SUV Reviews

The Overland continues as the mid-range trim level of the new JL Wrangler line-up, with the two-door model sitting $9500 above the equivalent Sport S at $58,450.The Overland is also available as a four-door for $4500 extra at $62,950 and sits $9500 above the equivalent Sport S and $1000 below the equivalent Rubicon.For JL Wrangler, the Overland standard features list brings details like leather seats, colour-coded removable hardtop and wheelarches, 18-inch wheels, active cruise control, LED lights all round, proximity keys, nine-speaker Alpine audio, a bigger 8.4-inch multimedia screen with built-in sat nav, a 230V inverter in the back of the centre console and front parking sensors.The Overland also comes with AEB and blind-spot monitoring straight out of the box.Like all JL Wranglers bar the diesel version of the top-spec Rubicon, the Overland comes with a revised version of the JK’s 3.6-litre petrol V6 engine which produces the same 209kW/347Nm as before, but the two-door’s official combined fuel consumption figure is now 9.6L/100km (9.7L/100km four-door) thanks to weight savings, a new eight-speed automatic transmission and the addition of a stop-start system.

The Sport S is the new entry trim level to the new JL Wrangler line-up, with list pricing now $9,960 more expensive than the old Sport strarting price at $48,950.The JL Wrangler is an all-new design and comes with plenty of new features, so it arguably represents similar value to the JK.The Sport S is available in either two or four-door bodystyles, with the four-door costing $4500 more at $53,450.The Sport S standard feature list includes cloth seats and a soft roof with plastic windows, but does have a leather steering wheel, carpet on the floor and alloy wheels, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for the first time, albeit in the smaller 7.0-inch multimedia screen. It’s also got auto headlights and rear parking sensors.Note that the Sport S won’t get AEB and blind-spot monitoring until closer to the end of 2019.  Like all JL Wranglers bar the diesel version of the top-spec Rubicon, the Sport S comes with a revised version of the JK’s 3.6-litre petrol V6 engine which produces the same 209kW/347Nm as before, but the two-door’s official combined fuel consumption figure is now 9.6L/100km (9.7L/100km four-door) thanks to weight savings, a new eight-speed automatic transmission and the addition of a stop-start system.

The third-generation Volkswagen Touareg has arrived with an all-new platform, the latest safety tech and optional shock and awe multimedia. Does its value and performance measure up to a substantial price tag?

The small SUV segment continues to explode with new offerings from MG, SsangYong and Haval competing at the budget end of the market. But does an aggressive price-point automatically represent value-for-money?

The Range Rover Evoque HSE is the top-spec Evoque coming in at before on-road costs of either $89,850 for the P300 petrol or $90,420 for the D240 diesel.

The Range Rover Evoque SE is the mid-spec Evoque, priced from $68,610 before on-road costs.

The Range Rover Evoque S is the entry level Evoque, priced from $62,670 before on-road costs.

The new Evoque has some big shoes to fill, and has moved up a size in order to do it. Has it lost anything along the way? We drive it at its long-awaited launch to find out.

A fast-setting sun, the temperature poised to plunge from 10 degrees, zero phone reception, we were halfway up the remote west coast of Tasmania at least an hour away from our destination and there was a Jeep Wrangler bogged up to the axles halting us in our tracks.If we were in a LandCruiser, Patrol or Defender, this would signal an opportunity to score some brand brownie points by saving the day with a snatch strap. But given this was our first taste of the new JL Wrangler on Australian soil and we were among almost a dozen other Wranglers queued up behind the bogged lead car, you’d forgive our hosting Jeep executives for feeling a tad nervous at this point. This sort of thing seldom happens on media events thanks to impeccable planning of every possible contingency.But reality couldn’t have been more contrary, with smiles all round as snatch straps, Maxtrax and a shovel were mobilised and all hands hit the deck to get us out of there.This is the thrill of off-roading and Jeeping at its very core, adhering to the popular mantra that you’re not going properly off-road until you get stuck.It probably sounds mad to 95 per cent of the car-buying public, but the anxiety of apparent failure followed by the elation of extrication can be one hell of a buzz.The longer this recovery takes, the greater the thrill, and this one took the best part of an hour, in professional hands, so we’d been pretty damn stuck.Given the new Wrangler had proven itself as arguably the most capable off-road vehicle straight out of the box at it’s international launch on the infamous Rubicon Trail in the US last year, we should also take pride in the fact that it took Aussie soil to halt it.But how does it go on Aussie bitumen, in local spec? Read on.

Lexus is late to the small SUV party, but can it offer a compelling enough alternative to the big Euro players to capture the attention of younger buyers?