Articles by Dom Tripolone

This SUV is a rarity for Toyota, but this hybrid compact SUV alternative to the Hyundai Kona and Haval Jolion could be a sleeper.

The big burly Chevrolet Silverado 2500 Heavy Duty is primed and ready to roll out in 2025, with a series of nips and tucks.GM Specialty Vehicles (GMSV) has made some key styling changes to the big US pick-up truck.Leading the charge are blacked-out front and rear bumpers with red recovery hooks and gloss black alloy wheels.There are three new colours to choose from including a metallic grey and a blue paint job.The core of the Silverado 2500 HD remains the same.Its monster 6.6-litre turbo-diesel V8 engine pumps out a whopping 350kW and 1322Nm. It can tow up to 4500kg and is packed with luxury gear.Some of the interior highlights include a big multimedia and digital driver’s display, heated and ventilated synthetic leather bound seats, heated steering wheel, sunroof and Bose stereo.The mildly updated 2500 HD is now $3500 more expensive, with prices starting at $166,500 (before on-road costs).The Silverado 2500 HD is proving a hit with Aussie monster truck drivers who need to tow.Almost 1500 found a new home in 2024, which was an increase of 33 per cent on the year before.2025 is off to a cracking start, too, with sales up by more than 20 per cent through the first two months.Chevrolet has now cemented itself as the king of the big slab-of-beef US trucks Down Under with the 2500 and 1500 commanding more than 36 per cent of the market.Ram is the next best with its line-up accounting for 31 per cent of sales. The Ford F-150 has carved off 24 per cent of the market and the Toyota Tundra brings up the rear with about eight per cent of sales.

An old 4WD rivalry is about to be re-ignited. Mitsubishi is preparing a new off-road focused four-wheel drive, which is likely to be a replacement for the discontinued Pajero.

Speculation of Nissan’s collapse has hit fever pitch after its CEO was replaced this week.

Toyota is getting serious about electric cars with an EV ute on the way.

Toyota’s C-HR compact SUV is going electric.

The beefed up V8-powered Ram 1500 TRX exited stage left in 2024.Now reports from the US claim it is making a comeback and will be more powerful and pumped up than ever before.US publication, Mopar Insiders, said the Ram TRX will make a comeback in 2026 with V8 power rather than the twin-turbo inline six-cylinder grunt in the new 1500.The outlet reported it could use a reworked version of its former 6.4-litre Hemi Hellcat V8 that ups power to 535kW or it could possibly get the uprated Hellcat Redeye engine that pushes power to a whopping 594kW.The report stems from a leaked email from a Dodge dealer in the US, which also showed the 5.7-litre V8 would be returning to the line-up. That engine made 291kW and 556Nm in the previous generation 1500.The move to re-install the Hemi V8 in the fast selling American pick-up truck is washing away one of the changes enacted by controversial former Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares.Stellantis is in a world of hurt as sales dip in most major markets and a return to its old ways is believed to be the way out of the hole Ram and Jeep find themselves in. Ram’s new boss Tim Kuniskis has been very open about his desire for a new product and a return to the glory years.Kuniskis said he wants a smaller ute to rival the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. It is likely it’ll be called the Dakota.It is likely that the new mid-size ‘Dakota’ would be made exclusively in left-hand-drive, but local factory-backed 'remanufactured' conversion is now very popular. RAM Trucks Australia General Manager Jeff Barber previously said, "A mid-size ute is on our wish list for RAM in Australia. We think it would be a great fit for Australia."

Australia’s electric car sales are catching up with Europe and the US, but not in a good way. After sales of EVs grew 4.6 per cent in 2024 and a whopping 161 per cent in 2023, registrations of the zero-emissions vehicles have dropped through the first two months of this year. This follows a decline in the US and Europe last year.

Toyota’s newest electric car is making a splash.The bZ3X has launched in China for about $24,000. That’s a shockingly cheap EV.It is also slightly cheaper than the BYD Atto 3 in China, which is a better comparison, and would make it closer to $40,000 if it ever landed here.Toyota only sells its in-house developed bZ4X in Australia, with prices starting at more than $71,000, drive-away.The bZ3X is built as part of Toyota’s partnership with Chinese brand GAC.It shares its underpinnings with GAC’s Aion V electric SUV, which is due to go on sale in Australia this year.In China the bZ3X is available with three different sizes of lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries: 50kWh, 58kWh and 68kWh. Driving range is either 430km, 520km or 610km depending on the size of the battery. All these ranges are calculated using the more lenient China Light-duty vehicle Test Cycle (CLTC), expect range to be about 20 per cent worse if using the benchmark WLTP measurement. It is powered by a single electric motor that makes either 150kW or 165KW, depending on the variant, and drives the front wheels.It is also fitted with advanced self driving technology, which is a major selling point in China. It also has a huge 14.6-inch central multimedia display and a smaller digital driver display.Reports out of China indicate it is already a hit with buyers, with more than 10,000 orders in the first hour.Toyota has given no indication as to whether the bZ3X would be sold outside of China, so the chances of it coming here are low.Never say never, though. Mazda said its EZ-6 electric sedan built with its Chinese partner Changan was only for China, until it wasn’t. That car has been confirmed as the Mazda 6e that will go on sale in Europe and fellow right-hand drive market the UK, which opens the door for Mazda’s formerly China-only EV to be sold here.

A luxe new EV contender has had a big boost before landing in Australia.