Articles by Mike Ryan

The 2019 Ford Ranger Wildtrak Bi-Turbo features the latest engine, transmission and safety tech, and is a refined on-road tourer and a competent off-road performer that also comes loaded with comfort and convenience features.

Toyota ute is Australia’s top-selling car for third successive year, four SUVs feature in overall top ten

The Birdsville Big Red Bash, the music event held at the foot of the iconic ‘Big Red’ sand dune on the edge of the Simpson Desert, has confirmed the lineup for 2019.

Group Travel. Driving in a convoy can be tricky, especially with a large number of vehicles, and when tar turns to dirt and there are lots of twists and turns along the route, it only takes a small mistake from one driver to split a group.

Dirty Business. Driving on dirt is very different to driving on sealed roads. Here’s what you need to know.

While Jeep’s Grand Cherokee Trackhawk retains its title as the world’s most powerful SUV, and Tesla’s Model X is still the quickest accelerator, there’s a new fastest SUV in the form of the Bentayga Speed from Bentley.

New range stretches to eleven model grades, including 2WD and AWD hybrid variants

Pack Right. Put some thought into packing gear into your 4x4 for the big trip and you’ll always know where your stuff is…

Water Wear. Sooner or later all four-wheel drivers will inevitably encounter a water crossing. If you want to make a safe crossing, you’ll need to make sure your 4x4 is properly equipped for the task at hand.

Mental as anything. Think of the craziest cross-breeding of automotive tribes you can imagine. An off-road hot-hatch? Nope, too sensible. What about a family SUV that runs on methanol and turns nine-second quarter miles? Again, way too logical. So how about this, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk; a full-sized off-road SUV that swallowed the supercharged V8 from the revered Dodge Hellcat…

Mazda in the Middle. The 2018 Mazda CX-8 Diesel is the “middle kid” in Mazda’s SUV line-up, sitting squarely between the CX-5 and CX-9, in both size and who it’s aimed at.

Adventure Wagons. While 4x4 utes are well suited to bush touring adventures, they don’t offer the comfort, cabin space or luggage security of a 4x4 wagon, so it’s little wonder adventuring families often opt for the latter. Here are the five best-selling, bush-capable 4x4 wagons on the Aussie market.