Tradie

The influx of full-size utes from the USA has been a controversial development, with WWII American GI-style sentiment along the lines of ‘over-sized, over-priced and over-here’ summing up the negative commentary.

The BYD Shark is now mere days away from being officially unveiled, and probably the most interesting thing about its unmasking will be just how the Chinese ute’s plug-in hybrid system competes with the diesels that dominate Australia’s dual-cab market.

Volkswagen Australia has reduced the payload of its Amarok ute range.But don’t panic, it’s actually good news for a lot of would-be buyers.The change has come about as VW brings its method of calculating payload into line with the rest of the dual-cab ute industry.Volkswagen Australia Amarok Product Manager, Ben Triebels, told CarsGuide that the change involves using the kerb weight of the Amarok rather than the tare mass when calculating the payload.Simply put, this involves weighing the vehicle with a full tank of fuel, rather than the 10 litres of fuel the tare weight method involves. There are no other physical changes whatsoever.“It’s a simple as that,” Triebels said.Of course, a heavier vehicle (one with a full fuel tank) reduces payload, but rather than that being a problem for the Amarok, Triebels sees it as an advantage.“We made the move to bring our specifications into line with what everybody else in the ute market does,” he said.“But then we had a few dealers and fleet managers contact us and tell us what a great thing the payload reduction was.”Which begs the question: Why?It turns out that in the case of many Amarok variants, that slight reduction brings the official payload below 1000kg. At which point, the vehicle is suddenly eligible for a novated lease where, previously, it wasn’t.Since many high-end dual-cabs are, in fact, user-chooser decisions purchased on just such a leasing plan, this has the potential for a sales uptick for Amarok.While the Aventura model already featured a payload under 1000kg thanks to its heavier 21-inch wheels and tyres and roller-cover for the bed, the Amarok Core, Style and PanAmericana have now all fallen below the 1000kg payload threshold for novated leasing.

The BYD Shark has finally been shot without camouflage, with the plug-in hybrid ute spied thundering across a dusty paddock as the model's official launch date is revealed.

A heavy vehicle, as defined in the Heavy Vehicle National Law (HVNL), is “a vehicle that has a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM*) or Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM**) of more than 4.5 tonnes”.

The Isuzu D-Max is the only diesel ute that's been able to stay within touching distance of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger, and the brand hopes this updated model will close the gap even further.But have they done enough to keep the D-Max fresh? We put it to the test to find out.

Tesla's Cybertruck is a divisive vehicle, seen by some as the greatest example of why Tesla is a unique and admirable car company, because it goes where other fear, or wouldn't' even think, to tread. And it is a hell of a piece of engineering. Otherwise would argue, quite fairly, that it's a blot on the landscape and the stupidest thing ever to wear wheels. Let's find out.

Reports of Isuzu's departure from Australia appear to have been wide of the mark, with the brand not just vowing to stay in market on NVES is introduced, but forecasting a long future for its diesel engines here, too.

Here are the popular models no longer available in Australia that are living an extended or second life elsewhere.

With brands like Toyota, Jeep, RAM, Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover preparing to replace their remaining V8s with smaller-capacity electrified engines or even pure electric powertrains, choices are shrinking in Australia.