Mention the Ford Maverick in conversation, and most Australians will picture a rebadged Nissan Patrol from the late 1980s and ‘90s.

Ford revived the nameplate recently, launching the Maverick as a small ute for the US market, to sit below the Ranger in the line-up.

Brazilian artist Kleber Silva has taken the Maverick and imagined what it would look like if the vehicle was produced as an SUV – and we think it would be the perfect opportunity to revive the Ford Raider badge.

Like the Everest is the to Ranger, the Raider was the wagon version of the Courier ute – offered between 1991 and 1996.

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The new Maverick shares its underpinnings with the Ford Escape and Bronco Sport, offering American buyers a choice of a 2.5-litre hybrid four-cylinder, or a 2.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost four-cylinder engine – the latter available with all-wheel drive.

Despite the new Maverick only being made in left-hand-drive, we think there’s space in the Ford Australia line-up to squeeze the theoretical Raider between the Escape and Everest – capturing buyers who can’t fit the upcoming F-150 in their garage.

What do you think of the 2023 Ford Raider? Let us know in the comments section below.

We’ve been on the road for nearly three months now, mainly in Western Australia having traversed some of its deserts and then the fabulous Ningaloo coast.

Scattered amongst the regulars who come to this coast were a few long-term travellers who had been on the road for six months or more and were planning to be roving the country for at least another six months, some for a darn sight longer. We met other long-term travellers in other far-flung places, too.

It was great to see, but what appealed to me were the young families on the road who were thoroughly enjoying it and embracing the gypsy lifestyle.

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Tyson and Rebecca Hayes with their young son Jack, who was just seven months old, were just some who had been camped on the beach for a week or so when we caught up. They had left Brisbane in early 2020 and as they headed south COVID raised its ugly head, closing borders and the like; so they hightailed it back to Queensland and worked on a property just out of Goondiwindi. Jack then came along and many friends and family expected them to call their long-awaited dream trip off, but Tyson and Rebecca had other ideas.

Once borders started to reopen and with their AOR camper hooked up to their Nissan V8 Patrol, they first headed to SA and, after a quick look around, always aware of what COVID was doing to borders, they crossed into WA where they slowed down to smell the wildflowers and enjoy the travelling.

Tyson and Rebecca expect to be travelling all this year and next – maybe even longer – and their advice is that the hardest thing to travelling for a long time is to actually go, as once you are on the road it is easier … even with a seven-month old! You can follow their travels on Instagram at @Austrekadventures.

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Just up the beach were Will and Krystal Miles with their two young kids, Harvey aged nine and Magnolia aged five. They had left their NSW Central Coast home in February 2020, but after 10 weeks in SA, COVID put a spanner in the works and they headed home for a short time. Once borders opened, they set off again, hightailing it across the eastern states to get into WA where they have slowed down somewhat.

With Will being a keen fisherman and the family loving the sea, they wandered around Cape Arid and Esperance before pushing north to the Ningaloo coast, where they had been for four weeks and were planning on another six before heading on.

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But what adventures they were having: catching big fish, finding crays and swimming with whale sharks and manta rays. Young Harvey was in his element, reveling in the adventures his mum and dad were leading him on, while young Magnolia was content to look at the pretty fish and collect shells and the like. It was a hell of an education backed-up by school lessons from the School of Distance Learning for an hour a day, four days a week. The rest of the time the kids were learning in nature, from nature, and socialising with a diverse group of humans young and old. I couldn’t think of a better education for young kids!

Will and Krystal plan to be on the road in their well set-up Hino with custom-made camper, towing a boat, for the next three years or so. Follow their adventures on Instagram at @im_on_fishing.

So get out there, follow your dream – no excuses!

Resto specialist the Royal Overland Company has taken an old Defender 90 and resurrected into something we think is seriously cool.

The firm, which specialises in importing, restoring and revitalising old 4x4s to suit customers needs, has taken a Defender 90 left parted out and rotting away in a workshop and resurrected it for its owner.

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The team opted to go with a beach inspired theme for this build, customising the car inside and out – while still keeping true to the Land Rover’s simplistic nature.

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Outside, the bodywork now wears a fresh lick of marine blue Land Rover paint with retro ’80s-cool graphics, along with Dirty Life wheels wrapped in 33-inch Interco tyres and a hand fabricated roll cage.

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The interior is where the car’s true nature comes to light though. The fit-out was taken care of by Phillip Sell from Sell Design Group using 12 different types of woodwork to create the handmade flooring, belt line across the top of the doors and the rear tail-gate panels.

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Suspension consists largely of standard Land Rover gear with Radflo shock absorbers and Swift springs, while the drivetrain is a turbocharged diesel unit plucked from a later model Defender.

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Amazingly, the 90 was built in under six months before its debut at the SEMA show in Las Vegas this week, showcasing the quality of work the Royal Overland Company can deliver.

After a stint on the sidelines in 2020, the SEMA Show returns in 2021 and is currently taking place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, USA. Our American counterpart Chris Collard is there with camera in tow, and he has taken some snaps of the best rigs on display this year.

Not surprisingly, the all-new Ford Bronco is uber-popular on the stands in 2021, with Collard snapping a number of kitted-out Broncos dressed in premium aftermarket gear.

As expected, Jeep also features prominently, with a Gladiator by Max Built looking mighty fine!

Scroll through our photo gallery above, and let us know what your favourite vehicle is in the comments below.

The 2021 SEMA Show will run from November 2 to 5.

The November 2021 magazine is out now at regular outlets across Australia. Even better, sign up for a subscription to the magazine so that every issue lands directly in your letterbox.

The annual Custom 4×4 of the Year competition headlines this issue. Powered by Ryobi, we’ve shortlisted 12 wicked custom 4x4s that are now in the running to win the coveted Custom 4X4OTY crown. Vote for a winner and be in with a chance to win some great prizes from both Ryobi and Maxxis Tyres.

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We also hit some back-country trails in the highly anticipated Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series – GR Sport, GX and GXL variants. Read all about our first impressions of the uber-capable wagon.

Evan Spence took the burly RAM 2500 Laramie pick-up to some tight bush tracks, to see whether the giant RAM is a realistic proposition for Aussie tracks. Plus, we put two of the best-selling 4×4 wagons head to head: MU-X versus Everest.

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On the custom-metal front, we ran a microscope over the Rambler-built Isuzu D-MAX, and we examine TRED’s epic Y62 shop truck.

We get down and dirty in the next episode of Deano’s “how-to” series, as he explains how to 4WD on dirt. It may sound straightforward, but there’s a lot more to driving on dirt roads than you’d expect.

WHAT ELSE IS THERE?

• Ultimate Campers X25 camper tested
• Bungle Bungles-Windjana Gorge, WA
• Kempsey’s National Parks, NSW
• D-MAX build gets a King Brown exhaust
• Regular columns, new products + more!

The increased availability of American pickup trucks in Australia has really seen their popularity spike with buyers. Specifically, the 1500 trucks from Chevrolet and Ram have enticed buyers with more affordable prices.Ram has had an advantage in the 1500s with its Express model coming in at less than $100K, while GMSV was only offering the up-spec Silverado 1500 LTZ here which retails for $115,990. Now, the local importer has a new entry-level Silverado on the market and not only is it a cheaper option than the LTZ, but we reckon the $106,990 Silverado LT Trail Boss is a better rig in every regard.

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POWERTRAIN & PERFORMANCE

The only powertrain on offer in the 1500 trucks by GMSV is the L86 6.2-litre OHV petrol V8 backed by a 10-speed automatic transmission. The engine makes 624Nm and 313kW, which gets the unladen Chevy along nicely.This is a new generation of GM small-block engine featuring direct fuel injection and cylinder deactivation, to increase efficiency. Officially rated at 12.23L/100km fuel use, we managed 13.1L/100km on our drive – pretty good for a V8 petrol 2.5-tonne truck with the aerodynamics of a Besser block.

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ON-ROAD RIDE & HANDLING

If you have memories of American cars being soft and wallowy in the suspension department, then the Trail Boss will change your mind. This variant gets a set of Rancho monotube shocks and a 25mm boost in ride height, and it rides firmly without being harsh at all. It corners flat and precisely; although, the steering is a little slow when compared to smaller utes. All in all, it’s a surprising package over all road conditions.While we appreciate a manufacturer fitting heavier duty all-terrain tyres to any vehicle expected to be driven off sealed roads, the Goodyear Duratrac tyres on the Trail Boss are noisier than most other A/T style tyres we’ve driven on, and they became particularly annoying on the road.As a marker; we got in to the Trail Boss straight out of a Ranger Raptor which rides on BFGoodrich All Terrain tyres, and it displayed no such road noise. Neither do the well-worn Cooper S/T Maxx all-terrains on my own car, which I was driving straight after the Trail Boss.

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OFF-ROAD

The LT Trail Boss is by far a better off-road option than its LTZ stablemate, thanks to the improved suspension and tyres. The 18-inch alloy wheels in lieu of the 20s on the LTZ not only improve the ride quality but are better suited to off-highway use and rough tracks. The Rancho shock absorbers increase ride height and better control the body over bumps, and the underbody protection is there to ward off scrapes.Four-wheel drive in the Silverado comes via a transfer case that offers 2WD (rear), on-demand 4×4 (auto) and locked 4×4 in high and low range. With the selector in auto, you can leave the vehicle in 4×4 on all road surfaces and drive is only directed to the front axle when needed, and then you can switch to either of the locked 4×4 settings for off-road use.The rear axle is fitted with an auto-locking (non-selectable) locking differential which works well when it cuts in as it detects wheel slip across the axle. It’s not as instant as it would be if you could manually lock it yourself, but it’s always there and you don’t need to think about it.Having a rear locker is a win for the Chevy over the Ram 1500, as it is not offered with one in the new DT series Ram trucks.You’ll need to be wary of the Silverado’s size on off-road tracks. At just under six metres long and a little more than two metres wide, it takes some getting used to positioning on track so as to not scratch or damage the paint work. There is a useful rear-view camera, plus front and rear parking sensors that let you know what’s behind you – plus, the front bumper is metal to limit damage.

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CABIN & ACCOMMODATION

If you appreciate a spacious cabin, then you’ll love riding in a full-size pickup truck like the Silverado. These things take interior space and features to a whole new level, compared to almost everything else available in Australia.While there’s ample room for the front-seat passengers to get comfortable in the Chev, it’s the rear seat where folks will notice the huge difference when compared to regular one-tonne utes. Head, shoulder and leg room are all ample, and you could comfortably travel with three adults across the back seat.The seats in the Trail Boss are cloth-trimmed as opposed to the leather ones in the LTZ, but the front seats remain 10-way power adjustable and heated, but not cooled. The Trail Boss doesn’t have the Bose audio system of the LTZ, but it isn’t bad and the screen is still a good sized eight-inch unit with Apple and Android connectivity. The Trail Boss also misses out on the LTZ’s power sunroof.With all that interior space comes ample storage options. As well as the huge centre console, this Trail Boss was fitted with an optional storage system under the rear seat. This space is cavernous and has slots in the dividers for carrying your rifles – Chevy sure does know its domestic market.The space for the centre console comes from not having the gear shifter down there. It is up on the right-hand side of the steering column and, while not as easy to use as the Mercedes-Benz one in the same location, it works okay. Manual gear shifting is a bit awkward, as it is done using a rocker switch on the handle of the column shifter – it’s not as simple as it could be with buttons or paddles behind the steering wheel.

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PRACTICALITIES

The LT Trail Boss might be the pick of the Silverado 1500 duo, but it does lose a bit of capacity to the LTZ. Towing is rated at 4260kg (on a 70mm ball) compared to 4500kg on the LTZ, while payload is 725kg compared to 760kg. It seems crazy that these full-size trucks don’t have the payload of the mid-size utes like Ranger and Hilux, but that’s the way it is.The 18-inch wheels and A/T tyres are far more practical and comfortable than the LTZ’s 20s. The cargo area is the same size with plenty of tie-down points, and there’s a handy step in the rear bumper that makes it easy to step up in to the bed which is protected by a spay-on liner.As mentioned, this truck was fitted with a few factory accessories and these include a swing-out storage bin on the off-side of the bed, a full-length storage compartment on the near-side, a roll-up tonneau cover, and the Silverado-branded sports bar. The storage bins do limit your access to the tie-down points.While the storage options are handy, the side-steps, which are also an optional extra, hang very low and restrict the ramp-over angle when off-road. As well as these factory options from GMSV, the Silverado is heavily supported by aftermarket accessories to tailer it to your needs.

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SUMMARY

While a full-size pickup truck isn’t for everybody, they do tick a lot of boxes, particularly those who want to tow over long distances with a family on board. Think of a large horse float or boat with all the gear you would normally carry for a weekend of play. The space in the cabin and its equipment lend themselves well to long travel times over any and all roads.The Trail Boss works well off road and on, although you want to be careful where you place it on bush tracks if you want to keep it looking pristine. The size of the truck would make it very easy to scrape a side against a tree or rocks on tight turns.The petrol V8 engine will put many users off because of its fuel use when compared to a diesel engine, but, for now, that’s all GMSV is offering in the 1500. You could always move up to the Duramax V8 diesel-powered Silverado 2500, which GMSV is about to reintroduce to its showrooms.

CHEVROLET SILVERADO LT TRAIL BOSS SPECS

The Suzuki Jimny has seen its off-road capability increased, along with its ride height.

Swiss company Avus Auto has collaborated with Germany’s Delta4x4 to create a Jimny with 400 millimetres of ground clearance, thanks to the addition of Tibus portal axles.

While ‘portals’ are more often found on serious four-wheel-drive builds, Avus is offering the modification for the smaller Suzuki off-roader, which transfers the drive from the axle down through a gearset to the wheels.

The addition greatly improves under-car clearance, reducing the chances of the vehicle’s differential housings fouling on boulders, logs, and debris when driving along remote tracks.

To put the Jimny’s new-found 400mm ground clearance into perspective, the new Toyota LandCruiser 300 Series enjoys 235mm, while the elevated Ford Ranger Raptor is listed as having 283mm with standard wheels and tyres.

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Avus says it is building just 12 of the portal Jimnys, complete with 40mm suspension lift, adjustable shock absorbers with remote reservoirs, and 18-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tyres.

Buyers can also option locking differentials at each end, brush guards, and a winch.

Those wanting one of the 12 vehicles being built will need to be in Switzerland or Germany to hand over at least €56,000 (AU$87,300) – with a fully-optioned Jimny costing as much as €65,000 (AU$101,300).

Ford has finally built the Coyote V8-swapped Bronco fans have been screaming out for – but the catch is that it’s a race-only machine and will cost north of AU$269,000 (US$200,000) when it lands next year.

The Ford Bronco DR (Desert Racer) is a purpose-built Baja racing machine, with Ford intending to enter a prototype of the race-bred Bronco into the Baja 1000 next year.

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“Bronco DR exists to give hardcore off-road enthusiasts a Built Wild, turnkey 4×4 to compete in desert racing events, including the unforgiving Baja 1000,” said Mark Rushbrook, Ford Performance Motorsports’ global director.

Full specifications are still yet to be announced, but we do know the DR started out life as a four-door Bronco chassis before Ford went to town on it, saying: “We modified and optimised every aspect and built the vehicle hardcore off-road enthusiasts want.”

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The Coyote V8 is one of the biggest changes for the DR, which Ford says it aims “to generate more than 400hp (298kW)” from for the DR – paired with a 10-speed auto.

The rest of the driveline uses a ‘shift-on-the-fly’ transfer case from the F-150, with both electronic lockers and 4.70:1 final drive ratios front and rear.

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The suspension has been overhauled, with one of the key upgrades being the inclusion of Positional Selective DSSV Dampers from Multimatic – which had a large hand in building the Bronco DR with Ford Performance.

The dampers allow for the major adjustability racers desire to suit different terrain, and are connected to new billet aluminium lower control arms. Strengthened inner tie rods are also used for the DR.

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Ford also says it has 55.1 per cent more suspension travel at the front and 58.6 per cent at the rear over the standard Bronco, giving the DR further stability in high-speed desert competition.

Wheels and tyres are 17-inch beadlocks wrapped in 37-inch BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM3 rubber.

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The exterior panels are made from fibreglass rather than steel on the road-going Bronco, with all the glass removed for safety and weight saving. A tubular metal front bumper is used, but the DR still uses normal Bronco headlights, tail-lights and trail sights.

The DR also comes factory-fitted with a roll cage built by Multimatic, along with Sparco racing seats, a Motec C187 display and a switch panel for various accessories.

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The Dakar-bred racer also has a 246-litre fuel-cell in the rear and a rear-mounted radiator to keep the Coyote V8 cool.

The DR marks the first time Ford has offered a factory-built dirt racer from the factory, but only 50 examples will initially be available for purchase by the public in late 2022.

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It’s unclear if more will be built after that, but with the Bronco DR illegal to drive on the street and the above mentioned minimum buy-in of US$200,000, it won’t be a sales-chart topper.

Those in the US wanting a race-like Bronco for the street can expect the Bronco Raptor to fill those shoes when it launches next year, likely with a twin-turbocharged V6.

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Ford Australia still has no intentions to make the Bronco range available here locally.

Tony Roberts, the original inventor of the ARB Air Locker, has died at his home in Victoria aged 70.

As lovers of the outdoors, Roberts and his wife Patricia were early off-road pioneers, taking their Toyota FJ55 LandCruiser to remote areas of the Victorian High Country in the 1970s – but quickly discovered four-wheel drive alone wasn’t enough to keep them out of trouble.

The problem was the car’s open differentials allowed the wheels with no traction to spin.

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As a pilot instructor and aviation engineer, Roberts set to work designing a mechanism to lock the differential using vacuum from the engine, before settling on an evolution of the idea using compressed air. By the mid-1980s, Roberts had designed and patented the Roberts Diff Lock – a strong device that locks the differential with compressed air, allowing both wheels to turn together and greatly improving traction off road.

A company making roof racks and bull bars around the same time, named ARB after its founder Anthony Ronald Brown, purchased the rights to the Roberts Diff Lock in 1987 and renamed it the ARB Air Locker.

ARB launched a new logo adopting the red and black from the Roberts’ Diff Lock, and began selling the product in Australia and the US alongside its new in-house 12V air compressor – helping to cement the company as a global leader in off-road accessories.

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Roberts’ love of aviation continued, running a successful pilot school from Moorabbin airport for a number of years, before moving with his family to a farm near Colac where he continued engineering and gunsmithing until his sudden death.

His passion for the outdoors, engineering, and aviation were passed onto his children, and his invention has helped countless drivers get further into the wilderness – and back – over the past three decades.

While he’ll be best remembered by the community for creating the ARB Air Locker, it’s his laugh, handshake, and sharp wit that will be best remembered by his family and friends.

He is survived by his wife, three children, and five grandchildren.

UPDATE, November 1: Mark your calendars, because the 2022 Ford Ranger is set to be revealed on November 24.

After a long drip-feed of camouflaged Ranger images – both official and unofficial – Ford has confirmed the ute will be fully unveiled later this month.

Late last week, 4X4 Australia obtained the first images of a prototype landing in Australia wearing the new promotional digital camouflage, believed to be a Ranger Wildtrak underneath.

Despite the open bonnet, it was difficult to ascertain what was powering the vehicle – but exactly what powertrains will be available in the new model will be known within a matter of weeks.

Along with the announcement, Ford released a video detailing the design process behind the new Ranger.

Make sure you stay tuned to our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds to get the very latest news as it happens.

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The story to here

October 12: Two 2022 Ford Ranger prototypes have landed in Australia, with one wearing minimal camouflage.

It’s the first time the next-generation Ranger has been spotted on local soil wearing Ford’s new blue and white digital camo, but thanks to a popped bonnet, we can see the ute’s real colour appears to be Saber Orange – an iconic colour of the Wildtrak variant.

Adding further weight to the thought we’re looking at a Ranger Wildtrak is the ‘sail plane’ valance extending from the rear window – a trademark of the variant – together with roof rails, side steps, and fog lights.

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Perhaps more perplexing is what’s under the bonnet. The location of the battery, dipstick, and a number of other components suggest the engine could be the current model’s 3.2-litre turbo-diesel five-cylinder – widely rumoured to be axed in the new Ranger.

Exactly what engine options are powering the 2022 Ford Ranger will soon be revealed, with the ute’s unveiling set to occur before the end of the year.

With the arrival of these prototypes, expect Ford to be taking them out on the road in the coming days and weeks – complete with QR codes printed on the side – so keep an eye out and remember to tag us at @4x4australiamag on Instagram.

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October 21: More teaser images of the 2022 Ford Ranger have been released by the Blue Oval – along with a new promotional video – but it’s unofficial spy photos that are providing us with our best look at the all-new ute.

As Ford gears up for the launch of the new-generation Ranger later this year, photos of the vehicle continue to be drip-fed, as the company demonstrates the lengths gone to ensure the vehicle will be ready when it enters the highly-competitive ute market.

The car company says the Ranger has driven 10,000 kilometres through desert conditions, 625,000km of off-road driving at maximum load, and the equivalent of 1.25 million kilometres of “customer driving”.

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These spy photos, taken in Thailand and posted on a Facebook enthusiasts’ group this week, offer us a much better look at what we can expect when the ute eventually lands in local dealerships.

The images provide an unobscured look at the Ranger’s front-end on two different variants, with black trim and chrome trim (the latter wrapped in camouflage) as well as previewing some new wheel designs.

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The story to here

October 13: Images have been posted online showing the 2022 Ford Ranger wearing its all-new digital camouflage.

The photos, taken on the ground in Thailand and posted on the Kurdistan Automotive Blog Instagram account, show the Ranger’s front-end in detail – showing off the ute’s new C-shaped LED headlights and split grille.

While the next-generation Ranger – and eventually the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok – will be built by Ford at its Silverton plant in South Africa, the outgoing Ranger continues to be manufactured in Thailand.

The original story continues unchanged below.

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October 7: A new video has provided the best look yet at the 2022 Ford Ranger, complete with a unique wrap.

Ford teased the next-generation Ranger in a video released to show off a new digital camouflage, used to help hide the ute’s design ahead of its final unveiling before the end of the year.

The livery – which incorporates a QR code that links to the Ranger website – was created by Ford designer Lee Imrie, and took up to two months to develop and test.

“We were asked to develop a camouflage that allowed you to clearly see that this is the next-generation Ranger, but not see it at the same time,” said Leigh Cosentino, Design Manager at Ford Australia.

The shape of the rear-lights can be easily seen in an accompanying image, along with a shark-fin antenna, black steel tube sports bar, and a uniquely-shaped tailgate.

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As confirmed in the first teaser video released earlier this month, the design of the Ranger has evolved since Wheels published exclusive leaked photos of the ute in February 2019, with the headlights and bonnet being the most obvious changes.

Under the bonnet, the next-gen ute is expected to offer 2.0-litre single- and twin-turbo diesel four-cylinder engines found in the current model, but there’s been much speculation as to what we can expect at the upper-end of the Ranger line-up.

As the all-new Ranger will be offered in the US, Ford quietly removed its 3.0-litre Power Stroke turbo-diesel V6 from the F-150 range in July, potentially to help differentiate the two utes.

The Power Stroke engine also makes sense, considering the 2023 Volkswagen Amarok will be based on the Ranger and Volkswagen is likely to insist on offering a diesel V6 in its model.

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Sources out of the US have also pointed to a 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V6 – borrowed from the US-market Ford Explorer ST performance SUV – as the engine of choice for the new Ranger Raptor.

Recent spy photos show the Ranger-based Ford Everest SUV being tested with a rotary gear shift dial and electric parking brake switch, with the technology possibly being shared with high-end Ranger variants.

Keep an eye out for any utes driving around in your local area with the striking digital camouflage livery, as company engineers are said to be conducting “final sign-off drives” on the 2022 Ford Ranger ahead of its unveiling.