Top 5 4x4 news stories of 2017

THE boom of four-wheel drive sales in 2017 has driven a rise in interest in the industry.

Manufacturers are falling over themselves to keep up with the demand for dual-cabs, which has translated to some pretty big news stories in 2017.

Here are the five most clicked-on news stories this year.

VR46 Ford Ranger launched

MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi plastered his name on a special-edition, Australian-engineered Ford Ranger. The VR46 dual-cab Ranger retains much of the Ford’s driveline components, including the 3.2-litre engine, yet gets a host of M-Sport additions – raised suspension, sports-tuned exhaust, underbody protection and bespoke graphics.

See the VR46 in all its glory

2019 Land Rover Defender ute

With the new Land Rover Discovery riding on an aluminium monocoque chassis, and the Defender confirmed to follow suit, we pondered how versatile the new Defender would be on its new platform. So, we drew up a com-gen image of what we thought the 2019 Defender ute will look like.

Read about the Land Rover Defender ute

Rezvani TANK XUV unveiled

A company that traditionally designs and manufactures high-performance sports cars, Rezvani, unveiled this ‘Jeep Wrangler’ in a composite shell. The TANK runs a 375kW 6.4-litre Hemi V8 and features an on-demand 4WD system and a body-on-frame design. Two option packs are available: Off Road Package and Off Road Extreme Package.

Take a closer look at the XUV here

Toyota Hilux Tonka Concept revealed

Proving there’s still a kid in all of us, the Hilux Tonka concept was a smash hit among our readers in 2017. The Tonka features bespoke carbon-fibre bodywork, 35-inch tyres on black alloy wheels, LED light bars and portal axles developed by Marks 4WD. We even got to take the life-size Tonka Truck for a drive in a life-size sand pit. Who says you need to grow up?

Join us in the pit here

Land Rover Defender coming in 2020

At the launch of the new Discovery, LRA confirmed a new Defender is in the pipeline. The catch? It’s not a priority and it won’t happen before 2020. Given the boom of dual-cab ute sales this year, it wasn’t a surprise to hear a pick-up would be the number-one desired product for LRA.

More details about the new Defender here