28 March 2024 by Byron Mathioudakis
After years of seemingly nothing, 2024 is set to see the rebirth of the 4x4 wagon. We’ve already seen the coming, next-gen Toyota Prado 250 Series that defines the class. We’re also expecting the larger Nissan Y63 Patrol to finally break cover in the not-too-distant future. And beyond that,...Read more
19 March 2024 by Marcus Craft
Nissan Australia and Melbourne-based vehicle engineering company, Premcar, have very successfully combined forces to create finessed versions of the Navara and Patrol as part of their on-going Warrior program. Premcar has proven it can be entrusted with crucial conversion work, engineering upgrades...Read more
10 March 2024 by Marcus Craft
Ever since the current Suzuki Jimny was launched here five years ago, Zook enthusiasts have been nagging the company for a five-door version. Well, the arrival of the five-door Jimny XL is proof positive that nagging works. The XL is longer and heavier than the standard Jimny , but it has no...Read more
25 February 2024 by Marcus Craft
The Wildtrak grade in Ford’s Ranger line-up has attracted plenty of fans over the years and now the wagon version has arrived. The Ford Everest Wildtrak replaces the Sport as the second-most expensive variant in the Everest line-up, under the top-shelf Platinum. At more than $74,000, the Wildtrak...Read more
18 February 2024 by Marcus Craft
A new petrol-powered 4WD seems an anomaly in a world seemingly hell-bent on rapidly embracing EVs. However, there’s still room for a traditional off-road vehicle or two – especially those with front and rear diff locks – for the time being, anyway. I tested the Chinese-made GWM (Great Wall Motors)...Read more
8 February 2024 by Andrew Chesterton
Is Lexus the new off-road hero in Australia? Believe it or not, the all-new GX could make it so, with the five - or seven-seat SUV taking all the best tough stuff from the incoming Toyota LandCruiser Prado – meaning off-road tracks are yours to command – and adding a splash of premium opulence for...Read more
18 January 2024 by Andrew Chesterton
Meet the Toyota five years in the making. The right-hand drive Tundra, shipped in from Texas and re-engineered here in Australia. The program has been underway since 2018, with Toyota Australia heading to the USA, Toyota Japan coming to Australia, and just about everyone converging on Walkinshaw in...Read more
16 January 2024 by Marcus Craft
A few years back, as part of Nissan Australia’s Warrior program, local automotive engineering company Premcar was given free rein to transform a good 4WD ute – the Navara – into a hard-core beast and the Navara Pro-4X Warrior was the result. Now, it’s the Patrol’s turn. The Patrol Warrior is bigger...Read more
13 January 2024 by Marcus Craft
Vehicle marketers are guilty of tapping deep veins of hyperbole when talking about any vehicle that might have even a remote chance of venturing off a sealed surface. They use terms such as "off-road" and "adventure" and "off-grid" with such careless abandon these days that those utterances and the...Read more
28 December 2023 by Marcus Craft
Jeep Australia's first plug-in hybrid, the Grand Cherokee 4xe, has arrived at a time when the company’s sales figures need a decent shot in the arm. Though it’s seemingly spearheading a large and extra-large SUV hybrid push into the Aussie market, with the likes of a Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series...Read more
8 December 2023 by Byron Mathioudakis
Sand. You can’t have glass, concrete or Sandy Olsson from Grease without it. This stuff is ubiquitous. And you know what else is ubiquitous? The Mitsubishi Triton , that’s what! Over five generations since 1978, it’s been quietly working away in the background, while hotshots like the Ford Ranger...Read more
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