Articles by Owner Review

A big reason why I bought this car over other dual-cab utes was due to the lack of intrusive safety tech. This car has no lane-keep assist, no blind-spot monitoring, no front camera for autonomous braking, and to be honest I love it. The multimedia is let down a little as the interior was designed in 2010, and only given a slight facelift in 2016, but Apple Carplay and Android Auto are still standard, so points there. The Bluetooth is used for both calls and music, and acts as a great backup when i dont want to plug the phone in for CarPlay.  Being a dual-cab ute, practicality is always going to be incredible. I use this ute a lot for work, and being able to get a Euro pallet in the tray is incredible. The tub is a little shorter than I would have liked, carting motorbikes means dropping the tailgate. This could be fixed quite easily with a tray, though. The interior space is massive, and can find three adults in the back pretty well. The rear seats fold up too - making even more space in the rear of the cab. I like to tell people that the Amarok drives like an SUV with a tub, which is a stark comparison to the truck-like HiLux. The all-wheel drive is one of the reasons to buy this car, it's incredible on and off road. The eight-speed ZF gearbox goes great - just make sure to service it. VW like to say it's 'sealed for life', but don't believe the marketing, as ZF themselves say it is not. The power the V6 puts down is easily enough, I've towed a two-tonne caravan to SA from eastern Victoria plenty of times with it and not once thought it lacked beans. I just wish the manual gearbox paired with the V6 was more common in these. The manual V6 came with selectable high and low range, which would make this even better offroad. The 2H model variant (2011-2022) is starting to get up there in age now, with a few V6 variants like mine starting to stray north of 200,000km. I think if you were to pay the dealer to service this car for you after warranty has ended, this maybe isn't the right car for you. Find a good Euro specialist or do the work yourself with the factory service manual and a good set of tools and you'll be golden. The V6 is known for coolant leaks in the valley of the engine, which can add cost really fast if going through the dealer. The plastic rocker covers like to leak oil too - so check those before buying. DPF issues are plentiful too - long highway burns are this things best friend. Great on fuel though! Country driving with a bullbar and standard wheels, I return about 8L/100km which I think is excellent considering the size of the thing. Towing a two-tonne van returns about 12L/100km for me.I'm not sure reliability and German are words that ever get used in the same sentence. Look, all things considered if you buy a well looked after example, it'll treat you well. Steer well clear of anything with a patchy service history or badly done modifications. I've had very few issues with mine in the 40,000km I've owned it. I've learnt to live with very slight oil leaks and tiny coolant leaks, I mean the car has almost 200,000km on it now and is never going to be perfect. Biggest issue was a blown coolant hose that left me on the side of the highway, but plugged it back in, filled with coolant and away we went. Haven't had an issue since. Like any car, look after it and it'll look after you. There are certainly worse choices out there (looking at you, 2.2-litre Ranger). I absolutely love the Amarok to bits, and all other owners I've talked to have said the same. Get one with a good service history and you'll be smiling ear to ear.

Being an MY06, tech isn't exactly this car's strong point. The Business CD unit has Bluetooth connectivity - but only for calls. An aftermarket Bluetooth receiver can be added for about $40, which makes a huge difference. Safety tech is limited at best - but the switchable traction control is great. Well tuned in both fully on and semi on modes, with a fully off mode available at the push of a button. Rear cargo really surprised me. Two duffel bags easily fit for a weekend away, I've never gotten it to the point where i wished the boot space was larger. My only gripe with the interior is the cupholders - as all E9x BMW owners would know too - the cupholders are shocking. They pop out of the dash, but are flimsy and break very easily. As far as a two-seat roadster goes, it's pretty spacious and easy to live with.People who hype up MX-5's as the best two-seat roadster clearly have never driven one of these. This car is faster, handles like its on rails (especially when the standard run flat tyres are chucked in the bin), and looks a hell of a lot better. The power delivery is nice and linear thanks to a naturally aspirated 2.5L (or 3.0L in other spec) inline six-cylinder engine. A manual would make this driving experience a 10/10, but if you have to get an auto, get a 2006 onwards as they came with flappy paddles.Being a BMW it's never going to be cheap to run and maintain. The N52 is known as one of the more reliable BMW motors, but end of the day its still a Euro. I just did the rocker cover gasket - and to do it you need to buy a full set of bolts + the gasket, as it specs single use aluminium bolts. I feel like that's a fairly good insight into the ownership of this car. A job that would be fairly simple, is made much more complicated than it really needs to be on this car. Don't let that scare you, though - parts availability is great as the Z4 shares a lot of parts with the E46 and the forums are full of info if you intended to work on this car yourself Body panels are near impossible to find however - so if you see the panel you need pop up for sale, buy it then and there. I learnt the hard way trying to find a front bumper.Unlike many other BMWs, this car is up there in terms of reliability. No major issues known on these. They do have smaller known issues, such as the VANOS system playing up which can be in the realm of $600 just for the parts. Oil consumption issues typically arise from a failing CCV system too, but neither this or the VANOS issue are difficult issues to fix. Biggest issue you'll have is oil leaks, but find a well maintained example that has been looked after and you'll be laughing.

This car feels so safe to drive, even alerting to large areas of potholes and telling me to brake.The car has so many bonus features like cargo hooks and even a boot opener on your keys.It drives really well, especially on gravel roads.Insurance is no more than my last car and I now use diesel and have found no differences.So far this car has not missed a beat!

It's missing its original stereo, but still has a CD stacker.Interior is excellent quality. There is just enough space in the rear cargo area.It handles quite well for its age. It brakes well but it could do with a little more power.At the moment it's a bit expensive and hard to find parts. The insurance costs are great.Not too bad but it needs a little work done on it. 

Cutting edge tech package. Features are a cut above standard Asian offerings in its competitor set.Excellent. More interior space than my Genesis GV70 mid-size SUV.Ride is firm and responsive. Steering is accurate. Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) is well damped.Nil servicing costs. Three years free servicing negotiated at time of purchase. Fuel costs are minimal.I've had no issues at all.

To be fair by today's standards the multimedia would be considered poor, however it has Bluetooth for my phone and the rest of it is just something I personally don't care about and has too much focus. It is, after all, a car and they're designed for driving which should be your primary focus when using one, not what apps it has.Safety wise it is comparable to vehicles of its era and is, for me, quite good. The biggest safety system is the person attached to the steering wheel, something that seems to be lost with all the focus on auto emergency braking (AEB) and adaptive this and that, which is a reflection on people forgetting their competence, importance, responsibility and accountability.Absolutely awesome! It is voluminous inside and with some tetris-style packing it will swallow an amazing amount of life's detritus and junk.The front seats are amazingly comfortable on long journeys. The flexibility of splitting the three rear seats individually and down to a completely flat loading floor with a huge boot gives you panel van-sized loading space. Additionally, the extra two seats for a seven-seat configuration are actually rated for adults and have excellent foot room, although I personally wouldn't want to be travelling long distances in them as an adult.Quiet, refined and an accumulator of speed on the open road that handles with aplomb for a 2.5 to three-tonne high-riding brick, it carries way more speed than you think was possible.Cruise control is a definite must on the open road or you will find yourself in the crosshairs of the constabulary.This is no sports car when it comes to steering input and feedback, but it has an inordinate amount of grip, it goes well and handles wonderfully, with the air suspension doing a fantastic job of absorbing the horrible road conditions. Cornering is relatively flat and the car is extraordinarily quiet at any speed, regardless of how fast you're going.OMG! You only have one kidney to sell to pay for the hideously expensive genuine Land Rover spares and servicing here in Australia.You might need to find yourself an aftermarket specialist Land Rover mechanic as this could save you literally thousands of dollars. Use OEM or very good quality aftermarket parts unless you have very deep pockets and money is no object. Allow an average of $2-3000 a year just for servicing (I service every 10,000km, not the 20,000km+ that Land Rover specifies) plus tyres and other consumables. I do an average of 20-25,000km a year with my driving so costs will vary depending upon what you do.Fuel economy depends on your driving style, but with my modified-for-off-road and regional travel D4, I regularly get between 9.0-10L/100km on the open road and less than 14L towing a near two-tonne camper trailer. Around town is variable with traffic and how hard I drive but typically it’s under 12L/100km.The big killer is the massive rise in insurance costs over the past two years. The value of the vehicle has decreased by more than 15 per cent but the cost to insure has increased by more than 35 per cent, so expect bills well in excess of $3K a year for quality insurance.The only reliability issues I have had with this car are aftermarket accessories being installed by supposedly reputable companies doing average work. Their dodgy installation and lack of customer service has caused issues and as such I can't hold Land Rover responsible for that.You must understand though that this is a big heavy car and things like brakes and suspension components work hard to keep everything going so they do wear out and need regular replacement, but Land Rover is too expensive price wise.

Best I have seen, but I know there is better out there.Luxurious and spacious enough.You love the Ranger for its rugged reliability, off-road prowess, bold design, and the freedom it gives you to explore without limits.Fuel is to be expected for the extra gear I have on it. Servicing is dear and insurance crap.It's been reliable so far.

Not really flash in tech, but considering it's a 2012 model it okay. Safety-wise it is good with decent airbags. Multimedia is just okay and not really very interesting.Interior is decent. Ride quality is good as well on the highways. Good comfortable fabric seats. Works wonders with roof rails.Very nice on the highway. Not really a car for city driving. At 110km/h speeds, there is very high cabin noise and you can't hear much from the passenger in the rear seat. Running costs are decent considering it's a sedan. I get 6.9/100km on highway speeds of 110km/h. Servicing is very, very cheap.Very reliable. Owned the car since 2017. Minimal issues and never missed a beat. Boxer engines are extremely reliable.

It includes BMW’s curved digital display with iDrive 8.5, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, premium audio and over-the-air updates. Safety technology like autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control is available, but because mine is the manual version, it misses out on both emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.The M2’s interior is driver-focused with supportive sport seats and high-quality materials. Rear seats are tight, best for short trips, while the 390-litre boot offers decent space for weekend luggage.The M2 drives with sharp, precise steering and a firm yet composed chassis. The S58 engine delivers strong, immediate power, making it both thrilling on bends and manageable for daily driving.The running costs of my BMW M2 G87 have been quite high, fuel economy is around 9.7 L/100 km in normal use and you certainly wouldn’t buy this car for its fuel economy.The M2 has been excellent, no major faults or mechanical issues so far.

It is very basic as I have had to add a rearview camera, central locking, GPS, a dash cam and a throttle controller. I would have liked to have parking sensors and cruise control. The rear seat area is confined and uncomfortable, and the door cards are poorly made. but the tray area is a good size and very handy.The take off and pickup is sluggish, but once it is up and going it just purrs especially on the highway.Wet-weather driving needs caution as it tend to lose traction when it has no load.Found the maintenance cost to be minimal and servicing is not costly as it rarely has a problem. The fuel cost is about 9.5-10L/00km.I have had the car for 16-plus years and had one problem that was easily taken care of in the fuel line at minimal cost, so apart from that I have had no gripes.I regularly go on 4WD fishing trips and it hold up well.