Vehicles
Mystery Shrouds the Patrol Warrior
Project Maybach – $500,000 of off-road luxury
Ranger Raptor Leaked Walkthrough
70 SERIES ‘CRUISER TO SIDESTEP SAFETY UPGRADES
Why I’m Not Buying a 300 Series
The 300 Series Toyota LandCruiser would have to be the most anticipated new vehicle release in decades but is it a worthy replacement for the venerable 200 Series? Our resident not-so-grey nomad, Marty Ledwich, reckons it’s not for him just yet and here’s why. Toyota’s all-new 300 Series LandCruiser has been with us for a little over 3 months and much has been written about it since it first hit the streets. As the owner of a 200 Series LandCruiser, I’ve been following the commentary with great interest, particularly the feedback from those who have made the transition and those who have decided not to. I have to say, opinions sway both ways. If you’re considering making the switch, the decision is going to be a difficult one, to say the least. The arguments for upgrading to a 300 Series are quite compelling. The new Cruiser is a more modern vehicle sporting the latest technology. It is lighter, more powerful and supposedly more fuel-efficient. It arguably addresses many of the shortcomings of the vehicle it replaces which was looking pretty outdated five years ago. And while the prices for a new 300 Series are a little eye-watering (not to mention the wait times), the prices people are paying for second hand 200’s are positively atmospheric. You’re not likely to find…
Touring 4X4: 80 Series
Some things just get better with age WORDS BY DAN EVERETT IMAGES BY WARREN PILTON Do enough laps around the sun and it starts becoming painfully obvious our slow descent into a throwaway society. The march for more is never-ending. Each year new models of everything vie for our attention. More bells. More whistles. More finance. The ad campaigns trying to convince us we couldn’t possibly do something without the latest and greatest technology, even if we’ve been doing just fine without it for the last 20 years. Some things don’t need to be updated though. Some things are built to stand the test of time. Some things are worth keeping for life. For West Australian native Warren Pilton, his 80 Series LandCruiser is a forever kind of deal. He’s owned it most of his life, and no amount of gadgets or gizmos could ever catch his attention. Three decades ago, Warren was learning his trade down in Perth. An apprentice Master Tech and Auto Electrician in a Toyota dealership he spent his days doing pre-delivery inspections for lucky new 80 Series LandCruiser owners. Daydreaming on his smoko breaks with the other apprentices, promising them one day he’d own one. A few years later, working in the Kalgoorlie mines he’d saved his pennies and bought himself a 3-year-old 1994 LandCruiser.…
Bollinger Electric 4x4s dead in the water
Ford Bronco: Pony up
Ford didn’t invent the 4WD but they certainly took it to a new level with the introduction of the Bronco. Its history is facinating. Over 100 years ago Henry Ford revolutionised the automobile, forever changing the world as we know it. While some may argue it wasn’t exactly a positive thing, it’s hard to argue his introduction of the production line directly led to affordable cars for the masses but there’s one quote from the man who revolutionized the world that we can’t help but find ironic so many years later. “If I had asked the public what they wanted, they’d have told me faster horses.” A century later and two of the blue oval’s most successful cars of all time are directly named after horses. The Mustang, and more interestingly for four-wheel-drivers, the Bronco. Of course, there was the Pinto as well, but we did say only two were successful. With the Bronco recently re-released after a huge 25-year hiatus we thought it was high time to have a look at where the bucking bronco originated, and how it got to where it is today. The Path to Glory While Jeep has built a brand around the WW2 Willy’s GPs the reality is far more complicated. Willys-Overland and the American Bantam Car Company were first to tender for the…
Ford’s 5 Off-Road Features that have us drooling
Ranger Raptor Finally Unveiled
BRONCO RAPTOR UNVEILED
7 Ford Tow Features we’re hoping to see in the Ranger
What to expect from the new Ranger
Foton Full-Size(ish) Spotted
The craziest off-roaders ever built
5 Classic 4×4 ads
What modified 2022 Rangers will look like
2021 Guide to Expedition Vehicles
5 Resto-mod 4x4s that’ll make you drool
Why are EVs so bloody ugly?
Ford to invest $15,000,000,000 on EV tech
5 Classic 4x4s climbing in value
7000km from a hybrid-diesel
The most capable IFS ute you can buy is now built in China
2023 Amarok spotted
2022 Ford Ranger – First Look
Toyota shifts focus from Hydrogen
GMC Hummer EV to have 1000km range
Crossing Rivers in an Electric Rivian
Ford’s Pint Sized Pickup
Will the 4×4 of the future be a subscription?
Toyota LC300 Landcruiser 2022 – First Drive
5 Bronco Features We Can’t Live Without
EV Converted Land Rover Defender defies convention
GWM Tank 300: should GWM bring a budget twin-locked wagon to Australia?
GWM Ute Refresh for 2022 – quick drive
Rivian Goes Overland
Toyota LC300 Revealed!
Gaz Trackmaster – a Russian truck comes to Australia
Volkswagen’s Tiguan has had a Major Update
THE ALL-NEW ISUZU MU-X: Sneak peek..!
Haval announce new Jolion SUV
Club 4X4 clarifies policy wording
Amarok recalled over spare concerns
Why Electric Vehicle (EV) 4X4s are and are not our future
The electric vehicle revolution is well and truly upon us…or is it? The statistics don’t lie. The electric vehicle share of the market in 2020 was around 0.78%, and in 2021, 1.57%. There are another 30 or so EVs being launched into our market, including specialist Polestar. Overseas, Norway is above 75% EV new-car sales, and Rivian has delivered the world’s first EV 4X4 to customers in the USA. So EVs are inevitable, right? Yes, and no. Today, EVs can easily replace the vast majority of road cars and SUVs, which are mostly used in our capital cities for short trips, or excursions into the country of maybe 150km or so. Yes, I know that’s not you, but you’re not the average Australian motorist. With a range of 400-500km, the average Aussie driving 14,000km a year – which is 38km per day – can easily have their car needs met by an EV, especially as both range and charging options are improving. My experience of running an EV is that you can drive around town all day, charge off a 10A plug overnight at 10km of range per hour, and be good to go at 100% the next day which is why EV owners rarely use public chargers in their home city. I towed a Tvan with a Tesla! Worked…