Articles by Marcus Craft

Toyota's Fortuner has never reached the sales heights of its stablemates the LandCruiser, Prado or HiLux, but while it may underperform in terms of sales, there is nothing especially bad about it. It's simply a solid seven-seat ute-based 4WD wagon. But now it's had a styling refresh, and it also has more power and torque, increased towing capacity, improved fuel consumption, and more safety tech.

Australian company Ironman 4x4 has announced the first, and only, federally approved gross vehicle mass (GVM) upgrade to suit the latest Suzuki Jimny pint-sized off-roader.

The 76 Series wagon is part of Toyota's legendary Landcruiser 70 Series line-up, a stable of purpose-built work- and go-anywhere off-roaders, much better suited to remote-area touring than they are to any kind of city-street posing. Is there still space for a no-frills 4WD with such narrow focus in a market full to the brim with increasingly sophisticated and over-equipped vehicles?

The Isuzu D-Max has always been a pretty solid ute in terms of reputation, reliability and value for money but its firm ride, noisy engine, less-than-ideal off-road traction control and the absence of a diff-lock - even as an option - has diminished its appeal.Isuzu has addressed those issues in the new D-Max - but are those changes enough to boost its appeal in a highly competitive ute market?

The D200 is the base-spec diesel variant in the new Land Rover Defender range. It has an MSRP of $69,626. It’s available in only standard Defender 110 spec and is available with the option of five, six or 5+2 seating.It has a 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder diesel engine, producing 147kW/430Nm, and that’s teamed with an eight-speed automatic transmission.It has a permanent all-wheel drive system, dual-range transfer case, as well as Land Rover’s Terrain Response system.It also has centre and rear diff locks.Driver-assist tech includes AEB, a 3D surround camera, wade sensing, cruise control and speed limiter, lane keep assist, and traffic sign recognition and adaptive speed limiter.It has 10.0-inch touchscreen Pivi Pro system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DAB radio, and sat nav.Fuel consumption is a claimed 7.6L/100km (on a combined cycle). The Defender has a 90-litre tank.This Defender is covered by a five-year / unlimited kilometre warranty, and five-year service plan ($1950 for diesels), which includes five years roadside assist. 

The D240 is the mid-range diesel variant in the Defender range. It has a 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder diesel engine, producing 177kW and 430Nm.It’s available in four trim levels – the D240, D240 S, D240 SE, and the D240 First Edition – and with the option of five, six or 5+2 seating in the five-door 110.It has an eight-speed automatic transmission, and a permanent all-wheel drive system, dual-range transfer case, as well as Land Rover’s Terrain Response system, with switchable modes such as Grass/Gravel/Snow, Sand, Mud and Ruts, and Rock Crawl. It also has centre and rear diff locks.Standard features on the Defender range include LED headlights, heated, electric, power-fold door mirrors, approach lights and auto-dimming keyless entry, and auto-dimming interior rear view mirror.Driver-assist tech includes AEB, cruise control and speed limiter, lane keep assist, and traffic sign recognition and adaptive speed limiter.It has 10.0-inch touchscreen Pivi Pro system, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DAB radio, and sat nav.Fuel consumption is a claimed 7.6L/100km (on a combined cycle). The Defender has a 90-litre tank.This Defender is covered by a five-year / unlimited kilometre warranty, and five-year service plan ($1950 for diesels), which includes five years roadside assist.

The Land Rover Defender has always been synonymous with off-road adventure, but now the much-anticipated new high-tech Defender has arrived to take on Australia's hard-core 4WDing. Is the new Defender still as capable off-road but, more importantly, is it as comfortable on-road as it needs to be to compete in today's SUV market? Is that even possible? So many questions...

The P400 is the petrol MHEV (mild hybrid electric vehicle) variant in the new Land Rover Defender range. It has a 3.0-litre turbo-charged in-line six-cylinder petrol engine – producing 294kW at 5500rpm and 550Nm at 2000-5000rpm. It has an eight-speed automatic transmission, and a permanent all-wheel drive system, dual-range transfer case, as well as Land Rover’s Terrain Response 2 system, with switchable modes such as Grass/Gravel/Snow, Sand, Mud and Ruts, and Rock Crawl. It also has centre and rear diff locks.The P400 is available in four spec levels: P400 S ($95,335), P400 SE ($102,736), P400 HSE ($112,535), or P400 X ($136,736).It’s available with the option of five, six or 5+2 seating in the five-door 110.Standard features on the Defender range include LED headlights, heated, electric, power-fold door mirrors, approach lights and auto-dimming keyless entry, and auto-dimming interior rear view mirror.Driver-assist tech includes AEB, a 3D surround camera, wade sensing, cruise control and speed limiter, lane keep assist, and traffic sign recognition and adaptive speed limiter.It also has 10.0-inch touchscreen Pivi Pro system, a smartphone pack (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), DAB radio, sat nav and a 180W six-speaker sound system.Fuel consumption is a claimed 9.9L/100km (on a combined cycle).The Defender has a 90-litre tank.

Versatility counts for everything when your van is your office and you spend the lion's share of every one of your work days in it, loading, driving, and unloading. But while your office on the move needs to be highly functional it also must be very comfortable, and able to safely perform its duties while carrying substantial loads in the rear.Is the Peugeot Partner such a van?

Toyota's C-HR is certainly an eye-catching compact SUV, but are good looks good enough to keep attracting car buyers? C-HRs now have a freshened up look and some new features - including new front end, new wheel design, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto - and Toyota's hoping these changes will keep its loyal fans happy and entice a stack of new C-HR owners as well.