In fact it seems almost all future utes will be joint ventures! Developing a new vehicle is a very, very expensive exercise and costs are only heading north. That’s why we’re seeing increasing numbers of manufacturers working together to develop…
Every time ANCAP or one of the equivalents test a bunch of cars for safety they send us journos the results, and usually it’s pretty boring as another set of cars are awarded 5-star ratings. Actually, allow me a little…
Another month, and another step taken away from the petrol and diesel engines towards electric. This time it’s all about Rivian, a US company who have started to publicise their R1T ute and R1S seven-seat 4WD, both pure electric drive,…
Land Rover makes many fine touring and towing vehicles, but the Evoque isn’t one of them … so why are we talking about it here? Well, this updated Evoque showcases a number of technologies that will be rolled out in…
Jeep’s new ute will be called the Gladiator and it is due in 2020. It isn’t officially released yet, but Jeep accidentally left some information and images on its website that were picked up by jeepgladiatorforum.com. As you’d expect from…
HSV’s imported Chevrolet Silverado ute hits the spot, big time Towing. It’s a tough gig, which can really sort the wheat from the chaff. In an age when engines are getting smaller, using multiple turbos and extra-ratio gearboxes to keep…
Mitsubishi’s Triton Updated Mitsubishi has updated its popular Triton ute, changing the way it looks, replacing the five-speed automatic with a six-speed, adding off-road modes and revising the interior. The new Triton will be in Australia in 2019 and follows…
The fourth-gen BMW X5 will be on sale from November 2018, launching with the XDrive (AWD) 30d and the M50d at $112,990 and $149,990 respectively. As usual with new models, the X5 has become bigger again; 36mm longer, 66mm wider…
The industry standard warranty used to be three years, 100,000km. And that’s what many manufacturers still offer, for example Toyota and Nissan. However, slowly but surely, some of the lesser-known brands in particular have increased warranty lengths in order to…
Not content with learning all there is to know about you through other tentacles, Google is now going to live in your car. Nissan, Mitsubishi and Renault have announced a technology partnership to embed Android in their cars. They say…
When sales of a vehicle are flagging a bit, the carmakers throw on a bit of bling and call it a special edition. This month its Nissan and the Navara, so we have a dual-cab SL model that gets 16-inch…
For less than $20,000 you can now drive away a brand-new dual-cab ute, Great Wall’s petrol 4X2 Steed. Yes, that’s missing diesel and 4WD, but for $20k you can’t expect everything. You do, however, get a one-tonne payload – more…
The world has waited far too long for the Defender replacement, and now it’s been spotted. Obviously, Land Rover doesn’t care too much about spy shots given the “Best 4x4xFar” sticker on the side. The Defender will be a most…
It’s Rugged by name, but has it got the heart for the hard yards? It’s not just Australia’s best-selling 4WD, it’s also Australia’s best-selling car. Toyota’s HiLux has long had a sales dominance of its own segment. But now that…
When you’ve only got a small caravan to tow, you don’t need to think big when it comes to a tow vehicle If you’re only towing a small caravan or camper-trailer, who says you need a big 4WD to tow…
Choice has been instrumental in bringing lacking lemon laws to the attention of Consumer Affairs Ministers, with the help of many horror stories from the public. These stories, involving various manufacturers from the caravan and automotive industries and others have…
The federal government has given us one version, the state governments keep changing their minds on what it all means, so how the bloody hell are the rest of us supposed to know what’s going on? Hopefully this will lighten…
The latest offering from Ram is now here in Australia, and it’s packed with potential Like a cat with hemispherical heads among the DPF-equipped pigeons, the Ram 1500 is looking to shake up the order when it comes to the…
