Off road

Specifications for the GWM Tank 300 plug-in hybrid off-roader have just been released, with the SUV joining as a new rugged rival. 

The 2026 Denza B8 6S is the flagship version of the line-up and notably offers six seats, as the name suggests.Priced at $97,990, before on-road costs, this notably undercuts rivals like the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, as well as other premium rivals like the Land Rover Defender, Lexus LX and Mercedes-Benz GLS, among others.As standard there are 20-inch alloy wheels, adaptive LED headlights, soft-close doors, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a 17.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system, 18-speaker Devialet sound system, tri-zone climate control, Nappa leather upholstery, plus second-row captain’s chairs that are heated, ventilated and have a massage function.Power comes from a plug-in hybrid set-up combining dual electric motors and a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine.Total system outputs are a meaty 425kW and 760Nm. They need to be as the B8 has a kerb weight of 3.3 tonnes. Despite this, Denza claims it can still do the 0-100km/h sprint in just 4.8 seconds.Feeding the dual electric motors is a 36.8kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery. Denza claims it allows for an electric range of 115km, according to NEDC testing.Additionally, there’s a 91L fuel tank. Denza claims this allows the B8 to have a total range of 1040km (NEDC).The Denza B8 received a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating based on testing conducted on the related B5 in 2025.There are 14 airbags which notably includes coverage for the third row, plus autonomous emergency braking (AEB), blind-spot monitoring, front and rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, front and rear parking sensors and a surround-view camera.The Denza B8 is covered by a six-year, 150,000km warranty, whereas the battery pack is covered by an eight-year, 160,000km warranty. There’s also three years of roadside assistance.The first five years of servicing totals $3762, which averages out to just over $750 per service.

Chery has just confirmed its new ute will use a surprising and revolutionary diesel plug-in hybrid set-up.What is most surprising about it is no other ute-maker has done it before, not even Toyota - the master of diesel utes and hybrid power.Chery’s Executive Director of Engineering Peter Matkin summed it up simply.“It’s easier to do the gasoline version,” he said.Underneath the bonnet of the ute — codenamed KP31 — is a 2.5-litre turbo-diesel engine paired with an electric motor or two and a sizeable battery.Details are scarce, but its torque outputs will be mega.The high torque figures delivered by the combination of diesel and electric power — two fuel sources that create a lot of torque — was one of the benefits of this new set-up compared to more conventional petrol-electric plug-in hybrids, according to Matkin.Chery Australia Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris said the new ute had to be tough and the diesel-electric combo gave it the best chance to achieve that capability Australians demand from a ute.“I believe Chery has one chance to prove that we can build and deliver a highly capable ute,” said Harris.“And so to do that, it needs towing capability, payload capability, all-terrain capability. Particularly all-terrain capability, you know, you get people towing caravans on the beach. You really do need the torque and power delivery that a diesel gives you down low to be able to do those things.”Chery said the new ute will be able to tow 3500kg and handle a one-tonne payload.It will have front, centre and rear diff locks, and it should have low gearing for proper off-roading.Harris also said the brand’s plug-in hybrid technology — which it dubs Super Hybrid — brings countless benefits on the road, too.“The driving feeling and experience is so much better than an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) only product."“We've been a bit demanding, we want the best of both worlds,” he said.Harris explained the Super Hybrid tech delivers smoother and more efficient highway motoring and significantly improved the refinement of the vehicle by reducing NVH levels.That’s a bit of jargon that stands for Noise, Vibration, and Harshness, which means you’ll hear and feel the engine less in the cabin making it feel more SUV-like.Harris also said being different was good, too.“And it's a bit different. Nobody else has it, so it's a nice thing for us to have and do differently,” he said.While no carmakers offer diesel plug-in hybrid models in Australia, Audi sold a diesel PHEV version of the Q7 nearly a decade ago, and Mercedes-Benz sells versions of the E-Class, GLE and GLC in Europe with the tech.

The Denza B8 is a ultra-luxurious, plug-in hybrid alternative to the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series but without the six-figure price tag you'd expect. We test out how it stacks up on Australian soil.

GWM’s top-spec ute, the Cannon XSR, is impressive.It’s packed with standard features for the price ($50,990 drive-away nationwide, at time of writing), is very capable off-road (it’s armed with a front and rear diff lock) and is not atrocious on-road.But, with new-age rivals like the BYD Shark 6 and the Ford Ranger PHEV variants setting the gold standard for refinement and performance in the ute market, does the Cannon represent the future of 4WDing – cheap(er) but not nasty – or is it spearheading a worrying trend of people falling for vehicles that initially seem pretty good but ultimately deliver a less-than-ideal driving experience?As hinted at above, there’s a lot to like about the Cannon, especially in XSR guise.For one, the line-up’s new 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine – 135kW and 480Nm – is tractable and well suited to the demands of 4WDing. That’s not to say the previous-gen Cannon’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine – 120kW and 400Nm – was no good, it’s just that bigger and more powerful is better this time around.It’s nowhere near as refined as the Shark 6 or Ranger PHEV, but it’s not terrible either.And then there’s its off-road capability. It seemingly can’t go wrong armed with high and low-range 4WD, twin lockers, off-road drive modes, a snorkel, underbody protection and all-terrain tyres (Cooper Discoverer AT3 265/65 R18).Ground clearance of 228mm (reasonable), wading depth of 700mm, and off-road angles of 30 degrees (approach), and 26 degrees (departure; rampover is not listed) don’t hurt its capabilities either.Off-roading is the one area in which the Cannon eclipses something like the Shark 6 and matches, if not bests, the Ford Ranger PHEV.There’s no doubting this ute’s efficacy as a 4WD – it is very good – however, there are some trade-offs (more about that soon).This Cannon ute is also packed with features including 18-inch alloy wheels, chrome sports bar, automatic LED headlights, spray-in tubliner, keyless entry, leather-accented upholstery, 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), six-way power-adjustable driver seat, four-way power-adjustable front-passenger seat, ambient lighting, black sports bar, and matt black exterior trim.With a drive-away price of $50,990, the Cannon XSR is a new ute that represents solid value for money.But there are quirky aspects about the overall driving experience in the Cannon that leave questions lingering about the prospect of actually living with it over the long term.Concerns and criticisms have been raised over the years about driver-assist tech in Chinese-built vehicles. To the company’s credit, GWM seems to have addressed those issues, at least to some extent.The worst example of this: we were leaving a stretch of highway and driving down an off ramp when the auto emergency braking (AEB) fully engaged for no apparent reason. We went from 100km/h to a full stop in what felt like only a few metres but, of course, was about 40m or so. AEB was impressive in its application but there was no obstacle or hazard on or near the off ramp that required it. Nothing. We were supremely lucky no one had been tailgating us. The fact that this incident had even happened was far from ideal.Adaptive cruise control is haphazard in its application as it’s overly sensitive in gauging the distance between your vehicle and the one travelling in front, cutting speed when it doesn't have to.And changes in your vehicle’s speed – in response to vehicles in front, road signs (on or off the road on which you’re travelling), or other perceived threats (cyclists, parked cars, roadside shrubbery etc) – are abrupt and jarring (sometimes downright dangerous), rather than smooth and intuitive.Speaking of road signs, traffic sign recognition in the Cannon, as alluded to in the above paragraph, is regularly ‘off’ – suddenly cutting your speed in a school zone outside of school zone hours or reacting to a side street road sign, rather than the street on which you’re driving.While 4WDing, swapping between high and low-range, changing off-road modes, or switching diff locks on or off has been at times a clunky process, with the transition taking on a feeling not unlike shunting trains.Also, on one particularly hot day, the Cannon’s multimedia screen did not function at all for about five minutes after I started driving the ute. Mild inconvenience, sure, but more than annoying when a lot of the functions are operated via the screen.All of these driver-assist tech issues combine to deliver an off-kilter driving experience overall, one in which you’re never quite sure how the tech will be applied or react to real or perceived hazards.I’ve never had any such problems in the Shark 6 or Ranger PHEV.That’s not to say I don’t like the Cannon because I do. I think it’s a very capable off-roader, is a decent ute to live with day to day and, at face value at least, it seems like solid value for money (with plenty of standard features onboard), but the lingering tech issues threaten to ruin the whole Cannon experience for me.

Chery has unveiled its Rely R08 ute in the United Arab Emirates, with diesel and petrol set-up options. The car will start from around 63,000 dirham, which is roughly A$24,000, but there are significantly more expensive options in the range.The R08 was recently unveiled in China under Chery's Rely commercial vehicle marque, where it is already on sale.It is unlikely that Australia will get this ute from Chery, with the brand’s Australian Chief Operating Officer Lucas Harris confirming to CarsGuide last year a diesel plug-in hybrid is planned for Australian on a completely different platform.We can expect this ute to arrive in the second half of this year, and it likely to be based on the Rely P3X, which has the desired diesel PHEV set-up.The petrol variant of the R08 is fitted with a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine, which produces 118kW and 230Nm, and comes with a five-speed manual transmission. The more expensive diesel variant has a 2.3-litre turbocharged engine, producing 120kW and 420Nm and is available with six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic transmissions.Like many of its ute rivals, it will be built on a ladder-frame chassis, with up to a 1000kg payload. It measures up similarly to other dual-cab models at 5370mm in length, 1960mm in width and 18800mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3230mm. More premium trim levels of the Rely R08 are equipped with four-wheel drive, but the ute starts with 4x2 rear-wheel drive variants. Even an electric variant is available, but only in its Chinese home market.As standard, the Rely R08 comes with a four-speaker audio system, manual seat adjustment and rear parking sensors. The top-of-the-range ute has a 15.6-inch central touchscreen, wireless phone charger and a 360-degree camera.Stay tuned for more news on Chery's soon-to-arrive completely separate ute for the Australian market as it doubles down on its progress in 2025.

My 2011 Mitsubishi Triton GLX-R just conked out while driving. There were no fault lights and, up to then, the car had been running perfectly? My mechanic changed the fuel filter and drove it for two days and says it's fine, but it was also fine before it just conked out previously? So now I'm paranoid that it could happen again. And because he couldn't find anything to fix, all it had done was the fuel filter replaced.

I have a 2019 Holden Colorado LTZ model. After the warranty expired on the car, I had problems arise with the radio. The radio sporadically started changing on its own, the navigation screen is also no longer full screen and is now a half screen.

I took the car to the dealer who says it’s out of warranty and diagnoses that it needs a replacement radio. My question is: If they replace it, will the problem come back again?

Ford has adjusted the prices of its Ranger and Everest models in Australia as it phases out the popular twin-turbo 2.0-litre diesel engines, and introduces more V6 variants.The pair were two of the best-selling cars in Australia in 2025. The Ranger was the overall best seller last year, while the related Everest just pipped the Toyota Prado as Australia's favourite large SUV.It means that the single-turbo variants come in cheaper than the outgoing twin-turbo units.The 2.0-litre Sport grade has had a sizeable increase of $2200, now starting from $71,190. The V6 variants on the more premium Everest models have gone down in price. The Sport is now $1000 cheaper at $75,990, while the Tremor and Platinum are roughly $1500 cheaper, starting from $78,440 and $82,990, respectively. Ford has also introduced an Active variant, replacing the previous range-opening Ambiente, and it gets the V6 engine, starting from $66,990, before on-road costs. This makes it the cheapest V6 Everest available.  2026 Ford Everest pricing Australia The Ranger has also undergone an extensive price shuffle across most of its variants. Among the bigger increases for the ute is the single-cab cab-chassis 2.0-litre variant, which is now $2630 more expensive than it was. The 2.0-litre Black Edition pick-up is now $2500 more.Some V6 variants have also received a hike in price, such as the XLT double-cab now starting from $69,090. The double-cab cab-chassis 2.0-litre is now $770 cheaper, with a starting price of $49,230. All other high-end and plug-in hybrid variants of the Ranger have stayed the same. Comparing the pick-up variants of other major ute brands, the Ranger’s cheapest V6 model at $57,900 is only a few thousand more expensive than the four-cylinder base Nissan Navara.2026 Ford Ranger pricing Australia 

I’m having trouble with the gearbox in my 2013 Ford Territory (six-speed auto 2.7 diesel), but only when the gearbox is warm. When decelerating at any speed the car jerks quite badly but when I speed up it stops. In slow traffic the jerking becomes worse, however if I put into neutral slowing down the jerking stops.

The mechanics can’t find an issue because when they test drive the car is generally cold and works fine. There’s no issue changing gears up or down, it’s only when the gearbox gets hot the problem begins? Any thoughts?