Recent content by silentbutdeadly

Given the local Oz launch of the Hummer EV is imminent...I'd go with that instead.

Annus horribilous?

Yeah...they don't like heavy towing due to a spot weld at the rear of the gearbox and the rear suspension in the last generation is truly awful after just a light beating. And the current generation is built soooo cleverly cheap that it's not easy to dismantle to repair. And then there's the...

Like the nearly brand new fleet Ranger that's been sitting at the mechanic for two weeks and counting waiting for a new sump plate? A rock cracked it on a fire trail and all the oil fell out. Was driven out to some extent due to the remoteness before the eventual tractor and tilt tray recovery...

Which would probably help it actually stick to the road! My old Sierra and this Vitara are often too light for their own good and it allowed Suzuki to be a bit too simplistic in their approach to vehicle dynamics as a result.

The fact that the ubiquitous dual cab utes and their wagon sisters are the car of choice for this is something of an indictment of the Oz car market rather than the punters that own them and drive them. The simple fact that there's no longer anything smaller in the off road class of vehicles...

VW, Ford, M-B and Iveco all make something similar in that one size up class (as arguably do Hino, Fuso and Isuzu) but yes the size is an issue. Especially so since the T4 is already approaching six metres in length and I find it a handful on those rare occasions when it's in the city as it is.

My evidence supporting the notion that both sides of this stupid utes versus hatchbacks argument are wrong and a hybrid or electric version of the above can't come soon enough. So, of course, VW is (by using the Ford Transit Custom as the basis for the forthcoming T7 generation) letting it...

I do believe the bloke is a mad man. So why even ask?

Yep. QR and 6 bolt. Cup & cone bearings. Rear hub is nipped up a bit tight but runs. They were barely used even before I realised how 'elastic' they were under an inexperienced bull at a gate pilot along rock strewn fire trails. They'd be better after a full re-tension....that I'm not equipped...

This would be more meaningful if they were roadies...

We double down on that with a sign just around the corner from the gate that says 'clothing optional beyond this point'.

You could add Vitus, Ragley and Nukeproof to that list as well...as there's no doubt they are available!!

They do...but they aren't PHEV. They are just HEV. If the plug-in bit is important then Mitsubishi is the only one offering in a seven seat format.

The Outlander is on its own if you want PHEV and seven seats. Dropping down to five seats gets PHEVs from Mazda and Peugeot. Dropping back to plain hybrid also adds Mazda to Kia, Hyundai and Toyota.