Off road

Where are Land Rovers made?

The hardcore Holden Colorado Rox revealed last week in New Zealand is not a sure-starter for Australia, with the beefed-up concept vehicle "purely a NZ play". But it is understood at least one element of that vehicle could make its way into an Austra

GM's top executive has shed more light on the brand's electric ute plans, revealing its first EV pick-up truck will be as cheap or cheaper than it's fuel-powered rivals, but no less capable.That's the word from GM president, and former Holden MD, Mark

If you're holding your breath for a Holden-badged rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor, then you best keep right on holding - the brand says it has no plans to toughen-up its Colorado to do battle with its Blue Oval rival.That's the word from Holden's executiv

The Holden Colorado range has just been updated for the 2020 model year, but to describe it as “new” might be something of a stretch. In fact, even “refreshed” might be over-selling it.

Small or compact four-door SUVs have found favour with those who might usually climb into a hatch but, for whatever reasons, are now looking to a vehicle with the ability, actual or otherwise, of being sporty and even a little bit outdoorsy. The reality is most of these vehicles will spend their time on city and suburban streets, which perfectly suits them, and their owners' lifestyles.

Audi has revealed the next generation of its high-riding A6 allroad wagon, which will land in Australia in the first half of 2020. Based on the new generation A6, which is due on sale locally soon, the allroad sits 45mm higher than the standard wagon, and can offer up to 184mm of ground clearance depending on which mode the air suspension is in. The styling of the A6 allroad mimics past variants, too, with plastic bumpers and revised front and rear styling for a more off-road look. Other off-road tech includes hill-descent control, as well as a tilt-angle assistant that informs drivers of the angle that the car is sitting at. Up to six driving modes are also available to choose from.Like the standard A6, four-wheel steering is available optionally and allows the rear wheels to turn up to five degrees in the opposite direction to the front wheels to increase maneuverability at speeds of up to 60km/h.The only available engine is a 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel in three tunes: 170kW/500Nm, 210kW/620Nm and 257kW/700Nm. Fuel use is between 5.8L and 6.4L/100km, thanks to Audi’s 48-volt mild-hybrid system, which is capable of recovering up to eight kilowatts of power during braking. That power is fed to a 10Ah battery, which then contributes the power back under acceleration. All tunes of the V6 engine are offered only with an eight-speed automatic, which is matched to Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system as standard. An optional sport differential then further distributes power between the rear wheels.Inside, the A6 allroad arrives with unique trim and colour combinations, with black, beige and brown available to choose from. European variants offer half cloth and leather trims as standard, though Australian models will get full leather.The A6 allroad gets the same multimedia set up as the regular A6, with a 10.1-inch central touchscreen and a 12.3-inch digital driver’s display. Audi is also releasing a special edition, the '20 Years allroad’, which can be ordered in three colours - ‘Gavial Green’, ‘Glacier White’ and ‘Soho Brown’ - and arrive with unique 19-inch wheels, a black styling package, black sports seats, aluminium inlays and illuminated door sills.The A6 allroad will compete with the Mercedes-Benz E-Class All Terrain and Volvo V90 Cross Country when it launches locally in the first half of 2020. Local pricing and specification are yet to be announced. 

The rugged Rubicon continues as the top trim level of the new JL Wrangler line-up, with the now four-door only model sitting $1000 above the equivalent Overland at $63,950.The Rubicon scores hardcore off-road gear like BF Goodrich mud terrain tyres, shorter 77.2:1low range gearing, front and rear diff locks with stronger axles and a swaybar disconnect system and chunky mud-terrain tyres. It also comes with a winch-ready steel front bumper not seen on the early-build examples pictured here.The Rubicon reverts to cloth seats, but comes with Rubicon bonnet, sturdy rock slider sidesteps, specific 17-inch alloys, black hardtop and wheelarches but retains the Overland’s AEB, bind-spot monitoring, active cruise control, Nine-speaker audio, LED lights, 230V inverter, bigger multimedia screen with sat nav, but adds off-road pages.The Rubicon is the only trim level to offer the option of the new 450Nm 2.2-litre turbodiesel engine. List pricing for the V6 petrol version is $63,950, but the diesel adds a full $5000 to cost $68,950.Official combined fuel consumption is listed at 7.5L/100km for the diesel, and 10.3L/100km for the petrol. These figures are aided by a new eight-speed automatic transmission and the addition of a stop-start system.

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.