Australian 4WD & SUV Buyer's Guide

In this issue of the magazine, you’ll notice some new models from names not usually associated with 4WDs and SUVs. They come from brands that occupy the top tier of performance and luxury, such as Bentley, Maserati and Lamborghini. The Bentley Bentay

Our piggybank indicates a 4WD or SUV that we think represents good value for money against the others in its class. It may not necessarily be the cheapest, but taking into account factors such as standard equipment, safety, the way it drives, resale

Australia’s premier motoring journalist, Joshua Dowling is the National Motoring Editor of News Corp Australia and a World Car of the Year judge. Joshua is renowned for his consumer-first approach and you can also find his roadtests on Carsguide.com.

A flimsy jockey wheel can often become the bane of a caravaner’s life, bending, breaking, or rarely going in the direction you need it to. Thanks to innovation at Ark, the leaders in jockey-wheel design have produced one of the toughest jockey wheels

In the Australian 4WD & SUV Buyer’s Guide, we include trade-in values for every model in our Showroom section. These are provided to us by Redbook, Australia’s leading authority on used-car, 4WD and SUV values. Each model we test includes three- and

Audi’s Q5 has been a Goldilocks family-freighter choice for many parents around the world and it leads the mid-size premium SUV field. The Q5 2.0 TFSi turbopetrol quattro is $63,210. Audi has stopped selling the 2.0-litre TDI turbodiesel Q5 as it use

BMW’s X3, introduced in early 2011, is now much closer in size to the X5 and unless you need seven seats, it’s a great-value alternative. The X3 lineup opens with the xDrive 20i, priced at a very attractive $62,200. It runs BMW’s 2.0-litre direct-inj

The Ford Everest is basically a reskinned workhorse one-tonner ute, in this case the Ford Ranger. The Ranger is a good thing in the one-tonner context, but it’s difficult to disguise the primitive chassis engineering and workhorse origins of any one

The Ranger 4x4 lineup opens with the 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel XL six-speed manual single cab-chassis at $38,790. The 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel XL manual cab-chassis is $41,290. XL Plus is $46,480. Double cab-chassis models start

Turbodiesel power and the venerable Falcon 4.0-litre petrol six are available in the SZ MkII Territory range. The 140kW 2.7-litre turbodiesel V6 is matched with a six-speed automatic transmission. The 195kW 4.0 petrol engine is available only with re

The VFII reinforces the Holden ute’s position as the world’s most sophisticated, capable and safe pickup truck. It’s a unique vehicle that, when Holden ceases local manufacture in 2017, will surely become a collectable — as evidenced by strong resale

Holden’s Colorado 7 is a seven-seater wagon built on the Colorado one-tonner chassis. It’s due for a major engineering, styling and specification update in late 2016, when it will also be rebadged as the Trailblazer. The Colorado 7 is bascially a res

Holden’s 2017 4x4 Colorado range opens with the 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel/six-speed manual LS single cab chassis, priced at $37,490. LS Space cab chassis is $40,990, Crew cab chassis is $43,490 and Crew cab pickup is priced at $44,990. LT C

D-Max 4x4 models start at $34,000 for the single-cab-chassis EX five-speed manual. The space cab-chassis base model is the SX, at $39,700. Crew cab-chassis SX is $42,200. The crew cab ute starts at $42,900 for the SX, the space cab ute LS-U is $44,80

The Cherokee range starts at $36,000 for the front-wheel-drive (FWD) 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol Sport. At $42,000, the Longitude (called Latitude in northern hemisphere markets), swaps the four-cylinder for a 3.2-litre V6 petrol and adds four-whe

The Renegade, Jeep’s smallest SUV, is made in Italy and shares architecture and many components with the Fiat 500X. Entry point is the $26,000 Sport, powered by the 81kW/152Nm 1.6-litre ‘E-TorQ’ four used in numerous Fiat models, matched with a five-

The BT50 4×4 range, powered exclusively by a 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbodiesel, opens with the single-cab chassis XT six-speed manual (with no auto option) at $36,850. The Freestyle XT cab chassis, in manual only with a rear-hinged back door arrang

Mercedes-Benz was the last mainstream German maker to join the booming medium-sized luxury SUV segment. As the last in, it needs to be best dressed. That it certainly is. The GLC, so named because it is based on the Mercedes-Benz C Class sedan (which

The 3.0-litre twin turbodiesel TDV6 Vogue is $181,595. The 3.0-litre supercharged petrol V6 Vogue is $191,810. The 4.4-litre V8 turbodiesel SDV8 Vogue is $202,615, the Vogue SE is $224,835 and the Autobiography is $242,710. The 5.0-litre supercharged

The Hyundai Santa Fe Series II features seven seats in all models. The lineup opens with the front-wheel-drive 138kW 2.4-litre direct-injection four-cylinder petrol/six-speed manual Active at $39,350. The six-speed auto is $41,850. The 147kW 2.2-litr

The Grand Cherokee Laredo 3.6-litre V6 petrol, offered with rear-wheel drive as a base model, is $47,000. The 3.6-litre V6 Laredo 4x4 is $52,000. The Blackhawk is $54,000, Limited is $62,000 and the Overland is $72,000. The 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel L

Kia’s Sorento is a significantly bigger wagon than its predecessor, comparable with Toyota’s Kluger and the Nissan Pathfinder, with vast interior space for seven. Petrol-powered models are front-wheel drive. The range opens with the 199kW 3.3-litre V

The Discovery 4 range opens with the 3.0 TDV6 at $69,360. The 3.0 SDV6 SE is $84,880 and the HSE is $96,290. • The Discovery is made in England. • It uses separate body-on-frame architecture. • The 3.0-litre TDV6 twin turbodiesel produces 155kW of po

The CX-3 gives Mazda an offering in the hotly contested compact SUV segment. With a choice of two four-cylinder engines — 77kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbodiesel or 109kW/192Nm 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol — the CX-3 is up against more than 20 conte

Mazda’s CX-5 shot straight to the top of the class on sales charts on its introduction in 2012. It’s built to the best “Made in Japan” quality standards, has rock-solid resale values, a very strong safety résumé, plenty of standard equipment, and a c

Mazda’s CX-9 range starts at $42,490 for the 170kW 2.5-litre four-cylinder turbopetrol/six-speedautomatic/front-wheel-drive Sport. CX9 Touring, with the same drivetrain, is $48,490. All-wheel-drive models include the GT at $57,390 and the Azami at $5

The Mercedes GLS Class is an often overlooked and underrated luxury 4WD. It’s a well-designed, spacious seven-seater and unlike BMW’s X5 and Audi’s Q7, the GL is also equipped to go off-road. Think of it as Germany’s answer to the Range Rover. The 19

Rather than a new Mercedes-Benz, what we have here is a new Mercedes-Benz name. There’s little more than a simple badge swap involved in the transition from M Class to GLE. The basic virtues of the line-up — comfort, capable handling, formidable safe

The Mercedes GLA SUV range starts at $42,900 for the 90kW 1.6-litre turbopetrol front-wheel-drive GLA180. The 100kW 2.1-litre turbodiesel front-wheel-drive GLA200 CDI is $48,900. Opt for the sportier performance and all-wheel-drive grip of the 155kW

Like Toyota’s Fortuner, Mitsubishi’s Pajero Sport is built on a one-tonner ute chassis — in this case the Triton — topped with a stylish, bespoke body to create a family wagon that, unlike the SUVs that now dominate the market, also has considerable

The Triton 4x4 range, powered by a 133kW/430Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, opens with the GLX single cab chassis six-speed manual at $32,490. The GLX Club cab chassis is $35,290. Double cabs start with the GLX at $36,990; a five-speed

The NT Pajero 3.2-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel range opens with the five-speed auto, seven-seat GLX for $53,990. The seven-seat auto GLS is $58,990 and the Exceed is $65,990. These manufacturer’s list prices are pretty meaningless. Mitsubishi regu

Anthropologists know it refers to a nomadic people of Middle Eastern origin but Nissan hopes Qashqai (pronounced “kash-kai”) becomes the byword for compact SUVs in Australia. Like the successful Dualis it replaced, the five-seater crossover is design

The base Forester 2.0iL, priced at $29,990, uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with a six-speed manual. The 2.5-litre petrol Forester 2.5iL has a continuously variable automatic (CVT) transmission as standard, at $32,990. It’s also availabl

Subaru cut prices on its fifth-generation Outback by up to $10,000. The Outback has always been one of the best mid-sized SUVs on the market, so big discounts and more equipment on the 2016 model have made it a compelling proposition, especially agai

The Skoda Yeti is built on the old Golf V platform and uses all VW components. Volkswagen owns the Skoda brand. The Yeti range opens with the 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbopetrol/ six-speed manual/front-wheel-drive 81 (as in kilowatts) TSi Active at $

Think of Toyota’s Fortuner as a seven-seater HiLux wagon and you’re on the money. All models run the 130kW 2.8-litre turbodiesel used in SR HiLux models, matched to six-speed manual and automatic transmissions and a part-time, dual-range 4x4 drivetra