero Sport not due to arrive here until 2025, is...Read more
31 October 2023 by Marcus Craft
The 2023 SsangYong Rexton is a well-equipped, seven-seat 4WD wagon and, with a price-tag under $60 grand, it might just deserve your full attention. But the 2024 Rexton is due to arrive in Australian showrooms this month – and it’ll have a new dash layout, a bigger multimedia touchscreen as well as...Read more
23 October 2023 by Marcus Craft
The SUV sector of the car market is an increasingly sophisticated and highly competitive arena, and it’s one in which Jeep products have struggled to gain a real presence. The Jeep Grand Cherokee has found favour with some who regard it as a decent daily driver and a solid towing platform. We’ve...Read more
8 October 2023 by Marcus Craft
The 2024 Toyota LandCruiser Prado was unveiled in early August and it's set to land in Australia in mid-2024. It's the first all-new Prado in 14 years and it has many people very excited but, with delays blowing out customer wait-times for new vehicles, is a current seven-seat Prado the better...Read more
5 October 2023 by Byron Mathioudakis
Can you imagine General Motors somehow launching a special edition of the Commodore… today? That’s what it feels like approaching yet another variation of Nissan’s sixth-generation Patrol , which was originally released the same month as the Holden back in early 2013. Good thing, then, that the...Read more
21 September 2023 by Tom White
Toyota’s new HiLux variant is the biggest, meanest, most powerful diesel version ever delivered from the factory. It was developed primarily in Australia and manages to come in at a more affordable price-point than Ford’s new Ranger Raptor. It’s the HiLux GR Sport, the new halo variant for the...Read more
19 September 2023 by Marcus Craft
The Cannon XSR is GWM’s new top-shelf ute variant. This dual-cab 4WD ute is intended as an off-road -focussed vehicle and has visual and mechanical upgrades over the rest of the Cannon stable, including part-time 4WD (not the full-time 4WD on GWM’s lower-spec Cannons), a front differential lock (in...Read more
14 September 2023 by David Morley
Announced way back in March this year, Ford’s Ranger Wildtrak X is finally hitting showrooms. It joins other Ranger variants in the rather crowded top end of the Ranger price ladder where it’s designed to form a price-bridge between the regular Wildtrak models and the all-singing, all-dancing...Read more
2 September 2023 by Marcus Craft
Mahindra has a solid history in the agricultural world as a builder of farm equipment – tractors, harvesters and the like – and its Pik-Up ute and SUVs have been around for a while. But the Indian car manufacturer has never managed to establish as much of a sales foothold in Australia's mainstream...Read more
23 August 2023 by Tom White
Isuzu, in one form or another, is Japan’s oldest automaker. So, it shouldn’t be surprising the brand sits so far up the Australian sales charts. But it's success remains surprising because the local line-up consists of only two passenger cars, the MU-X SUV and D-Max ute. The off-road space is now...Read more
12 August 2023 by Marcus Craft
There has been plenty written about the GWM Tank 300 petrol hybrid and a lot of it has been positive, it has to be said. And even though we've only had the opportunity so far for a very brief drive of the vehicle at launch, we praised its build quality, ride and handling and off-road capability...Read more
8 August 2023 by Stephen Ottley
Have you seen that new Ford television commercial filled with its three most adventurous vehicles - the Ranger, Everest and Bronco - driving across a variety of Australian landscapes as people old and young alike have fun in a trio of the Blue Oval’s finest? No? That’s probably because it doesn’t...Read more
4 August 2023 by Marcus Craft
The Jeep Wrangler is a very capable 4WD with real bush cred, but the all-out glory is usually reserved for the hard-core Wrangler variant, the Rubicon. The Overland is often disparagingly referred to as the city Wrangler . But is that really the case? After all, it’s 'Trail Rated', as well. We...Read more
9 July 2023 by Marcus Craft
The Sahara used to be the big kahuna of the LandCruiser line-up – but no more. It now sits third from the top in the LC300 range, under the GR Sport and the Sahara ZX. However, that doesn't mean it's not full of the good stuff, because if you're looking for luxury and refinement, as well as real...Read more
1 July 2023 by Marcus Craft
The latest-generation Land Rover Defender has won ample praise (even from die-hard fans of the old Defender), it’s garnered a stack of awards around the world, and it’s also managed to sell pretty bloody well, don’t worry about that. To commemorate a huge Land Rover milestone – 75 years since the...Read more
15 June 2023 by Richard Berry
The success of Nissan’s hardcore Navara Warrior ute has led to this - the Patrol Warrior, a regular Patrol SUV that’s been engineered to be more capable off-road without compromising comfort, handling or the warranty. Well that’s what Nissan and the engineering firm Premcar say they’ve done and...Read more
