SUV versus notionally small car. In 2021, buying based on size, proportion, price and fashion is not so clear cut. Let me help answer a simple question you might be asking about the new Toyota mini SUV…
Read More
Exactly how serious is the potential problem of driving your all-wheel-drive vehicle on a narrow space saver? Are you risking drivetrain disaster when all four wheels are turning…
Read More
If you’ve got the good ideas and the inclination, there’s no reason a clever, well-resourced engineering uni student can’t pull together a mobile washdown station for his 4WD (and mates) in remote Australia.
Read More
Consumers who don’t thoroughly test drive the vehicle they’re potentially about to own leave the door open to the unexpected. Here’s a perfect example of why we try before buying, especially utes…
Read More
If your late-model diesel vehicle is flashing engine warning lights and generally declaring ‘Mayday’, here’s how you can put the pin back in the grenade and avoid a DPF meltdown…
Read More
How big is too big? Perhaps you’ve bought your first caravan and gone the full-fat double-axle job just to make sure nobody thinks you’re poor. Here’s how you buy a ute that suits…
Read More
Genuine from the dealer, or aftermarket: Where should you put your smart money when buying a new car with a towbar? Also, should you rotate your tyres using the spare wheel?
Read More
Automotive technology improves constantly. But there are times when it does unexpected things and entirely inappropriate moments. If it happens in your modern car, don’t worry, you’re not alone…
Read More
If you’re going to buy a ute, you want it to last. But if your grand plans involve asking a light duty workhorse to do a truck’s job, you’re in desperate need of a reality check. Here’s to sobriety…
Read More
If you’re in the market for a new car but are falling over your jaw at the asking price, here’s why you’re gobsmacked when negotiating thousands off at the dealership…
Read More
After Volkswagen’s recent poorly thought out protestation about its inability to sell EVs in Australia, the only just now says it’s rather looking forward to the new EQA coming here later this year. Go figure…
Read More
Volkswagen says it probably can't sell EVs and other fuel efficient/zero emissions vehicles in Australia because our emissions regulations are wrong. That's not, totally ironic at all, is it?
Read More
That 4X4 ute you’re thinking of ‘building’ for that big adventure? Yeah, sorry to say but 80 per cent of your plans in that respect are probably really dumb ideas…
Read More
Correct tyre pressure is guaranteed to extend the life of those $800+ investments. Plus it makes a huge difference to your safety in an emergency. Problem is: What pressure is right for your car?
Read More
How often should you have the brake fluid replaced in your vehicle? And should it be part of your servicing program, or is it an additional charge? Here’s how you crack that code…
Read More
You have every intention of getting away from it all in your shiny new ute. But can you upgrade wheel sizes to improve capability without ruining performance or basic operation? You may not like my answer…
Read More
Elon Musk’s divorce has finally come through, and it’s been messy. Reality never wants to see him again.
Read More
Remember a year ago, when the boss of Jeep Australia boldly told us he was revising parts prices, in the spirit (I’m paraphrasing) of being less extortionate? I don’t think it has worked out very well…
Read More
A 4X4 question from one of my favourite humans - a beard-stroking blue-singlet bogan who (most probably) spent most of his early life asleep from 9 to 3, at school. Didn’t they all? And today, they vote.
Read More
Police pursuing stolen cars by adding more high-speed driving to an already dangerous situation is a recipe for disaster. And it’s not just me who thinks this…
Read More