Articles by Marcus Craft

Australia's outdoors enthusiasts stand to benefit from Jeep's return to the pick-up truck market as its dual-cab ute, the Gladiator, is expected to be available here in the second quarter of 2020.It's part-work truck, part-leisure machine - but is the Gladiator actually any good? We drove it in New Zealand to find out.

Australian company Ironman 4x4 has bolstered its aftermarket armoury with an off-road-ready bullbar for the Suzuki Jimny.

The LDV T60 was rather a nice surprise at its Australian launch in 2017. It was a Chinese-built dual-cab ute that actually looked pretty good, seemed well-built, drove nicely, was adequately capable off-road and it was sharply priced and well-equipped. So now, with new Walkinshaw-tweaked suspension, is the LDV T60 the best value-for-money ute in Australia?

Builder Jack Middleton works alongside Mark Purkiss as part of Purkiss Construction.The 3.2-litre Ford Ranger XLT 4x4 was purchased new in 2017. Crafty: Why did you buy your Ford Ranger?Jack: It was Mark's old ute , so it was only six months old when I got it.It's mainly a work car, but I do use it for towing my boat.Crafty: What's a typical work day for your ute?It gets pretty loaded up, just dropping stuff off to sites for the boys. The tray's really durable – it gets loaded up with rubbish and we don't go easy on it. Crafty: Do you use your Ranger outside work?Jack: We've got a big boat, me and my old man, so it tows that around, that's good. That's about three ton loaded up.I already had the Ranger before we got the boat, but it was one of the good reasons for getting the boat because it's easy to tow around. It makes a good towing vehicle, 100 percent. Crafty: Any mods?Jack: It has a Rhino rack, ladder rack (because we carry six-metre lengths of timber), and Kings seat covers (to save the seats from getting trashed).Crafty: Any problems?Jack: No.Crafty: Anything else you'd like to do to it?Jack: It's good as it is.Crafty: Would you buy another Ranger – maybe the latest model – next time?Jack: Yep.Need a builder? Call Purkiss Construction on 0433 204 827 or visit Purkiss Construction.

The Fortuner is under-performing in terms of sales, but is it actually worth considering as a daily driver and weekend off-road tourer?

Jeep's Gladiator, the brand's much-anticipated dual-cab pick-up truck (or 'ute'), will only be available with a single petrol engine.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) Australia is betting big on its incoming Jeep Gladiator ute to help turnaround its slowing sales when it touches down in local showrooms in the second quarter of next year.

Fancy owning an electric Jeep? You mightn’t have to wait too long if Jeep’s global president Christian Meunier has his way with the brand to offer an electric variant on on “all models” by 2022.

Gold Coast-based company, MSA 4X4 Accessories, has been awarded a Global Media Award for its new towing mirrors.

We – off-roading tourers, campers, bushwalkers and basically anyone who enjoys the outdoors – have all become increasingly sophisticated in our demands for reliable on-the-go power sources while out in the bush or along a beach.Proper care and maintenance of vehicle batteries, on which many passionate outdoors people put at least some of their faith in during trips away, is crucial.To that end, the company CTEK has introduced the latest in its battery-charging and power-management technologies: the new D250SE and Smartpass 120S, both "designed to maximise the performance of leisure batteries", CTEK states.The D250SE is an evolution of the D250SA but, as well as being able to charge regular and AGM battery types, it can charge lithium (12V LiFePO4) batteries."Its dual input capability means it can also draw power from solar sources, allowing an easy connection to solar panels, harnessing the sun’s rays for the ultimate off-grid camping set up," CTEK reckons.The D250SE is smart alternator-compatible and has three charging modes: normal (14.4V), AGM (14.7V) and lithium (12V LiFePO4).It is claimed to still operate even when there is low alternator output, and "maintain a stable output of up to 20A to fully charge the battery in the shortest time".The Smartpass 120S, an evolution of the Smartpass 120, is a fully automatic 120A power-management system that distributes power between the starter battery, the service battery and on-board equipment, separating critical equipment from non-critical equipment to ensure the radio, emergency lights and navigation systems always have power. It is also  smart-alternator compatible and uses power from the service battery to help get the engine started if the starter battery is flat.  The new CTEK D250SE ($499) and Smartpass 120S ($530) each have a two-year warranty and are available to buy from Repco.