Off road

Kia has seemingly confirmed the Tasman name for its new Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux rival, hiding the detail in plain sight in the ute's first TV commercial.

Toyota has applied to trademark the name "LandCruiser FJ" in Australia, seemingly naming the mini-LandCruiser that's expected to be unveiled before the end of the year.The trademark application adds weight to solid reporting out of Japan that the LandCrui

Range Rover is synonymous for building luxury SUVs with powerful engines and off-road prowess. So how does that fit into an electric future? According to one senior management figure, there’s no reason why the upcoming Range Rover Electric can’t be the best model the company has ever produced, both in terms of luxury and off-road performance. Speaking to CarsGuide at the recent launch of the high-performance Range Rover Sport SV, Ryan Miller, Range Rover’s Global Marketing and Services Director, revealed the company has received more than 18,000 expressions of interest for the upcoming model, which isn’t expected to be revealed until later this year.Range Rover hasn’t released too many technical details about the new model, but what we do know is that it will be built on the same platform as the current Range Rover, which was engineered with an EV powertrain in mind. That also means it will be an extension of the current Range Rover line-up, rather than a standalone model.But despite the flood of initial interest, Miller said the company will take a slow and steady approach to its transition to electrification and has modest sales hopes for this initial offering.“Yeah, it eventually becomes a volume product, absolutely not in the short and medium term,” Miller said. “But eventually, there is a tipping point in every market, we believe. With electrification, we think that's the right propulsion solution, that's why we’ve invested heavily in that.”He believes the demand for the electric Range Rover will be primarily driven by where buyers live, with the more mature EV markets, such as Europe and the USA, expected to lead the charge, rather than Australia. But he’s confident that the significant torque and quiet operation of the electric motors will appeal to Range Rover buyers around the world.“It's very geographic,” Miller explained. “If you believe the data, because no-one really knows how it's going to play out, but if you believe the data, it's quite geographic. And if you think about the people we know, there are those that have already adopted electric and there are those that you could never see adopting electric, right?“Yeah, it's not niche. It might be a sort of shallow mix to start with, but if you think about 18,000 expressions of interest.  What do our Range Rover clients want? They want the technology.  They want near silent travel. There's no reason why an electric Range Rover actually can't be the best Range Rover we've ever made.”Off-road capability is an obvious focal point for Range Rover and an equally obvious challenge for EVs, especially in a country as sparsely populated as Australia. However, Miller said the company sees it as an opportunity rather than a problem, as electric motors will open up a new way of creating off-road capability.“Range anxiety is going to be a big consideration, particularly for first-time purchasers. And I think the EV adoption rate will depend heavily on the infrastructure speed of development,” he admitted. “Does EV create more barriers for off-road performance? It makes it harder but it liberates . If you think about it, you go from zero to maximum torque in a split second. And if you can control that torque and get that power down to each individual wheel with split second control, you can create something very special."So we've got some pretty inventive off-road engineers  in our team, as you can imagine. And they're hugely proud of the heritage that they've created. So we're working very hard to be very inventive on that front.”

Toyota will almost certainly launch the LandCruiser Prado hybrid in Australia, with the brand's senior executives telling CarsGuide the aim was to launch to launch the electrified 4WD "sooner rather than later".

The Ford Ranger Wildtrak has found favour with Australia's ute-loving public over recent years. Now Ford has launched the Everest Wildtrak.But beyond a few styling changes, the Wildtrak is really no different to the Everest Sport.We know the Everest is refined on-road and capable off-road, but is the Wildtrak, priced at more than $74,000, worth the extra money over its stablemates? 

Camping has changed a fair bit since Banjo Paterson wrote about ol' mate, the singing swagman who chose a spot under a coolabah tree and waited for his billy to boil.But it's changed for the better – and worse.Sure, advancements in equipment, safety and shelter are more than welcome, but many changes have come at a real cost, in terms of moving the experience of camping further and further away from its true origins, which involved residing in the great outdoors with few possessions or home comforts.That's no longer the case at all.While camping has already progressed too far, according to grumpy old barstools like myself, the recent CES (Consumer Electronic Show) 2024 in Las Vegas gave a little glimpse into the near-future of camping, including a preview of the LG Electronics Bon Voyage camper-trailer, and – in bad news for old grumpy blokes like me – high-tech glamping seems to have become the norm.But with every gear and tech advancement are we at serious risk of losing the real spirit of camping altogether?Read on.There's more camping stuff. Yep, there's much more gear nowadays than even a few years ago: there's a huge range of sleeping bags, swags or tents, chairs, tables, awnings, cooking utensils, portable cookers (or just buy a camper-trailers or caravan with a built-in or slide-out cook top) and so much more that I guarantee your head spins when you go looking for something camping related to buy.But more important than the sheer volume of stuff available, is the fact that the gear available today is – mostly – an improved version of whatever has come before: it's easier to use, more efficient, and the quality of materials and build are much better than ever before.There's more technology. Why miss out on your favourite streaming service while you're out bush? You don't have to these days. Nor do you have to forego your morning frappuccino because there are myriad coffee machines for that. You never have to stumble around your campsite at night ever again because there's now eye-wateringly bright LED lighting every which you look. Not forgetting the fact that your phones, tablets and drones will always be powered up because you have portable battery packs and solar panels galore.There are more people. It's wonderful! Camping is very much a social occasion – it's a happy mixture of different ages, cultures and backgrounds, coming together as part of a common pursuit: to thoroughly enjoy the great outdoors.Camping is now worse, and mostly for the same reasons it's also better. Confused? Stay with me.There's too much stuff. Whatever happened to roughing it? Now you can stay fed and hydrated, heated or cooled, entertained and mollycoddled to your preferred comfortable state of being in the great outdoors. Where's the bloody fun in that?If, as mentioned, you can get slide-out drawers for your clothing, sleeping bags, spares and even a kitchen sink with a stove-top as well, why should you even bother leaving your house?There's too much technology. Ah, the serenity of camping, right? Peace and quiet, with nothing but a gently flowing creek and soft birdsong as your soundtrack. That is until the people in the tent nearby decide to fire up their Bluetooth speakers and blast Taylor Swift turned up to 11, from dawn to 10pm – and that's if you're lucky. Or they're all watching an NRL game at maximum volume on a big screen TV that they've somehow transported to your beloved out-of-the-way campsite, purely for the sake of not missing one second of televised sport.And speaking of people: there are too many of them. People have turned camping into a nightmare. You can forget all about any modicum of peace and no quiet. At a modern-day campsite, there's too much loud talking, too much loud laughing, too much loud music (those bloody portable speakers!) – not to mention too many kids playing, laughing and having fun – all too loudly.One of the great things about camping is that you can scale your trip to suit you; the degree of difficulty and discomfort is entirely up to you.Want a no-frills minimalist adventure? No worries – leave all of your gear at home and enjoy the wild ride.Want a five-star-style outdoors experience during which you will likely want for nothing? Just take everything you can think of – and that kitchen sink in the slide-out drawer – and have a whole lot of fun.It's all camping.

Ineos has revealed the design for its long-awaited electric third model, which is set to be called the Fusilier, something it had confirmed was under development back in May 2022.The Fusilier joins the existing Grenadier - which is based on the licensed design of the original Land Rover Defender - in the brand’s line-up as the second badge name, but technically becoming the third ‘model’ alongside the Grenadier and its Grenadier Quartermaster ute sibling.The Fusilier’s specifications are yet to be confirmed, but the brand notes its design is different from that of the Grenadier for drag efficiency.While also being slightly shorter in length and height than the Grenadier, the Fusilier also does away with some of the sharp, boxy lines inherited from the Defender.“Chamfered edges and corners assist with uninterrupted airflow and maintaining that crucial unobstructed visibility over the road and terrain ahead,” Ineos said in a statement explaining the exterior design changes.“Updating the archetypal 4X4 for an electrified powertrain to minimise drag without impacting the functional design sees a smoothing of body lines and a more athletic style.”Additionally, the brand has incorporated active grille shutters to manage airflow based on range or cooling requirements.This will likely come into play later when Ineos introduces a range-extender-equipped version of the Fusilier, which will have a small engine to recharge the battery when needed.Ineos Chairman Jim Ratcliffe says the ranger extender will arrive to alleviate the ‘range anxiety’ perceived by some owners or aspirational owners of electric cars.“We’re excited to bring our electric 4X4 to market but we are beginning to understand the clear limitations of battery electric in certain situations,” Ratcliffe said.“As we developed this vehicle, we quickly concluded that in order to move towards decarbonisation but continue making cars that consumers want to drive, we need a mix of powertrain technologies. “BEVs are perfect for certain uses: shorter trips and urban deliveries, but industry and governments need to have realistic expectations around other technologies that can help accelerate the necessary pace of change. “That is the reason we are offering an additional powertrain for the Fusilier, one that dramatically reduces emissions but has the range and refuelling capabilities needed.”Ineos says the finer details of a range extender powertrain should be able to be announced by the northern hemisphere’s autumn this year, or effectively Q3.Similarly, Australian details in terms of availability and timing should arrive closer to the Fusilier’s launch date.Until then, Ineos will work with automotive supplier Magna to develop the Fusilier, including a “rigorous testing programme on Austria's Schöckl mountain” close to Magna’s facility in Graz.

Rivian's entire future could hinge on the R2 which is set to be fully revealed on March 7th.

BYD's incoming dual-cab ute has been snapped testing in Sydney, giving us our best look yet at China's answer to the soon-to-launch Ford Ranger plug-in hybrid.

Ford covers its bases with the "ultimate street truck" at the opposite end of the performance spectrum to the Raptor, but what's the catch for keen Aussie buyers?