Ford Ranger Raptor

High-riding SUVs are all the rage these days, with taller and wider vehicles now becoming more popular than the lowered stuff. And none come taller than bona-fide off-roaders, who need that clearance to clamber up and over off-road obstacles. We've put together a list of standard four-wheel-drives with the best claimed ground clearance, according to manufacturer data. And the best of them all might surprise you.

Ford has detailed some of the newest running changes to up-spec Ranger models, as the last step in the updated Ranger line-up. Having already announced XL Special Edition, XLT Fully Loaded and regular XL, XLS and XLT variants, Ford now turns its attention to the most expensive models in the Ranger family.

There are three certainties in life: death, taxes and white being the most popular car colour in the world. In United States-based coatings company Axalta's most recent Global Automotive Colour Popularity Report, white claimed 38 per cent of the global market, making it the most dominant car colour for 10 years running.

Mitsubishi says it has no plans to introduce a rival to the Ford Ranger Raptor ute – or mount a counterattack with a high-powered turbo diesel V6 even though it has access to one thanks to the recent alliance with Nissan-Renault. Ford and Volkswagen are expected to have turbo-diesel V6 power as part of their next generation pickups due within a few years from now, and Toyota is on record as saying it wants to make up for the HiLux’s power deficit.

Ford's current Ranger Raptor commercial has joined the list of advertisements banned for showing reckless driving. The news comes just two weeks after Volkswagen had its tongue-in-cheek 'Too Powerful for TV' campaign banned by the Advertising Standards Bureau. According to the board, the Raptor advertisement features driving that would "constitute unsafe driving" and contained "reckless" practices.