Toyota Bundera Reviews

Toyotas are ubiquitous in Australia, with everything from Camrys and Corollas through to the legendary 4WD LandCruisers near-omnipresent on our roads and bush tracks.But there are some Toyotas that are sold – and popular – overseas but aren’t offered in the Australian market, and if they are offered here they haven’t achieved the sales success Toyota has hoped for. Case in point: the Tundra, while it’s much loved in the good ol’ US of A, it has achieved only middling success here.The Tundra’s sales struggle here have somewhat discouraged Toyota from bringing any other overseas models here and that’s a real shame because there are some appealing vehicles in that mix.Read on.Much respected in off-roading circles, the 4Runner – think a Surf/Fortuner mash-up on HGH (Hard-core Growth Hormone) – has been around in various iterations since 1984. Now in its sixth generation, the 4Runner comes with a 2.4L turbocharged inline four-cylinder petrol engine (204kW and 430Nm), or a 2.4L turbocharged inline four-cylinder hybrid powertrain (240kW and 630Nm), both matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission.It’s a Toyota off-roader – with part-time or full-time 4WD, drive modes and diff locks – so it’s handy in the dirty stuff, of course.Australia doesn’t need another 4WD, but the 4Runner wouldn’t go astray here.Prices in the US start from MSRP $42,270 (approx. AUD $58,700).Not as well known here, the Sequoia is a well established large SUV in the US market.This large SUV – top-spec versions tip the scales at 2790kg – is more open-road cruiser than hard-core 4WD but, having said that, it still has the mechanicals and tech onboard to traverse difficult terrain. The 2026 Sequoia is equipped with a twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 hybrid (321kW and 790Nm), matched to a 10-speed auto, and is rated to legally tow up to 4309kg.Mid-range variants and upwards have part-time 4WD (with high- and low-range 4WD) and an automatic limited-slip differential.The Sequoia may struggle to find a niche here as stablemate Cruiser has that part of the market sewn up.Feeling posh? Go for the Trailhunter package, replete with an Old Man Emu upgraded suspension, Michelin LTX Trail 265/70R18 tyres, bronze-finished wheels, front recovery hooks and extra underbody protection.Prices in the US start from MSRP $68,725 for an SR5 4WD (approx. AUD $95,456).Like a baby 300 Series, only better – or at least that’s what Toyota wants you to believe.Launched in May this year, this diminutive five-seater FJ – with a 270mm shorter wheelbase than the 250 Series – has a 2.7-litre inline four-cylinder petrol engine (producing 120kW and 246Nm), a six-speed auto, part-time 4WD and an electric rear differential lock.It’s boxy and compact – it has a turning circle of 5.5m – and looks set to take on the likes of Suzuki’s Jimny in the cute-but-capable off-road stakes.A Cruiser-based but shrunken ladder-frame structure is the platform for this tough-seeming little nugget of an off-roader.Off-road angles are up there with the 250 Series and, on paper, this FJ has plenty of off-road potential.Sure, this mini Cruiser exists in a niche within a niche but we reckon it’d sell here.Prices in Japan start from 4,500,100 yen (about $40,100).Massive in America and well suited to outdoorsy life in Australia, the Tacoma is a big ute made for rough-and-tumble work and play, so why it hasn’t landed here yet its beyond us.Now available with a 2.4-litre turbocharged inline-four engine (producing up to 204kW and 430Nm) or a 2.4-litre turbocharged inline-four hybrid powertrain (producing up to 239kW and 630Nm) that’s matched to either a six-speed manual gearbox or eight-speed automatic transmission.It’s built on the same chassis as the full-size Tundra and Sequoia, and gains bolstering from a Toyota New Global Architecture-F (TNGA-F) platform of high-strength steel, lightweight aluminium and laser welds. So, robust.And, of course, it’s all packed into a ute with Toyota’s reliable baked-in off-road effectiveness.TRD variants and upwards get Multi-Terrain Select, Crawl Control, Downhill Assist Control, and an electronically controlled locking rear differential as standard.Go for a Trailhunter and you get Old Man Emu 2.5-inch forged monotube position-sensitive shocks with rear piggyback reservoirs, high-clearance front bumper, rock rails and ARB steel rear bumper with recovery hooks, and 33-inch rugged-terrain tires with 18-inch wheels.We know lots of people in Australia who jump at the chance to own one of these big utes.Prices in the US start from MSRP $32,545 (approx. AUD $45,203).A ute actually designed and engineered to do ute stuff? No way.The HiLux Champ – a Thailand-only vehicle – is an intriguing oddity that’s sure to fire the imagination of many a quirky car fan there and abroad.It’s a 2WD two-seater ute with a choice of three engine types – 2.0L petrol, 2.7L petrol, or a 2.4L four-cylinder diesel – and it has either a five-speed manual gearbox or six-speed automatic transmission. Depending on your Champ’s spec level it may have a one-tonne payload and a minimum 5.4m turning circle.Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT) offers eight grades of the Champ, including short- and long-wheelbase versions, and an unequipped variant with a flat deck is available. With customisation in mind, TMT has made sure the deck has bolt holes at various locations so that custom accessories can be attached.It’s built for purpose and, on paper, certainly has a lot of appeal as a work ute and a mod-friendly vehicle.The Champ would fit right in here.Prices range from 459,000 to 577,000 baht (approx. $19,354 to $24,329).

Toyota's LandCruiser has gone electric! Not quite. But it has joined the ranks of the new wave of hybrid vehicles with a powertrain that combines a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine and an electric motor. The 'i-Force Max' set-up, from the Tundra, produces substantial increases in power (up 114kW) and torque (up 90Nm), but is this Cruiser better off-road than its turbo-diesel stablemate?

Latest sales data shows buyers now prefer cheap EVs to budget petrol hatchbacks in Australia.More affordable EV models have hit the Aussie market in the last year, with Chinese brands putting forward competitive propositions.Cheap petrol-powered hatchbacks the Mazda2 and Toyota Yaris used to be staples for first-car buyers, but it looks like that's starting to change.The electric-only BYD Atto 1 and Geely EX2 are affordable routes into the electric car market for buyers, and its showing on the sales charts in 2026.The petrol- and hybrid-powered MG3 is the best-selling light car in Australia this year, but it's attracting competition from electric Chinese rivals. The Geely EX2 has had a bumper start to life in Australia since it went on sale in late July 2026.It's approaching nearly 2000 examples sold in a little over a month, compared to the MG3’s roughly 5500 across the year so far.In August alone, the EX2 held nearly 38 per cent of the market share in the light car segment. It was close to doubling the MG3’s August total, while it was confidently ahead of the petrol-only Mazda2. Its success is in part due to the fulfilment of extensive pre-orders.Geely's Director of Product Planning and Marketing Andrew Tuitahi recently told CarsGuide small EVs like the EX2 were showing promising signs of reigniting interest in the light car segment.“So a lot of the compromises that you typically make if you were going to buy a b-segment or a light hatchback - things like drivetrain, power, performance, safety, style, you know, space - a lot of those things are solved with a battery electric platform," Tuitahi said.“So I think consumers are able to prioritise maybe some features by sacrificing a segment, but still getting that same space.”It’s not just EX2 that is shaking up the established affordable car segment. The BYD Atto 1 is still the cheapest electric car on sale in Australia, and owns nearly 20 per cent of the light car segment in 2026 so far. The Atto 1 and EX2’s rise has been at the expense of its petrol competition.The MG3’s August represented a more than 80 per cent increase on July, but it was still a way off the EX2. Its sales so far in 2026 are down nearly 11 per cent compared to August 2025. The Toyota Yaris hybrid has experienced a near 30 per cent decline year-to-date in AustraliaThe new wave of affordable EVs are also beating its petrol competitors on price. Buyers may have previously felt priced out by the extra money an EV cost, but the tides are turning.The Atto 1’s $23,990 price tag undercuts the Mazda2 ($27,290) and Toyota Yaris ($29,190), all before on-roads.In addition to fast and cheap EV production cycles from China, brands must contend with fines for petrol-powered models under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES).Mazda increased the price of its entire range, including the Mazda2 earlier this year, while the Toyota Yaris became a hybrid-only model in 2024, ditching cheaper petrol variants. MG is currently offering the MG3 with a $19,990 drive-away deal, with it previously available from $21,990. If buyers want a hybrid variant of the MG3, it costs an extra roughly $8000, making it more expensive than the fully-electric Atto 1 and EX2.  

Already the world’s biggest carmaker by sales, Toyota is looking to massively increase profit through post-purchase options including software updates, a focus on genuine spare parts and used car sales.That’s according to a report from NikkeiAsia, which said Toyota is aiming to lift profit generated outside new car sales by 40 per cent by 2030.That would represent a figure of ¥3 trillion (~A$26.7 billion) in that financial year with the Japanese giant identifying growth opportunities from the roughly 150 million Toyotas already on the road globally.To put that targeted increase (from the ¥2.1 trillion recorded for the Japanese financial year ending March 2026) into perspective, it would be equivalent to about 80 per cent of Toyota's current annual consolidated operating profit.The report notes an increasing number of software-defined vehicles (SDVs) on the road globally, which are able to be enhanced via over-the-air (OTA) software updates, upgrading or adding features including safety tech, multimedia functionality and powertrain calibration.Toyota's SDV strategy is underpinned by Arene, a software platform developed by the brand’s in-house tech subsidiary, Woven by Toyota, which its CEO Hajime Kumabe describes as “Toyota’s tugboat into the future”.Toyota has launched a paid service that allows GR Yaris and GR Corolla owners to add a cooling function for the electronic control system of their car via a smartphone app.And it’s worth noting the latest-generation RAV4 features the company’s proprietary Arene software platform.But Toyota must surely be aware of BMW’s chequered history with software-based subscription sales. The German maker’s focus on ‘in-car commerce’ emerged in 2022 in parallel with the proliferation of automotive subscription services and the increasing efficiency of over-the-air updates.Pitching monthly fees in a variety of markets for everything from heated seats and remote engine start to adaptive cruise control and Apple CarPlay was not well received by existing and prospective BMW owners.In fact, a consumer backlash based on peoples’ perception they were paying to unlock a function or capability already present in the car they’d bought led to low take-up rates and the company has subsequently eliminated ‘paywalling’ physical, built-in hardware features. As well as OTA update-driven sales, the report said Toyota will broaden its spare parts business globally.A recently opened warehouse in Belgium has created a structure that enables parts supply from 16 regional hub warehouses to 50 countries.And in markets like Italy and eastern Europe, where average car ownership is a lengthy 15 years, Toyota plans to ramp up and promote its spare parts supply capabilities.Additional emphasis on lower-priced used cars is also set to lift Toyota Japanese domestic used-car sales from the current 350,000 to 550,000 units by 2030.

Toyota has updated its smash-hit Crown hybrid in Japan. The Crown is one of the best-selling cars in Japan outside of the dominant Kei car segment. The Crown name cover a versatile line-up, available as a crossover, SUV, sedan and estate. It has launched as a crossover, with sport and sedan variants joining later in September followed by the estate towards the end of 2026. The Crown Crossover is generally bigger than the Camry and is positioned as a premium choice in the market.Crossover variants start from around 5.2 million yen, which is about $46,000, while the sedan starts from 6.2 million yen, the equivalent of less than $60,000. Crossover variants now receive red-coloured brake callipers, a dimpled leather gear shifter and a dimpled leather steering wheel.The steering wheel is heated and has touch-sensing functionality, and now features new paddle shifters.  The sedan’s interior now has the option of a 13.2-inch OLED rear-seat display and 10-speaker premium sound system. Sport SUV variants have an updated interior trim that features new grey ditching and black switch surrounds for a slick feel inside. The Crown's interior also features a 12.3-inch digital driver display and 12.3-inch central touchscreen. The Toyota Crown is available with two conventional hybrid set-ups and a plug-in hybrid one in Japan.Hybrid set-ups for the Crossover include a 2.4-litre turbo-petrol engine and dual electric motor set-up, producing 254kW and 460Nm in all-wheel drive, as well as a 2.5-litre petrol electric motor unit, making 172kW and 221Nm in front-wheel drive. Toyota also offers a plug-in hybrid set-up in the Crown SUV spin-off that pairs a 2.5-litre petrol engine with two electric motors to offer a total system output of 225kW.  Plenty of Toyota Crown examples are brought into Australia via grey importers, but its popularity has not been enough for the Japanese brand to consider offering it officially. Its luxury-pitched position would see it fall into direct competition with Lexus in Australia - Toyota’s own premium brand.The company's executives have previously poured cold water on the idea of the Crown range launching locally. "It's a beautiful car but it gets back to what's suitable for our market,” former Toyota Australia Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Sean Hanley told CarsGuide in late 2023.  “We'd love to have everything, but it rationalises down to what services our customers better, and the commercial realities, too.”Sedans and to a degree station wagons are making a small comeback in Australia, with many Chinese automakers looking to exploit an increasingly ignored part of the market.New options coming soon for the mid-size wagon and sedan space include the Mazda 6e and Geely Emgrand, while Zeekr is set to offer its sporty electric 7GT wagon before the end of the year.BYD has already made an impact in the segment with its Seal 6 plug-in hybrid, while the Tesla Model 3 is largely credited with keeping interest in the bodystyle alive for many years, albeit in fully electric form.Whether these shifts in the market could make Toyota think twice about the Crown’s future Down Under remains to be seen.

Aussie car buyers can’t get enough of the Tesla Model Y right now.Tesla’s mid-size SUV topped the sales charts for August 2026, fending off three Toyota models in the latest set of data. Total car sales held relatively steady in August, with plenty of the usual players occupying the top spots. Electric cars are also making an impact Down Under.Four electric-only models made featured in the top 10 last month.The Tesla Model Y surged to the top of the monthly standings once again, with 6414 sales as its new three-row Model Y L experienced sustained popularity.Combining sales of its Model 3 sedan, Tesla was the third best-selling brand in the country. Toyota’s near 20,000 sales was the best out of any brand, and saw it occupy second, third and fourth on the standings. Its new RAV4 continues to impress (5470), followed by the Hilux ute (4833) that now holds a healthy lead over its arch rival the Ford Ranger (2440). Sales numbers start to drop off after the HiLux, with the Prado’s 2475 rounding out the top four. The Ford Ranger ute experienced another decline in August 2026, falling to fifth position on the standings (2440).The Ranger has been the best-selling car in Australia for the last three consecutive years, but sales decreased in August 2026 by more than 50 per cent compared to August 2025.  The next five cars were from Chinese brands as they increased their grasp over the Australian market. The BYD Sealion 7 mid-size SUV finished in sixth place (2213), followed by the Chery Tiggo 4 small SUV (2012), with the Geely EX5 registering 1947 examples last month. BYD may only have had one car in the top 10, but it was the second best-selling brand in Australia in August 2026.Key Tiggo 4 rival, the GWM Haval Jolion, sold 1891 units, while the Zeekr’s 7X sold 1748 units last month. The Isuzu D-Max took out ninth spot for the month (1708), with the Hyundai Kona finishing off the top 10 with 1688 sales. 

Toyota is getting serious about its EV plans.The Japanese carmaker will build a new-generation electric car in China using a revolutionary manufacturing process, according to a report in Nikkei Asia.The SUV model will be sold under Toyota’s luxury division Lexus and will be built in the company’s new plant in Shanghai.This marks a huge shift for Toyota - a brand that has historically developed its new technology for vehicles in Japan before exporting globally.This time it will develop the technology in China and then potentially bring it back home.China is a hub for EV manufacturing, with local and now legacy brands.Toyota is the latest example, although only a small scale at this stage.Gigacasting is a game-changer for EV production because it makes cars lighter, stronger and cheaper to build.Electric cars are heavier than petrol- and diesel-powered equivalents, so reduced weight boosts driving range significantly. Gigacasting is a process where a large die-casting machine moulds the body components of a car into a single piece, rather than welding many individual steel parts. It could reduce the overall body weight by as much as 20 per cent, while also being cheaper to build overall.Tesla and Xiaomi were early adopters of the technology, with other brands like Toyota now exploring it.  Many Tesla Model Y’s feature gigacasting on front and rear underbody elements, while the rear underbody of the very popular Xiaomi SU7 is also produced using a single piece. This new EV could be the production version of Lexus' LF-ZL Electric SUV concept revealed in 2023.Lexus also revealed a sedan concept called the LF-ZC at the same time.Lexus said at the time both models were designed to be built using gigacasting.Toyota will begin production of its new Lexus-badged electric car in the first quarter of 2027. The brand plans to produce 1000 units each month for the first year, before expanding to tens of thousands per year by 2028. If Toyota is successful with its gigacasting project in China, it is likely to be brought back to Japan for mainstream use on its cars to save the company money and time.Don’t expect to see this Lexus EV in Aussie showrooms any time soon, because Australia is more likely to receive other Toyota vehicles built with gigacasting in the coming years. 

The new Nissan Patrol Y63 has given Aussie 4WD buyers some serious thinking to do. Nissan recently revealed pricing and key specifications for the new-generation Patrol.There are some huge changes for the Patrol in 2026, but Nissan has done its best to trump the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series.So, how does it shape up to its sparring partner on the numbers?2026 pricing (before on-road costs)Pricing is pretty close, with both models skirting on the edge of the $100,000 mark to start, despite the Patrol being about $2500 more expensive than its outgoing V8 sibling. The Patrol undercuts the LandCruiser across the range, with Nissan’s 4WD kicking off from $350 less.The biggest gap comes in the sport-focused variants, where the Patrol Pro-4 X is more than $10,000 cheaper compared to the GR Sport grade of the LandCruiser. Hybrid LandCruisers are the most expensive, with a near $11,000 gap on the most expensive Patrol variant.  This round goes to the Patrol, but there might not be much in it for buyers on base price.Nissan made the big decision to ditch its much-loved naturally-aspirated 5.6-litre V8 petrol engine for a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 unit.The good news is the Patrol’s petrol V6 boasts even more power than the V8, producing 317kW, compared to 298kW on the outgoing model. This blows the LandCruiser 300’s twin-turbo diesel V6 engine out of the water on power because it only produces 227kW.It's debatable how much difference this will make in the real world as torque often proves more important for 4WDs when it comes to off-roading and towing capacity.Both the Patrol and LandCruiser 300 pack 700Nm in a dead heat.The LandCruiser 300 Series Hybrid edges the Patrol, making 341kW and 790Nm, although it does come at a price premium as covered above. The Patrol’s engine is paired with a nine-speed automatic transmission, while the LandCruiser 300 uses a 10-speed unit. Nissan claims its new Patrol can tow 3700kg, which is 200kg more than the industry standard and what is offered for its Toyota rival. Nissan has not revealed the fuel efficiency of the Patrol, so it cannot be compared with the LandCruiser 300's 8.9L/100km. The Patrol’s fuel tank is 13L smaller than the LandCruiser 300, and is a noticeable step down on the Y62 model, impacting how far it can travel between fill-ups.Fuel efficiency will be an important point to compare, especially with fuel prices continuing to surge.The Y62 returned claimed fuel consumption of more than 14L/100km, so the Y63 will need to offer a substantial improvement to remain competitive.The Patrol trumps in power numbers and has superior lugging capacity, so it is the winner on the figures for now.The Patrol features much of the equipment and interior luxuries available on the LandCruiser 300 as standard.All variants are equipped with a joint 12.3-inch central touchscreen and 12.3-inch digital driver display.By contrast, buyers need to upgrade to higher grades of the LandCruiser to receive a 12.3-inch digital driver display. The Patrol also rides on 18-inch wheels as standard, compared to the LandCruiser 300's 17-inch examples.The Patrol edges the LandCruiser 300 when it comes to standard equipment, but there’s not much in it again.Nissan’s 10-year/300,000 conditional warranty is hard to go past, but services must be completed at an authorised Nissan dealership to be eligible. Toyota offers a similar deal, adding an extra two years of warranty for the car’s engine and driveline when serviced at dealerships. Nissan offers capped price servicing at $499 per visit for the first five appointments, working out roughly $2000 less than the LandCruiser over its first five years. Without authorised dealer servicing, the Patrol’s warranty reverts to a five-year/unlimited kilometre promise, which matches the LandCruiser’s standard one.Nissan’s stacks up a better deal than Toyota’s seven-year engine and driveline alternative, and it’s also cheaper.If buyers don’t opt for capped price servicing, the pair can’t be separated.  Nissan has put forward a compelling proposition for its Y63 Patrol. It’s cheaper, more powerful and better equipped as standard than the Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series. The Patrol’s real test will be whether it can match the LandCruiser’s reliability record, but a 10-year/300,000km conditional warranty shows Nissan is backing its 4WD to do the business. Only time will tell whether the Patrol can provide a serious threat to Toyota’s iconic name. It’s undeniable it's already doing so on paper. 

Let’s skip to the good part. If you read my earlier dispatch on the Toyota bZ4X, you’ll know that, thanks to a big price cut, better driving range and more modern tech, it finally stacks up with the heavyweights of the electric SUV space, like the Tesla Model Y and BYD Sealion 7. Well, on paper at least. And now we are at last up to the exciting bit where I tell you if it stacks up in the real world, too. And... it does.Don’t get me wrong, this is a very different car to something like the Model Y, and I have no doubt it will appeal to a very different buyer. While the Tesla is all stripped back minimalism (sometimes annoyingly) and bleeding-edge tech, like Full Self-Driving (Supervised), the Toyota is the opposite. It feels, and there’s really no better way to say this, like an electric Toyota. It’s familiar, the cabin layout is easy to immediately understand, and even though the tech on offer is high by Toyota’s recent standards, there are no lessons required in how it all works. You just get in, select Drive, and go. That familiarity extends to the drive experience, too. While some EVs make a big song and dance about supercar levels of instant performance, the bZ4X does the opposite. It’s simple, steady motoring, and while the power and torque is ample, and it benefits massively from not having a modern and whiny continuously variable transmission (CVT), it feels sensible, and not overly exhilarating.The positioning of the electric motor in this two-wheel-drive version at the front tyres does result in some front-wheel slipping and scrabbling at times, but it’s further evidence of where Toyota positions this bZ4X – a sports car it ain’t.But there's still a sense of connection from behind the wheel that is always refreshing to find these days. Yes, it can be a bit jittery over bigger bumps, the ride can feel too firm in places, and it does feel heavy. It definitely lacks the kind of all-around polish and resolve of something like a RAV4 hybrid, for example, but there's still a lot to like about the way this car goes about its business.There’s something else it lacks in the RAV4 comparison, too, and that is boot space. Open the bZ4X’s boot and you'll find 452 litres of storage, which is down on the 500 litres-plus you'll find in something like a RAV4, despite the formers gargantuan dimensions. And because we can't really lower the seats because of the baby capsule, the usable space in the boot is important to us.Don’t get me wrong; it’s not tiny, it’s more that when we had our giant pram in there taking up most of the space with little room for anything else. The flipside, though, is that there's ample room in the backseat. That babyseat I mentioned has apparently been modelled on giants, and in some cars it can push the front passenger seat forwards, but that's not the case here.Two more quick quirks. Actually, the first one is almost a positive. The bZ4X has (mostly) one of the most unobtrusive safety systems I’ve encountered recently. No chimes, no alarms, no fighting the steering wheel. I’m sure they’re all there beavering away in the background, but I was blissfully unaware of them.Well, unaware of most of them. An almost deal-breaking feature is the backseat occupant alarm, which usually reacts when weight is sensed on the backseat, setting off an alarm so you don’t accidentally lock your bub or dog in the back. Sensible, important stuff.But the Toyota can’t distinguish between an empty baby capsule and one with my baby still in it, which means just about every time I lock the car the loud, multi-beep alarm would sound. I even removed the capsule for the final CarsGuide video (which you should definitely watch if you haven't already) with the bZ4X, and the alarm was still going off – it turned out to be a water bottle I’d left on the seat, which was enough to trigger the sensors.Quirk number two, and I grant you this is a bit of a weird one, is the fact the front doors catch on absolutely everything, and specifically I mean the thick plastic strip at the bottom, which has actually popped off a couple of times when I've gone to close the door over the course of my time with the car. Happily for me, and Toyota, it's easy to pop back in.Now, we get a lot of cars through the garage, obviously, and I don't recall it ever happening this much before, or at least at the frequency it happens with this. I think it's a combination of quite a big door and quite a low ride height that means gutters are really not your friend. Still, the good massively outweighs the bad with the bZ4X, which I do really like. And given the size of Toyota's national footprint, and the fact that its specs and range and all those kind of things now really stack up, the bZ4X has definitely elevated itself into the conversation with brands like BYD and Tesla in the electric SUV space.For mine, this very car is the pick of the range. There’s no substitute for range in the EV world, and given the two-wheel-drive variant also never feels like it's lacking for grunt, it’s the one I’d be shopping for. Acquired: June 2026Distance travelled this month: 590kmOdometer: 5257kmAverage energy consumption this month: 13.5kWh/100km

It ultimately helped end Holden, and the same can happen with an alarmingly high number of other prominent car brands.We’re talking about the over-reliance on one single model in Australia.It is the ‘eggs all in one basket’ that leaves sales and financials vulnerable when the inevitable happens – a popular model starts to run out of steam with consumers.Factors include newer competition, ageing models and external outside forces like spiking oil prices and evolving buyer tastes.Here, then, are some of Australia’s most vulnerable brands due to the over-dependence on one model line.Geely’s ‘Gen-Z geek’ sub-brand has struck a chord with Australians thanks to the strikingly styled 7X, and deservedly so.However, did you know there are two other, older Zeekr models sitting beside it on the showroom floor? A smaller SUV known as the X and a large people mover badged 009.Combined, they make up just 6.4 per cent of Zeekr’s year-to-date (YTD) sales, while the 7X takes the lion’s share at an incredible 93.4 per cent. Let’s hope the latter keeps the momentum up.Tesla’s Model 3 may have opened the floodgates for electric vehicles (EVs) in Australia since arriving in mid 2019, but it has now been subsumed by the larger SUV offshoot, the Model Y.The YTD sales data tells the story, with the 3’s sales tumbling 18.4 per cent to 3326 units, while the Y’s tally – supercharged by the new three-row L version – has now breached the 25,000 mark.That puts the hunchbacked SUV at 88.3 per cent of total Tesla sales, with the sedan taking the remaining 11.7 per cent.But with no S, X or ute to provide support, the Model Y is vulnerable against an unrelenting tide of mid-sized EV SUV alternatives, like the Zeekr 7X.From nowhere, the cheapest Jaecoo from Chery’s Land Rover-aping sub-brand, the J5, is responsible for more than two-thirds of all volume.This leaves three other models, the J7, J8 and Omoda 9, to fight over the crumbs.Isuzu hasn’t developed its own passenger car since the early 1990s, electing to concentrate on utes and trucks instead.The D-Max is responsible for 63 per cent of all Isuzu Ute sales YTD. It sits fourth after the Ranger, HiLux and Shark 6 on the charts.The other 37 per cent belongs to the M-UX SUV version of the ute, and that currently occupies third place amongst large SUVs behind the Ford Everest and Prado.This country sure loves a body-on-frame three-row wagon.But both Isuzus are diesel-only powered, meaning that, with no hybrid or EV in sight for Australia, Isuzu Ute faces steep fines due to the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) carbon tax.And that’s just going to increase annually in severity, which will really hurt Isuzu Ute, unless it pulls something out of the hat, and fast.Australia’s top-selling vehicle since 2023, the Ranger is responsible for some 62.3 per cent of Ford’s total volume YTD.Combined with its Everest SUV offshoot, that jumps to a staggering 88.7 per cent. Given there are seven other distinct models squabbling over the remaining 11.3 per cent, that's a worry.The next most popular Ford YTD is the Transit Custom van at just three per cent, followed by the Mustang at 2.8 per cent, F-150 at 2.45 per cent, Transit Cargo at 1.9 per cent, Tourneo people mover at 0.5 per cent and Mustang Mach-E at 0.33 per cent.But storm clouds are in the air for the Blue Oval’s popular ute-based duo, with both Ranger and Everest sales down this year, thanks to fierce competition from new rivals including the BYD Shark 6 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV).While a Ranger PHEV does exist, it costs too much and delivers too little by comparison, meaning the vast majority of volume belongs to the diesel versions.That’s a lot of NVES fines Ford is facing, unless the incoming Bronco PHEV SUV and other future EVs grow the brand's share of the total market without cannibalising Ranger and Everest.With demand for the latest Vitara tanking, the Swift hybrid struggling and the Fronx floundering, it’s been the Jimny small 4WD that has kept Suzuki humming along, accounting for 56.6 per cent of all volume YTD.Likewise, the Defender attracts the most business for Land Rover in Australia, taking 54.1 per cent of all orders YTD.The Haval Jolion small SUV has performed the heavy lifting for GWM YTD, at 53.9 per cent of total sales, as has the X-Trail for Nissan, at 53 per cent.Australia’s continuous number one since 2003, Toyota boasts several high-volume models, including the RAV4, Prado, Corolla, HiAce, Camry and Yaris Cross.Yet even the brand’s most popular vehicle – the HiLux – only makes up 23.6 per cent of the company’s total sales YTD.Similarly, BYD’s top performer, the Sealion 7, is at 25 per cent, Kia’s biggest crowd-pleaser, the Sportage, is at 23.1 per cent and this country’s favourite Mazda, the CX-5, is at 26.4 per cent.The smaller the percentage, the higher the chances are your brand will weather any storm. Sadly, the writing was on the wall long before Australia's Own started to see its sales slide.Holden’s downfall is largely down to its over-reliance on one model. It was always the way, right back even before the Kingswood years.Here's the most telling stat. Australia’s best-seller for 15 years in a row from 1996 until 2011, sales of the Commodore crashed to just 50 position in 2019.That was following the disaster that was replacing the rear-drive VF series made in Australia with the smaller, front-wheel drive-based Opel Insignia out of Germany as the ZB series. This happened as a result of Holden’s manufacturing shutdown in 2017.The latter bombed so hard that it was cancelled in December of 2019, with Holden effectively over by the following February.