CAR ADVICE

There’s no understating how important the Tasman ute is to Kia, but can it compete against the big dogs like the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux? Kia has finally officially lifted the lid on its heavily Aussie-influenced 2025 Tasman ute and it is one of the brand’s biggest models to date. Literally. Measuring a sizeable 5410mm long and with a 3270mm wheelbase, the Tasman is bigger than even the Carnival people mover, but how does it stack up against its other 4WD dual-cab ute rivals? The Tasman’s length makes it longer than key rivals like the Ford Ranger , Toyota HiLux , and Isuzu D-Max , but it still falls short of the Jeep Gladiator even if the Kia does borrow more than a few design cues from the US-built model. How big is the 2025 Kia Tasman? Model Length Width Height Wheelbase Kia Tasman 5410mm 1930mm 1870-1920mm 3270mm Ford Ranger 5370mm 2015mm 1875-1886mm 3270mm Toyota HiLux 5325mm 1855-2020mm 1865-1880mm 3085mm Isuzu D-Max 5280-5310

Nissan is working on the hardcore Nismo version of its new Patrol large SUV. Speculative rendering of 2026 Nissan Patrol Nismo by Theo The hardcore Nismo version of the new-generation 2025 Nissan Patrol will look like “a beast” according to the brand’s senior designer who has seen an early clay model version of the performance SUV. Speaking to media, Nissan senior vice president for global design Alfonso Albaisa jokingly claimed the new Nissan Patrol Nismo design was so aggressive, that it kept him up at night. “When I first saw it, I didn’t sleep for four days,” he said. Albaisa revealed the new Nismo is well into development, indicating a potential reveal next year and a market launch not long thereafter. MORE: 2025 Nissan Patrol Pro-4X off-road variant – LandCruiser 300 GR Sport rival revealed Speculative rendering of 2026 Nissan Patrol Nismo by Theo “When I saw the milled clay – because when you see sketches and things like that, you lose a sense of the scale

Turbo three-cylinder power and all-wheel drive have come to the Toyota GR86 sports coupe, but it is not destined for showrooms. The Toyota GR86 sports car has been given a turbocharged, all-wheel-drive makeover – inspired by iconic Celica GT-Four rally cars of the 1990s – but it is just a concept built for the SEMA trade expo in Las Vegas. Known as the Rally Legacy Concept, the special GR86 is fitted with the 1.6-litre turbo three-cylinder engine and all-wheel-drive system from the GR Corolla and GR Yaris hot hatches. It is strictly a one-off prototype inspired by Toyota’s rally heritage, including the ST185 and ST205 Celica GT-Four coupes that won multiple World Rally Championships . Reports out of Japan have claimed, however, that the next-generation GR86 will shed its Subaru BRZ twin and fit a hybridised, rear-wheel-drive version of the GR Corolla’s engine. MORE: Next Toyota GR86 to be developed without Subaru but with turbo power – report The conce

Buried in a few frames of an online anime series created by Toyota are the names of several sports cars that don’t yet exist, sparking interest across the internet. For fans of drifting – the art of maneuvering a car in a sideways slide – the relationship between the discipline and Japanese cartoons has always been a close one. While drifting began as an underground subculture, emerging on mountain roads throughout Japan, it didn’t rise to prominence until the ‘manga’ comic book Initial D was released. It told the story of a boy who secretly learned to drift while delivering tofu in his father’s Toyota AE86 Corolla – sold in Australia as a Sprinter. Initial D has spawned several television series – cartoons known as ‘anime’ – and live-action films, but it also led Toyota USA to commission its own online anime called Grip. Now it appears as if Grip may be hinting at some bigger things to come from the brand. MORE: Fast & Furious actor to direct new Initial D fil

An honest mistake at the petrol bowser can cost you thousands of dollars in repairs, but it doesn’t have to. Here’s what to do when you put petrol in a diesel car. Photo: iStock/Ziga Plahutar Putting petrol in a diesel car can spell the start of stressful and expensive repairs to your vehicle, but it doesn’t have to. RELATED: Do diesel cars last longer than petrol cars? While there are no statistics for Australia, British comparison site GoCompare claims one in five people have admitted to mistakenly putting the wrong fuel in their car. As we covered in our “ Do diesel engines have spark plugs? ” article, the fundamentals of a diesel vehicle are different from those of a petrol-powered car, meaning the engine won’t run if you put diesel in a petrol car or petrol in a diesel car. If you have made the mistake, don’t panic – read this article first! What happens when you try to run a diesel engine on petrol? Many different components can suddenly fail in your vehicle if yo

The ability to power a source from your car when the grid goes down would be a game changer, but more needs to be done to drive buyers toward the technology. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) technology could be key in aiding future blackout disasters, preventing people from going without food or urgent medical care, the boss of a growing car company has said. On October 17, a storm brought down seven transmission towers in Broken Hill, leaving 20,000 people in the region without power as one of the city’s two backup generators wasn’t operating, and the other failed. The rolling blackouts have mostly stopped, and mains power is now back. The power disruption has left thousands struggling to refrigerate and cook food, and meant people on dialysis machines for conditions such as kidney failure have had few options other than to call the hospital for help, reports the ABC . The solution, according to BYD’s CEO David Smitherman, is plug-in hybrid vehicles such as the

The fault could cause a coolant leak and could lead to the engine stalling or overheating, according to the recall notice. LDV  has recalled  4785 examples of its 2017-2024 LDV D90 SUV, citing a potential fault with the coolant pipes. The affected vehicles are stamped  2017 to 2024 models but may have been sold at a later date. The recall notice , lodged with the Department of Infrastructure, says: “Due to a manufacturing defect, the T-Piece connector in the coolant pipes may fail. If this occurs, it could lead to a coolant fluid leak. “As a result, the engine may overheat and potentially stall leading to a loss of motive power whilst driving. “A sudden loss of motive power whilst driving could increase the risk of an accident causing injury or death to vehicle occupants and/or other road users. Date of recall notice 28 October 2024 Make LDV Model D90 Year 2017-2024 Vehicles affected 4785 VIN list Click here to download the list of affected VINs

From now, BYD says it will be moving further west from the east coast to reach more regional Australians, following the launch of its Shark 6 plug-in hybrid ute in Broken Hill. BYD says it “wants to be a brand for Australians” – with plans to become more regionally-focused in future. The car maker launched locally in 2022 with its Atto 3 mid-sized SUV, followed by the Seal sedan, Dolphin hatch, Sealion 6 SUV and now Shark 6 ute. While the Atto 3, Seal and Dolphin are all fully electric, the Sealion 6 and Shark 6 are plug-in hybrids, having ended production of internal combustion-engined vehicles in overseas markets in 2022. As both an electric vehicle manufacturer and a Chinese brand, which are still facing some prejudice in 2024, the firm is keen to make greater headway in reaching more Australians, particularly away from the major cities. That, in part, is why BYD launched the Shark 6 in Broken Hill this week, aiming to showcase the ute’s off-road capabilities