Commercial Advice

What is a car? A car is any four-wheeled, self-propelled vehicle that is designed to carry passengers rather than cargo.

What is the average height of a car?The average height of a car is 1.8 metres.That figure comes from averaging the height of popular vehicle types spanning the Australian new car market.The average height of a small/compact SUV is about 1550mm, the average height of a medium SUV is about 1750mm, the average height of a large SUV is about 1800mm, the average height of an upper large SUV is about 1850mm, the average height of a ute is about 1850mm, and the average height of a US pick-up is about 2000mm.The height of your car is a crucial factor in determining if you can safely house it undercover when you’re not driving it.Also, when you’re out and about, the heights of undercover car parks may vary and you really don’t want to scrape the roof of your car – or worse – as you drive into one of those car park infrastructures.One of the most important factors you must take into account when buying a car is whether it will fit in the allocated place in which you plan to park it or house it when it’s not being used – whether that be a resident-only car park, your driveway, an undercover garage, a car port etc. And, of course, a vehicle’s height is part of this concern.So, how tall are cars? Whether you’re buying a hatchback, a sedan, a wagon or a full-size US pick-up, you must know the dimensions of your potential purchase in order to ensure you’re able to safely house it at your home.Car heights differ depending on the vehicle type, for instance a Hyundai i30 (with a listed height “from 1415mm”, from CarsGuide) is not anywhere near as tall as a Ram 1500 pick-up (with a listed height “from 1917 mm”).Note: for the purposes of this yarn, we’re focussing on the height of commercially available mainstream passenger vehicles.So, what is the average car height? Read on.Car height within the same realm – hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, SUVs, utes, pick-ups etc – does not vary as greatly as something like length may.How much do vehicles differ? Not a whole lot, really.Unmodified models in the same section of the market will likely be within 150mm of each other in terms of height, from the ground to the top of the vehicle.But remember, for accessorised/modified new or second-hand vehicles, to take into account taller-than-standard aerials, as well as gear like roof racks, luggage platforms, roof-top tents and the like.Reckon I’m off the mark? Good for you. Feel free to push back in the comments section.A small urban car – perhaps well suited to a couple or a couple and their anxious Shih Tzu, Tarquin – will need less space for people and/or cargo than a gargantuan, bush-based, horse-trailer-towing US pick-up that regularly carries five people in the cab (and two dogs in the tub).So, it’s logical the city runabout vehicle will take up less physical space – and so offer less room – than something like an outback load-lugger.But generally speaking, cars within the same realm – hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, SUVs, utes, pick-ups – will have similar measurements.Of course there is – and which one you prefer boils down to your lifestyle and specific vehicular needs.The main advantage of having a lower/shorter car is its ease of parking in urban areas.For your reference, the maximum height of an undercover parking building is usually listed as 2.0m or so on signage at the entrance to the structure.If you’re in a small car, you’ll never suffer through those last-second white-knuckled doubts about whether your vehicle will actually fit into an undercover garage at the exact moment you’re about to drive into it.The main advantage of having a taller car (wagon, van, ute) is the fact that its extra height likely means it has more interior room and cargo space, meaning it has greater capacity to carry people- and/or cargo in relative comfort than a smaller vehicle.In Australia we use the metric system of measurement. In this feature, we’re referring to a car height in millimetres, which is a standard specification measurement in the vehicular world.So, if you’re looking for the average height of a car in metres, feet or centimetres, then – tough luck – you’ll just have to work it out in your head.For reference, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) defines selected vehicle types on their footprint (defined as length x width , rounded).This is a more considered way of calculating how much space a vehicle occupies, rather than merely thinking about only its height, or length, or width.First up, micro, light or small cars* – we’re talking about vehicles such as Kia Picanto, Suzuki Ignis, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Kona and the like.(* Micro: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint < 6300mm”; Light: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 6301-7500mm”; or Small: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 7501-8300mm”, according to FCAI.)For reference, the VW Polo is listed as “from 1442mm” high, according to our dimension experts here at carsguide.com.au – and we reckon the average height of a micro, light or small car falls somewhere between 1438mm (2022 VW Polo) and 1720mm (the Suzuki Jimny).The average small/compact SUV (with a length (mm) x width (mm) less than 8100mm), is about 1535mm (Mazda CX-3) to 1640mm high (Mitsubishi ASX).Let’s jump to medium SUVs – (with a FCAI-defined footprint of 8101mm-8800mm) – which includes vehicles such as Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Tiguan etc.These vehicles are referred to as “medium” or “mid-size” and may have five or seven seats.The average height of a medium SUV falls somewhere between 1700mm and 1800mm.Large SUVs can carry up to seven people; upper large SUVs are able to carry up to eight passengers.The average height of a large SUV (with an FCAI-listed footprint of between 8801mm and 9800mm) such as Toyota Prado, Land Rover Discovery and their ilk, falls somewhere between 1717mm (VW Touareg, as listed by CarsGuide) and 1842mm (Ford Everest, as noted by CarsGuide).Upper large SUVs have an FCAI-defined footprint bigger than 9801mm. Think Audi Q7 (1781mm high), BMW X7 (1835mm high) through to Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series (1950mm high), etc.Utes are classified as light trucks, which are “Vehicles designed principally for commercial but may include designs intended for non-commercial applications”.They’re available as two-wheel drive (4x2) or four-wheel drive (4x4) vehicles, and as a cab chassis or with a tub at the rear.These vehicles can legally carry up to five people in the cabin, depending on the body type, and have a FCAI-defined footprint of between 9001mm and 9501mm.The average height of a ute available in Australia falls somewhere between 1750mm (Toyota HiLux, as listed by CarsGuide) and 1970mm (Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series WorkMate single-cab cab-chassis, as listed by CarsGuide).Pick-ups are just like utes, but hardcore utes that have have taken a lot of steroids – we’re talking about the likes of the Ram 1500, the Ram 2500, the Chevrolet Silverado, the Ford F-150 etc. The average height of these vehicles is about 1920mm, with pick-ups ranging from 1963mm high (Chevrolet Silverado, as listed by CarsGuide) to 2037mm high (Ram 3500, as listed by CarsGuide).What are the tallest and lowest vehicles available in Australia?The shortest commercially available new vehicle in Australia we reckon has to be something in the realm of the VW Polo, which has a listed height as “from 1442mm”.There are plenty of tall heavy-duty work vans and utes available in Australia, but probably the tallest mainstream vehicle in Australia is the Toyota LandCruiser 78 Series Troop Carrier at a listed 2115mm high.If you’re reading this yarn on the CarsGuide website – and not on some dodgy website that has “curated” (read: stolen) our content and is pretending it’s their own – then look up at the menu bar at the top of the page and tap ‘Pricing and Specs’. That will take you, yes, to the ‘Pricing and Specs’ section. Also, feel free to visit the appropriate carmaker’s website and download any specification sheets that are relevant to your particular choice of vehicle. Make sure you look at the correct make-model-variant details.

What is the average weight of a car?The average weight of a car is 2.05 tonnes.That figure comes from averaging the weight of popular vehicle types spanning the Australian new car market.The average weight of a small/compact SUV is about 1380kg, the average weight of a medium SUV is about 1630kg, the average weight of a large SUV is about 2000kg, the average weight of an upper large SUV is about 2580kg, the average weight of a ute is about 2140kg, and the average weight of a US pick-up is about 2600kg.There are myriad factors that come into play when you're looking for a new or second-hand vehicle to buy, which will best suit you, your lifestyle and your wants and/or needs – and the weight of a car is right up there, in terms of importance.So, 'how much does a car weigh?' should be one of the first questions you ask yourself.Do you want or need your vehicle of choice to be light and nimble on its feet (rubber), easy to drive in cities and around town, and simple to park?Or do you want/need considerable heft to your car? And these are crucial questions whether you're considering the weight of a small car or an SUV or a ute.Another question you'll likely want to know the answer to is: what is the average weight of a car?Read on.Quick note: While some of us still think in tons or tonnes, the weight of a vehicle is usually listed in specification sheets as a kilogram (kg) figure, so, for the sake of uniformity, that's what we'll use in this yarn.Right, on with the show.Car weights may differ because of their different sizes, the materials used, production processes involved, and the actual intended purpose of each vehicle.A heavy-duty work ute is going to be more than just a little bit heavier than a city-based hatchback, right?And two vehicles that occupy the same section of the market – say, 4WD wagons – may also have different kerb weights*, for example, a seven-seat Mitsubishi Pajero Sport Exceed (2125kg, as listed by CarsGuide) is lighter than a seven-seat V6 Ford Everest Sport (2454kg, as listed by CarsGuide).(* For this yarn, we're using the vehicle's manufacturer-listed kerb weight – the weight of a standard vehicle with a full tank of fuel, but no passengers or cargo onboard or accessories fitted – as our reference point.)But, generally speaking, vehicles within the same realm – i.e. small cars, SUVs, utes, pick-ups – will have similar weights to each other – within 50kg of each other – although there may be an outlier or two that straddle two categories of car, or at the very least blur the lines between two categories.The main advantage of having a light car (hatchback, etc) is its manoeuvrability. If it's light, it's small and a small vehicle makes for easier steering around town, through busy city streets and, more importantly, easier parking.The main advantage of having a heavy car (large SUV, etc) is that its weight or size tends to signify that it is better suited to transporting more people and more cargo at one time than a vehicle that is lighter and smaller.Also, the bigger and heavier a vehicle, the more robust it is.In case you missed it earlier, please note, when I mention a vehicle's weight in this yarn, I'm referring to a vehicle's manufacturer-listed kerb weight – the weight of a vehicle with a full tank of fuel, but no passengers or cargo onboard.Sometimes carmakers list tare weight* rather than kerb weight and if that's the case, I'll make sure that's noted. (* The weight of an empty standard vehicle with all fluids - oils, coolants - onboard but only 10 litres of fuel in the tank.)The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) classifies vehicle types based on their footprint (defined as length x width , rounded).So, what is the average car weight?Micro, light or small cars* – we're talking about vehicles such as Kia Picanto, Suzuki Ignis, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Kona and the like.(* Micro: "Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint < 6300mm"; Light: "Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 6301-7500mm"; or Small: "Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 7501-8300mm", according to the FCAI.)The Picanto (S manual) is listed as having a tare weight of 993kg, according to our weight experts here at CarsGuide.At the heavier end of the market, is the Kia Seltos, really a small SUV, and it tops out at 1495kg (in GT-Line AWD guise).But the average small car weight is around the 1200kg mark. Don't agree with me? That's great – have your say in the comments section below.The average weight of a car in kg is about 1900kg – that's taking commercially available passenger cars into account. The average weight of a large car (a hatch, sedan or wagon with a FCAI-listed footprint range 9001-9500mm) is closer to 2000kg.Large SUVs (with an FCAI-listed footprint of between 8801mm and 9800mm) can carry up to seven people; upper large SUVs (with an FCAI-defined footprint bigger than 9801mm) are able to carry up to eight passengers.The average weight of a large SUV is drawing near to the 2500kg mark, and upper large SUVs can be as heavy as 2800kg (the Nissan Patrol).Utes are classified as light trucks, which are "Vehicles designed principally for commercial but may include designs intended for non-commercial applications".They're available as two-wheel drive (4x2) or four-wheel drive (4x4) vehicles, and as a cab chassis or with a tub at the rear.These vehicles can legally carry up to five people in the cabin, depending on the body type, and have a FCAI-defined footprint of between 9001mm and 9501mm.The average weight of a dual-cab ute is around the 2100kg mark, but some variants top 2300kg (Ford Ranger) without any accessories onboard.Pick-ups, such as the likes of the Ram 1500, the Ram 2500, the Chevrolet Silverado, the Ford F-150 etc, are basically utes on steroids.These pick-up trucks are closer to 3000kg than 2000kg in kerb weight, and have an average weight somewhere in the vicinity of 2600kg.Go to the menu bar at the top of this CarsGuide page, and hit the 'Pricing and Specs' tab, and, from there, follow your instincts.Feel free to also go to the appropriate carmaker's website and download the specification sheet relevant to your particular choice of vehicle.

What is the average width of a car?The average width of a car is 1.94 metres.That figure comes from averaging the width of popular vehicle types spanning the Australian new car market.The average width of a small/compact SUV is about 1800mm, the average width of a medium SUV is about 1840mm, the average width of a large SUV is about 1860mm, the average width of an upper large SUV is about 1980mm, the average width of a ute is about 1870mm, and the average width of a US pick-up is about 2300mm.One of the most crucial factors you must take into account when buying a car is whether it will fit in the allocated place in which you plan to park it when it’s not being used – whether that be a resident-only car park, your driveway, garage, car port, etc. And, of course, a vehicle’s width is part of this.So, how wide are cars? Whether you’re buying a hatchback, a sedan, a wagon or a full-size US pick-up, you must know the dimensions of your potential purchase in order to ensure you’re able to safely house it at your home.Car widths differ depending on the vehicle type, for instance a Hyundai i30 (1795mm) is not anywhere near as wide as a Ram 1500 pick-up (2465mm).Note: for the purposes of this yarn, we’re focussing on commercially available mainstream passenger vehicles.So, what is the average width of a car? As the old saying goes: how long’s a piece of string?Read on.The width of different vehicle models within the same realm – hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, SUVs, utes, pick-ups, etc – does not vary as greatly as length may. By its very nature, a motor car has to accommodate at least two seated people across its width.How much do vehicles differ? Not a whole lot, really. Models that occupy the same section of the market will be within 150mm of each other in terms of width.A small urban car, perhaps well suited to a couple or a couple and their labradoodle, will need less people- and cargo-space than a gargantuan, bush-based, horse-trailer-towing US pick-up that regularly carries five people (and two dogs in the tub).So, it’s logical the city runabout vehicle will take up less physical space – and so offer less room – than something like an outback load-lugger.But generally speaking, cars within the same realm – hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, SUVs, utes, pick-ups – will have similar measurements.And remember, a carmaker’s listed vehicle specifications will often include two width measurements: without the wing mirrors extended (which we will use throughout this yarn), and with the wing mirrors extended.Of course there is, and which one you prefer – wider or narrower – mostly boils down to your lifestyle and specific vehicular needs.The main advantage of having a narrow(er) car (hatchback, etc) is its ease of parking in urban areas. For your reference, the minimum dimensions of a small car parking space in Australia (as per the Australian Standard AS 2890) is listed as 2.3 metres wide by 5.0m long. So, there’s that…The main advantage of having a wider car (wagon, van, ute) is the fact that its extra width translates into more interior room and cargo space, meaning (hopefully) more comfort and greater people- and/or cargo-carrying ability.How much do car widths differ by within the same category? Well, I reckon there’s about a maximum 150mm difference between the narrowest and widest in each vehicle type. Reckon I’m incorrect? Good for you. Feel free to push back in the comments section.In Australia we use the metric system of measurement. In this feature, we’ll refer to a car width in millimetres, which is a standard specification measurement in the vehicular world, rather than listing a car width in metres or an average car width in cm or, god forbid, feet.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) defines selected vehicle types on their footprint (defined as length - mm x width - mm, rounded).This is a more considered way of calculating how much space a vehicle occupies, rather than merely thinking about only its width or length.First up, micro, light or small cars* – we’re talking about vehicles such as Kia Picanto, Suzuki Ignis, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Kona and the like.(* Micro: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint < 6300mm”; Light: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 6301-7500mm”; or Small: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 7501-8300mm”, according to the FCAI.)The narrow Picanto is listed as “from 1595mm” across, according to our dimension experts here at carsguide.com.au. The wide-for-a-small-car VW Polo is listed as having a width “from 1751mm”, by the CG mob.CarsGuide has listed the Subaru Impreza width as “from 1775mm” wide, and the Ford Focus is listed as “from 1825mm" wide.The average width of a small SUV (with a length - mm x width - mm less than 8100mm) in this part of the vehicular market, according to CarsGuide measurement experts, falls somewhere between 1760mm wide (Kia Stonic) and 1819mm wide (Volkswagen T-Roc).Let’s jump to medium SUVs – (with a FCAI-defined footprint of 8101mm-8800mm) – which includes vehicles such as Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Tiguan, etc. These vehicles are referred to as “medium” or “mid-size” and may have five or seven seats.The average width of a medium SUV falls somewhere between 1800mm (Mitsubishi Outlander, as listed by CarsGuide) and 1883mm wide (Ford Escape, as listed by CarsGuide).Large SUVs can carry up to seven people; upper large SUVs are able to carry up to eight passengers.The average width of a large SUV (with an FCAI-listed footprint of between 8801mm and 9800mm) such as Toyota Prado, Land Rover Discovery and their ilk, falls somewhere between 1815mm (Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, as noted by CarsGuide) and 2008mm (Land Rover Defender, as noted by CarsGuide).Upper large SUVs have a FCAI-defined footprint bigger than 9801mm. Think 300 Series LandCruiser (“from 1970mm wide”), Hyundai Palisade (“from 1975mm wide”), and Nissan Patrol (“from 1995mm” wide).Utes are classified as light trucks, which are “vehicles designed principally for commercial but may include designs intended for non-commercial applications."They’re available as two-wheel drive (4x2) or four-wheel drive (4x4) vehicles, and as a cab chassis or with a tub at the rear.These vehicles can legally carry up to five people in the cabin, depending on the body type, and have a FCAI-defined footprint of between 9001mm and 9501mm.The average width of a ute available in Australia falls somewhere between 1815mm (Mitsubishi Triton, as listed by CarsGuide) and 1954mm (VW Amarok, as listed by CarsGuide).Pick-ups are like utes on steroids and the availability of these US 'trucks' is no longer restricted to Australia's grey imports market.Pick-ups – we’re talking about the likes of the Ram 1500, the Ram 2500, the Chevrolet Silverado, the Ford F-150, etc – are now available via mainstream distributors. The average width of these vehicles falls somewhere between 2063mm wide (Chevrolet Silverado, as listed by CarsGuide) and 2630mm wide (Ram 3500, as listed by CarsGuide).If you’re reading this yarn on the CarsGuide website – and not on some dodgy website that’s pilfered our content and is pretending it’s their own – then look up at the menu bar at the top of the page and tap ‘Pricing and Specs’. That will take you, yes, to the ‘Pricing and Specs’ section. Also, feel free to visit the appropriate car-maker’s website and download any specification sheets that are relevant to your particular choice of vehicle. Make sure you look at the correct make-model-variant details.

Based on our experience, the best towing vehicle is either a full-size 4x4 ute or wagon with a turbo-diesel engine and automatic transmission.

In any given month in Australia, there's a good chance the HiLux ute will be our country's best-selling vehicle.

Looking at a single fuel consumption figure might give you part of the picture, but a set of average consumption figures covering different cars is a great basis on which to make a comparison.

As we Australians take our fun more and more seriously, the idea of towing a caravan or boat behind our vehicles is an increasingly common one.This is (partly) what’s been driving the move to dual-cab utes as our big-selling cars of choice, as well as the increasing towing abilities of those cars.In the case of every new car and commercial vehicle for sale in Australia, the government dictates that it is rated for a maximum towing limit.That’s to ensure the vehicle remains safe to drive with a load attached, as well as hopefully ensuring the towed load won’t do any damage to the tow-vehicle.In the real world, it’s a lot more complicated than that, but it remains that towing more than your car is rated for is a sure way to wind up in legal trouble and, if the worst happens, an insurance swamp as well.So what is towing capacity in the first place? Towing ratings generally come in two forms: The unbraked trailer and the braked trailer.In the case of the former (and as the name suggests) the trailer does not have brakes of its own. For that reason, it relies on the brakes of the towing vehicle and, therefore, must be kept as light as possible.The braked-trailer limit, meanwhile, applies to trailers with their own electric or mechanical brakes that can contribute to the combination’s total braking force. With its own brakes, such a trailer can afford to be heavier.Either way, though, it’s illegal to haul a trailer and load of greater mass than the legal limit for a particular make and model.And get used to these terms: GVM, the total mass of the vehicle and everything in it (including the tow ball weight) and; GCM the total mass of the vehicle and trailer combination and everything in it/on it.Clearly, how much can I tow, is a very complex question. And, the info won’t be found on a compliance plate on the vehicle, either, you’ll need to look in the owner’s handbook for the details.But what if you need to tow more than that legal limit?Well, you could simply go out and buy a bigger, heavier vehicle with a higher towing rating. But what if you’ve already tipped plenty of time and money into making your current vehicle otherwise perfect for your tasks and lifestyle? Surely, an upgrade of that vehicle to tow a bigger load makes some sense.And that’s where the aftermarket comes in. As caravans, boats and worksite equipment gets bigger and heavier, more and more owners are turning to a towing upgrade to achieve their ends.The first thing to know is that the increasingly popular GVM upgrade is not the same as a towing limit upgrade. In fact, a GVM upgrade concerns only the payload of the vehicle and, if you then use that extra payload while the GCM remains the same, you might, ironically, have a reduced towing limit.So, does a GVM increase impact towing capacity at all? Not in a legal, upper limit sense, but such an upgrade is a way to increase towing performance and safety, if not actual capacity.Add a GVM upgrade to your, say, Ford Ranger, and it’ll still be legal to tow the same 3500kg, but it will do it more easily and more safely.GVM upgrades vary from vehicle to vehicle but often include components such as stiffer springs, revised bushes, stronger hitches, better dampers and wheel alignment adjustments.But even then, you might find you need bigger brakes, different tyres and even revised axles or wheel bearings to make the jump to a higher GVM.It all depends on the vehicle in question and there’s no one-size-fits-all GVM upgrade, so you need to have a specialist tackle your vehicle on a one-on-one basis with regard to how it’ll be loaded and how you plan to use it. The pros have a range of kits ready to suit popular fitments.The other thing to know is that you won’t be making 1000kg jumps in a GVM upgrade. Between about 300kg and 600kg is the gain you’ll make, but that’s a big enough difference for some to make the investment.But what about GCM upgrades? This is where it all gets a bit murky, because some specialists will tell you that since there’s no standardised test for a GCM upgrade, it can’t be done with any degree of certification.Other mobs will tell you they have GCM kits to upgrade a limited number of vehicles (typically the Toyota Land Cruiser and Prado stablemates) and that these can legally upgrade towing capacity.Because there’s no hard-and-fast government stance on this subject, the best we can do is give you what seems to be the current status quo on the matter:NSW, SA and Victoria will recognise a revised GCM if the vehicle has been independently inspected by a consulting engineer and usually the state’s own authorities.Tasmania allows a revised GCM if the kit has been previously certified by the manufacturer and professionally installed.Queensland no longer recognises a revised GCM above the GCM nominated by the vehicle’s manufacturer. That said, Queensland is said to be looking into this situation.WA, ACT and NT, meanwhile, do not allow a revised GCM above the manufacturer’s GCM if the vehicle is modified anytime after it’s been registered.Having said that, at least one major local suspension manufacturer we contacted insisted that “There is currently no process via a government body that will allow an increase of a vehicle’s GCM in Australia”.If you could legally increase your GCM, you’d theoretically also increase your towing capacity, again, provided you don’t gobble up the extra capacity by loading more into the tow-vehicle.But remember, that’s theoretically, not – as far as the law is concerned – practically.In the case of GVM upgrades, brand-new vehicles that undergo the upgrade prior to registration can be certified as safe and legal by the upgrade supplier.If you’re converting an existing car, you may – depending on state or territory – need to have an independent engineer sign off on the deal. The good conversion companies can usually put you in touch with these engineers.But don’t be put off by that requirement, as suspension upgrades for towing have been carried out for decades, so it’s familiar stuff for the right engineer.Again, a GVM won’t legally increase your towing capacity, but it can make a vehicle much better and safer at towing that same loads as an unmodified one.And GCM upgrades? You might want to make life simple for yourself and simply buy a bigger, heavier vehicle with a higher towing limit as standard. Many dual-cab ute, SUV and car owners are switching to a light truck for this reason.Even if you do just wish to improve your vehicle’s towing ability and safety (without a towing-limit increase) with a GVM upgrade, there can be traps. It’s far better to go to a specialist who has engineered a GVM solution rather than try to mix and match bits and pieces using guesswork.Air-bag helper-springs, for example, can be used quite effectively on some vehicles, but others (typically some dual-cab utes with leaf rear springs) can suffer catastrophic chassis failure through the use of air-bags.The same goes for changing spring rates. By mis-matching the front and rear suspension of a vehicle, you can easily wind up with a vehicle that is less capable and less safe as a tow-vehicle. This is not a project for the DIYer.

When a Ford six-cylinder engine earns a greater performance reputation than the V8s it sold alongside, and is also embraced by the aftermarket to the point where it’s being fitted to Holdens (not to mention everything in between) you know you’re looking at a landmark powerplant. And the engine in question is Ford’s in-line DOHC six-cylinder code-named Barra (short for Barramundi, a prized indigeno

The Chinese automotive sector is on the rise globally, and here in Australia. The likes of MG, Haval and GWM have arrived in recent years and are already making their mark on the sales charts.