Off road

Joshua Dowling road tests and reviews the Ford Everest at its international launch in Thailand.

Riding on the back of the new Mitsubishi Challenger's unveiling and the Ford Everest's international launch, Toyota has retaliated by showing off the Fortuner's interior for the first time. Due to hit local showrooms in late October, the Thai-built Fortuner will go into battle with the new Ford and Mitsubishi seven-seat SUVs, plus existing ute-based SUVs like the Isuzu MU-X and Holden Colorado 7.  While the sub-Prado Fortuner may share its underpinnings with the new sixth-generation HiLux ute that also arrives around October, the wagon gets a unique dashboard design and restyled door trims to go with its seven-seat cabin layout.The bespoke interior reflects Toyota's consideration of family buyers for the all-new model, with soft-touch surfaces and features like a reversing camera, touchscreen multimedia, dual-zone air conditioning and a cooled/heated centre console box on all models.Toyota has only released pre-production images of the base GX and top-level Crusade interiors for now, but not much is expected to change.The dual-range four-wheel drive Fortuner will also be offered in mid-spec GXL. Standard GX features will be a 7-inch touchscreen with the Toyota Link multimedia system, seven airbags covering the length of the cabin, auto headlights, three 12V power sockets and a full-size spare wheel.All models get the usual connectivity options like Bluetooth, USB and 3.5mm auxiliary jacks.The second row seats can be split 60/40, with ISOFIX mounting points in the outboard positions.The third row seats divide 50/50 and fold up against the side windows like the full-size 200 Series LandCruiser. This is a less elegant solution than the Ford Everest or LandCruiser Prado however, whose third rows fold flat into the floor. The dual-zone air-conditioning covers all three rows of seats, with ceiling-mounted controls for the second row and vents for the third row. The top-spec Crusade gets climate control.Like the upcoming Challenger, all models get reach and rake adjustment for the steering, placing it ahead of the rake-only adjustable Everest, MU-X and Colorado 7.The GX and mid-range GXL will feature brown fabric seats and the GXL gets proximity keys and paddle shifters for the auto. The flagship Crusade adds leather and woodgrain trim, satnav and digital radio, an eight-way power-adjustable driver's seat, a 220V accessory connector, powered tailgate, as well as woodgrain trim highlights with soft-touch surfaces.Full specifications and pricing will be confirmed closer to the Fortuner’s arrival in late October.

John Carey road tests and reviews the Mercedes-Benz GLE 350d with specs, fuel consumption and verdict, at its international launch.

Four-time champion Tommi Mäkinen has been announced as the team principal for Toyota's return to the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2017, which was announced in January.Mäkinen won consecutive titles between 1996 and 1999 driving for Mitsubishi before retiring in 2003, and was also involved with both Subaru and Nissan's WRC programs during his 17-year rally driving career.More recently, Mäkinen has been involved in the development of Toyota's GR86X, a purpose-built all-wheel drive rally version of the 86 sports car driven by Toyota boss Akio Toyoda at the Coffs Harbour round of the WRC last year during a visit to Australia as part of a ten-week research and development program.The WRC program will be based out of Toyota Motorsport's technical centre in Colonge, Germany. The same facility also houses the Japanese brand's title-holding World Endurance Championship team and was also previously the base for their Formula One team.Toyota will return to the WRC with a purpose-built Yaris which features a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine producing in excess of 223kW, some 160kW more power than the top-spec road-going Yaris ZR which sports an 80kW 1.5-litre engine.The Yaris WRC racer has spent the first-half of the year running through a test program in Europe with several young drivers and WRC2 driver Eric Camilli behind the wheel.Toyota WEC regular Stéphane Sarrazin and rally veteran Sebastian Lindholm will join the development program, with further testing planned across European WRC venues encompassing a number of different rally surfaces.

I want to upgrade my old 80-Series LandCruiser for travelling around Australia, pulling a 22-foot caravan. I'm looking at a near-new GXL LandCruiser, versus a four-year-old Sahara LandCruiser. Which way would you suggest we go for resale and comfort for a lot of driving? Sahara has all the bells and whistles and looks more comfortable.

Toyota largely built its enviable reputation for toughness and reliability on big, lusty four-wheel drives like the Prado. Regarded as the LandCruiser's little brother, the Prado is a big wagon that is able to cope with life in town. New It can accommodate up to seven in reasonable comfort, with some space left over

In a bid to boost sluggish sales, Nissan has announced substantial price cuts and a consolidated two-grade model lineup for the 2015 Patrol V8 SUV, the first update since the model landed in Australia in January 2013.The big petrol-powered SUV range now starts with the $69,990 eight-seat Ti variant, which is priced a whopping $23,400 beneath its outgoing equivalent and an impressive $12,700 below the now-discontinued ST-L entry point.Priced from $86,990, the range-topping seven-seat Ti-L variant is now $27,500 cheaper.Neither model has lost any features as a result of the price drops, but the Ti now has the 9.3Gb music hard drive previously reserved for the Ti-L.In the engine bay, things are the same with the 298kW/560Nm 5.6-litre petrol V8 and seven-speed automatic transmission carrying over from the outgoing model, as does the "All-Mode" 4WD system.There's still no diesel, due to the petrol-loving Middle East making up the bulk of Y62 Patrol sales internationally.The shifter is now located on the right-hand side of the centre console, removing a significant reminder of the Patrol's left-hand drive origins. However, the centre row seat split-fold still favours entry to the third row from the right-hand side.New standard features of the 2015 Y62 update include an off-road monitoring system that gives the driver advice about steering angle, tyre slip and pressure, as well as a compass.The satnav system has also been updated to include real-time traffic monitoring.Carrying over from the outgoing Patrol are the Hydraulic Body Motion Control suspension swaybar system, all-around view camera system, and the leather-accented seats.New shades of white and grey paint are also available, with Alpine White and Precision Grey replaced by Ivory Pearl and Gun Metallic, respectively.The 2015 Y62 Nissan Patrol V8 is due to land in local showrooms early this month.

Bentley has just confirmed a 3.5-tonne tow capacity for its upcoming Bentayga with a suitable towball load rating for the super-luxury SUV.It is also fitting a special rear-view camera and electrically operated tow hitch to make it easier to attach a back-end loading job to the $400,000-plus luxury truck."The tow capacity is 3.5 tonnes," the engineering director at Bentley, Rolf Frech, reveals to CarsGuide.Bentley will be taking the SUV to Iceland next year to drive up a glacier"I do not have the exact ball weighting, but it will be sufficient."Frech says development of the Bentayga has included all possible SUV requirements, including the 'Big Red' sand dune in the Dubai desert and luxury towing."Bentley has to be authentic. Do we assume our customers will go there? Of course not. But the success story of SUVs around the world also has to do with the escape potential."Bentley's CEO, Wolfgang Durheimer, confirms the Bentayga can conquer 'Big Red', but says his objective was the much tougher downwind side of the dune than the sloping upwind edge tackled by most four-wheel drives. And he reveals Bentley will be taking the SUV to Iceland next year to drive up a glacier.On the towing capacity, the two men say the Bentayga can handle anything and the luxury approach means a hands-off hitch. Instead of lifting or winching, the driver uses the rear-view camera to line up the towball with the hitch and then presses a button to make the connection."We also have an air spring to help with connecting the tow hitch," Frech says.

Richard Blackburn road tests and reviews the Land Rover Discovery Sport with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

The duo, again driving a race-prepped Mitsubishi Pajero, finished the two stages with a time of 6 hours, 29 minutes. That put them 50 minutes ahead of Western Australia's Jason Galea and Markus Christie, who finished second in their Toyota FJ Cruiser.Finishing on top of the production class timesheet in 2015 continues Pickering's run of class victories in each of his 12 attempts."The secret is aiming to finish," Pickering said."I don't go out to win, like many who charge down the track only to be left stranded on the sidelines with a broken car."The Finke Desert Race involves a 230km run from the outskirts of Alice Springs down to the remote community of Finke, on the northern edge of the Simpson Desert, before returning the next day along the same route. The 2015 race featured 134 cars and purpose-built off-road buggies, along with nearly 600 motorcycle and quad bikes.The secret is aiming to finishDespite taking a cautious approach to the car-breaking outback challenge, Pickering and Watson's run didn't have its own mishaps."We heard a banging in the rear about a quarter of the way back," Pickering said."I thought maybe the jack had come loose and it was bouncing around."Instead, it was discovered that a rear shock absorber had broken, however the Pajero's dual-shock suspension setup allowed them to make it to the finish line in Alice Springs.