NISSAN has dropped the curtains to tease its all-new, body-on-frame Terra SUV, which is set to rival the likes of Ford’s Everest.

Information at this stage is scarce, with Nissan confirming more complete specifications and data will be available in April, 2018.

What we do know is that the Terra, the first vehicle to launch under the company’s mid-term plan – Nissan M.O.V.E to 2022 – is set for a spring (March-June) premiere in China.

“I’m very pleased to announce that the all-new Nissan Terra will soon arrive in China,” Ashwani Gupta, senior vice president for Nissan’s frame and LCV business, said. “This rugged SUV is practical, authentic, and designed to go anywhere.

“The Nissan Terra goes on sale this spring, first in China, with other Asian markets soon to follow.”

Due to a boom of the LCV segment, Nissan views its frame and LCV business division – comprising of SUVS, utes, vans and light-duty trucks – as critical to the success of its ongoing sales growth.

In fact, in January this year, the LCV segment in Australia saw sales increase by 20.3 per cent overall compared to January 2017. In particular, 4×4 LCV sales were up a substantial 26.6 per cent.

“Nissan’s frame and LCV business is seeing steady growth, and with our ambitious midterm plan and growing product lineup, we’re confident that this growth will continue,” Gupta said.

“It is an exciting time for Nissan. We have the Nissan Terra arriving soon, the award-winning Nissan Navara is now in 133 markets worldwide, and more drivers are purchasing our LCVs around the world.”

Globally, Nissan reached a total of 907,929 frame and LCV sales in 2017, a seven per cent increase on 2016.

When asked of its arrival in Australia, Tony Mee, Nissan Australia’s Corporate Communications Manager, said: “Nissan is excited to announce the forthcoming arrival of the new Terra SUV. This new SUV model is scheduled for initial release in China, and selected Asian markets, and is currently not planned for Australia or New Zealand.”

Stay tuned to 4X4 Australia for more information on the Terra.

Chris Kyval has an effective philosophy about setting up his four-wheel drive: always utilise the available air space.

It has helped him and wife Thelma create a home away from home in their TroopCarrier, which features some very clever, but ultimately simple modifications. The 78 Series proved ideal for a two-and-a-half-month, 17,000km expedition to Australia’s most distant parts.

“Our main hobby when we travel is taking lots of photos,” Thelma says, recalling that journey from Gippsland, Victoria, up through NSW, then through South Australia via the Birdsville Track and up to WA, along the Gibb River Road, into Broome and Cape Leveque, then home along the Tanami.

“We ended up going up over to Marree and we went via the Birdsville Track, and we saw a beautiful sunset. There was a road plant that had been parked – trucks and graders – and there was a red sunset silhouette. Although it was machinery, it was so beautiful.”

The Tojo had had two previous owners. It was originally a Britz hire car and was then owned by a guy who used it in his business for auditory hearing testing before Chris bought it from him three years ago. A television, DVD player and sound system were already in place, installed by the previous owner. The headphones painted on the side of the Troopie are also a leftover from that owner.

“I thought I’d leave that on because it looked different,” Chris says. “I simply put a smiley face in.”

He left the engine alone, too: “A lot of Troopies have turbo-diesel, but I find it’s fine without the turbo. I’ve got everywhere I’ve wanted in it and I get very good fuel economy – two 75-litre tanks and I get exactly 600 kilometres per tank. I drive quietly.”

The only problem he’s had was a broken driveshaft, which was replaced by a standard-issue unit. Instead of major mechanical changes, he put his time and effort into the interior.

“There’s a lot of air space wasted in a vehicle, so what I did was use available air space and elastic clips to tie down things like paper towel, fly spray and personal insect repellent,” he says.

“Inside the back wall of the Troopie we made a cargo net out of straps and we were able to put in bulky items like coats, hats and umbrellas. Once again, it didn’t take up any usable space, it was at the very back wall when you climbed into the Troopie, where it’s very quick to get to. Without that you’d have to fill up a couple of wardrobes and containers.”

The Waeco fridge is a feature of the kitchen, which also includes a sink and a number of drawers and storage areas, cleverly created by Chris.

“Chris did lots of work because he has marvellous inspiration for those sorts of things,” Thelma says.

A kitchen-bench lid covers the cutlery. Chris says: “Under the lid I put these clips to attach the wooden spoon, spatula and a pair of tongs, and that also used up that air space.”

Chris put a mirror on the inside of the back door. By opening the door, there’s ample space to stand in front of the glass to do your hair.

“And sometimes, when we get to a township where I want to put a bit of lippie on or something, it’s nice to have a mirror,” says Thelma.

She applied her own handiwork skills to make pillows and handgrips in matching material. “The bed cushions, which are part of the seating arrangement first, are then laid flat and make a bed. I made the covers for those and I made an extra pillow that goes in the front seat on the door side – an extra cushion for extra comfort.

“I made a padded handgrip over the handrail where the passenger holds on just above the glovebox. I found that when it’s bumpy, it’s good to have something like that to hold onto.”

Velcro seems to be one of Chris’s favourite materials. He has used it throughout the cabin to attach useful objects so they’re always there when he needs them.

Both Thelma and Chris have their head lamps attached within reach of their seats. “They were always there, very safe, secure and no rattles,” says Chris.

He also attached a bottle of window cleaner by Velcro so it is always on hand. “I filled up this pump-action window cleaner, attached a strip of Velcro to it and another strip on the transmission tunnel near the floor and it’s always there; it never moved. Each morning I’d get my little cloth and clear the windscreen, have a fresh start.” And it can be so easy to misplace your tyre gauge without a good system.

“I put a bit of Velcro just underneath my water bottle, just inside the door behind the driver’s head, and a bit of Velcro on the tyre gauge,” Chris says. “It’s very convenient. Each morning I just pull it off and check the tyres.”

Chris used pushbike technology and screwed bicycle water-bottle holders above the driver and passenger doors. “They were screwed to the pillar, out of the way, using up air space again, and when you’re driving along you have your water right there,” Chris says.

With everything working well inside the box, Chris only needed to play around the edges of the Troopie’s mechanicals. First came suspension.

“Anyone who thinks they can make do with old suspension is really deluding themselves,” he says. “It’s an item in a vehicle that takes a punishing, especially in a 4X4. You don’t get so fatigued, it’s safer, more comfortable and tyres last longer.

“I have Pedders’ Trak Ryder shockers – they are top-of-the-range shock absorbers and I wanted to improve the handling. I also put in rear air bags; you can raise or lower the suspension. If you have a lot of weight in the back you can make the vehicle level. Once they were put on, it just drove like a new car – it made a huge difference.”

Until recently, Chris stuck with the standard split rims. On that last trip, he copped five flats and had no trouble removing the tyres and repairing the inner tubes, but when he came home he decided on a set of Sunraysias so he could go with tubeless rubber.

“The advantage of the tubeless is that if you get a slow leak all you need to do is pump it up or find the hole and insert a temporary plug until you get to the service station and have it done correctly.

“I went for Goodyear Wrangler tyres – there was a little trick with this, too. I bought the Wranglers made in America because the compound is superior to the ones made in other, third-world countries. Also, the Wranglers have what they call Silent Armor, a Kevlar material that helps prevent punctures.”

The bullbar was on the Toyota when Chris bought it, but it was winchless. At first, that wasn’t a worry, but their second expedition made the couple reassess their entire recovery set-up.

“What made us change a couple of things was when we went to Cameron Corner, the border crossing between South Australia, NSW and Queensland,” Chris says. “We camped on the side of the road one night and it started to rain. The next day the roads were very difficult to drive on.”

The police, in the process of closing the roads, gave them permission to retrace their steps towards Broken Hill, but it was a hairy drive. “We were very lucky to get through because we were slipping on the muddy, unsealed roads, so I decided when I got home I would fit a 3.5-tonne electric winch.”

Chris also added a Lan-Cor ground anchor to the kit, alongside straps, a snatch block and rated shackles. Luckily, they didn’t need this equipment during the dry season on their Gibb River Road trip, but they’re well prepared for the next downpour.

“When you go off the beaten track you are very vulnerable so you need to have yourself and the vehicle as fully prepared as possible so as not to rely on other people,” Chris says. “We have helped other people and when you ask, ‘Where’s your jumper leads?’ and they say, ‘We haven’t got any,’ it’s not really appreciated. You need to help yourself first.”

Lessons learned from experience go as far as carrying water, too. With the ongoing drought it’s no longer a case of just filling up the jerry cans with an endless free supply of the clear stuff. Thelma and Chris developed a new approach to water conservation they shared with many of the travellers they met along the road.

“The Troopie has a 45-litre water tank, but what we have as an emergency in the air space behind the passenger seat is a 10-litre jerry can for water,” Chris says. “We went into one town – Tibooburra, in NSW – and filled up with fuel. We said we needed water, but they didn’t have any to give. We realised then we are going to have to be more careful with the water.

“One of the things we discovered on the Gibb River trip was because water was so scarce we didn’t use our shower, as the pump used too much water. A better system was to just do a flannel wash and then with a soft-drink bottle of water pour it over your head to rinse. It saved a lot of water.”

The Troopie has been a perfect vehicle for Thelma and Chris, who’ve chalked up uncounted memories from the places it has taken them. They’ve enjoyed helicopter flights over Lake Eyre, eaten barramundi in the Gulf country, camped beside the Pentecost River at El Questro, in the Kimberley, seen the Ground Zero Obelisk, west of Coober Pedy, where the atomic bombs were detonated, and much, much more.

They’ve even been caught in a major dust storm. “It was an adventure!” Thelma says. “It’s just being out in nature and having the clear sky with the stars and the sunrises and the sunsets. I think anyone would be in awe of those.”

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Chris Kyval’s 4×4 Equipment Tips

Chris has thought long and hard about his recovery gear to ensure he gives himself every possible chance to avoid getting stuck in the middle of nowhere. Here’s what he uses.

– 3.5-tonne bullbar-mounted electric winch – Lan-Cor ground anchor – Air compressor – Snatch strap, winch extension strap, snatch blocks, shackles – Battery charger – Tyre repair tools – Two inner tubes (or plugs for fixing tubeless tyres) – An exhaust jack – Two mechanical jacks: “Sometimes when you get a flat tyre and it’s down low you can’t get the first jack under,” Chris says. “So you get one under in not the best position but just enough to raise it, then you slip the other one under.” – Two wooden base plates for the jacks: “It gets you a better platform to work on.” – Jumper leads for the battery: “Instead of putting them in the toolbox, I have a system where they are fastened underneath the bonnet. It keeps them where I need them and it’s using up air space. I’m utilising clips there that hold the two batteries.” – Basic tool box of spanners and screwdrivers – Test light to check for electrical faults – Things like duct tape, wire fuses, spare fan belt, radiator hoses – A reserve of water and food: “We never touched it but we knew it was there in case we had to hole up for a few days.” – Satellite phone, UHF and GPS – A list of telephone numbers with family, contacts, and also emergency services: “When you drive along there are big signs with warnings and saying, ‘If in trouble these are the numbers to ring’. Must make sure you write those numbers down.”

SHIFTING to a new residence seems like a never-ending process.

Even months after the last empty box has been flattened, there are still holes in walls to be plastered, light fittings to replace and outdoor settings to purchase … a predicament I was recently in during a two-week hiatus from 4X4 HQ.

So with a list of jobs in hand, a last-minute phone call was made to Isuzu, where a 2017 D-MAX LS-T Crew Cab 4×4 was locked in for transporter duties. The range-topping, special edition fourbie also gave me the perfect excuse to get off the beaten track for a day or two … or three.

The LS-T utilises Isuzu’s updated 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that’s good for 130kW and 430Nm – more than enough grunt to shift an outdoor table and six chairs – and it meets strict Euro 5 emissions standards thanks to the addition of a diesel particulate filter. The LS-T can only be had with an automatic transmission; in this case, a slick-shifting six-speeder.

Unladen, the LS-T rides smoothly, with the front coils and rear leafs providing well-sorted and comfortable travel. With a load on board, the 4×4 remains glued to the tarmac and the steering precise and positive.

The tray measures 1485mm long by 1530mm wide, with an 1105mm distance between the wheelhouses, and there are four tie-down hooks, which meant loading and unloading equipment was a cinch. A payload capacity of 924kg and a class-leading towing capacity of 3500kg didn’t hinder performance, either.

The LS-T didn’t only serve delivery duties, as we diverted from oft-used tracks and pointed it toward harder-to-reach destinations. Only a few months prior I’d ventured to Fraser Island for the Isuzu I-Venture trip, so the capabilities of the D-MAX were already well-learned – it handled everything the world’s largest sand island could throw at it, so what hope did a few off-road trails near Melbourne have of unsettling it?

It didn’t take long to familiarise myself with Isuzu’s user-friendly Terrain Command 4WD select dial, which allows the driver to flick between 2WD-high, 4WD-high and 4WD-low. Flicking it to four-low is as simple as stopping, shifting to neutral, rotating the select dial and waiting for engagement.

The lack of a rear diff-lock would undoubtedly become obvious on the toughest trails this side of the Vic High Country, but on the tracks in and around Cobaw, 80-odd kays north-west of Melbourne, the LS-T battled on without incident. Its off-road nous is aided by decent angles: Approach (30.0), Departure (22.7) and Rampover (22.4). The LS-T also has 235mm of ground clearance and a wading depth of 600mm.

The LS-T interior is spacious and a pleasant place to be, highlighted by well-appointed leather – a benefit of opting for the range-topper. However, the centre stack layout and touchscreen controls are still in urgent need of a makeover. The LS-T also features a proximity key for entry and 18-inch alloy wheels.

The LS-Terrain, available with a six-speed automatic gearbox only, carries a RRP of $54,200. The LS-U Crew (manual) retails from $44,990; the LS-M Crew (manual) from $40,990; and the SX Crew (manual) from $38,990.

It’s funny. The big things you think will stand out, often don’t. It’s the details that make for a strange experience.

So it was with my friend Irina Zenina’s first visit to Australia. If the name’s not a giveaway, Irina’s Russian. She’s originally from a city called Severodvinsk – so far north that in summer the sun sets after midnight and in winter barely shows its face at all – but today she calls the beautiful city of St Petersburg home. It’s a world away from the outback in every way.

Now, we think of Australia as a big place. It’s the sixth-largest country but you’d have to add the fourth-largest, China, to our landmass to match the size of Russia. That probably explains why she was completely unfazed by the fact that we’d left a quiet little hamlet called Guerilla Bay, on the NSW south coast, and driven west all day, past the nation’s capital, without leaving the state.

Russia does vast open plains every bit as well as Australia. The drive from St Petersburg to Severodvinsk, on the Northern Dvina River, takes 17 hours, much of it on single-carriageway across pine-forested taiga.

With the Murrumbidgee occasionally glinting through twilit trees off to our right, a quilt of open land to the left and little but Adelaide-bound trucks for company, the drive along the Sturt Highway felt familiar to her in the dark.

Highway to Hell blared from the speakers (“Da, I love AC/DC!”) and night rolled rapidly across the plains as we approached Hay. Fatigue and the fear of roos in the dark dictated we would stop here for the night and as Irina looked out of the window at the trees, she said: “This could be Russia because you can’t see what the trees are.”

Much stranger to her were the warm winter days and the instant chill when the sun went down. Another big thing she found familiar was the 200 Series LandCruiser we were cruising in. The twin-turbo-diesel fourbie is as popular in Russia as it is here, and with diesel at just 28 roubles (84 cents) a litre there, it’s even more attractive. But sitting on the left without a steering wheel to hold freaked her out.

Later, a brief drive on the one-way dirt track around Mungo confirmed her opinion that “right-hand-drive cars are crazy”. Still, I couldn’t help but smile when she said: “This car, it’s for mafia.”

The next morning’s hike took us into Balranald, where something that’s a little trickier to explain surprised her – Aborigines. Actually, it makes perfect sense. You just have to look at it through her eyes.

The only images of Aborigines she’d ever seen in Russia were your typical tourism promo fare: didgeridoos, traditional dances, body-paint. Bumping into them in modern clothing, doing the weekly shop in the supermarket simply didn’t line up with the propaganda. And then, finally, we were off the tar and on the dirt. Yet another surprise. It wasn’t an endless vista of red sand.

Even in a bad year, this kind of outback terrain is alive – saltbush, lizards, birds, kangaroos and goats. But after the rain we’ve ‘enjoyed’ for the past couple of seasons, it was much greener than usual. Well, not green to Russian eyes.

That washed-out eucalypt olive drab that does such a wonderful job of hiding roos and emus. While the rain has put plenty of food on the table for the wildlife, you don’t always see it.

By all accounts, kangaroo numbers are way up yet we saw very few. The rain has allowed them to stray away from the most reliable sources of water and into more remote corners. Emus, on the other hand, were prolific. Drinking from puddles and running wildly across the road in front of us.

The same pattern was repeated everywhere we went. It was a shame, as I’d hoped to be able to show Irina vast mobs of roos. Then again, there wasn’t the usual suicide brigades lining the roads so she was spared the road toll that outback travel can often provide. And that was definitely a blessing.

At the main campsite, pitching our tent under a tree, the wildlife we’d been looking for finally came to us. A small kangaroo — possibly with a joey in her pouch — came to graze right next to us.

Neither particularly inquisitive nor afraid in the least, she stopped for a while before demonstrating the huge bounds her breed are capable of, lazily loping across to a new feeding spot. Irina was transfixed, grinning like a child at Christmas.

There isn’t big wildlife like this that you can get close to in Russia. Deer perhaps, but they’re impossible to get near. Despite what some Russians might tell you, Irina assured me that wolves and bears wandering through town are only slightly more common than drop bears.

Walking from our campsite to the toilets, our neighbours called out a friendly ‘hello’. I replied and we walked on. A safe distance away, she asked: “Do you know them?” “No.” “Then why they say ‘hello’?” “Just being friendly.” “In Russia, camping not like this.”

In Russia, you go camping in a group. There could be 20 of you, and you stick to yourselves. Other groups are avoided if possible and ignored if not. Building a huge campfire is mandatory as is singing songs around it. The concepts of not being allowed to collect firewood in a National Park and fire bans was hard to explain.

In the morning, everything came together perfectly. The weather was beautiful, Weet-Bix turned out to be an exciting new breakfast adventure and then we drove to the sand dunes at Vigars Well. Irina fell in love. We parked and clambered up onto the dune.

We could have been the only people on earth, though a kangaroo had tracked up and down another dune, hopping across the flat in between. We tried – and failed – to match its distance, took photos of everything and Irina asked: “Can we camp here?” I wished I could tell her something other than that we were restricted to the campsite. Then again, what would it be like if you could just camp where you liked? It’d be like Russia.

The warm day brought up one of those other little details of the outback. In Russia there’s an expression for someone who’s lazy – sleepy fly. As we watched a red fox trot through the grass at Lake Leaghur, it was a native creature that caught Irina’s attention. “These flies not sleepy,” she laughed. “This is busy fly!”

The wet weather had increased the numbers of flies and it affected our trip in other ways too. At Hay it’d brought the river up and other towns had flooded. Further along, we’d hoped to visit Murray-Sunset NP but much of it was closed so we were heading to Menindee instead. Problem was, part of the road had been washed out between there and Pooncarie, so we had to cross the Darling River lower down and head up the other side.

Somewhere on this drive we had a moment of real sadness. A tiny bird went up against the windscreen at 100km/h and lost. Irina was genuinely grief-stricken. Not only has she never killed anything in her time behind the wheel, she was horrified at the number of dead animals we saw. “Road kill,” I explained. “We haven’t it in Russia,” she declared.

Stopping at the Pooncarie Hotel for lunch, almost everything shocked Irina. For one thing, Russia has a zero alcohol drink-drive law and for another, the sausage roll was a previously unknown (and subsequently unwelcome) delicacy. And then a gentleman who was politely preventing the bar from falling over attempted to engage Irina in conversation.

“They don’t make ’em like you in Mildura,” he proffered in a thick drawl that ended in a laugh. I tried to convince her that it was a compliment but it didn’t survive translation. Still, he gamely pushed on. “Russia? That’s down at the bottom of the world, eh?” “No,” the barman corrected. “We’re at the bottom. Russia is at the top.” “Yeah … but the world goes ’round.” I looked at the barman. He looked at me. Who was going to try? “It doesn’t go ’round that way. Russia stays at the top.” “Yeah but … ” The argument petered out.

We found our way across the Darling, which was still teasingly suggesting that the only ‘plan’ needed was how to deal with all the floodwater, and then onto a new high-grade dirt road. The quality of the track and the total absence of other traffic made for rapid progress.

Water glinted in the distance, suggesting huge flood lakes and when we hit the Silver City Highway it was the same, with water almost up to the road. Pulled over for a rest, I commented to a driver headed the other way that I’d never seen it like this, and I’ve driven the road a fair few times. “I’ve been driving between Mildura and Broken Hill for more than 40 years,” came the reply, “and I’ve never seen it like this either.”

Back on the road, Irina’s question wasn’t about the weather. “Who broke the hill?” My reply started to stray into Emperor Nasi Goreng territory so I had to admit I just didn’t know.

Handily, the tourist info centre in the town did, but that wasn’t until later. Before then, I made the decision to introduce Irina to an icon of Aussie cinema – Silverton and the roads once patrolled by Max Rockatansky. She’d never seen Mad Max (or Mad Max II) but she was very excited by the Silverton Hotel. “You could make a film here!” she said. Inside we saw all the production photos lining the walls.

Back in Broken Hill, we picked up some more info, made a phone call and booked ourselves on a guided tour of Mutawintji National Park the next day.

Getting there was the only time the satnav let us down. We’d gotten used to the charming female voice telling us to “at the roundabout take the second exit” so obediently, we bore right when she said so. We knew it was wrong. The sandy track we’d been on was wide and well-travelled; the one we were turning onto was overgrown and narrow.

Thirteen kilometres later, instinct proved correct. The road simply ended. More annoyingly, from the map it looked like we were no more that 3km from where we wanted to be.

On the upside, when we got there, the showers at the campground were hot and there was plenty of wildlife on hand. A burly roo made it clear this was his turf, while a few others took a more sharing approach. Emus wandered through, seemingly oblivious to the fact that we weren’t other emus. Intermittently, flocks of ‘carrots’ flew squabbling overhead and all through the night they woke up to continue the debate.

Not that we minded; though it was colder here, the brilliance of the Milky Way made a midnight wake-up welcome and we watched satellites plot their way around the earth while a handful of shooting stars flashed by.

The tour of the Aboriginal rock art at Mutawintji was a highlight and told us about much more of the culture, from the native ‘lemon grass’ and how to cook underground, to seasonal hunting rules, early contact with white explorers and great 260-million-year-old fossil footprints.

Another day, another walk, this time to Mutawintji Gorge. You can always find water there apparently, though you’d have to be pretty desperate to drink from the stagnant pools we found. That probably had something to do with the bands of goats whose bleating echoed around as they leapt away from us, up the rocky walls of the gorge.

Lazy days relaxing in the bush are hard to give up but we had a good reason to hit the road again – flights north, to dive the Barrier Reef. So when the sun had dried the dew from the tent, we packed up and headed east.

Around 4.30 in the afternoon, as we cruised in on the arrow-straight road towards Nyngan, Irina fell asleep in the passenger seat. In the rear-view mirror, an orange blaze lit up the curving horizon and above the tar, a swirl of wedge-tailed eagles and crows spanned like a miniature tornado before settling back to their evening meal.

I didn’t wake her. It wasn’t the magnificent sunset setting fire to the plain that would have stood out to her Russian eye. The devil is in the details, after all.

Guerilla Bay

If you’re looking for a relaxing weekend away from Sydney or Canberra, this little place is perfect.

Roughly halfway between Batemans Bay and Moruya, it’s a quiet spot with mostly private houses and a few rentals hidden among the trees. Two little beaches offer you the choice between swimming or diving, maybe even bit of surf if you’re lucky.

Head inland, and there’s Deua National Park to explore, which offers a wealth of real off-roading with super-steep climbs and river crossings, as well as more gentle treks, camping, bushwalking, swimming and caving. Alternatively, round out a weekend’s 4X4 fun at Deua with a swim at the bay before you head home.

What Irina Says….

Before travelling here, I thought Australia was small and only desert and kangaroos.

At Lake Mungo, I realised the Australian desert is unusual; it’s endless expanses of small shrubs, weird trees, exciting and ever-changing landscapes and many different animals. And this lake? It’s shaped like a huge saucer for tea.

I also remember a strange thing for Russians; in Australia everyone loves camping. We stayed several days at the lake and I was surprised how many people were travelling. And you constantly talk to each other, and ask: “How’re things?” I was very surprised. Ha, ha, you can communicate with the animals too. On the first evening, when we decided to stop and put the tent up, kangaroos came to see us. Oh, and the Milky Way! We watched the night sky for a long time at Mutawintji.

When we went to look at the rock art, I got suntanned. That’s strange for winter. In Russia, winter is winter. Not far away we went for a walk along the gorge, in a very beautiful place. There I saw goats and a stone fell on my foot. Now I have a small scar to remind me but it’s good. Travelling to Australia, I had an unforgettable experience, and back home I recall the trip with new emotions, which I never had before.

Travel Planner

GETTING THERE Lake Mungo is 150km from Balranald or 110km from Mildura. Good unsealed roads in dry weather but access may be closed due to rain. Mutawintji is 109km from Broken Hill. Mainly good tracks with some loose, sandy sections. Access to Mutawintji Historic Site is only available with a guide — contact Tri State Tours 08 8088 2389 to book.

CAMPING Fees apply at both sites ($5/adult/night). Lake Mungo main camp has toilets, Mutawintji Homestead Creek has toilets and showers. Both have picnic tables, barbecues and fireplaces but bring your own firewood.

WHAT TO BRING Drinking water, camp shower for Mungo. Fuel and groceries available at Mildura or Balranald if travelling south to north, or at Broken Hill if heading south.

MAPS AND GUIDES Free maps are available at Mungo NP Contact NSW Parks & Wildlife on 1300 361 967 or 02 9995 5550, or visit www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au.

Built around a Suzuki Jimny and powered by that vehicle’s standard 1.3-litre petrol engine, it’s only when you clamber over the tall sides of the vehicle – sorry, boat – that you have any inkling that this little amphibian, called a Platypus, is, or was, a Suzuki.

This article was originally published in 4×4 Australia’s August 2010 issue

Built by Ozamphibian, based in Tara, Queensland, this example we found was playing in the Murray River, far removed from its normal haunt of Moreton Bay.

The standard Suzuki chassis has been encased in a fibreglass hull, so while the outside of the vehicle may be completely unique, the interior is standard Jimny. There is only an extra lever to contend with and that is to engage the custom-made Hamilton-style water jet drive.

The power to drive the jet comes off the transfer box, while steering in the water is still via the front wheels – it seems to work surprisingly well. A twin propeller arrangement can be fitted if a customer orders a craft that is destined to spend long periods in the water. Twin props aid economy but reduce speed.

All up weight is 1100kg and, being a boat of sorts, it does have a bilge pump capable of pumping around 3785 litres an hour, if needs be. Top speed on land is over 100km/h, but the off-road ability is not quite as good as the original Jimny. On water the craft has a top speed of seven knots, or around 12-13km/h.

The Platypus has a surprising amount of freeboard, and from what we could see, as it was tested in a two-metre swell, it handled the tough conditions with aplomb. There is also a rough water version that, when the hatches are closed, takes on the qualities of a small submarine.

Now, if you want to get afloat in something a little different, or for more information on the Platypus, contact Sean O’Donnell, phone (07) 4669 4022.

OZAMPHIBIAN PLATYPUS SPECS: Vehicle: 2005 Suzuki Jimny Owner: Sean O’Donnell

POWERTRAIN Engine type: M13AVVT, 1328cc inline-4 Engine mods: Stock Power: 62.5kW at 6000rpm Torque: 110Nm at 4100rpm Transmission: Five-speed manual

SUSPENSION Front: Suzuki three-link rigid axle, gas/oil dampers and uprated heavy-duty replacement coil springs Rear: Suzuki three-link rigid axle, gas/oil dampers and uprated heavy-duty replacement coil springs

WHEELS & TYRES 205/70R15 factory steel rims with Bridgestone Dueler H/Ts

EXTERIOR MODS Composite fibreglass hull encasing original Jimny chassis. No doors. Rear drums converted to disc brakes. Diff breathers extended through hull. Transfer case double sealed on wet side. Handbrake internalised with own caliper. Headlights sealed beams and waterproofed. Low maintenance diffs and underside metal parts all anti-corrosion treated. Exhaust run to clear of the water.

INTERIOR MODS Standard Suzuki Jimny, apart from Jet drive engagement lever. Aircon retained as is the CD player.

PRICE Standard version takes around three months to build and costs $55,000 ex GST. Custom orders are easily accommodated.

THE FIRST lot of Mercedes-Benz X-Class utes have arrived in Australia, ahead of its local launch in April this year.

A total of 35 brand-new X-Class utes rolled onto the port in Melbourne earlier this week, before being loaded onto trucks for delivery.

Eagle-eyed Wheels magazine reader, Wayne Renfrew, snapped the pic near Merc’s Australian HQ in Melbourne.

Speaking to Wheels magazine, Merc’s PR and Corporate Communications Manager, Blake Vincent, said: “From now until the vehicles launch in April brand-new X-Classes will come into ports all around Australia before the X-Class opens for sale to the public.”

The X-Class will initially be available with the choice of two 2.3-litre, four-cylinder engines as used in the Nissan Navara, but with fettled engine mounts and control software courtesy of Mercedes-Benz.

Three performance variants – Pure, Progressive and Power – will be offered, with the entry-level Pure X220d the only 4×4 model to utilise the single-turbo X220d engine. All the others in the range get an extra turbo, as well as the option of a six-speed manual or seven-speed auto transmission.

Those after the V6 diesel-powered 190kW/550Nm X350d will have to wait until at least mid-2018, with Merc utilising its own engine and seven-speed transmission.

We drove the X-Class X250d Stateside, and we’ll have an Australian review as soon as it’s launched locally.

2018 Mercedes-Benz X-Class ute pricing

*All prices shown are manufactures list and do not include extras.

While you may not have heard of the Nambung National Park, you’ve undoubtedly heard of its main natural attraction, the Pinnacles.

This article was originally published in 4×4 Australia’s September 2012 issue

But there’s plenty more to the Nambung NP than this moonscape must-see. Nambung NP is about 200km north of Perth and can be reached via the coastal Wanneroo Road and Indian Ocean Drive. With glimpses of blue water, this drive provides a scenic route through to Cervantes.

We chose to head up the inland Brand Highway to check out some spots around Gingin, about 83km north of Perth. With a long history of agriculture, Gingin is a developing hot-spot for wine and olives, adding to the quality local beef and other regional produce.

Gingin is just off the Brand Highway and built on the Gingin Brook that rises from springs not far from town. Here you can savour an excellent lunch overlooking the beautiful Granville Park where there’s a replica of the waterwheel from the original Cheriton flour mill. The wheel normally serves the fountain, and is turned by the Gingin brook passing through the park, but when we visited, it was being repaired.

Across the road you’ll find the Pioneer Pavilion and the Jim Gordon Victoria Cross Trail that commemorates one of Gingin’s bravest sons who was one of only 20 Australians awarded a Victoria Cross medal for gallantry in World War II.

The trail’s boardwalk winds under a canopy of venerable old paperbarks and through ferns and lilies. Even after a long hot summer, pools of water remain and the wetlands remain lush and green. The township also has some interesting colonial buildings dating from the 1880s.

One house caught our eye: beautifully crafted from local stone circa 1887 it remains a private dwelling – eight solar panels on the roof confirmed it was still a very much lived-in home.

On nearby Gingin Brook Road is West Coast Honey, the home of Kuyan Apiaries, the largest beekeeping business in Western Australia with a history that dates back over a hundred years. The shop has a beehive hanging from the roof where you can watch bees busily coming and going, going about their work.

Further down Gingin Brook Road towards the coast you’ll find Military Road and the Gingin Discovery Centre and Observatory.

The observatory, complete with a fully retractable roof, houses five telescopes, including the largest in Australia available to the public. Two stargazing sessions are run in the evenings and you can book online at ginginobservatory.com. Although it’s relatively close to Perth, the Gingin Observatory is little affected by light or air pollution and offers a quality stargazing experience.

Meanwhile, the Discovery Centre provides a couple of hours of ‘edu-tainment’ even for big kids. Science is made cool by plenty of hands-on exhibits that show gravity at work and explain how the universe was formed. You can test your strength on the magnetic pole, listen to a drum through the sound coil, and test your weight on different planets – discover on which planet you will weigh the less after find a big lunch.

Nearby short bushwalks are detailed on a leaflet available at the centre. The tracks meander through paperbarks, white myrtles and past a tall grass tree estimated to be 400 years old. During wildflower season purple flags, enamel orchids, fringe lilies and many more colourful natives are on bright display.

Outside the centre is the 45-metre tall Leaning Tower of Gingin. Inspired by the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which tilts at a 5.5 degrees, the Gingin tower has a much more precarious 15 degree slant, although all safely anchored by 180 tons of concrete.

Armed with water balloons available from the ticket booth, you can climb up to enjoy a breezy view across to the Darling Scarp. Dropping the balloons filled with varying amounts of water provides the opportunity to test whether heavier objects fall faster than those that are lighter.

After filling our minds with fascinating facts that were likely to be fast forgotten, it was time to make camp for the night.

Accommodation in the area is primarily caravan parks or B&Bs rather than bush camping. There are caravan parks at most of the coastal communities including Guilderton, Ledge Point, Lancelin and Cervantes, and farm-stay caravan parks are also a popular choice.

Beach-camping is discouraged; patrolling rangers have been known to dish out heavy fines. The coastal parks are windy more often than not and lightweight tents are regular victims that end up in caravan-park bins rather than making it home. Try to pitch camp with any canvas between sheltering vehicles and ask the caravan park operators for the best way to angle your site.

Saturday was our 4X4 play day. From Lancelin to Cervantes it’s all about sand, sea and more sand. Your options are to drive up the smooth bitumen between the two fishing communities and head down to beautiful beaches that are accessible without a 4X4. Or drive along the beach all the way taking regular breaks to fish, swim, wind-surf or kite-surf.

The beach, however, can be an unforgiving as it is steeply angled in many parts and always soft. As a popular destination, particularly on long weekends and holiday periods, the sand can be churned up by a multitude of 4X4s and not everyone has the sense to lower their tyre pressures to minimise the damage to the beach or their vehicle.

To make your day out a good one don’t travel the beach alone, make sure you check when high tide occurs and always carry plenty of sand recovery equipment.

The Lancelin sand dunes are big enough for hundreds of people to play on and you’ll find 4X4s, sandboards, motorbikes and dune buggies all competing for a bit of the action.

Sandboarding is a fabulous way to wear out even the most hyperactive of children. Coming down the dunes is a blast, regulating your speed by just digging in your hands for instant braking. But climbing repeatedly back up the dunes is a lot tougher and is guaranteed to encourage huge appetites and the need to hit the swag very early.

Rangers monitor the area quite closely to ensure all vehicles are registered, at least for off-road use, and to minimise any dangerous behavior. The main entrance to the dunes is just past the Lancelin shopping area but access is also possible from other points along the coast.

The Wedge Island shack community, 30km north of Lancelin, is an interesting piece of history. The shacks date back to the 1950s and are currently the subject of a strenuous community struggle to retain the right to a simple way of life for fishing and peaceful holiday-making in the face of state and local government regulation.

Further up the coast towards Cervantes are more beaches with easy access off the main road. Hangover Bay and Kangaroo Point are both within 10 minutes drive of the entrance to Nambung National Park and the Pinnacles. Visitors to either beach are well catered for with shelters and gas barbecues.

Visit Hangover Bay for possible sightings of dolphins and sea lions or to enjoy ideal windsurfing conditions. Unsurprisingly, Kangaroo Point is regularly visited at dusk by the local roo population and it is an ideal beach barbecue spot.

Our visit highlighted the ever-changing beach conditions with the generally pristine white sand almost completely obscured by a recent dump of seaweed.

The alternative dusk option is to sit back and watch the sun burn out in a blaze of golden glory over the Pinnacles. If you arrive before 5pm you can take in a quick tour of the Interpretive Centre. As well as some history and geology it showcases the local fauna including a display of bush cockroaches that are as big as the native honey possums – around 9cm long.

There is an $11 entry fee to the park, with an honour box in place after 5pm. A well-graded road meanders through the strange scenery of the Pinnacles desert which is suitable for 2WDs, but don’t try to tow your camper through the twisting turns.

While the scientists haven’t quite agreed yet on how the Pinnacles were formed, they have conclusively ruled out the idea that they are the ruins of an ancient city as originally thought by Dutch sailors sighting the strange formations in the 17th century.

The raw material for the limestone Pinnacles almost certainly came from an era when seashells were broken down into lime-rich sands and blown inland to form high mobile dunes. Over millennia, the limestone formations have been shaped by compression, the action of vegetation, wind and water into thousands of weird and wonderful shapes that range from a few centimetres high to more than 5m tall. They include simple columns and other more complex forms that have been christened the Seal, the Koala or the Two Nuns.

After packing up on Sunday morning in Ledge Point we decided to take the long way home to check out a few more tourist destinations. With food in mind we headed up the Indian Ocean Drive to Cervantes and the Lobster Shack, run by the Thompson family.

With three generations in the lobster-fishing industry, the Thompsons opened up their processing factory to provide the opportunity for visitors to develop a better understanding of how lobsters are caught and prepared for delivery to tables around the world. You can finish up your visit with the purchase of some delicious, freshly cooked lobsters or prawns, or enjoy a lobster burger in the newly opened café.

Emu Downs wind farm is 30km from Cervantes via the Indian Ocean Drive, Cervantes Road, Brand Highway, Munbiniea Road and Bibby Road.

This wind farm was built in 2006 at a cost of $180 million to produce 80-megawatt of power. Each of the 48 turbines has a 1.65-megawatt generating capacity, which provides enough electricity to run the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant, in Kwinana.

Drawing on Indian Ocean water, this plant produces around 130 million litres of pure drinking water per day. Although viewing of the wind farm is from a distance, the interpretive boards at the viewing area provide all the key statistics.

On the return trip to Perth via the Brand Highway, Regan’s Ford Roadhouse provides good tucker and local produce including Regan’s Ford and Fini olives.

As we headed for home we agreed that it wouldn’t be hard to find an excuse to come back and spend more time exploring and enjoying this wonderful area.

COASTAL TRACKS

The inland tracks that meander through the coastal scrub between Lancelin and Cervantes were once heavily frequented by 4X4s and were the fastest route between the two towns. However, the opening of the Indian Ocean Drive brought the subsequent closure of the Defence Forces Training Area to limit the risk from unexploded ordinance.

Narrow tracks remain close to the coast and offer an alternative when the beach is washed away after storms or high tides, but they can be very overgrown and the resulting paintwork scratches take much longer to buff out than it first appears.

The tracks are also scattered with sharp limestone rocks and our lead vehicle was unfortunate enough to rip out a tyre sidewall. Although they can be awkward due to the overhanging trees, a sand flag is a must as the narrow tracks have blind corners and offer few places to pass.

TRAVEL PLANNER

GETTING THERE Nambung National Park is two hours north of Perth via the Wanneroo Road and Indian Ocean Drive, or inland via the Brand Highway.

WHERE TO STAY No bush or beach camping is permitted in the area. There are caravan parks at each of the coastal towns. Inland there are farm-stays. The area also has many B&Bs. The Ledge Point Caravan Park provides excellent facilities including a pool, playground and kart hire for the kids. Fees vary by season and the type of facility. Expect daily rates of $25 for an unpowered tent site up to $60 for a powered site in peak season.

OPENING HOURS Check the websites of the major attractions for opening hours. Call wineries or restaurants to confirm opening times and availability. Check www.gingintourism.com.au or www.australiascoralcoast.com for contact details of most local attractions and accommodation.

PERMITS/FEES Park entry fees apply, but only if you are visiting the Pinnacles.

BEST TIME OF THE YEAR TO VISIT Spring for wildflowers and autumn for warm sunny days to play in the sand. There’s plenty of beach play during summer, but it can be windy.

Pricing, technology and safety enhancements for the 2018 Nissan Navara have been released, ahead of its local launch at the end of this month.

Prices across the model range are relatively unchanged for the updated models, with only a slight hike in price – between $200 and $500 – for eight of the 35 variants (see 4×4 price changes below). Across the entire model range (4×2 and 4×4), pricing for Single Cab variants start at $25,990, King Cab from $28,490 and Dual Cab from $33,490.

A key change for off-roaders sees the addition – and re-positioning – of tie-down hook points. The points have been lowered in RX, SL and ST utes, while ST-X variants with Utili-track (moveable tie-down points) get four additional points.

Nissan’s Around View Monitor is now fitted within the seven-inch infotainment systems of the range-topping ST-X variants (Dual Cab and King Cab). This increases the line of sight and can aid drivers escape dire off-road predicaments. In addition, a Rear View Camera is standard on all 27 pick-up 4×2 and 4×4 models.

“The 2018 Nisan Navara includes some important new additions that will continue to entice ute buyers to the Nissan brand,” said Stephen Lester, Nissan Australia’s managing director.

One such option to entice buyers could be leather seats, which are now available for all dual cab ST-X models and the King Cab ST-X seven-speeder. Priced at $1500, punters get leather-accented heated seats, leather-accented door trim and an eight-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support.

The new Nav maintains the same engines as the ‘run-out’ models it replaces, which means the choice of the 140kW/450Nm twin-turbo diesel and the 120kW/403Nm single-turbo diesel – both with 2.3 litres of capacity. These can be mated with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic transmission.

Details on how the updated Navara rides, handle and steers will be revealed at the vehicle’s launch in late February.

2018 Nissan Navara 4×4 MSRP price changes

There’s a new dawn of 4x4s in Australia.

No longer the old farm hacks with a swag or two strapped to the rusty checker plate tray, these days 4x4s are faster, more capable, more comfortable, and a whole lot meaner.

It’s that mean attitude oozing from the appropriately named Thug Truck that first caught our attention. A daily-driven beast of an LC79, sporting 37-inch tyres, a slinky rear coil conversion and an exhaust note that’d have revheads all over the country doing the old belt tuck whenever it barks into life.

While these pages are no strangers to the occasional LC79, they’re typically built with a spanner roll and socket set. This one’s built with a welder and a grinder. Where they’re built with practicality in mind, Thug Truck was built from the ground up to not only fit the part, but break a few noses along the way.

If an LC79 with a five-poster is a clean-cut country boy, Blake Oldham’s wild incarnation is a gruff, one per cent outlaw with a mum tattoo on its neck and a gold tooth glistening under the neon glow of the Kings Cross lights.

While it might look far removed from its OEM delivery, Blake bought the 2014 Cruiser brand spanking new.

“By the time I rolled off the lot with the ARB gear it was around 98K. I reckon I’ve doubled it since then,” Blake tells us with a laugh. It’s not hard to see why, either. While the LC79 might look like the mechanical version of a set of brass knuckles, it’s underneath where it really shines.

Where a set of ancient leaf-springs once had the rear of the Cruiser as stiff as a board, it’s now outfitted with a supple custom coil conversion. “I knew I had to do it on a trip up to McBrides Beach,” said Blake. “I had a front wheel a metre in the air and it just kept climbing, and the rear was practically flat. I’d spent too much on it to have it end up on its roof, so I knew something had to be done.”

Blake’s the kind of bloke to bring an AK to a knife fight, so he went straight to custom guru Steve Etcell of Automotive Etcellence in Sydney’s West.

With the LC79 on the hoist, Steve pieced together a custom triangulated four-link arrangement. The set-up uses rebuildable Johhny Joints at the end of each link, so can be fully engineered.

From here, CNC-cut brackets were fabricated to the diff and chassis to suit the new arrangement. Heavy-duty coils either side keep the rear end afloat, while adjustable remote reservoir King 2.0 shock absorbers are fitted to custom mounts to stop the big Cruiser axle tramping its way across the country. A set of progressive bump stops were also slotted in to help smooth out hard landings.

For now, body roll is kept in check by ramping up the bound and rebound rates on the King shocks with the manual clickers; a one-off swaybar will soon tame the rear end. Up front, the LC79 copped similar treatment; with factory coils right out of the box, the job was considerably easier.

The stock cast radius arms have been kicked out, spat on and binned. In their place are a set of super-flexy replacement offerings from the guys at Comp Rods. The heavy-duty offerings not only suit the lift but correct caster, without changing to flex-robbing caster correction bushes. A Tough Dog adjustable Panhard rod keeps the front axle tracking right, while a matching set of King shocks provide the smooth ride.

Cruiser tragics will no doubt spot the custom shock mounts, too, and while Steve had the welder out he converted the front shocks to an eye-eye setup to suit the big-dollar shocks.

The arrangement not only lets Thug Truck flex its way through gnarly bush tracks like Arnie reliving his glory days, but allows room for the 37-inch Hankook Dynapro MTs to stuff into the guards. These are wrapped around a set of oh-so-cool Method 311 Vex simulated beadlocks punching in at 17 x 8.5-inch.

Eagle-eyed readers would’ve spotted the front and rear wheels have matching offsets, too. Thug Truck runs a trick axle-widening kit in the rear from Kinetic Engineering that perfectly matches the front and rear wheel track, allowing the big rig to push more easily through sand and soft terrain.

With tyres bigger than most Cruiser owners’ loan balances, Blake knew he’d need serious ponies under the bonnet to keep things motoring. The 4.5L single-turbo diesel V8 breathes in and out more easily thanks to a stainless-steel snorkel from AAA Exhausts. The 4.5TDV8 then huffs fresh, clean air through the AAA Exhausts airbox.

From here the job is handed off to the bent-eight, which Automotive Etcellence has dyno-tuned to put out a respectable 204rwhp and 680Nm, with a 3.5-inch turbo back exhaust helping dump spent gases and attract any red-blooded male within ear shot. Tucked in on either side of the donk is a Diesel Care pre-filter, with a Redarc BCDC charger keeping the Optima Yellow Top and Optima Red Top batteries at capacity.

With the nose of Thug Truck barrelling down on you, the tip of the spear is a full suite of ARB bar work. The ARB Deluxe bar leads the way, with a set of ARB scrub bars and rock sliders protecting the flanks from wayward ’roos. Blake’s fitted the ARB bar out with some of the best kit on the market – a Runva 12,000lb winch wrapped in Dyneema rope takes pride of place behind the Factor 55 hitch and gold anodised fairlead.

Up top, a monster double-row LED light bar from Aussie-based Lightforce provides ample light for any full throttle runs through back paddocks at night.

Bolted to the top of the bar are no less than four aerials. A range extender for both Blake’s phone and the factory radio fill two spots, while the twin GME aerials both run to his GME UHF. Blake runs the pair of aerials through a selector switch, allowing him to choose the right gain for maximum reach in varying terrain.

On the inside the LC79 has had a serious overhaul. The standard torture devices Toyota pass off as bucket seats have been sent back to 1980 where they belong, replaced by a set of FPV GT deep bucket seats that’ve been custom tripped and stitched by the guys at InCharge Automotive, while a set of Hurricane adaptor plates fix the new seats to the stock Cruiser rails.

“They’re so much better on long trips,” he tells us. “They hold you a lot tighter so you don’t get thrown around on tight tracks, and the lumbar adjustment makes them easier on the back, too.”

Cruiser Consoles are responsible for almost everything else in the interior, with Blake running its centre console, roof console and gear stick surround, as well as a set of ‘Mack’ door trims. Despite having the attitude of a pissed-off Serbian 10 Rakijas, the rear end of Thug Truck is all work.

Above the revamped rear suspension is a stout tray from the guys at Coldy’s. The heavy-duty offering sports twin dog cages up front; although, Blake’s been known to shoehorn a Waeco into one, with a few ice-cold Coronas tucked inside. There’s a 120-litre water tank hidden away underneath the tray, to round out the touring modifications. While Thug Truck is bound to ruffle a few feathers, there’s no denying it ticks all the boxes.

Capable, comfortable, and two loaded barrels worth of attitude.

1

Playing with Triangles

With so many factory coil rear offerings floating around you might be wondering why Thug Truck runs a triangulated four-link, rather than a typical parallel + Panhard affair.

“A triangulated four-link travels a lot nicer when you’re pushing big numbers,” said Steve Etcell, the man behind the welding mask. “As a five-link arrangement cycles, the Panhard pushes and pulls the diff side to side as it travels along the arc.”

It’s something we’ve even seen the factories try to fight recently with the Everest’s Watts-link rear attempting to Band-Aid the situation. By running the two upper link arms triangulated, the diff stays perfectly centred through a huge range of travel. Match that with the long arms and smart geometry, and rear steer is also kept to a minimum.

There’s a reason go-fast off-road racers all run triangulated four-links.

Toyota’s upcoming Rogue, Rugged and Rugged X Hilux models, due to launch in April 2018, were designed, engineered and tested locally to meet the tough demands of Australian roads.

The “halo” models underwent an extensive development program – computer simulations, prototype manufacture, bench testing and real-world evaluation to confirm strength and durability of the vehicle and individual components – lead by Melbourne-based designers and engineers.

“Our team understands local customer usage and tastes, the extremes of our local environment, as well as requirements for off-road use, unsealed roads and the challenges of dust and water crossings,” said Rod Ferguson, Toyota Australia’s product planning and development general manager.

“They have developed these high-strength components and integrated them fully to build on the strength and durability of Hilux, while maintaining the performance of key safety systems.

“For example, the Rugged X bash plate is made from high-tensile alloy, significantly improving protection from rugged terrain while minimising weight increase. Local engineering and testing also ensures it works in conjunction with the steel front bar and existing underbody protection.”

As well as the components manufactured for these “halo” variants, the current-gen Hilux underwent 650,000km of local testing, and it was developed with extensive involvement from Australian designers and engineers; specifically, suspension, underbody protection and the tuning of electronic safety systems.

“Australian buyers will also appreciate the peace-of-mind knowing that these new vehicles have been developed to Toyota’s rigorous standards, will be certified to Australian Design Rules and attract full warranty coverage,” Ferguson said.