Four Wheel Drive (4WD) / SUV Road Tests

 Upgrades reduce Sorento's off-road appeal A major upgrade has boosted the Kia Sorento's everyday appeal, though at the expense of some of its off-road versatility, as David Thomson discovers.

Before arrowing straight in on the bottom line, Hyundai hopes potential Santa Fe customers will give the new rig a careful once-over to gain an appreciation of what they are getting, and why some models are so much more expensive than those they replace.

The Subaru Forester's DNA goes back to 1997 and some 16 years later it has left its boxy awkwardness behind to emerge as a fully fledged all-wheel-drive SUV.

If we could fast-forward into the automotive future of five to 10 years hence, what a different world we would find: hybrids left, right and centre; plug-in electrics in reasonable numbers, even on Dunedin city streets; stop-start and collision-avoidance systems on every new car sold; and last but not least, a significant number of those new cars coming from China.

The teenage son of a friend calls it "a toaster on wheels", but I've held the Nissan X-Trail in high regard since it first graced the SUV scene back in 2007.

The big boy of Toyota's extensive 4WD line, the VX Landcruiser, has been the subject of a recent mid-life makeover which includes styling, specification and mechanical enhancements.

Even by the standards of a new vehicle market defying uncertain economic times, growth in the small and mid-sized premium SUV segments has been spectacular this year.

Back in the 1970s, and well into the 1980s, rotary engines and the RX2, RX3 and RX7 cars they powered, set Mazda apart as one of Japan's quirkier, yet most innovative brands.

Subaru is one of the pioneers of the crossover vehicles that are now all the rage. David Thomson gets behind the wheel of the company's latest  contribution to the genre, the new XV.

Nissan's redefining of the boundary between the traditional SUV and the family hatchback takes a further step with the Juke. David Thomson puts it to the test.

Back in 2008, Subaru sought to breathe life into its slow-selling Tribeca premium SUV by subjecting it to a massive external facelift and replacing its original 3-litre engine with a larger, more powerful 190kW/350Nm 3.6-litre unit.

Driving from Dunedin to Auckland on a tank of fuel would be quite an ask of even an eco-optimised small car, so should be a challenge well beyond a two-tonne luxury sports utility.

A mid-life facelift for the Land Rover Freelander includes a significant mechanical overhaul as well as the usual raft of cosmetic changes.

Sam Stevens has been exploring Otago by four-wheel-drive since he was a kid, and a day behind the wheel of Toyota's new FJ Cruiser brought back memories as well as creating a few.

Skoda has come up trumps with its fresh take on the crossover sports utility vehicle theme. David Thomson reports in after five days behind the wheel of the Yeti.

When the finalists for the New Zealand Car of the Year award were announced late last year there were two Korean interlopers on the 10-strong shortlist, among the usual mix of high-status Europeans and the best from Japan.

The last time a Mitsubishi Outlander featured in DriveSouth it was the 2.4-litre four-cylinder VRX.

A few months ago, the $50,990 2.0-litre turbo-diesel Sport version of Peugeot's new 3008 crossover SUV earned a commendable four-star road test rating on these pages.

Volvo's's junior SUV crossover, the XC60, earned a strong four and a-half star rating when tested in 2.4-litre turbo-diesel D5 guise last year.

This side of an $80K-plus spend on a Landcruiser, Pajero or Patrol, traditional four-by-fours sitting on a ladder-frame chassis and equipped with a conventional low-ratio transfer case are an endangered species.