6 July 2025 by Marcus Craft
Toyota Australia has made a raft of changes to the current LandCruiser 300 Series line-up as part of the latest round of upgrades, but even though the third-from-top Sahara gets a $1119 price rise, it doesn’t receive any updates. In an increasingly competitive 4WD wagon market – where some car-...Read more
17 June 2025 by Marcus Craft
The entire 2025 Nissan Patrol range – including the Ti-based, Premcar-boosted Warrior – has undergone a cabin update. Changes include a new bigger touchscreen multimedia system , wireless charging and an off-road monitor. The same V8 engine remains across the range so there are no changes to power...Read more
15 June 2025 by Marcus Craft
If you're in the market for a premium-style four-wheel drive wagon with eight seats and a petrol V8 engine and you live in Australia, your choices have been rather limited. You'd be looking at something like the Nissan Patrol or the Land Rover Defender 130. Well, that has now changed as General...Read more
23 May 2025 by Byron Mathioudakis
What’s this? Another revised Nissan Y62 Patrol? That’s right, even though its Y63 next-generation successor has been on sale in left-hand drive form elsewhere since 2024. But with no right-hand drive production yet, Australians might still have to wait another 18 months or more, so a timely, model-...Read more
11 May 2025 by Marcus Craft
The Ford Ranger line-up’s limited-edition Tremor arrived here in the second half of 2024, now the Ford Everest gets its own Tremor. Based on the Everest Sport , this Tremor is not a limited-edition variant and gets the 3.0-litre , turbo - diesel V6 engine (rather than the Ranger Tremor’s 2.0-litre...Read more
9 May 2025 by Tom White
Finally, you can touch it, smell it, taste it. Yep, the Kia Tasman is here on Australian shores. Well, almost. You won’t be able to get your hands on a production car until July this year, but in anticipation of its momentous launch, Kia has granted us a preview of a top-spec (slightly) pre-...Read more
30 April 2025 by Marcus Craft
The Toyota Tundra Limited is the latest in a long line of full-size American utes to arrive in Australia. It arrives here as a left-hander and is converted to right-hand drive by well-known Melbourne automotive engineering company Walkinshaw, and as such the Tundra ends up a well-engineered, well-...Read more
8 April 2025 by Marcus Craft
Mazda’s BT-50 range has been updated with more safety gear, new wheels and exterior lighting, an upgraded multimedia system and digital driver’s display, as well as styling tweaks across the board, including to the interior trim. Prices have, of course, gone up across the range and the previous top...Read more
29 March 2025 by Marcus Craft
The new Isuzu MU-X X-Terrain is the top-shelf variant in the recently facelifted MU-X line-up. The X-Terrain is a seven-seat 4WD wagon and – as part of this new MU-X range – it has an updated chassis, a tweaked suspension set-up, some new safety tech and a recalibrated rough terrain mode ( Isuzu’s...Read more
12 March 2025 by James Cleary
There’s a major highway in China that runs from Shanghai in the east to Zhangmu in the west, over 5000km, up to the Nepalese border. And, believe it or not, this car is named after it… the G318. It’s a range-extender electric vehicle that’s under evaluation for Australia. In fact, Deepal Australia...Read more
9 March 2025 by Marcus Craft
The new-generation Mitsubishi Triton range was launched last year, marking the biggest change for the vehicle in a long time: a new bi-turbo engine (150kW/470Nm), overhauled design, new chassis and suspension (pushing towing capacity to 3500kg), and longer wheelbase, among a raft of changes. Now,...Read more
6 March 2025 by Stephen Ottley
Ford knows it’s in for a tough fight in 2025. The Blue Oval brand is facing the twin challenges of new ute rivals to compete against its best-selling Ranger, and the arrival of the all-new Toyota LandCruiser Prado to give the Everest a hard time. But Ford isn’t backing down. In fact, it has...Read more
2 March 2025 by Marcus Craft
The Toyota Fortuner has been around since 2015 with very few significant changes in the years between then and now. And that’s telling because the HiLux -based Fortuner has never managed to make the mark in its market segment that Toyota would so dearly like it to. With a new Fortuner possibly due...Read more
28 February 2025 by Stephen Ottley
Isuzu is very good at doing a lot with a little. The Japanese brand was the eighth best-selling car brand in Australia in 2024 despite just having two models to offer customers - the D-Max ute and MU-X SUV. But this rugged and capable duo is apparently just what Australian buyers are looking for,...Read more
13 February 2025 by Marcus Craft
Carmakers nowadays are increasingly entering into collaborations with vehicle-engineering companies in order to develop “special” vehicles. Why? Well, for one thing, car buyers now demand much more than a mere sticker pack on their 4WD if that vehicle has been marketed as a limited-edition/special-...Read more
12 February 2025 by Stephen Ottley
Every family has a ‘black sheep’ and for Mazda, it’s the BT-50. Think Mazda and you’ll probably have the image of a stylish SUV or maybe a small hatch pop into your mind. That’s because the Japanese maker has carved itself a reputation as a ‘semi-premium’ car brand, offering a luxury alternative on...Read more
8 February 2025 by Marcus Craft
Anticipation for the 2025 Toyota LandCruiser Prado was high, to say the least, because previous generations of the Prado have been much loved as 4WD touring vehicles. It was hoped that the new Prado would carry on that adventurous spirit but also represent a substantial shift forward for the model...Read more
3 January 2025 by Marcus Craft
The 2025 Lexus GX550 Overtrail is the off-road hero of the new three-variant GX line-up. It’s a large luxury 4WD wagon with a V6 engine, it’s based on the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series platform, which the all-new Prado shares so, even though the GX550 has a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine and...Read more
21 December 2024 by Marcus Craft
The Raptor is the Ford Ranger line-up’s high-end, high-performance ute that everyone knows about – but this version has a V6 engine, an upgraded suspension set-up and drive modes aimed at making it a built-for-purpose adventure machine. But while it’s great for high-speed off-road shenanigans, does...Read more