New and tested 4WDs

Rubicon returns
Friday, 15 August 2025
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Sticking and slipping down by the river
Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Our month with Suzuki’s Jimny SUV takes us down into Waikato River trails – and delivers a couple of ‘teachable moments’.
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2025 Subaru Forester: A Smarter, Stronger Hybrid
Tuesday, 12 August 2025
For over 25 years, the Subaru Forester has been a cornerstone of the New Zealand vehicle landscape, serving as a dependable tool of trade for businesses and a versatile family adventurer alike.
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Trial by Mud
Tuesday, 12 August 2025
The Ranger Super Duty is undergoing extreme testing in Australia ahead of it launch. Rob Hugo, product excellence and human factors supervisor at Ford Australia, says the mud-pack test, a challenge...
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Beached as? Not this Jimny
Wednesday, 06 August 2025
We're driving a Jimny five door auto for a month, doing trips owners would do.
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Driving the big ‘D’
Saturday, 02 August 2025
Chewing though mid-day Auckland traffic, it’s hard not to feel just a wee bit superior. We’re aboard Jaguar Land Rover’s Discovery D350 in the most-popular HSE spec, and it is sublime.
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Living with Jimny
Thursday, 31 July 2025
Suzuki's Jimny is unlike any other 4WD. So tiny it's hard to think of it as an SUV, agile and light on its feet, and - with the advent of the five door - massively popular
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We drive the all-new 2025 Suzuki Fronx
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Suzuki New Zealand is entering a new frontier with the launch of the 2025 Fronx, a vehicle that strategically blends the practicality of an SUV with the sleek lines of a coupe.
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Middle East only Patrol NISMO is a beast
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Born from decades of motorsport excellence, NISMO (short for Nissan Motorsports) represents the pinnacle of Nissan performance, engineering, and innovation.
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The 2026 Toyota RAV4 - what we know
Wednesday, 16 July 2025
Toyota has announced the sixth-generation 2026 RAV4, a development of significant interest.
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LDV TERRON 9 Elite is landing in NZ
Thursday, 19 June 2025
Bold in appearance and loaded with more performance, technology and comfort, the LDV TERRON 9 Elite is as hard-working as our customers, who need a capable vehicle to get the job done right.
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KIA Tasman on its way
Saturday, 14 June 2025
A ute like no other: Kia New Zealand has confirmed the model range for its first-ever ute, the Tasman. 
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Tremor: best Everest?
Friday, 13 June 2025
It may well be the standout in Ford's family of Everests. The Tremor launched a few months back in Australia, and now it has reached New Zealand.
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Toughest Ranger ever
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
Ford's mighty new Super-Duty Ranger is coming. With 4.5-tonne towing capacity, 4.5-tonne Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), and whopping 8-tonne Gross Combination Mass (GCM)
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Nissan premieres all-new Frontier Pro plug-in hybrid
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
When it goes on sale in China later this year, the all-new Frontier Pro will be Nissan’s first-ever plug-in Hybrid and Nissan’s first-ever electrified pickup truck and the design pays homage to ear
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LDV T60 MAX Plus
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
The lines for where pick up trucks see the most of their use in New Zealand are very blurred.
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Ram brings back big steel: Grunty 320kW Cummins diesel available
Wednesday, 23 April 2025
Apparently, the team at Ram Trucks missed the memo where we are all supposed to be driving tiny whiny electric appliances that suck out our souls.
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Pricing announced for Kia Tasman Ute
Tuesday, 22 April 2025
Less than two weeks after its Australasian public debut at the Melbourne Motor Show, Kia New Zealand has announced pricing for one of the most eagerly anticipated new model launches of the year - a
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T60 steps up
Wednesday, 19 March 2025
A few years back, in the midst of the Covid lockdown, LDV gave us the T60 to test. It had the most power of any ute in its  class, and was well built and slathered in spec and tech.
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Origin story
Wednesday, 19 March 2025
It all began with Jeep. The wartime birth of the MB Jeep is well documented, and historians say In many respects, the jeep became the iconic  vehicle of World War II, with an almost mythological...
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Prado: squaring up for 2025
Tuesday, 18 March 2025
First, look at it. The design is retro-inspired but still modern. A square-edged form just makes a lot of sense for an off-roader. This is the first new Prado in 15 years.
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Hyundai Santa Fe Calligraphy tested
Wednesday, 19 February 2025
It’s been a while since NZ4WD drove a Hyundai. Before Covid, in fact. Way back when the previous Santa Fe had a mid- life refresh.
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JAC disrupts the ute market
Tuesday, 14 January 2025
The company is better known in New Zealand for its light truck range, but JAC is making a strong pitch for the ute market with its new T9 4WD double cab ute.
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D-Max vs Triton, finding the finest mainstay 4WD
Friday, 06 December 2024
When we first drove the new Triton, it impressed for its tech, spec and engineering, particularly for the latest versions of the 2.4-litre biturbo diesel engine and 4WD system.
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The annual guide to the 4WD market
Friday, 06 December 2024
The Annual contains a comprehensive 10 page Buyers Guide to all the AWD and 4WD SUV's, Wagons and Utes available in New Zealand
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