Articles by Andrew Chesterton

The Ram Dakota has only just been confirmed by the brand's most senior American executive, but already the mid-sized monster seems locked in for an Australian launch to do battle with the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and BYD Shark 6.

The entry-level Zeekr 7X model misses out on some of the good stuff, with less power than the AWD, and a smaller battery than the Long Range model. It is the fastest-charging of the lot, though, with up to 450kW DC charging possible.It's $57,900, before on-road costs, and standard kit is pretty impressive across the board, with the entry-level model scoring 19-inch alloys, LED lighting all around, a powered boot and a glass roof with a powered shade. and ambient interior lighting, too. Tech is handled by a 16-inch central touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and there are two 50W wireless charge pads. You also get a digital dash, tri-zone climate and a 10-speaker stereo.It gets a 75kW LFP battery, which should deliver a 480km driving range on the WLTP cycle.

The Mitsubishi Pajero will go into production in December 2026 and will be built in Thailand — already the manufacturing home of the Mitsubishi Triton, and other dual-cab utes like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max — according to new reports out of the Phillipines.That's the word from The Daily Tribune, which is reporting that the "Desert King" will be built alongside the Triton before being shipped to its on-sale markets.The move would all but lock the Pajero in for sale in Australia, given our Mitsubishi Triton is built there in right-hand drive, and also suggests the model will adopt a ladder-frame chassis, one it shares with Mitsubishi's workhorse ute.It would also lend credibility to reports that the reborn Pajero will hark back to its rugged roots, rather than take a more on-road focussed approach.In fact, reports out of Japan have already pointed to the Triton and Pajero sharing a platform, with Best Car Web making the claim earlier this year.According to the same site, the Pajero won't borrow from the Y63 Patrol, and will instead forge its own ute-based path. That would likely mean sharing the Triton's diesel powertrain – a twin-turbo-diesel 2.4-litre that produces 150kW and 470Nm. But reports suggest the new model will be future-proofed, with a mid-term plan to fit Mitsubishi's next-generation petrol plug-in hybrid technology.It would still be a large SUV, though, measuring a reported 5100mm in length, 1930mm in width and 1815mm in height.According to Best Car, Mitsubishi would target a starting price in its domestic market of around 6.5m Yen, or $67,000 AUD. A similar pricing strategy in Australia would see it significantly undercut the cheapest LC300 ($96k) and Y62 Nissan Patrol ($95k)."I have put up my hand and said we would love to have one because it's a very valuable nameplate, because it is a fantastic product, because it's a halo product," Mitsubishi Australia boss, Shaun Westcott has previously told CarsGuide."For all of the above reasons, we would love to have one here.“I cannot tell you what it is, what it looks like, what the powertrain is, whether there’s a ladder frame, whether there’s monocoque. I cannot give you any of that information other than to say that Mitsubishi has announced that we are working on a large SUV."

The Zeekr 7X is the mid-size Tesla Model Y rival the Chinese brand has been waiting for. In fact, this model alone has already tripled the brand's sales, and it hasn't even arrived yet. The question is, does it live up to the hype?

Zeekr has outlined its bold ambitions for Australia, confirming a string of new models and the launch of the Lynk & Co brand, the latter of which will likely be wrapped under the Zeekr umbrella.

A Toyota Fortuner that could reverse the model's underwhelming sales performance and finally take the fight to the Ford Everest is coming soon – but is Toyota in Australia preparing to axe the model just as its about to come good?

The Zeekr 7X is gearing up for sale in Australia, with the brand’s MD Frank Li revealing deliveries for the hotly anticipated model would begin on October 15.

Ferrari's drop-top stunner, the Roma Spider, promises to be the easiest daily driving model from the Prancing Horse. But does its manners in traffic mean its wild side is a little less wild? We put it to the test to find out.

This could be a comeback story for the ages, with the Deepal S07's overzealous safety systems – which saw this mid-size EV derided as one of the country's most annoying cars – apparently fixed with what appears to be an industry-first solution. Andrew Chesterton climbs back behind the wheel to put this updated model to the test.

IM is a premium play from Chinese mainstay MG, with the new brand a joint-venture between MG parent SAIC and China's version of Amazon, Alibaba, amongst others, seemingly with the goal of toppling Tesla. There's a Model 3-sized IM5 we've already tested, and this Model Y-sized IM6. And this one is the Performance, which offers supercar speed in properly sumptuous surrounds.