SUV

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? 

It’s an age-old question that has been casually dropped into conversation at opportune moments around many a campfire throughout the years: which is best for 4WDing – a 4x4 ute or an SUV?Utes have undeniably become the beloved workhorses of the light-duty world, while SUVs have become the go-to conveyance for most Australian buyers, even if they don't have kids and gear to haul around.But, if we’re talking about heading out of the urban and suburban environment and going off-road to enjoy some dirty – but perfectly legal – adventures, then should you buy a ute or an SUV?Read on.In terms of engine and transmission, power and torque outputs, driver-assist technology (including off-road traction control systems and the like) and general performance in the dirty stuff, utes and SUVs are fairly even.Utes have a lot going for them as 4x4s and as standard (i.e. before any aftermarket work, including aggressive all-terrain tyres or suspension upgrades), but not a lot separates utes and SUVs in the off-roading stakes.The ute has an open load space so the extent of your packing is not limited by your vehicle’s roofline, because the tub doesn’t have one. You can load beyond the top edge of a ute’s tub if needed, and tall or awkwardly shaped loads aren’t a problem either.But because there is no actual physical barrier to loading taller objects in a ute’s tub – and there’s a perception that utes have vastly superior load-carrying capabilities than SUVs – the temptation for many ute users is to then overload the ute’s tub, which unfortunately lots of people do. Note ute payloads are generally better, not vastly superior, to that of SUVs – and besides, even if utes did have vastly superior payloads to SUVs, if you have even an iota of common-sense, you should never pack to the absolute limit of your vehicle’s payload anyway, no matter what it is – that’s simply asking for strife.SUVs also have plenty of positives in their favour as 4WDs and even as standard, and those may make them more appealing than utes in a buyer’s eyes.SUVs have coil-spring set-ups, so their ride quality and handling is a lot more composed and predictable than that of traditional leaf-spring utes on sealed surfaces and corrugated dirt tracks. Having noted that, however, utes have improved in those terms, but unladen utes still tend to skip around on irregular surfaces because there’s not a lot of weight over the rear axle and that jittery unpredictable sensation in the rear end may be literally quite unsettling for those drivers who are unfamiliar with these ute-specific characteristics.SUVs offer more flexibility in terms of passenger-carrying capabilities because an SUV may have five, seven or eight seats. If you want to put seven or eight people in a ute you’d have to throw some of them in the tub and – hey, genius! – that’s illegal.Your valuables (people, pets and camping gear) are afforded more safety and security in a SUV than in a ute because a SUV is a fully enclosed and lockable load space, accessible from the main cabin – in fact, it is the main cabin.Sure, contemporary utes have all manner of OEM or aftermarket tub coverings on offer (hard or soft tonneau covers, roller shutters, aluminium lids etc). Or you can purchase a great aftermarket canopy to be fixed to your ute tub to protect your load, and some of those options are lockable and quite comprehensive in their features. However, a canopy is not an engineered-at-vehicle-origin solution, so while it offers much better security, water- and dust-proofing than having no tub cover at all, it’s no match for a SUV's built-in load space.And, besides, by affixing a cover to a ute’s tub – whether it’s a tonneau, roller shutter, canopy, or simply a bit of tarp over the top – defeats the original purpose of owning an open-topped ute anyway, because by doing so you’re instantly robbing the ute tub of its load-carrying versatility.When all is said and done, utes and SUVs are pretty evenly matched off-roaders – in terms of engine and transmission, power and torque outputs, driver-assist technology and general performance.Both kinds of vehicles have plenty going for them as 4WDs, but for different reasons – all to do with practicality, not performance – and the best choice for you ultimately boils down to your habits and lifestyle.Do you need a work-and-play vehicle with an open load space in your everyday life, as well as for your off-roading trips? Get a ute.Do you need a comfortable all-rounder with an enclosed and secure weather-proof passenger- and load-space day to day, and for your camping holidays? Get an SUV.At the risk of sounding like a middle-aged bloke trying to sound as wise as Yoda: there’s a confusion of choice in the modern 4WD market but, often in life, your best bet is to blank out all the noise, and focus on what you actually need, not what you might want.

When I bought my 2023 Haval Jolion a couple of months ago, I was told the seats are leather. But they get super-hot to the point of almost burning my skin when the car is left anywhere in the sun or otherwise. What can I do? Are there seat cover options?

The central locking in my 2007 Toyota Kluger KX-R keeps activating randomly, the car constantly beeps and indicators flash when this happens. I unlocked the car, opened the driver's door, popped the bonnet and walked around the back to get my tools. Whilst walking around the car, the doors tried to lock five times and each time I had to push the remote to unlock the car to stop the constant beeping.

I have disconnected the battery to stop it happening. Can you tell me what is going on please?

Only a couple of months after the heavily updated Subaru Forester was revealed in the US, it seems insiders are reporting an electric version of the mid-size SUV will follow the already-confirmed hybrid variant coming.

While GWM slowly ramps up its presence in Australia, it seems like it’s on an all-out rampage in China, with a new model set to join its already busy Tank SUV line-up.

Mahindra is expected to reveal a five-door version of its Wrangler-style in the coming weeks, with test cars having recently been spied, but Australia shouldn’t get its hopes up until the model’s design is confirmed.

The next Kia Seltos is set to arrive with a hybrid variant, borrowing tech from its Hyundai Kona cousin to join the larger Sorento SUV in Kia’s electrification game, according to reports from South Korea.The Korea Economic Daily says Hyundai Motor Group, which also owns Kia and the luxury brand Genesis, is shifting focus more heavily to hybrid cars to account for increasing sales of electrified cars and an apparent slow down in the popularity of new electric cars.Along with expecting a series of hybrid cars for the Genesis brand to bolster its range and appeal to those “hesitant to switch to all-electric vehicles”, The Korea Economic Daily (KED) reports Kia will add a Seltos Hybrid small SUV to the line-up next year, along with mentions of a new Santa Fe Hybrid and a Palisade Hybrid from sibling brand Hyundai.The Seltos, Kia’s cousin to the Hyundai Kona, is based on the same platform as the previous-gen Kona, so a new Seltos could adopt the same platform as the current Kona which was launched in 2023 with a Kona Hybrid available from the start.The move follows shifting buying habits when it comes to electrification, with hybrid cars increasing in popularity and the surge of electric car sales slowing.Hyundai Motor reports, “for the full year 2023, 695,382 electrified models were sold in the global market, up 37.2 per cent year over year, including 268,785 EVs and 373,941 hybrids”.But KED notes that Hyundai’s percentage of hybrid sales compared to its total is rising - reaching 10.6 per cent in Q4 2023, versus 7.1 per cent in Q4 2022 - while BEVs are down from 5.7 per cent to 5.3 per cent in the same periods.More hybrid models from Kia would better place it to take on market leader Toyota (in Australia and globally), which is outspoken in its push for more hybrid cars rather than full battery electric cars.“As the transition to electric vehicles is unexpectedly delayed, hybrid cars have taken the lead in the global car market,” an industry official told The Korea Economic Daily.“Now the key to survival becomes when they will launch hybrid cars with a competitive line-up,” they added.Kia’s line-up of electrified vehicles in Australia currently consists of the Niro small SUV in hybrid or EV, Sorento large SUV in hybrid or plug-in hybrid, and the electric EV6 and EV9.Hyundai, on the other hand, has hybrid or electric versions of five models across a broader range of sizes and prices - from the i30 Hybrid at $33,000 before on-road costs to the incoming Ioniq 5 N sports EV, set to cost $111,000.

Mazda Australia has confirmed a small pricing change to its line-up, almost a standard rise across all models, which took place as of January 1.

The Chinese-made GWM Tank 300 Ultra, is a well-stocked, petrol 4WD with front and rear diff locks - all for a price-tag around $50,000. Could this be the purpose-built adventure machine so many people have been looking for, but have thus far failed to find due to high prices in the market?