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25.01.2022 Prado beware. The new 2021 Isuzu MU-X has broken cover in Thailand today and it's going to put a shiver up Toyota's spine because the new wagon's appeal is going to be way-broader than before and at a price-point Toyota will be unwilling or able to match. Boasting the best safety-tech and some innovative new 4WD ability, MU-X is likely going to set the sales charts alight here in Australia in twelve months time! https://loaded4x4.com.au/new-2021-isuzu-mu-x-revealed-in-t/

25.01.2022 Hmmm eany meany miny mo, catch a Jimny by the toe, if he hollers... take the D-MAX. Decisions decisions this morning when I spied a brace of new Jims ready to be delivered to their patient South Australian customers. There’s going to be some Zook celebrations next week! In the meantime we’re hooked up in our brand spanker X Terrain and will be doing some proper testing in the coming weeks. More soon!

23.01.2022 In a wealth of new talent just landed in Australia is the 2021 Defender. Land Rover have sold out the initial shipment which is encouraging and we all hope more stock is on the way to satisfy remaining pent-up demand, but with Covid... don’t hold your breath. We'll be getting our hands on one soon and will report back faithfully on whether the new jigger deserves the old one's nameplate or not??? Both Steane and I have form with Defenders, so we'll have a look with a very critical eye on the new machine and see if it raises not just the Defender-bar, but the whole 4WD way of doing things.

22.01.2022 One of two things is going to happen here, either a Wrangler is going to get T-Boned or...

22.01.2022 Ahhh that new car feeling, putting the new 2021 Isuzu D-MAX to its first off-road test with us a fortnight ago in the wilds at Eagle View 4WD Track and thanks to Isuzu UTE Australia and their I-Venture Club Isuzu Australia and isn't this what you should be doing with a brand new car! Happy convoy in a beautiful part of the world. Read about it here... https://loaded4x4.com.au/2021-isuzu-d-max-ls-u-first-impre/

22.01.2022 Jeep’s coming out with all guns blazing at the moment! 4XE is a plug-in hybrid version of Jeep’s range and the Wrangler adopts a green-tinged powertrain that utilises, in the 2021 Wrangler, the turbo petrol 2.0L four-cylinder alternative to the 3.6L V6 Pentastar that we see here. Albeit all sparked-up with an electric motor hanging off the front where you’d expect to see the alternator and another wedged in front of the eight-speed auto. That combo is said to be good for 280k...W and 637Nm. Really? That’s the promise with electrification, massive torque, available right from the get-go and that will work well off-road. Once the solution is found to a decent range between charges for EVs, we’ll be living in a perfect 4X4 world. Right now, Jeep’s big idea of perfect, is the just-announced Wagoneer concept. Learn More >

20.01.2022 "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", so wrote Oscar Wilde, but I reckon the rest of us (including Ford USA) are more likely thinking that in the case of automotive design, it's more about lazy engineering and outright theft of IP. Revealed today is the Foton Big General... AKA Da Jiang Jun, a ute about the size of your typical Ranger but this time not from Ford. There's no lairy big V6 under the bonnet, rather a piddling 2.0L petrol four and a couple of 2.0L and 2.5...L diesels that likely wouldn't pull the yolk from an egg. It's made by Foton, a subsidiary of the Chinese State-Owned automaker BAIC who haven't been afraid in the past to have a go at other makers including Jeep's Wrangler with their BJ40. I saw one in China last year and there were plenty of similarities looks-wise, but unlikely to rise to the capability of the real-deal out in the field, as it featured a short-stroke IFS and could only boast an LSD in the back axle. Foton has had a presence here in Australia for a couple of years now with their Tunland ute, which should have been pretty solid using a Cummins diesel, Getrag gearbox with a Borg-Warner transfer case and Dana axles and diffs. Ugly as though. If someone has got one please tell us about it? So maybe you just might get to see a Big General in a sales yard near you soon? Someone's better tell them that the yolk's on them, as their nomenclature sucks!

20.01.2022 Remember the Wrangler on the hill from yesterday? Well it turns out firstly it was stolen and secondly it will live again, retrieved today by a bunch of 4WD crew sharing the bond of a challenge that looked pretty impossible.

20.01.2022 You could be watching MAFS (whatever that is) or something so educational, so thought provoking and so different to the usual 4WD video dross, that your mind will be filled with wonder and joy. Yep, that’s the take-home from episode one of Loaded 4X4 in our new YouTube form. Our digi magazine caught Covid and died last year but that propelled us into a frenzy to create a point of difference in 4WD video with our format. Here’s the link to our channel and episode one features likely the two best dual cabs in the country at the moment (your metrics might be different to ours but it’s a reasonable assertion). Enjoy! https://loaded4x4.com.au/loaded-4x4-episode-one/

19.01.2022 At least three new 2021 D-MAXs were destroyed in the latest round of ANCAP testing done in the last few weeks. Luckily the cost of those vehicles is being recouped in the publicity surrounding the resounding success of the results, a full five-star rating and D-MAX becomes the current safest vehicle on our roads! Anyone looking for a near-new tail light assembly or a tailgate... I know where I can find some!

19.01.2022 Navara gets a 2021 update that includes a new shirt front, some more stickybeak electronic safety stuff and another sussy tweak. Oh and yay, there's a new PRO-4X model with black bits... Click the pic for more info!

17.01.2022 Meet the VW Atlas Tanoak, a pre-production prototype trotted out for the USA market in 2018 to test the waters. Before you go getting excited and think that it's the new Amarok, take a deep breath, because this project was scuttled when the Ford marriage was announced. Despite that, we reckon there'll be more than a few styling cues pinched from its flanks for the 2022 Amarok. I suppose it's another watch this space moment.

17.01.2022 Right now, the Milford Ult1Mate Next Gen Towbar is our fave towbar and you've just got to look at it to know why. In this video, David and Steane take a look at the Ult1Mate's main features, check out the range of rated (yes rated) drop hitches that are being made available with all new releases and discuss how it all works off-road.

17.01.2022 Front Runner has just released two versions of its Slimline II roof rack system for the new Defender and both are available from our online store right now! Joining our Good Gear Club will get you some 'special' pricing as well Hit the pic to find out more.

17.01.2022 Yesterday I posted a story from California about an owner of a Jeep Wrangler who thought it was a good idea to have a crack at a mountain bike trail out the back of the San Bernardino Valley. I reckon he should have taken a leaf out of this guy’s book! There’s balls of steel!

16.01.2022 The world of EVs is hotting up with the release next year of the Hummer EV1, sold out before it even hit the showroom floor. But we're expecting the true EV darling of the world, Rivian, won't be deterred by old GMC's brash rehash of its H3 from a decade ago nor Elon's silly Cybertruck (because it's hideous). They'll all need a soundtrack though so the grizzly bears can hear them approach! https://loaded4x4.com.au/humming-along-and-quietly/

15.01.2022 If there is a vehicle that punches above its weight it'd have to be the Mitsubishi Triton GSR, the quiet achiever. Steane thought so! We pitched two of the best dual-cabs on the Australian mainland at the moment into the magnificent Flinders Ranges in SA and came away impressed but also equally divided on what might have constituted the best.... Here's why Steane leaned towards the Triton. https://loaded4x4.com.au/episode-one-d-max-vs-triton-accor/ PS Don't forget to have a sticky-beak at our all-new YouTube series, Loaded 4X4 and subscribe for all the new content that'll be pouring out of our studios over the coming weeks and months, it'll be a refreshingly different spin on 4WD as you currently know it.

15.01.2022 Land Rover Australia has announced the addition of the short wheelbase 90 to its Defender range and the replacement of the MY20 Defender’s four-cylinder turbo-diesels with six-cylinder turbo-diesels. -Short wheelbase Defender 90 now available in Australia. -Four-cylinder diesel engines dropped from the range. -Six-cylinder diesel engines added to the range.... -MHEV technology standard across the new diesel engine range The three-door Defender 90 will be priced from $71,500 plus on-road costs and will soon join the 110 variant in Australian Land Rover showrooms as COVID 19 production delays are overcome. The MY21 Defender 110 range entry-level pricing is up from $69,626 to $74,500 plus on roads. There are now five powertrains to choose from when buying your new Defender, which we go through in detail. We also have the full MY21 Land Rover Defender Pricing across the range > https://loaded4x4.com.au/updated-2021-land-rover-defender-/

15.01.2022 You may have heard that one of the beneficiary infrastructure projects of the COVID Budget 2020 revealed yesterday by Treasurer Josh, was a big lump of money devoted to the sealing of the Strzelecki Track. Now I've got mixed feelings about this, on the one hand, I get the need for industry and commerce to prosper in the region and on the other I lament another icon Outback track bites the dust making way for more bitumen. Kind of sucks some of the romance out of the challenge... of driving the 500+ kilometres from Lyndhurst to Innamincka. In the last couple of weeks, the reason why it is being done has been splashed about by the megalitre and today is no different as massive rains have fallen right through Outback SA. Looking at today's Far Northern Roads Report shows plenty of tracks lit up in RED. Those holidaymakers 4WDing in the region might be in for an enforced stay for a few days I reckon. If you've been up there recently tell us what drew you in? Love to see a pic or two too and here's a couple from me from a work trip up that way recently. See more

14.01.2022 Last time we reported on the likely choice of engine for the new and soon-to-be-released Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series, there was a LOT of interest. At the time it seemed there'd be four-cylinders powering the flagship Cruiser and in turn the same engine in a less powerful tune would find its way into the 79 Series as well. This week we got the scoop from Toyota Australia's CEO that wasn't going to be the case which relieved us greatly and then he uttered something none of us... were expecting. Ahhh, the times are a changing in the automotive world and change is being forced upon makers to come up with wilder and wilder ways to power vehicles. Read how Toyota are breaking accepted norms to meet their Global Environmental Challenge of 2050. LandCruiser will be doing its bit to save the planet! https://loaded4x4.com.au/confirmed-next-gen-300-and-70-ser/

13.01.2022 Last week we published a little tome on how to engage 4WD with a part-time vehicle and speculated on where this basic form of 4WD was going. This week, in part two, we work out what to do if the nut behind the wheel forgets to go back to 2WD on the blacktop and how to remedy wind-up before it's too late! Ouch! Have a read...... https://loaded4x4.com.au/part-time-4wd-explained-and-its-e/

12.01.2022 Electricity and motor vehicles do, it seems, mix. Launched yesterday and to much fanfare in the USA, was Jeep’s electrified Wrangler 4xe. Well, the covers came off the Wrangler and for a Luddite like myself I can say that crying in my beer over the diesel-demise has thankfully been short-lived because spending my way through my superannuation at the pub was going to be clearly unsustainable, but the Wrangler 4xe’s modus-operandi clearly is sustainable and a right choice for t...he modern world’s tech-heads. In a 4X4 torque is King. The more the merrier. So how much are we talking about? How does 637Nm suit you along with 280kWs? Suits me right down to the ground thanks and literally because those big 33 wheels are going to turn and with no delay with the added benefit of electricity. Learn More >

12.01.2022 Brad’s first car was a HiLux and to this day he wishes he never sold it. It goes without saying that his latest ride could be with him for a while According to Brad he’s had a few 4X4s but it’s the HiLux that he keeps coming back to. This time around it’s a 2008 model year Lux running Toyota’s 3.0-litre D4D turbo diesel engine. So far Brad has kept his head out from under the bonnet and resisted ‘tuning’ the D4D but he reckons that’s just a temporary state of affairs he ha...s plans Built with touring in mind, Brad has taken a practical approach with the mods, improving safety, protection and off-road ability. Learn More > https://loaded4x4.com.au/brads-2008-toyota-hilux-tourer/ Would you like us to do more Reader Rig's articles? Do you have a rig, or know someone who's created their ultimate rig? Let us know in the comments!

11.01.2022 There’s a chance that this arid landscape will be covered in snow tomorrow! Picture that in your mind for a second. This is a frame grab from our video/studio review of the new Gladiator which will be hitting your screens soon. We put it through it’s paces in the Flinders Ranges. No snow on our trip tho!

08.01.2022 Prado's kaput! Why would you pay $60-87K for a vehicle when you'll soon be able to get something pretty similar in size, similar in comfort and using simpler 4WD technology and save $10K? The 2022 Isuzu MU-X is likely to make significant headway on the market leader and here's one of the reasons why, a 4WD system that's cheap and cheerful and likely to satisfy plenty of buyers. Pic of Isuzu Vehicross from 1998... still a stunner and relevant to our discussion! https://loaded4x4.com.au/part-time-4wd-explained-and-its-e/

07.01.2022 You all thought this was a 200, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint, or maybe delight, but it's a Lexus LS570 and given the steroid treatment. Whilst steroids seem to have had an election-enhancing moment on Captain Fanta where this beastie hails from, it's changed this Lexus from dowdy and oh so boring to something pretty spesh and thanks in part to the Aussie 4X4 industry!

07.01.2022 Nobody wants one of these surely??? Everyone knows Vee-Eights are going the way of the dinosaur. Internal combustion engines are the Devil's work and responsible for the destruction of, well, everything. Extinction exhausts. Bah humbug! What's not to love about a manic, snarling bent-eight, the exhaust note from hell, 33" tyres, double diff-locks and 637Nm of torque things? The new (for the USA) Wrangler 392! https://loaded4x4.com.au/you-know-you-want-one-wrangler-392/

07.01.2022 Ford announces Ranger FX4 MAX. Shows the other 4X4 ute manufacturers how to put together a factory upgrade with substance. Serious suspension and real tyres standard, look-at-me decal pack optional, the way it should be. Hit the pic for more detail.

07.01.2022 Did you know that Australia’s oldest independent 4WD magazine hails from suburban Perth? 4Wheel Productions is run by Chris Morton and Karen Morton and they’ve got good reason to celebrate because just a few weeks ago they launched two new titles. They’ve had Western 4WDriver going forever and servicing the WA market faithfully and recognised there was a gap nationally for a magazine with a fresh (WA) perspective instead of the usual East-coast dross. So was born Australian ...4WDriver. It’s good because it also features articles written by us. Issue #1 and we chip in with a timely discussion about beach driving and for somewhere to go, a yarn about Googs Track in SA. The other gem is the definitive bible on the CSR (that’s Canning Stock Route), the 1,850km ribbon of red sand between Halls Creek and Wiluna. Written by Phil Bianchi, it is a ripper and chock-a-block full of essential fact about negotiating this tricky trail. We sell titles from 4Wheel Productions and you can find them here... https://shop.loaded4x4.com.au/prod/guides-and-publications/

06.01.2022 I'm not going to be a CU in the NT with this post (and I don't want you to be either) because we've all been in this situation before and it is a rite of 4WD passage. Taking a new Tesla X for a bit of a burn would be a wonderful experience and silently, as those twin electric motors (making it an AWD) take you at warp-speed on the highway with a scintillating 0-100km/h dash in a mere 2.6 seconds, not bad when you're hauling 2.5T. But the Model X isn't an off-roader as this p...oor family found out on Stradbroke Island today. With little clearance and 22" wheels and no advantage of a LOW range reduction, the plan for a day on the beach was scuppered pretty quickly. Even more problematic will be the recovery off that beach on Stradbroke Island... I doubt ARB 4x4 Accessories have made a set of their bespoke front of vehicle recovery points yet for one of these! Thanks to Daryl Williams/Facebook for the pics.

05.01.2022 So here’s the last post about our mate stuck on the hill in his Wrangler in California. The story was pretty popular in the States. So much so that some saw an opportunity. One of the some was Ford Motor Company who apparently threw out an offer to retrieve the abandoned Jeep... and whilst not said in so many words you’d have to think featuring new Bronco. Ha, the competition is heating up! Here’s a better vid of the rescue and employing a bunch of Jeeps, a winch and a lot of manpower. https://youtu.be/m5-W8nwCGws

04.01.2022 Thanks to stunning rains that have swept across the north of South Australia overnight the Outback is awash with water the likes they haven’t seen in ages. One report from Nilpena Station (near Leigh Creek) in the Flinders saw 61mm in their gauge, the highest single fall since 1989! Meanwhile Marree, at the bottom of the Oodnadatta Track copped a 100mm and turning the landscape into a sea. Give it a couple of weeks and it will be awash with colour as Sturt Desert Peas and other ephemeral flowering plants take the opportunity to bloom. Fabulous outcome after a couple of pretty ordinary years in the bush and a nice fillip to the Corona BS.

04.01.2022 A keen-eyed Hilux owner by the name of Piripi saw this in Spotswood in suburban Melbourne today, a full camo Ranger sporting the new beefier USA inspired snout that has got tongues wagging, but looking remarkably similar down the flanks. The next-gen Ranger will be shared with VW Amarok and we had a bit of a guess as to what that affair might create here https://loaded4x4.com.au/amarok-new-love-child-of-ranger/

03.01.2022 I doubt we'll get any complaints from anyone if we were to say that 2020 rates as likely the biggest suck year in a long, long time. Plenty of lives and dreams interrupted or put on hold. We too haven't enjoyed the smoothest of sailing, but we have bright plans for 2021 and we'd like to thank you all for hanging around and reading and commenting on our stuff or visiting the Loaded online store and buying some cool 4WD gear. So, from all of us here at Loaded 4X4 HQ we wish you a very Merry Xmas day today and a spectacularly Happy New Year and let's ring in the changes in 2021!

03.01.2022 Schutzenfest and sauerkraut go together like Ford and Volkswagen. Guns and cabbage, a marriage made in heaven. Stay with me because we've been pondering what the courtship of Ford and VW might produce shortly styling-wise with the new Ranger and new Amarok pairing as co-development seems to be the flavour of the month! https://loaded4x4.com.au/amarok-new-love-child-of-ranger/

02.01.2022 No-one in their right mind would take the current incarnation of the LC200-based Lexus LX570 off-road. No-one. All those acres of sharp plastic hanging like low-fruit would be the first casualty of an approach or ramp-over connect with Mother-Earth and rendering great hip-pocket pain for the repairs. But Lexus wants to prove us wrong and so have created the concept J201, a stealth-look US-designed and executed LX570 sporting a tonne of Aussie off-road kit that might just work. Oh except the fuel economy or rather, lack of it! https://loaded4x4.com.au/lexus-lx-570-j201-concept-feature/

02.01.2022 So there we were, sitting at the lights in the new D-MAX, eyeing off the black Jeep Gladiator across the road at Adelaide City Jeep (it'll be in our studio at the end of this week), and a Jungle Green Jimny rocks up alongside us. Three of our fave current model 4X4s, what are the odds? Half an hour later and our online store has pinged us to announce the sale of a Front Runner Slimline II roof rack, for, you guessed it, a Jimny! Did we ever mention we had an online store...? If you're chasing Front Runner gear for your Jim, or any other 4X4, hit the pic and follow the links at the end of the article. Joining our Good Gear Club will give you access to special 'club pricing'.

02.01.2022 Who's going to be honest and admit that they've made a mistake on a trail??? I know I have. Luckily I've managed to scrape through with a bit of cunning and guile and no damage done to the vehicle, maybe a bit of lustre taken off the pride, but this epic fail in California really caught my attention. The driver took what looks like a pretty stock Wrangler up a trail called the West Ridge Trail out the back of the San Bernardino Valley in California. From the research I've rea...d it seems that vehicles of the motorised kind are banned from tackling these trails designed for either bushwalkers or pushies, so our friend might have driven around fencing and/or exclusion obstacles to get to where he is now. That's not very community-spirited is it? Anyway the upshot is he's run out of both clearance and cojones and abandoned the vehicle creating a nice road block and problem for someone who'll get the job of retrieving the vehicle. Watch this space for updates on the recovery! It could be spectacular! Thanks to the Hemet News Page for the post and its correspondent Jun Castro for taking the pics

01.01.2022 Ford has decided to sell its Ranger XLT spec double cab, without a styleside tray fitted. They’re calling it a ‘Cab Chassis’. Owners have told us that they want to save time and money with a ready-to-go, high-spec Ranger Cab Chassis that they can purchase straight off the showroom floor, and the 4X4 XLT Double Cab Chassis is here for these customers, be they tradespeople, adventurers or explorers, said Andrew Birkic, President and CEO, Ford Australia and New Zealand.... Ford Ranger 4X4 XLT Pricing and Specs > https://loaded4x4.com.au/ford-ranger-4x4-xlt-double-cab-ch/

01.01.2022 New car prices are intrinsically linked to more and more complex vehicle electronics and driver safety systems, so plenty of potential new D-MAX buyers have been choking on their Corn Flakes since the new vehicle's pricing was revealed at the beginning of the month. The value of those IDAS safety systems seen in 2021 D-MAX were broadcast to the world last night when the most recent rounds of ANCAP testing were published. D-MAX easily achieved a 5-star rating and became the s...afest new vehicle on our roads. It's a case of smelling the roses because Isuzu has played some serious catch-up with the new jigger and propelled it to class-leading instead of an also-ran. Whilst the hip-pocket is likely hurting, you can be smug in the satisfaction of knowing the family and others will be safe. We're right in the middle of extensive D-MAX X-Terrain testing and will reveal all in a proper 4X4 analysis of what the new Isuzu is about soon.