Dual-cab utes have taken over the cities and suburbs of Australia. So much so that both the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger sit in the top-five most sold cars each year. That popularity trend continues in other overseas markets, where the HiLux and Ranger also sell in huge numbers. Mercedes-Benz wants a piece of the premium ute mix and has dipped its toe in the dual-cab ute waters with the all-new X-Class...
Welcome to Part Two of the video feature for our recent 2018 Hot Hatch Mega Test. To recap, we've assembled three all-wheel-drivers and three front-drivers from non-premium marques, with pricing ranging from $43k (i30 N) through to $57,690 (STI Spec R). It's a rich and diverse field with each competitor representing its maker's fastest and most fun-filled efforts...
We pit five of the best turbo hot hatches - and one wildcard sedan - against one another to find out which is the fastest and most fun small rocketship for under $60k. In this video we test outright performance and lap times...
Is there a more vibrant and diverse segment on the market right now than that labelled 'hot hatch'? In fact, is it technically a segment at all, but rather a broad net cast wide enough to include a $25K compact-sized Suzuki Swift Sport at one extreme and larger, circa-$80K Audi RS3s and Merc-AMG A45s at the other? And that’s just hatchbacks...
Dual-cab utes are expected to be more versatile today than ever before. Rough and tough is not enough. The flagship versions must be comfortable inside, safe, and look the part because people want show ponies as well as workhorses. Consider, for a moment, that the eight most popular dual-cab models managed 193,000 sales in Australia last year, which equals 16 per cent of the entire new vehicle market...
They’re more likely to carry dirty nappies and road bikes than a bale of hay, but all eight of the cars on our 2018 dual-cab mega test are, you know, dual-cab utes. That means they still need to be fit for hard work. Has the transition to a life of luxury undermined the inherent practicality of these one-time work vehicles? Here’s a look at how the tray on each stacks up...
In such a competitive segment, there can be a lot to take in when purchasing your next ute. As a result, Bluetooth user-friendliness and quality often gets overlooked, but generally, it is one of the most used features for drivers - especially tradies - as a lot of business calls are conducted while on the move...
Front-wheel drive has been part of the classic hot-hatch formula since the genre was ignited in the 1970s. The layout would dominate any all-time-greats list for the category, featuring the likes of the Peugeot 205 GTI, Renault Megane RS, and of course Volkswagen Golf GTI (Marks III and IV excepted!). Yet, there have long been exceptions, of course...
2017 is almost over. It's time for Christmas parties, sunshine and rose-tinted reflection on the year gone by. But here at CarAdvice, we aren't taking our foot off the pedal just yet – instead, we're taking the chance to look back at your favourite comparisons from this year. 5. Ford Ranger XLT v Volkswagen Amarok V6 Highline "The space between working ute and family SUV is getting greyer...
A growing majority of tradies and delivery drivers are choosing automatic transmissions for their vans, in a bid to give their left feet a rest in the daily grind of gridlock. The majority of these vans sold are the fleet-favoured (but ordinary to drive) Toyota HiAce and the evergreen Hyundai iLoad, but here we're looking at the next rung down...
One of the Australian car market's great mysteries is why Ford Australia has been so bad at convincing people to buy its Escape mid-sized SUV. Or, for that matter, its Kuga predecessor. Despite being a relatively well-rounded offering, Ford's market share at the time of writing was/is just three per cent, miles behind the Mazda CX-5 (15...
