Conventional wisdom – it’s what helps make the world go ’round.

It’s why a fool and his money are soon parted. It’s why you should never look a gift-horse in the gob. And it’s also why you replace your Jeep’s V6 engine with a V8 – preferably a late-model Hemi – when you decide it needs more squirt.

Okay, so upgrading to a V8 is nothing new. It’s a process that’s transformed many off-roaders. But it’s not necessarily for everyone. Maybe conventional wisdom only goes so far.

The alternative to more cubic inches is the same as it’s always been: forced induction. Turbocharging is one way, but, for an off-road weapon, when bulk low-down torque is the main game, supercharging might be a better option. This is where Magnuson Australia comes in with a new blower kit to suit the 3.6-litre Pentastar Jeep V6 – as seen in the white JK shorty you see on these pages.

The set-up comes complete with all hardware, belts, hoses, fasteners, wiring and even the necessary zip-ties, and it’s been designed by people who understand Jeeps. Not a single hole needs to be drilled in your Wrangler. Standard brackets and mountings ensure the whole lot fits neatly under the stock bonnet.

Specifically, we’re talking about a Magnuson TVS 1320 supercharger which, as the name suggests, moves 1.3 litres of air for every revolution of its twin screws. It blows through a water-to-air intercooler mounted directly below the supercharger (and replaces the stock inlet manifold) with its own coolant pump and reservoir, and a heat exchanger which sits in front of the stock radiator.

The Magnuson kit, as it arrives from the States, includes an in-house flash for the stock Jeep ECU, but Magnuson Australia prefers to use a HP Tuners system which gives 100 per cent controllability over all functions. In fact, the HP Tuners set-up can even improve things without the supercharger, simply by ensuring everything is optimised in normally aspirated form.

The HP tuning software can take the atmo V6 from a baseline, factory-stock figure of 104kW at the wheels, to a more meaningful 132kW with just an airbox change and a tune, and it’s also handy to crack the notoriously (and deliberately) cagey Jeep ECU ciphers.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: job one is to drive the stock Wrangler to see what it’s like fresh from the showroom. I’m not sure whether it’s deliberate or not, but the Pentastar V6 sounds like the old four-litre in-line six that served Jeep so well for many a decade. That said, it is noticeably perkier than those old sluggers and it actually cracks on okay if you don’t mind working the manual gearbox to keep it on song.

See, the real power of the stock V6 is stacked way up high, from about 4500rpm onwards, a figure many owners will never see on their tacho – it’s definitely not where you want the meat of the torque curve when you’re bouncing over rocks and through rivers.

I could also mention the crook, flimsy feel to the interior plastics and the pedal placement that was clearly done by a three-legged gimp, but that’s not what we’re here to discuss. And if you’ve test-driven a Wrangler, you can make up your own mind about that stuff…

After driving the stock Jeep, we wheeled it into Magnuson’s forensically clean workshop and started to tear down the stock intake system. Like most modern engine bays, the Wrangler’s looks like a plumber’s nightmare and, according to Magnuson wrench du jour, Mitch, it kind of is. Its saving grace is that the engine sits well back, snuggled up against the firewall, so there’s lots of room at the front of the relatively short V6. This, in turn, is pretty handy, because this is where the new serpentine belt that spins the blower needs to be threaded through pulleys and tensioners and around brackets.

“It’s a pretty straightforward installation,” Mitch admits, “but there’s not a lot of room in places and there are plenty of fiddly bits to deal with. The hardest part is actually sitting the blower in place, because it has to go in on a bit of an angle to get it to physically slide in.”

He’s not kidding and even with two pairs of hands, the blower unit needs to complete a half turn with pike before it finally agrees to mate with the intercooler and sit still long enough to be bolted down. It’s then a pretty quick process to button up the various hoses and vacuum lines, attach the throttle body and snap the blower belt into place.

With the intercooler’s coolant tank filled and the Jeep’s front panel back in place, the V6 fires up first hit with absolutely no hint of the modifications. All up, we’ve used up somewhere between three and four hours from atmo shut-down to supercharged start-up – it would have been five or six hours had I helped.

Back on the dyno, the brains trust starts fiddling with the tune and playing with different boost levels. Starting at seven pounds of boost, the Jeep cranks out 166kW at the wheels – up from 104, remember. At nine psi, the point at which it seems happiest, the number is 187kW. That’s 83kW more than stock. But remember that every one of those 83kW is devoted to forward thrust, since all the driveline losses have been overcome by the original 104kW.

So it should feel pretty perky. And it does. Again, it still feels and sounds like a Jeep, but when you floor the throttle, it elevates the JK from adequate to gee-whizz. The long sixth gear suddenly offers acceleration from 90 or 100km/h, whereas before it was purely decorative and anything like a hill or a headwind had you shuffling back to fifth. My seat-of-the-pants tests involved a long hill and a 35km/h start at the bottom. At my marker-point, the JK in atmo form was doing 100km/h in third. With the blower doing its thing, the Jeep was rocking 115km/h at the same point on the same hill.

The V6 will still rev, but it feels like the boost tapers off a bit at higher revs, leaving the Wrangler with a similar top-end rush but with a much fatter mid-range. And it’s not some scary, clutch-eating brute off the bottom end, either; you still need about 2000rpm showing before meaningful boost can be felt, but from there all the way to about 4500rpm, the torque curve is as fat as a road-house mixed grill.

Price? Hmmmm. The kit retails at $9500 with another $1000 for fitting and a further grand in tuning. But the Aussies reckon they’re about to hit up Magnuson head office for a sweeter deal, so watch this space. Even so, at less than $12,000 drive in, drive out, it represents a big chunk of change over that V8 conversion we were talking about.

The only detectable downside (and bear in mind this is the first Pentastar to have the Magnuson kit fitted in Oz) was that throttle tip-in off idle was a bit ropey. There was a big flat spot off idle and then a sudden rush of blood when I pushed through the dead zone of the throttle-by-wire set-up. The consensus among Magnuson’s Australian gurus was that the blower by-pass spring was too stiff and that a softer spring would make for a happier, smoother transition between throttle-on and throttle-off.

So, back in the lads went, changing the spring and enlarging the blower by-pass orifice. A small change was made to the throttle map to suit, and then we were back out on the road. Fixed.

There’s still a bit of hesitation, but it’s by no means a deal-breaker and I’d be prepared to bet that it’s simply a function of the snatch and shunt built into every manual-transmission Jeep Wrangler driveline. As in, they all do that, sir. It’s also worth mentioning that a Wrangler with the automatic transmission wouldn’t suffer from this in the first place, because the torque converter would absorb what tiny amount of shunt is still present.

In fact, an automatic Wrangler would also be a nicer car in the suburbs and would be even more formidable off-road, particularly in sandy or boggy terrain. Check the sales stats and it becomes clear that many people already know this. An auto being the pick of the bunch to supercharge? You know what that is, don’t you? That’s conventional wisdom, that is.

When you have a boat and trailer combination that tips the scales at close to 3500kg, you need a vehicle that won’t raise a sweat pulling the skin off a rice pudding. A Land Cruiser Double Cab is a good place to start… but it ain’t perfect.

For starters, it’s only available with a manual gearbox and, when you’re hauling a heavy load, a self-shifter can make life much, much easier. Oh, and with that much weight behind you, a little more grunt is never going to go astray either.

When Steve Booth splurged on his new 79 Series GXL Double Cab last year, he was already quite familiar with Toyota’s TDV8. “I had a single-cab before,” Steve explains. “If I was travelling by myself it was fine, but if I had somebody else in the car there was nowhere to put your bag or anything else, so I thought a dual-cab would be perfect. We don’t generally use it with anyone sitting in the back, but it’s a good place to pile all the stuff and still have plenty of tray space at the rear.”

When Steve drove his new Cruiser off the dealership floor, he already had plans to flick the standard five-speed manual gearbox and replace it with a self-shifter. Towing with an auto offers many advantages: less driver input required, no slipping of the clutch, less wear and tear on driveline components and the added benefit of the torque converter’s torque multiplying effect. And as for the TDV8 engine, Steve also had plans to give the Cruiser a hefty performance boost to make towing his boat even easier.

To look after the power and transmission upgrades, Steve would call on the expertise of three different companies spanning three different states. Then he’d go to a company in a fourth state to build the ute’s custom aluminium tray.

Steve lives in Victoria, so he didn’t have far to go to get Mark’s 4WD Adaptors to swap out the five-speed manual ’box for a GM 6L90 six-speed automatic. This transmission is ideally suited to Steve’s towing requirements; not only is it rated to 1200Nm of torque with a GVM of 6803kg and a GCM of 9525kg, it also features three selectable shift modes designed to make towing a breeze: Automatic, Tow Haul and Manual. Tow Haul mode changes the shift characteristics so the transmission will hold gears for longer. Manual mode offers full manual shifting while locking up the torque converter.

To say Steve’s impressed with the GM auto would be an understatement. “Our 200 Series; it’s up and down through the gears like there’s no tomorrow,” he says. “It’ll hold fifth for a while and then fourth and then back to third… it’ll be all over the place – whereas the GM transmission’s got a Tow Haul button, so it locks the torque converter up straight away and it’ll actually hold back and it’ll just keep pulling instead of revving.”

Another advantage of the GM six-speed auto is its taller top gear. Unlike the notoriously low standard gearing, Steve says with the GM auto, the engine’s only ticking over at 1800rpm in sixth gear at 100km/h. This makes it a much more relaxed highway cruiser, with or without a trailer hitched.

The Mark’s 4WD Adaptors’ six-speed auto kit includes everything required, including a new bell housing, transfer case adaptor, computer and wiring loom, transmission cooler, full-size auto brake pedal, auto shifter, transmission lines and more. Importantly, it also includes a PWR radiator with an internal transmission oil-cooler. The whole package retails for $19,500, including installation and an engineer’s approval.

Even with the new six-speed auto, Steve knew that towing would be a hell of a lot easier with more power and torque on tap, so he sourced a bigger aftermarket turbocharger through Perth-based GTurbo. This was matched with an off-the-shelf intercooler kit from Adelaide-based Cross Country 4X4.

This trick-looking intercooler features twin 10-inch electric fans on its underside for optimum airflow. It’s also much bigger than the standard intercooler and has a custom 660x300x76mm tube and fin core and distinctive sheet-metal tanks.

Another standout feature under the bonnet is the custom-made air box, which was made by Moonlight Custom Fabrication & Welding in Perth. Moonlight also looked after the stainless-steel pipework through to the aforementioned aftermarket turbocharger.

Managing all this new hardware is a Unichip engine management system. The result?

Even before the current larger pipework was fitted to the intercooler, a dyno test indicated Steve’s 79 Series was pumping out around 180kW and 850-900Nm at the wheels. When you consider that Toyota claims a modest 151kW and 430Nm at the crank, that’s one seriously massive improvement!

When he’s not towing the boat Steve has an XTRAIL camper that he uses for camping on the Murray River. With its newfound grunt and slick-shifting auto ’box, Steve says of the Cruiser towing the camper: “Yeah, it doesn’t really know it’s there.”

Not really a hardcore off-roader, Steve describes his four-wheel driving as “mostly touring”, which is why other modifications to this rig are not nearly as radical as the upgrades to the engine and driveline.

An ARB GVM-upgrade (now 3780kg) suspension kit was fitted before the vehicle was registered, and other ARB gear includes the bullbar, side rails and ARB Intensity LED driving lights.

Befitting the vehicle’s dual towing and touring duties, the CSA Raptor satin-black rims are fitted with Cooper Discoverer ST Maxx rubber. “We’ve got them on our 200 Series as well and they’ve been a good tyre,” Steve says. “A good compromise for a bit of touring and around town grip as well.”

As for the custom tray on the rear, Steve had to once again look interstate to find the solution to suit his requirements. “The tray was custom-built in Cairns of all places, by a company called Norweld,” Steve says. “I couldn’t really find anyone in Victoria at the time that was interested in doing something custom with aluminium. I’d seen some work that Norweld had done, and they said ‘yep, we can build it without the car here, no worries…’”

The Norweld tray incorporates a half-canopy toolbox as well as integrated toolboxes behind the wheels and a slide-out drawer at the rear. The half canopy toolbox houses an ARB fridge, behind which sits an Optima battery and a Redarc dual-battery management system. There’s a shelf above that’s big enough for bulky items such as swags and the like.

Steve keeps recovery gear and a few spares in the rear drawer, “a bit of stuff that it doesn’t matter if it gets a bit wet,” he says. As for the side boxes: “They seem to be more waterproof than the centre box does; they’ve been under water and haven’t had any water in them.”

Ensuring long-distance comfort, the front seats have been replaced by Recaro items with longer seat bases in them. The sound system has also been upgraded with a double-DIN touchscreen Eclipse head unit incorporating mapping software, while an amplifier boosts the signals to upgraded aftermarket speakers.

Other interior modificationss include a couple of neat Autron gauges on the A-pillar that display amp draw on the dual batteries, a ScanGauge trip computer on the centre console, and a remote-head GME UHF radio.

When you want one vehicle to perform several tasks, it doesn’t always turn out the way you envisaged, but thanks to a lot of forethought and planning, Steve’s more than happy with how his 79 Series Cruiser performs, no matter what task is put in front of it.

“It’s pretty well turned out the way we would have expected,” he says. “There’s plenty of power there; it’ll tow the boat in sixth gear at 100 kays, it sits on 1800 revs and it pulls hard on hills and stuff like that – our 200 Series certainly doesn’t do that!”

The next time you find a vehicle you really like, but when you look over the spec sheet and find that it doesn’t perfectly suit your requirements, you could always take a leaf out of Steve’s book and modify it until it does.

If you plan it right, and don’t mind searching far and wide for the best solutions, you could end up with a rig that fulfils its intended function as well as this one.

Isuzu has a fair reputation across Australia, right back to the days of Holden-badged Rodeo utes, Jackaroo wagons and diesel-powered Gemini sedans. Plus, there’s its long-held reputation as a truck maker.

That status continues today, with Isuzu Ute now a stand-alone brand offering four-wheel drive D-Max utes and MU-X wagons. Last year Isuzu Ute Australia’s showroom tally was a respectable 16,674 units. Both D-Max and MU-X are honest and capable machines with sharp showroom pricing, and both make pretty decent workhorses and tow vehicles.

Yet the Thai-built machines are not always the flashiest or the fanciest of rigs out there in a very competitive field of four-wheel drives in 2015. With just the two products on offer, Isuzu Ute doesn’t have a lot of metal to attract customers.

This is all good news for aftermarket specialists Harry Suzuki and his trusted sidekick Scott Leadbetter. This pair’s iM Accessories business can dress up and rev up the D-Max and MU-X without sacrificing any inherent abilities.

Harry is renowned across the off-road racing world for his feats with Isuzu products at the 1988 Australian Safari and his long association with racer Bruce Garland in Safaris and Dakar adventures. That association with Isuzu continues, and Harry brings a wealth of technical knowledge to the business of giving the Isuzu product a little more on-road character and off-road capability.

Harry and Scott’s iM Accessories is a recent spin-off from Isuzu Motorsports, with that part of the business catering for hard-core off-road racers around the globe. Now iM has a catalogue of gear for the D-Max and MU-X – from custom-fitted and iM-badged floor mats to body kits and engine chips.

“The dealers love this stuff,” Harry says. “We can add a bit of extra spark, give them something that looks different and goes better. With our gear they can dress up an MU-X with $10,000 worth of stuff and still be cheaper than a (Toyota) Prado.

“And nobody anywhere really specialises in such a package of Isuzu gear.”

Scott says the pair sees there are global opportunities for the Isuzu extras that are currently distributed across Australia by Queensland dealer Brisbane Isuzu Ute.

“Developing all this product goes hand-in-hand with Harry’s knowledge of the cars, his knowledge of the brand, his knowledge of the quality of the componentry,” Scott says. “We’ve gone into every aspect of Harry’s racing and technical knowledge to put this kit together with reputable factories to our unique specifications. Harry knows every little nut and bolt on these vehicles.”

The iM products are sourced from around the world – Australia, Germany, Japan and Thailand. Chief among the go-better bits are custom shock absorbers for both D-Max and MU-X; Harry knows a bit about ironing out bumps in the track while keeping vehicles under control.

“We changed the valving; everything. The original suspension was too harsh. Now it’s quite comfortable,” Harry says.

There are different sets and different tunes for ute and wagon and on the D-Max the external canister is piggy-backed on the Thai-made, racing-style shocks; there wasn’t room for this on the MU-X, which uses remote reservoirs.

The specs, down to the seals and oil, are all Harry’s. Both full sets of four shocks cost $1562.

On the unladen D-Max there’s still movement at the rear, it’s just much more controlled with better rebound control and less jiggling and axle hopping. The front end is firmer and steering control has improved.

The MU-X with iM shocks offers a more comfortable and controlled ride. It also steers with a tad more precision and sits much flatter through the turns on rough or smooth roads. Braking control is also better with less wheel skipping on rougher surfaces. All this translates to more off-road comfort and better traction for both vehicles. That’d be further improved by dropping down a size or two from the 20-inch wheels and low-profile Nitto rubber.

To make the most of the Isuzu pair’s improved ride and handling dynamics, iM also offer under-bonnet gear. There are rose-coloured silicone intercooler and radiator hoses for $383 and a HKS exhaust system at $1009, which is said to bring on another three to five per cent power lift. The stainless-steel exhaust is 60mm to the silencer for the MU-X, 75mm after that with a 105mm tip and 60mm all the way for the ute with a 105mm tip.

Then there’s Harry’s tailored engine chip which can give the 3.0-litre Isuzu diesel a 15 to 20 per cent power increase over the factory’s 130kW. It’s priced at $82.

With Isuzu engines long understood to be under-stressed for reliability and durability, Harry originally had this engine-control module delivering even more power. But this meant more fuel and more exhaust smoke. The ECM uses German and Turkish components assembled in China.

Chief among Australian-made product here is the sleek iM snorkel laid back against the windscreen pillar. It’s one of the pieces developed from wind-tunnel testing and Harry’s racing experiences; there’s no ram head to be knocked off by overhanging trees or blocked by rubbish. This $591 snorkel is one iM product that is already attracting serious attention from Isuzu off-road racers in other countries.

The result of all this extra air flow and fuel pumped in to the Japanese four-cylinder is much smoother engine responses from the get-go and better acceleration. Both the iM-kitted D-Max and MU-X become more tractable vehicles with smarter highway manners than the factory rides.

To top all this off are two good-looking body kits, inspired a little, admits Harry, by some dress-up gear available in Thailand for Toyota’s Fortuner.

For the MU-X there are front and rear skirts, guard flares, door mouldings, door sills plus a mid-mounted rear spoiler. The rear skirt features four fake exhausts and there’s an iM chrome badge here and there.

The effect on this pearl white wagon lifts the MU-X a class or three. It’s a more sophisticated looking machine with this $2825-priced and well-finished body kit, made in Thailand.

The $1595 kit for the D-Max – with mild flares, door mouldings and rear-quarter panels – also gives this black ute a touch more character and presence on the tar and in the scrub without compromising off-road ability. And the black spoked Road and Terrain wheels seen here are the Brisbane Isuzu dealer fit; Harry and Scott are negotiating with ROH for a unique iM Accessories design down the track.

There’s also iM weathershields for the Isuzu windows plus Australian-made floor and dash mats for the interior.

Harry Suzuki and Scott Leadbetter might be on a good thing here. This iM Accessories gear looks and feels top quality while adding more go and show to a pair of good vehicles. Isuzu vehicle prices leave some wriggle room for adding extra gear, which should encourage more showroom traffic.

“The average person out there doesn’t want to drive around in another ute or another wagon that can look a bit bland.”

The tsunami of new 4×4 utes rolls on unabated, with the unveiling overnight of the Fiat Toro in Brazil.

To be built in and specifically marketed for emerging regions such as South America, the Toro is not slated for an appearance in Australia any time soon, but that doesn’t rule it out for future inclusion here.

“The Toro is currently made for international markets, but at this point in time there are no plans to include it in our line up,” FCA spokesman Andrew Chesterton tells 4×4 Australia.

Going on sale in South America in 2016, the Jeep Renegade-based Fiat Toro will be powered by a choice of FCA’s own four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines and will be available in 4×4 and 4×2 models, in three specifications. At just 4.9 meters in length it is smaller than the popular utes such as Ranger/BT50, Hilux and Amarok, and with its passenger car underpinnings it wouldn’t handle the same sort of payloads.

Back in June, it was announced that Fiat would share Mitsubishi’s MQ Triton platform to create a full-frame ute to compete in the popular one-tonne ute segment, which is booming at present. The Fiat-Mitsubishi tie-up is reminiscent of the Nissan- Renault and Mercedes Benz link, wherein a Renault built on Nissan Navara NP300 underpinning will go on sale in 2016, and a Mercedes Benz ute with the same architecture is expected in 2017. The Triton-based Fiat ute is expected to see the light of day in 2016, but there are no plans for it in Australia.

FCA Australia is still thought to be keen on the RAM 1500 pick-up for Australia some time down the track, but that vehicle is currently not made in right-hand drive (RHD). A semi factory-backed full-size RAM 2500 goes on sale here later this year – it’ll be imported, converted to RHD, and distributed via FCA New Zealand and Ateco Automotive.

Talk about ‘working away from home’.

This kind of writing certainly isn’t what editor Matt had in mind when he dialled me in for this column-writing caper, but I had no choice – I’ve been up the Cape working on LowRange DVDs for the past month. Tough life, huh?

Actually, it has been kind of weird this season because there has been rain most nights, so the old canvas bag has been getting packed up wet, as has the bunk. This is good gear, of course, because there is no point mucking around when you use it for a living. But while it keeps me dry, the gear usually gets pretty wet.

We have spent most of the past fortnight braving gale-force winds on the east coast. Most Cape veterans know to expect occasional big winds at places like Chili Beach and Captain Billy Landing, but the constant gusts that rocked the old truck for a couple of nights on the Usher Point headlands were more frightening than my mate Glen after a big night on the chilli prawns.

I like to take a quick bucket shower most nights – my old Cruiser gets dusty inside – but rather than towel-dry afterwards, all I had to do was step around to the back of the truck to get the full blow-dry treatment. Same with the gear – it was wet one minute and dry the next. All I had to do was catch it before it blew away, and then pack it up.

This year marks a personal anniversary. In 1975, I made my first trip up the Cape. I had followed a girlfriend to Cairns after she’d scored a job working at a bar, and after a few days of lust our relationship ended with a bang, err, so to speak.

So with no job and no plans I looked at the map and figured that the line north was a road and the dots with names were towns. I had a 1959 BMW motorcycle, a bed roll and some tools.

The line turned out to be a track, the dots were cattle stations and if some blokes floating a Land Rover across the Jardine River hadn’t showed up, I would have never made it any further. The trip took four months because I kept picking up jobs in return for food and fuel. I’ve never managed to stay still since. Yep, the Cape and I are old mates.

Years later I did tour-guide duty up on the Cape, worked the gold and tin mines, and had little luck fishing. During the past 15 years, my old green truck and I have been back up and down so many times we have both lost count.

And guess what? The Cape still has more mysteries and new places to explore. Heaps more! I feel like the more I learn up here, the more there is to learn. I only have to read Ron Moon’s guidebook to realise how much more there is to learn if you’re a serious scholar of the Cape. I feel like some sort of cowboy who has ridden past all the best bits without even noticing them.

I might see you up here sometime, eh? Just don’t ask me for directions.

The eighth-generation Hilux – rebuilt from the ground up – looks set to become the first ute to outsell every traditional passenger car over a full year.

The previous model was the best-selling four-wheel drive and had claimed the overall crown in particular months – and there is a good chance the eighth-generation Hilux will go one better.

The Hilux’s rise from a work truck favoured by farmers and miners to a car that outsells the Holden Commodore, Mazda3 and even Toyota’s own Corolla is down to increased demand for dual-cab utes and dominance in its segment no rival has come close to.

Toyota says it will sell more than 40,000 Hiluxes in 2016, putting it within firing range of the two cars currently ahead of it on the annual sales charts – the Corolla and Mazda3.

But Toyota’s sales estimate is conservative, and the brand’s Australian president, Dave Buttner, hints there could be more left in the Hilux tank.

“It’s always based on availability out of the plant in Thailand,” Buttner says, indicating demand for the new arrival won’t be an issue. “We’ll certainly get our 40,000 [sales].

“We always try to push the pale … if there’s upside there we’ll fight tooth and nail to get availability out of the plant to satisfy whatever we have in demand.”

Helping the Hilux is the fact that its model range has expanded. The cheap and cheerful Workmate 4×4 has returned, giving tradies a cheap four-wheel drive option. And Toyota has followed the likes of the Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50 and Mitsubishi Triton with “Hi-Rider” models, which have the off-road look and higher ride without the expensive 4WD hardware.

In all there will be 31 variants covering 2WD and 4WD (75 percent of sales are expected to be 4WD). There are two petrol engines (a 2.7-litre four-cylinder and a 4.0-litre V6), two diesel engines (new generation 2.4 and 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesels), auto and manual gearboxes, and three grades – Workmate, SR and SR5.

It’s not just the forecast growth in Hilux sales likely to propel it to the top of the sales podium: there is also the drop in sales of small cars.

Mazda3 sales are down 10.8 percent for the first 8 months of 2015, a result of a shift in buyer preferences, predominantly to small SUVs such as Mazda’s own CX-3 (Mazda predicted the 3 would get caught in the crossfire).

Corolla sales are also down 2.9 percent for 2015, although Toyota says that’s partly due to supply constraints with the updated hatch.

However, the Corolla will come under increased competition in 2016 from new small-SUV arrivals, among them the production version of the C-HR concept – Toyota’s answer to the Mazda CX-3, Honda HR-V and upcoming Jeep Renegade – which could be on sale by the end of the year or early 2017.

Buttner admits the Hilux “could” get to number one but he says the focus is not on achieving the milestone, although he says the brand is happy to take it if it happens.

“We don’t mind which car is number one, so long as we’re selling the volume,” he says.

Click here to read the full range review of the Toyota Hilux.

Haval’s ambitious plan to snaffle market share from the popular Toyota Prado and Ford Everest will be put into action this week when its H9 4×4 SUV goes on sale.

Despite being powered by a relatively small, 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine, with no diesel option, the H9 will attempt to chase the markets of Toyota Prado and Ford Everest.

Helping its cause will be its price, which, starting at $46,500, makes it significantly cheaper than its rivals. It also has a proper four-wheel drive system and a ladder chassis, and Haval is working on a larger diesel engine.

Haval Motors Australia (HMA) – owned by Chinese manufacturer Great Wall Motors – will launch the H9 in conjunction with two softer SUV models, the H2 and the five-seat H8, with Haval’s four dealerships set to get their first cars this week. Haval expects all three models to achieve five-star ANCAP safety ratings, including the leather-trimmed, $41,990 H8, which Haval says is a rival for the Mazda CX-5, Toyota Kluger and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

HMA managing director Parker Shi says he does not fear the slowing down of the Chinese and Australian economies.

“It is a long-term business,” he tells Wheels. “We have the plan, and we must fulfil the plan. My factory doesn’t want to spend millions of dollars – move here, recruit dealers – for fun.”

Nor does Shi admit apprehension over currency fluctuations and their potential impact on the cost of delivering in Australia.

“If we really think that the exchange rate will kill us, and the company cannot afford the risk, then the company would have no future,” he says. “But the company is big, good – we can carry on [regardless].”

HMA says that by the end of this year it aims to add six dealers to the four it has confirmed this week. It hopes to have 25 operating across Australia by the end of 2016.

At the Shanghai motor show in April last year, CEO Wang Fengying said Haval wanted to become the biggest-selling SUV brand in Australia. Shi said this week that this goal still stood, but he declined to post a volume goal or a timeframe.

The SUV market segment is the fastest growing in Australia – and China – this year, accounting for one in three vehicles sold here. Toyota was the segment leader in Australia over the full year of 2014, selling 56,660 SUVs.

Australia is the first right-hand drive export market for Haval, which is the first Chinese passenger car brand to be owned and operated in Australia by its parent company in China.

Four-wheel drive suspension specialist Raw 4×4 has been tailoring suspension solutions for Aussie four-wheel drivers for many years.

In fact, the company began operations as Powerdown Australia more than 30-years ago when then managing director Bruce Gatgens developed his own range of shock absorbers for commercial vehicles.

The company’s current MD, Bruce’s son Mathew, explains: “Powerdown started in 1983. At that stage the company was specifically designing shock absorbers for trucks and buses… the ethos of the company was to design a product for Australian conditions because the trucks overseas at that stage were doing vastly different jobs – in different climates and different road conditions – to those in Australia. So back then, the managing director, which was my father Bruce, decided to design his own range of shocks for commercial vehicles.”

Powerdown’s success in suspension systems for trucks saw it soon expanding into the four-wheel drive market. “We used those same design principles from the truck shock absorbers – we incorporated those into a 4×4 range,” Mathew says. “We have always been in the 4×4 space, but [the product] had been marketed under the Powerdown brand. So we didn’t really have the Raw 4×4 brand until about 2005 when we decided to make the four-wheel drive product its own entity.”

The 2015 Raw 4×4 catalogue is a massive 130-page tome full of springs and shocks to suit four-wheel drives built from the 1970s through to current models. “Yeah, it’s a killer, that thing,” Mathew laughs. One of the reasons it includes so many products is that Raw 4×4 offers various solutions for each model of four-wheel drive on the market.

“We’ll do probably three different levels [for each vehicle]: a light-duty, medium-duty and a heavy-duty specification,” Mathew says. “These days, that’s what you need to incorporate, because, as you know, a lot of people buy pick-ups and probably never have a bit of weight in the back, so they’re looking for more comfort, off-road ability… it’s more of a lifestyle choice, that sort of vehicle. Compare that to a Hilux on a mine site which is loaded with tools and plant equipment, [and you] need a heavier spec, so we look at that full spectrum and how the vehicle’s going to be used, and design componentry around that.”

All of the suspension research and development carried out by Raw 4X4 takes place at the company’s state-of-the-art Beresfield facility, near Newcastle, New South Wales.

“We’ve got some of the best test facilities in Australia in terms of shock absorbers,” Mathew says. “We’ve got one of the largest (shock absorber) dynamometers, which is basically the same type as used by the Formula 1 teams… ”

So how does the team at Raw 4X4 go about developing a suspension system for a specific model? Mathew explains: “Firstly we get hold of the vehicle in its OE condition and we take it for a drive over various road conditions and off-road conditions, and get a general feel of how the vehicle reacts in different scenarios. Following that, we bring it back to our facility and simulate weight on the vehicle to see how the vehicle handles weight, simulating load bearing in terms of accessories such as a bullbar, a winch… depending on the type of the vehicle, what kind of weight would be in the back, if there’s a drawer system or heavy loads in terms of a pick-up.

“So we’d simulate all that in its OEM condition and basically see what sag is on the vehicle and see what the springs can handle, and the drop in ride height etcetera, and also do a ride and handling analysis on the vehicle in various different states, so we can get a feel for it.

“We’d then pull the vehicle apart, test the shock absorbers, and also the coils and the leaf springs, to determine the spring rates, and then look at where we can improve upon the OEM mark.”

Mathew says there’s a team of four dedicated staff members working solely on the development of shock absorbers and suspension components, and they are kept very busy with a range of four different shock absorber models (Nitro, Nitro Max, Predator and RFX), including the relatively new Predator monotube-design range.

“The monotube side of things, it’s a growing side of the business. We only started manufacturing about three years ago our specialised monotube designs. We’ve got three people dedicated in that area,” Mathew says.

Want a tailored solution for your four-wheel drive? Not a problem. “Basically we make a standard product as well as a custom-made product, so people who require something different, we’ve got the ability to re-valve the monotubes according to their ride requirements,” Mathew adds.

The Raw 4×4 brand is available all over Australia, so you know back-up is never too far away when you’re out bush. “We have dealers all throughout Australia,” Mathew says. “We deal with independents as well as chain stores including Fulcrum Suspension – they’ve got a network across Australia – and also through our truck dealership network, so we’ve virtually got reach all across Australia.”

The Raw 4×4 brand is also becoming more common overseas. “We do a lot of specialised export,” Mathew says. “We do a lot of business in Thailand, which is the birthplace for a lot of these pick-ups, so that’s a very strong market for us, and a lot of other countries throughout Southeast Asia. Africa is another big market for us, South Africa and Kenya.”

And what’s in the pipeline? “We’re working on a big strut range,” Mathew says. “It’s basically a truck shock absorber designed for Hilux, Ford Ranger and things like that, for heavy-working vehicles which are in demanding off-road conditions. It will be quite a large bore size as well as body size (for the oil capacity), and a custom spring to suit.”

Imagine how big the new Raw 4×4 catalogue will be once this new product hits the market!

If you think Chinese-built means cheap, nasty and going nowhere fast then think again. That especially holds true if you’re talking about CFMoto, where more than one in four of its 1600 employees works in R&D.

The Hangzhou-based company has been in the motorcycle and powersports game for more than 20 years. It also happens to be the largest exporter of quads and utility side-by-sides (or ATVs and UTVs respectively) in China, with an annual production capacity of 600,000 units.

Two years ago, CFMoto partnered Austrian giant KTM to produce small-capacity KTM bikes for China – the largest motorcycle market in the world.

The collaboration also gives CFMoto access to the services of German design house Kiska on future CFMoto products. Expect big things. Since the early 1990s, Kiska has been heavily involved in several KTM models, including the 1190 Adventure, 1290 Super Duke R and Freeride 350.

CFMoto controls almost half the motorcycle market in Russia, while accounting for one in four sales in Czechoslovakia and one in five in Sweden and Austria.

Closer to home, CFMoto has sold more than 10,000 vehicles since its Australian debut in 2009 via more than 80 dealers. That sales figure alone makes it Australia’s fastest-growing bike marque for the past five years according to CFMoto, with a 2014 market share of eight per cent and a target of double that this year.

Driving that target are some of Australia’s best-selling quads and UTVs including the CF500 Classic, Z8 sports side-by-side and the X8 800cc ATV. These are among a fleet of 12 models comprising four ATVs, three UTVs and four sports side-by-side vehicles.

The X550 ATV and two U550 UTVs are the latest additions to the line-up and distinguish themselves by having a new 495cc SOHC single-cylinder engine with liquid cooling and Bosch EFI for more consistent performance regardless of temperature or altitude.

CFMoto claims the 28kW unit is 12kg lighter and 17 per cent more powerful than its air-cooled predecessor. The weight reduction is thanks in part to electrically assisted power steering. Torque is also up by 13 per cent to 46Nm at 5800rpm.

Both models feature selectable 2WD and 4WD modes and a lockable diff, mated to a Canadian-sourced Continuously Variable Transmission.

At $8990, the X550 ATV is said to be a more mature version of CFMoto’s top-selling CF500 and comes loaded to the gunwales with standard equipment. In addition to a two-year warranty and the convenience of electrically assisted power steering, it comes with a heavy-duty winch, tow pack, front and rear racks, descent control, alloy wheels and two-seater comfort. The X550 also comes with handguards, lights and mirrors and is available in five colours including camo.

Independent sales data shows a strong buyer shift towards UTVs for their safety and versatility. CFMoto has responded to the sales trend with the U550 and higher-spec U550 LE UTVs, priced at $11,490 and $13,490 respectively.

Powered by the same, new 495cc single-cylinder unit as the X550, the utility side-by-sides come with adjustable bucket seats, conventional three-point seatbelts, driver and passenger doors and a ROPS-certified roll cage.

Standard equipment for the entry-level U550 includes the convenience of a roof and windscreen, a heavy-duty towing kit, a gas-assisted rear tip tray with a 150kg carrying capacity and alloy wheels.

For an additional $2000, the U550 LE adds electric power steering, a 1600kg winch, plus a choice of four colours.

Each comes with hydraulic braking and independent suspension front and rear as well as a generous 280mm of ground clearance. With a dry weight of 590kg, the U550 features a 26-litre tank for plenty of driving time between refills, a tow capacity of 550kg, and a 230kg carry capacity in its tip tray that measures 1200x790x310mm (L/W/H). The tray is easily operated by a side lever, and you can also leave the tailgate open for easier loading and unloading.

We put the X550 and U550 LE through their paces at a dedicated 4×4 facility and were in awe of their off-road ability as they conquered increasingly difficult obstacles – even in 2WD mode. These included surprisingly deep river crossings, sand, tricky articulated turns and ridiculously steep climbs and descents. The power steering helped to iron out abruptness in rough terrain.

“Farmers are impressed with UTVs because they have good carrying capacity, can cover more ground faster and offer greater comfort,” CFMoto Australia director Michael Poynton says.

“We’ve been working with the R&D team to make sure our vehicles can withstand the harsh conditions they’re exposed to everyday on Aussie farms, and the newly developed 550 engine is proof of this.”

Can’t wait to see what comes next.

Back in 2009, we purchased a Toyota Hilux dual-cab ute.

Since then, the rig has completed more than 170,000km and has travelled through every state and territory except Western Australia. It has also had a lot of aftermarket accessories added – about $16,000 worth, at last count.

But what do you think was the first item that we fitted to the Lux? It wasn’t the canopy, bull bar, rear bar or snorkel – although, we purchased them in quick succession and we like them a lot.The thing we fitted first was the Speedliner ute liner – so that means this gear test has been six years in the making.

Given that the Hilux was bought to be a utility vehicle – not a tourer – a tray liner was always going to be an early purchase. But we were concerned that a plastic tub liner could easily trap moisture and that everyday vibrations would cause the liner to wear the tray’s paint down to bare metal. Moisture, abrasion and metal can mean only one thing – rust – as our friends at Wizard Paint Repairs recently confirmed. They told us that they’ve seen three-month old Nissan Navaras and Ford Rangers come into the workshop with tub liners that had already caused surface rust.

So when we saw Speedliner (back in 2008) advertised as the world’s toughest spray-on protective coating, we thought we’d give it a crack. And we’re glad we did.

So what is Speedliner? It’s a spray-on polymer that permanently adheres to the surface of your ute’s tray. It is also recommended for boats and horse floats – in fact, anywhere you want a durable coating. It provides a rust-proof, waterproof, tear-resistant, air-tight, non-slip surface that’s unaffected by fuel spills and is resistant to chemicals. It’s also UV stabilised, meaning that it doesn’t fade.

The manufacturer also claims it’s got 500 per cent more impact-strength resistance than any of its competitors, and can stretch to 570 per cent of its own size. While we can’t say we’ve tested those last two statistics ourselves, on the basis of Speedliner’s performance in our Lux over the past six years, we reckon the advertised descriptions sound about right.

We’ve thrown all sorts of kit in – and out – of the back of the tray during this period. We’ve moved two houses, housed two dogs, moved around 12 tonne of firewood, transported three goats, helped fix six fences, and conducted about 200 trips to ARB, TJM and Bunnings to pick up kit. On top of that, the tail gate has been used as a camp kitchen and fish-filleting station and the whole rig has been used as a mobile closet, larder and safe base for our team as we’ve explored this great nation of ours.

After all this, we can’t find a single scratch, dent, tear, peel or discolouration across the Speedliner – and we didn’t even buy the hardcore version with the Kevlar additive. To get it looking like new again, all we do is hit it with a blower vac (to get rid of the dust and debris) and then apply a high pressure hose for any stubborn bits.

We’ve found an added benefit of the Speedliner is a quieter ride, as it dampens the vibrations from the load in the back tray. By contrast, plastic tub liners create noise and resonate it, like a drum, throughout the vehicle.

Speedliner was brought to Australia from the United States in 2006 by Steven Cardwell (who remains the Australian distributor based out of Rockhampton, Queensland). A real point of difference with other spray-on liners is that all licensees are required to undergo three days of theory and training with Steven before they can even advertise that they have the product.

Some dealerships (such as Lennock VW and Nissan in Canberra) offer Speedliner as an optional extra on new vehicles. We were looked after by Wizard Paint Repairs (which is the regional licensee for the product in Canberra, Ulladulla, Eden and Goulburn region).

While we opted for charcoal from the 18 standard factory colours, being a specialist paint workshop, Wizard Paint Repairs can create more custom colours if you want them to. Perhaps your local distributor will do the same.

Hot Pink or Zombie Green, anyone?