Utes

The Isuzu D-Max has always been a pretty solid ute in terms of reputation, reliability and value for money but its firm ride, noisy engine, less-than-ideal off-road traction control and the absence of a diff-lock - even as an option - has diminished its appeal.Isuzu has addressed those issues in the new D-Max - but are those changes enough to boost its appeal in a highly competitive ute market?

Talk about a busy time in the ute segment. The just updated Toyota HiLux has arrived, but there's an all-new Isuzu D-Max that is out to steal its thunder. Can it do so? We put the new 2021 HiLux SR5+ up against the all-new D-Max LS-U in a four-wheel drive double cab comparison... and you might be surprised by what we found.

There’s no doubt that it was the Toyota 40 Series that really put the LandCruiser badge on the map in Australia. But by 1984, the world had moved on and even purchasers of these simple and rugged machines were demanding more. Toyota had already split its focus to arrive at the family-wagon line-up (the 55 Series and later 60 Series) to cope with private owners, but for its fleet and trade customers, it took the successful elements of the 40 Series, went back to the drawing board and sketched up the 70 Series family of vehicles. And of those, the 75 Series was the smash hit.There was still a market for the short-wheelbase (BJ and FJ70) and mid-wheelbase (BJ and FJ73) but as kids got bigger, caravans got heavier, holidays got more elaborate and expectations got higher, bigger was definitely better in four-wheel-drives. Which is why the long-wheelbase 75 Series was the star of the LandCruiser workhorse line-up virtually from the word go.The 75 Series tag was applied to all the long-wheelbase variants including the pick-up, cab-chassis and the Troop Carrier. That said, the 75 name was dropped for those vehicles in 1999 when Toyota facelifted the model. Suddenly, what had been a 75 Series pick up or cab-chassis was now a 79 Series, and a 75 Series Troop Carrier became a 78 Series. Yes, it’s largely academic, although those later cars were much improved with coil-sprung front suspension and longer leaf springs at the rear for much better ride quality. Technically, though, the 75 Series only ran from 1984 to 1999, even though the 70 Series family as a whole is still soldiering on largely unchanged.Like all LandCruisers, the 75 Series was built on a separate ladder chassis with the body mounted on top. It’s a crude way of building a car (even in 1984) but it’s also a good way to make the end result super strong and capable of taking its share of rough treatment without getting bent out of shape (literally). Compared with the 40 Series it replaced, the 75 (as did all 70 Series cars) got a chassis with boxed members making it even stronger and more flex resistant than before.Styling wasn’t a radical departure from the 40 Series either but the dashboard was a huge step forward with a proper padded section and much more modern (and easier to read) gauges. The rest of the interior was still pretty bare though with vinyl seats and floor coverings but, back then, that’s how folks wanted it. The cabin on the pick-up and cab-chassis was a strict three-seater with none of the extra-cab or king-cab thing going on. The dual-cab 79 Series was still many years off, too. The Troopy, meanwhile, could be had in three-, six- or 11-seat layouts with a front bench, a front and rear bench or a front bench and jump seats running lengthways in the back respectively. Folks in the rear of the 11-seat version did it pretty hard, especially as they were sitting side-saddle.The four-wheel-drive system is resolutely old-school. Forget viscous couplings, centre differentials and full-time AWD, the 75 Series got a part-time system with a transfer-case to give two distinct sets of gear ratios. On the bitumen, the vehicle ran in two-wheel-drive. If the track got a bit greasy, you could select high-range four-wheel-drive. And then, when you were hopping over boulders and climbing cliff faces in the scrub (which, incidentally, the Cruiser was very good at) you selected low-range 4x4 and let those super low ratios do their thing. You could also forget about rotary-dials and electronic switches to shift between those modes, too; the 75 Series subscribed to the old mantra that a proper off-roader has a minimum of two gear-sticks.Initially, the 75 Series was available with two engines, a choice of petrol or diesel. The petrol six-cylinder was the 3F with a claimed (but possibly very optimistic) 110kW of power while the diesel alternative was the familiar old 2H with even less poke (76kW to be precise). Both were tied to a four-speed manual transmission and both offered performance that was, er, relaxed. The diesel in particular didn’t actually accelerate; it accrued speed like you or I accrue sick leave.Ride quality with the leaf springs at both ends was on the jouncy side, too, so perhaps it was just as well the 75 was no slingshot. The live axles also contributed to a fair bit of unsprung mass and the way they walked around at highway speeds meant you had your hands full making little steering corrections to keep the vehicle on the straight and narrow. A 75 Series with wear in the suspension and steering is a proper handful.But all that was forgotten when the outskirts turned to the mulga, and the Cruiser was suddenly in its element. It could tackle the toughest tracks with the best of them and soon became the default vehicle for anybody who wanted to go seriously off-road. It’s no accident that the majority of off-road wheel-tracks in this country are 1415mm apart (the exact width of the 75’s track measurement).Toyota gave the 75 Series the diesel engine it deserved in 1990 with the arrival of the 96kW, 4.2-litre 1HZ. Although it lacked the grunt of a modern turbo-diesel, the overhead camshaft design was smooth, flexible and, provided you had optioned the factory snorkel kit, would run under water. And it would do so with just basic maintenance for somewhere in the region of a million kilometres.  A five-speed manual also turned up at the same time.In 1993 the last real facelift arrived before the 75 became the 78 and 79, and at that time, Toyota finally replaced the old 3F petrol with the 1FZ-FE. It was simply a better thing and although it was still a six-cylinder, it was now 4.5-litres in size and made a thumping 158kW of power. It had a fine thirst, however, and you can expect any petrol 75 Series to use at least 15 or 16 litres per 100km on the highway (more if you have a roof rack fitted) while a diesel is a little more frugal at around 12L/100km for the same journey. Both these later engines are excellent off-road, but the main difference is on-road work where the petrol has a much higher cruising speed (well, the later 1FZ-FE, anyway).Toyota also used the 1993 upgrade to fit the LandCruiser with four-wheel-disc brakes which was a good thing in one way; namely stopping power and the fact that disc brakes don’t suffer the same fade problems as drums when you’ve just dunked them in a creek or river crossing. But the downside was that the park-brake moved to a drum-within-disc design and was so prone to getting out of adjustment, it’s become a standing joke among the Cruiser community. It’s no coincidence that 75 Series owners never park their vehicle in neutral.

The new 2020 Ram 1500 is expected to arrive in Australia towards the end of the year, bringing more power, more tech and a new drive experience. But who can wait that long? So we travelled all the way to Los Angeles just to put the new model to the test.

The RAM 1500 stands apart from Australia’s mainstream pack of turbo-diesel dual cab utes, with its muscular Hemi V8 performance, superior 4.5-tonne tow rating and imposing presence. In fact, RAM Trucks Australia proudly claims that its big, brash American pick-up “eats utes for breakfast.”After a week behind the wheel, it’s easy to understand why the RAM 1500 is generating such a strong local sales appetite. It’s an excellent package that’s well suited to tradies and recreational buyers alike, who clearly want something different for breakfast.

New renderings have surfaced which imagine a hotter GTi version of Peugeot's upcoming Landtrek ute.Penned by Russian designer Aksyonov Nikita, the dual-cab ute wears a familiar two-tone paint scheme, large alloy wheels, unique badging and a sharper LED he

Tickford believes it could apply its Roush supercharger kit to the V8 Ranger Raptor - if one materialises - that could lift power and torque figures to a supercar-slaying 529kW/828Nm.Already available for the 5.0-litre Coyote V8-powered Mustang GT, Tickfo

The Ranger will become the first ute in Australia with connected services as a FordPass Connect modem will become standard equipment from mid-2020 across the pick-up range.Ford's workhorse will also herald the inclusion of the FordPass Connect across the

Tickford is studying the potential to roll out more powerful versions of Ford products, with all models on the table for the aftermarket tuners.However, the caveat is that there has to be a sustainable business case for Tickford Automotive, which commence

Jeep has revealed the Gladiator Mojave flagship pick-up at this year's Chicago motor show, described as "the ultimate in high-speed off-road capability and performance in sand environments".As the first vehicle in the brand's line-up to wear the 'Desert R