Utes

The Toyota HiLux is due to earn active safety systems such as AEB, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning from May 2019 production. CarsGuide understands that these active safety systems, recently made standard on the European model, will be made available from May 2019 production in Thailand, which means that the safety kit will arrive in Australia by the end of June.Although it’s yet to be confirmed which models will receive the tech, top models are likely to receive it as standard, with entry level vehicles offering it as an option. Toyota is yet to confirm this, however. Ford recently added AEB and other safety tech to the every local Ranger, while AEB is also standard on every Mercedes-Benz X-Class and SsangYong Musso. It’s also available on most Mitsubishi Triton models as well. This means that the top three-selling utes in Australia will have availability of AEB by the middle of the year. The HiLux's new safety kit also highlights that several utes in Australia are still unavailable with any active safety kit, including the Volkswagen Amarok, Mazda BT-50, Isuzu D-Max and Nissan Navara (which offers it on European-built versions). The Holden Colorado is available with kit such as lane departure warning and forward collision warning, but no AEB.

Toyota of Europe has revealed a new HiLux Invincible X model with added safety features, including AEB and adaptive cruise control for the first time. Standard kit on the HiLux Invincible X Edition includes autonomous emergency braking with day and night pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection, road sign assist, adaptive cruise control and lane departure warning with lane keep assist.Adding the potentially life-saving tech to one of Toyota’s most legendary products, the HiLux Invincible X also adds black-coloured exterior trim such as mirror caps and door handles, an all-black interior with piano black details and new dials.While Toyota in Australia is yet to introduce AEB and advanced safety technology to its local HiLux line-up, a company spokesperson told CarsGuide the safety features would be launched here "at the next possible opportunity"."We are looking at introducing that technology at the next possible opportunity, but there are no immediate announcements to be made,” he said.Ford recently added AEB to every Ranger model for 2019 and both the Mercedes-Benz X-Class and SsangYong Musso are also equipped with AEB through their respective ranges. Most of the Mitsubishi Triton range is also equipped with AEB as standard.In 2018, the HiLux was Australia’s best-selling vehicle with 51,705 sales locally, ahead of the Ford Ranger’s 42,144 units.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles have announced a large scale investment as part of its 'Grip 2025+' strategy.Billed as the most extensive change in the history of the brand, Volkswagen Commercial aims to transform the company from a pure carmaker into a "mobility service provider" with new products, revamped factories and a wider audience reach.Speaking at a conference in Hannover in Germany, CEO of Volkswagen’s Commercial division, Dr. Thomas Sedran, said that company must adapt to consumer trends in order to survive."Our strategy is a response to changes in the industry – we will transform ourselves from a pure carmaker to a mobility service provider,” he said.“We as a whole industry are facing the biggest change in our history - e-mobility, digitisation, autonomous driving, as well as this trend towards new transportation systems.”“We are developing from a pure carmaker to a mobility provider. To this end, we are investing more than 1.8 billion euros this year."Coming off the best sales results the brand has ever achieved, Volkswagen Commercial is beginning 2019 with investments in both product and its production facilities in Hannover."We can shape the transformation at the peak of the industry, because we are financially strong and can exploit synergies within the Group.”The brand also formally addressed its new alliance with Ford, which will see the two companies co-develop commercial vehicles together, including the next-generation of Amarok and Ranger, a new shared city-sized van and further develop Ford’s Argo autonomous driving brand.“Volkswagen and Ford compliment each other perfectly in our regional strengths - as you know, Ford is strong in North America, while we are strong in Europe. In the future, production capacities will be bundled, that way the different demands of our customers can be better served and production will be in larger volumes, allowing scalability and cost savings.”Over 500,000 Volkswagen Commercial vehicles were delivered to customers in 2018, with particularly strong sales coming from South America and Europe, though political unrest in Turkey affected results in the Middle East.  

The Mitsubishi Triton Absolute has been revealed at the 2019 Bangkok motor show been - and it previews what could be a new halo model in the Triton range to rival the Ford Ranger Raptor. The first-ever Mitsubishi Triton Absolute features tougher styling and raised suspension for a more off road-focused look. According to Mitsubishi, public interest for the Triton Absolute will be gauged over the coming 12 months to assess it production chances. Mitsubishi Motors Australia CEO John Signoriello said the Triton Absolute is “more robust, dynamic and fast".“While only a concept at this stage, we will assess the feedback from customers in Australia and overseas towards a more aggressive Triton which will guide the brand’s future product development," said Mr Signoriello. The exterior makeover of the Triton Absolute is instantly noticeable, with flared front and rear arches, dark chrome accenting and badging, a black grille, front and rear skid plates with red accents, a carbon-fibre tailgate and Absolute stickers. A roof bar with tie down points and LED spot lights also features, as does all-LED frontal lighting for superior vision. Raised by 50mm for improved ground clearance, the Triton Absolute offers more suspension travel than the standard model, and is said to deliver superior ride and handling, according to the company. A wider track also features, which accommodates heavy duty off-road tyres and black alloy wheels. While there have been extensive exterior changes to make the Triton more off-road capable, there has been no mention of any engine or interior changes. All Triton 4x4 models are powered by a 133kW/430Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, matched to either a six-speed manual gearbox or six-speed automatic transmission - a drivetrain we expect to continue to the Absolute if it reaches production.

Skoda has teased a pick-up based on the Kodiaq SUV, which is the latest in a line of apprentice-built concept vehicles that the brand has showcased over the past six years.So far, only a rear end teaser image of the ute has been released by the company, which shows the concept’s shortened body, which appears to feature offer two seats, versus the regular Kodiaq’s seven-seat layout. Designed by 35 students as from the brand’s school of mechanical engineering, the one-off Kodiaq pick-up will use large off-road wheels and tyres, as well as a reworked body with “sharp edges”, bright orange paint and a black sports bar above the traybed. Previous efforts from the Skoda apprentice design team include a convertible version of the Citigo city car, a Fabia ute, a coupe version of the Rapid hatchback, an electric Citigo and a convertible based on the Karoq, which was called the Sunroq. The design concepts have been built solely to showcase the Skoda team’s depth of talent, though none have been put into production as yet. Maybe a Skoda ute could be a different story.

The single cab two-wheel drive ute is still a thing. You mightn’t have noticed, because there has been a lot of noise around dual cab utes in recent times, and with good reason - for every five 4WD utes that sell in Australia, just one 2WD aims up.But it’s arguably vehicles like the one reviewed here - the 2019 Mitsubishi Triton GLX single cab-chassis - that are the real workhorse utes.These are the ones you see on freeways and arterial roads before the sun comes up, or at the servo with two energy drinks, two coffees and a couple of pies as part of their payload. So how does the budget-focused Triton GLX one-tonner go about its work? Let’s find out.

The Holden Colorado LSX might look like a rough and rugged off-road beast, but is it tough enough to handle family duties in the city? We put one to the test to find out.