Ute

The new Toyota LandCruiser 79 Series is a modern-ish update of the immensely popular ute workhorse because you can choose one with a 2.8L four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and six-speed automatic transmission.Don’t worry, the 4.5-litre turbo-diesel V8 and five-speed manual gearbox combination is still available across the range* but the introduction of a four-cylinder into the line-up is the big news.* Except in the Troopie which is only available with the four-cylinder engine and six-speed auto.[read-more-default-title]You're too late for a Toyota LandCruiser V8: Even order holders now uncertain to secure 70 Series V8 as NVES "puts those cars into question big time"Toyota's $162m V8 LandCruiser problem: Why the end of the V8 diesel LandCruiser 70 Series could end up costing a fortuneToyota's mini monster! LandCruiser FJ name secured for Australia as RAV4 Hybrid-powered Suzuki Jimny rival prepares for launchSo, what’s all the fuss about? Well, the four-cylinder engine yields more torque and better fuel efficiency than the V8, and overall the new 79 Series package is supposedly more refined and comfortable with more driver-assist safety tech than the previous generation.So, is the new four-cylinder 79 better than the V8-powered version? Read on.

For some strange reason, the Isuzu D-Max isn't often mentioned on the list of Australia's most popular vehicles.You hear all about the Ford Ranger and the Toyota HiLux, of course. And you hear about the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid, the Tesla Model Y and a handful of others, too.But let's give the D-Max its flowers. Last year, it was Australia's third best-selling vehicle, shifting more than 31,000 units in 2023. And it moved another 7947 vehicles over the first three months of 2024. That makes it a proper sales behemoth.[read-more-default-title]Isuzu Australia weighs in on incoming emissions standards as some of the most popular diesel utes feel the crunch: 'Vehicle brands that cannot increase vehicle pricing to cover the penalties may be left with no option but to exit the Australian market'Mazda BT-50 dropped from South African market! But will the Isuzu D-Max twin and Ford Ranger rival stick around in Australia?Isuzu D-Max EV revealed! And it's coming to Australia, beating Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger to market with a fully electric ute!So far, it's the only ute that's been able to maintain touching distance to the Ranger and HiLux, and the brand has some pretty big sales ambitions for the model for this year and beyond.I tell you all of this as a way to say that this updated 2024 model is a Very Big Deal, not just for the brand, but for the legions of ute fans across the country.What's fresh? There's a new look, better safety kit, a new permanent trim level, new off-road capability and a better cabin experience.Is that enough to keep it in the hunt with the best-selling utes in the country? Let's go find out.

Tesla’s Cybertruck truly is a giant wedge of cutting-edge technology, and not only because its edges are so sharp you could literally cut yourself, or chop kindling, with them. No vehicle, nor indeed even any of his stupid ideas, so perfectly represents the manic mania, the whooping, wanton wackiness of Elon Musk as this comically angular, sharp-edged savager of pedestrians.And yet people, and American people in particular as we discovered on a trip to Los Angeles to drive one, love the Cybertruck. Tesla is said to be holding as many as 2 million pre-orders for it in North America alone and many Australians have expressed interest in buying one, when the company finally manages to build it in right-hand drive, and get it on sale down here, almost regardless of the price (spoiler alert: it’s going to be a lot).[read-more-default-title]In Tesla we rust? Brand defends stainless steel Cybertruck promising "you can keep it in the rain for as long as you want"Are electric utes dumb? Or are we missing the point of the GMC Hummer, Ford F-150 Lightning, Tesla Cybertruck and others | OpinionCan the electric car acceleration continue? Why 2024 will be the tipping point for Tesla with just Tesla Model 3 and Model Y EVs on saleI’ve seen a lot of strange and wildly ugly cars over the years, but if you parked the Cybertruck next to all of them, they’d just disappear because you really can’t take your eyes off its pointy, almost dangerous looking lines. It’s like a human tried to engineer an echidna on wheels.It does make me laugh, though, and so it was with a smile on my face and acid dripping from my pen that I arrived at a giant Tesla delivery centre in LA to drive it. Come with me.