Articles by Mike Ryan

The under $60,000 medium SUV segment is one of the most competitive in the Australian car market. There is choice aplenty for buyers and a look at April's VFACTS sales figures makes interesting reading. Mazda's new CX-5 roared to the top of the charts with 1413 sales, followed by the perennial leader, the Subaru Forester, with 989. Next down the pecking order was the Nissan X-Trail (945) and then came Mitsubishi's now somewhat venerable Outlander with 453.

Holden has announced details of a new addition to their SUV lineup - the 'Trax'. A small SUV, the Trax claims room for five passengers and plenty of cargo space. The Trax will make its world debut at September's Paris Motor Show.

For more than three decades, the Tatts Finke Desert Race has been the ultimate test for offroad racers, with the track which runs down the old Ghan Railway from Alice Springs to the Apatula Community (Finke) and back over two days providing the ultimate proving ground for tyres, suspension and drivetrains.

Subaru will introduce its first automatic transmission diesel variant in Australia in the Outback early next year. The Continuously Variable Transmission is available with the Outback 2.0-litre diesel.

The 300,000th Land Rover Freelander 2 has rolled off the production line at Halewood Operations, Merseyside.

Nissan has released a special edition Patrol to commemorate its effort as the first vehicle to successfully cross Australia's Simpson Desert - the Simpson 50th Anniversary Edition Patrol.

The KK Cherokee combined the best of Jeep tradition with the latest technology.

The 2012 Australian Off Road Championship kicked off over the Queen's Birthday weekend, with the 39th running of the MBL Sea Lake Mallee Rally in north-west Victoria.

Subaru have released a new 'Luxury Edition' of their top selling Forester X All-Wheel Drive. The special edition boasts extra features valued at more than $3500.

Subaru is bouncing back from the woes of the GFC to record its best sales result to date in Australia. May sales of 3803 vehicles (according to official VFACTS figures) are a new record, while Subaru's year-to-date sales of 17,240 vehicles are also its best result for the period.

It's not often that vehicles of interest to four wheel drivers appear at auction, but this coming Monday, June 4, will be an exception when a rare Steyr-Puch Haflinger goes across the blocks at Shannons Melbourne Winter Classic Auction.

With tough new Euro 5 emissions regulations on the way, Ssangyong is taking the lead with its 2.0-litre diesel Korando, which emits just 159 CO2 per kilometre; all while offering the lowest price in its class.