Articles by Marcus Craft

Marcus Craft

Contributing Journalist

Raised by dingoes and, later, nuns, Marcus (aka ‘Crafty’) had his first taste of adventure as a cheeky toddler on family 4WD trips to secret fishing spots near Bundaberg, Queensland. He has since worked as a journalist for more than 20 years in Australia, London and Cape Town and has been an automotive journalist for 18 years.

This bloke has driven and camped throughout much of Australia – for work and play – and has written yarns for pretty much every mag you can think of.

The former editor of 4X4 Australia magazine, Marcus is one of the country’s most respected vehicle reviewers and off-road adventure travel writers.

Should you need a licence to tow?

By Marcus Craft · 25 Nov 2023

The world of towing is intimidating, and the prospect of having to understand and adhere to a comprehensive set of rules, as well as having to control heavy vehicle-and-load combinations and forced to contend with ever-changing traffic conditions, road surfaces and weather, is daunting, to say the very least.

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Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 2024 review: GSR

By Marcus Craft · 16 Nov 2023

It's often overlooked in favour of more hyped 4WDs, but the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport deserves more attention and respect.It has a solid reputation as a very capable off-road wagon and it also functions well as a daily driver, without ever being over-the-top special.The next-generation Pajero Sport is due here in 2025, but until then the feature-packed top-spec GSR is well worth a look.

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Is the LandCruiser 70 Series overrated?

By Marcus Craft · 12 Nov 2023

Ah, Toyota’s 70 Series LandCruiser. So beloved of real off-road adventurers, cane farmers, cattle property owners and Insta poseurs everywhere. Remote-area work, desert touring, country town pub carparks and B&S balls just wouldn’t be the same if it wasn’t for Toyota’s dead-set legend of a 4WD.

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Off-roaders that could change the game in Oz

By Marcus Craft · 05 Nov 2023

There's nothing wrong with competition. It's a good thing. And in economic terms, it's one of the chief aspects of capitalism and helps to form the basis of a healthy free market.

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SsangYong Rexton 2024 review: Ultimate - off-road test

By Marcus Craft · 31 Oct 2023

The 2024 SsangYong Rexton is due to arrive in Australian showrooms this month (October) and it'll have a new dash layout, a bigger multimedia touchscreen... and price rises across the line-up.But the current-generation Rexton is a well-equipped, seven-seat 4WD wagon and, with a sub-$60,000 price-tag, it deserves consideration. Is the 2023 Rexton represent a solid value-for-money buy? Read on.

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Can a Mazda CX-5 go off road?

By Marcus Craft · 29 Oct 2023

Not everyone who buys an SUV wants to tackle hardcore off-road adventures. In fact, I reckon most of them don’t. Most people want a well-equipped and comfortable family vehicle that is off-road-capable enough for an occasional foray onto a well-maintained dirt road, which leads to their favourite national park, campsite, or out-of-the-way beach.

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Jeep Grand Cherokee 2024 review: Overland - off-road test

By Marcus Craft · 23 Oct 2023

The seven-seat Grand Cherokee has found favour with Jeep fans, and now the five-seater, in Overland spec, offers people a smaller option as a daily driver for around-town duties and weekend adventures.It's about $5000 cheaper than its bigger stablemate, but is the smaller Grand Cherokee better as well?

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Is the Suzuki Jimny the most overrated 4x4?

By Marcus Craft · 15 Oct 2023

The Suzuki Jimny set hearts a-flutter when it landed here in all its retro glory back in 2019. Understandably, the car-curious public was excited as were most automotive writers who were guilty of waxing lyrical about the little Zook. (Oh, how they waxed.) And, yes, I'll admit it: even journalists such as myself were dazzled by the hearty nostalgia-injection the Jimny represented.

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Toyota LandCruiser Prado 2024 review: Kakadu - off-road test

By Marcus Craft · 08 Oct 2023

The 2024 Toyota Prado is on its way but should you even bother waiting or should you just get into a current-generation Prado?Sure, the new-gen Prado will look very different and is tipped to have features not onboard the current Prado, but it'll also have a mild-hybrid 2.8-litre turbo-diesel engine, producing the same power and torque as the current Prado.So, does the Kakadu represent a good buy?

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Forgotten ute favourites!

By Marcus Craft · 08 Oct 2023

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the Australian ute market only consists of about four models because the Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton tend to get the majority of the headlines and press coverage.

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