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Articles by Dom Tripolone

Dom Tripolone
News Editor

Dom is Sydney born and raised and one of his earliest memories of cars is sitting in the back seat of his dad's BMW coupe that smelled like sawdust.

He aspired to be a newspaper journalist from a young age and started his career at the Sydney Morning Herald working in the Drive section before moving over to News Corp to report on all things motoring across the company's newspapers and digital websites.

Dom has embraced the digital revolution and joined CarsGuide as News Editor, where he finds joy in searching out the most interesting and fast-paced news stories on the brands you love. In his spare time Dom can be found driving his young son from park to park.

Next-gen popular family SUV takes shape in fresh renders: 2026 Kia Sorento appears online as new rival to the Toyota Kluger Hybrid, Hyundai Santa Fe and MG QS is under development and it could go hybrid only
By Dom Tripolone · 20 May 2025
Kia’s popular family SUV could be going hybrid only. The next-generation Kia Sorento is under development and could be about to ditch petrol and diesel power when it arrives in late 2026 or early 2027, according to reports.
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Next-gen Nissan Navara takes shape: New dual-cab ute details reveal tough rival to the 2025 Ford Ranger, BYD Shark 6 and Toyota HiLux
By Dom Tripolone · 18 May 2025
Nissan is urgently cooking up its vital new Navara dual-cab ute.The rugged new workhorse hasn’t been revealed yet but we’ve followed the breadcrumbs laid out by the Japanese brand and it’s starting to take shape via our digital render.Nissan threw out a red herring a few weeks back at the Shanghai motor show with its Frontier Pro mid-size ute reveal, but that vehicle won’t be the new Navara, according to previous information delivered by the brand.We know the new Navara will be based on the current Mitsubishi Triton and will come with diesel and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power.Nissan global executive, Guillaume Cartier, told CarsGuide last year that it would lean into its strategic alliance to lower development costs and shortcut production timings.He confirmed it would have diesel grunt but would add petrol plug-in hybrid power during its lifecycle and then go fully electric once the brand's solid state battery ambitions were realised.This tie-up with alliance partner Mitsubishi could result in a 2.5-litre petrol engine paired with a pair of electric motors and a circa-23kWh battery to deliver more grunt than any Navara ahead of it, while slashing fuel use to about 2.0L/100km and pushing EV-only driving range close to 100km. It will need to if it is a hope of unseating the BYD Shark 6 and incoming Ford Ranger PHEV.Diesel power is likely to come from Mitsubishi’s bi-turbo 2.4-litre turbo-diesel engine that delivers 150kW and 470Nm. It can carry a one-tonne payload and tow up to 3500kg.The Frontier Pro revealed in China the past month is a result of the company’s Chinese joint venture with Dongfeng, dubbed Zhengzhou Nissan.It uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine and transmission-mounted electric motor as the Frontier Pro. This set-up produces a whopping 300kW and 800Nm sent to all four wheels, which are eye-popping numbers by diesel ute standards.Built in China, this ute is expected to be for export markets, but is unlikely to replace the Navara. It might form a one-two punch in the brand’s ute line-up in the future, though.Digital artist Thanos Pappas has applied his craft to give us a vision of what that ute could look like. A shadow teaser image gave us the silhouette and he’s filled in the blanks.It’s a big blocky ute with flared wheel arches holding rugged all terrain tyres.A three-tier lighting signature adds some futuristic pop to the ute, as does a glowing Nissan logo. Rugged underbody cladding and side steps show its capabilities. Nissan has previously announced the new “one-ton pick-up” is due in FY26, which for Japanese companies runs from April 2026 to March 27.
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Toyota confirms big electric SUV plan: 2026 Toyota bZ4X Touring revealed as a stretched version of the Japanese brand's Tesla Model Y, XPeng G6 and Kia EV5 rival
By Dom Tripolone · 16 May 2025
Toyota has revealed its potent new electric SUV.Dubbed the bZ4X Touring, it is a stretched version of the bZ4X SUV that is currently on sale.It is confirmed to land in Australian showrooms in the first half of next year, and resembles an EV version of the Subaru Outback SUV-cum-wagon.Toyota hasn’t revealed many details yet, but it will have two electric motors pumping out 280kW sent to all four wheels.It will come with the same circa-75kWh battery as the refreshed standard bZ4X, which should push its driving range past 500km but exact specification will be revealed closer to the car’s launch date.Toyota won’t reveal prices until closer to its launch date but expect it to be pricier than the current all-wheel drive version of the standard bZ4X that will set customers back about $80,000 drive-away.That price would put it at a substantial disadvantage compared to fellow mid-size EVs such as the Tesla Model Y and Kia EV5 and the wave of Chinese newcomers such as the XPeng G6 and Geely EX5.Toyota's current bZ4X sales run rate is about 80 cars a month, which puts it at about 1000 a year and substantially below rivals.Toyota Australia’s sales and marketing chief, Sean Hanley, said the vehicle would appeal to those in need of extra cargo space and the bigger battery and all-wheel-drive set-up would appeal to those wanting to do long-distance touring.The bZ4X Touring is expected to come with the same upgrades earmarked for the standard version later this year.That means a new 14-inch multimedia screen and 7.0-inch driver display.It’ll have roof rails and chunky wheel-arch guards and rear cladding that give it strong Subaru Outback vibes.The reveal of the new body shaped variant of the bZ4X follows the reveal of the electric C-HR, which is believed to be headed our way in the coming years.Toyota said the CH-R EV's max driving range is 600km via the benchmark WLTP testing cycle, but this has not been homologated yet.
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Mazda powers up: Japanese brand joins forces with world's biggest electric car battery maker to build new EVs
By Dom Tripolone · 15 May 2025
Mazda’s electric car range is about to be hit with a power surge.
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Skoda Elroq 2025 review: Australian preview drive
By Dom Tripolone · 14 May 2025
This compact but mighty new electric car is headed to Australia and some big name players will be looking over their shoulders.
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