Ford Ranger upgrade: improvements are mainly for the suburban drivers

There's little for off roaders in the upgraded Ford Ranger ute that's just going on sale. However, being darned good already, right down to its rear diff locker, that's hardly a criticism. Ford has concentrated on  pampering daily drivers, with numerous changes to the country's best selling utility, right down to being able to limit the sound system's audio volume, and have it disabled until seatbelts are attached – features aimed directly at owners with "young drivers" in the family. The 3.2 litre five cylinder turbodiesel has been remapped and modified to help improve fuel economy and reduce engine noise. The manual gearbox gets a fairly major makeover, including revised ratios and a new linkage. The auto has minor changes. Pictures show the top Wildtrak, which costs almost $70,000! There's better value lower in the range.

Postcard from the Frankfurt show and, no, it won't be coming here

Anyone with an interest in cars will know the Frankfurt motor show is on right now. Among the goodies is this Jeep concept, the Sunriser, based on a Wrangler Unlimited. It's named after the matte orange paint and features a host of Mopar stuff, including beadlocks, off-road wings, a four-inch suspension lift and half doors. The interior is in black leather customised with matte fluorescent orange trim. Power unit is Jeep's 2.8 litre diesel.

The Muriwai incident and why it will come back to haunt us

"You shouldn't twist and turn or break hard and you shouldn't go into the water." 4wdNewz assumes that what Tony Burgess, president of the New Zealand Four Wheel Drive Association, was intending to say as he went into damage-control mode following the recent death of four Mitsubishi Pajero occupants on Muriwai Beach, near Auckland, was that you shouldn't brake hard, rather than what the Pajero actually did. This unintentional black humour was introduced by either the reporter or sleepy sub-editor at the major newspaper quoting the NZFWDA president. Spelling that's near enough is good enough in the media today.

A 4HD (four-hoof-drive) trip,  a few years from now?

The deaths have led to the inevitable call from sections of the public to have "cars" banned from Muriwai Beach, whose sands are no stranger to 4WD fatalities. Another senior and experienced 4WD advocate has also been telling the press that if that driver were on a gravel road and swerved at speed, the outcome would have been similar … that a beach is just as safe as a back road. The difference, however, is that if someone crashes to his or her death on a gravel road, there is no call to immediately ban it to all but pedestrians and horses.

Perhaps 4wdNewz is taking a "glass half empty" point of view here, but it looms as a real possibility that the freedom to drive on beaches near urban areas, particularly Auckland, will be taken away. If not, we'll have the recreational fishing lobby to thank. These people, who are heavy users of places like Muriwai, have a loud and powerful collective voice.

Meanwhile, Auckland Council has introduced for a one-year trial a particularly pointless permit requirement for driving on Muriwai or Karioitahi, another superb surf beach, south of the Manukau Harbour mouth. Under council's Public Safety and Nuisance Bylaw, vehicles are not allowed on beaches without the "written permission of council." This permit is available to anyone, online. Answer a few simple questions, like your name and address, vehicle registration, make and model, and why you want to drive on the beach, and the permit is yours after printing it out and signing. It's good for a year. It seems that the applicant could pretty much put down anything he or she wants: "Scrooge McDuck, seeking a site for a backup money bin." 4wdNewz put down the offered "sightseeing" and "picnic" categories as reasons for wanting to be there. How will these pointless permits be enforced? Will parking wardens be dispatched in UTVs to inspect the permits, more than 700 of which have already been issued; and if so, enforce them for what? Are the occupants really picnicking; can they prove they have been seeing the sights? The council says it has not yet prosecuted anyone for setting tyre on sand without a permit securely in the glovebox.

New Toyota Hilux – mark mid November in your calendar

If you're hankering for a look at the new Toyota Hilux, make a date for mid November. Toyota is launching it to the motoring media on the 19th and 20th, so you can bet it'll be on sale around the same time. 4wdNewz will be at the event to see whether or not Ford needs to be afraid.

The Australian online magazine Unsealed 4x4 has done a decent test comparison of tyre deflators. It's worth a look if you're in the market for such a device. When the dust cleared, the magazine said the two that stood out were ARB's Ezy (as seen in the photo above) and the Ironman Speedy. Both were both quick, easy to use without any leaks and felt to be high quality with no machining flaws, the magazine said. Opposite Lock was the fastest, and only lost points for having a kink at the base of the hose that would be avoidable with changes to how they ship and package the unit.
 

They thought the Rough Country deflator was the best bang for the buck. It felt well made, and it was easy to use without any leaks or issues. It would have won if it had been "just slightly more accurate".
 

The dogs? Unsealed reckoned "you can do better for your money than the Dune Big Red and the Tigerz11 Kwiky. The Dune unit leaked, was stiff and … quite poorly put together. The Kwiky was fairly accurate, but loses major points for a stupid metal O-ring used instead of a decent circlip. It was the only unit on this test that we could pull apart and with very little effort, thanks to the wrong part being used all in the name of saving a few cents per unit."

And the Staun deflators that many off roaders have used? "They are slow, they are expensive and when you put those two facts together it is pretty safe to say the Stauns are outclassed these days by valve core removal deflators. Sure there will be Staun supporters, and the design definitely has its merits. Put it this way though, after doing this test I won’t be buying them again."

Peter Smythe – four wheel driving loses one of the good guys

Pete Smythe and Hang Over, back in the day at an NZFWA
jamboree. Photographed by another mate, Peter Vahry.

It came as a shock today to learn that one of the nicest and most knowledgeable people I've had the privilege to know died aged 74 earlier in the week, in Auckland Hospital, after a bout of severe pneumonia coupled with heart failure. "Although the medical folk tried everything they possibly could, he suddenly was no longer able to fight it (along with kidney failure) and he quietly and peacefully slipped away, surrounded by family," said his wife, Robin. He died on their 48th wedding anniversary.

Another of Pete's great loves was his cream coloured 1983 3.5 litre Range Rover two-door which, thanks to some rearrangement and substitution, bore the name HANG OVER across the front of its bonnet. The last time he spoke to me of the Rangie, he said, "I still have HO but she must think she is diesel powered now, she rattles that much. But she does keep going." As did Peter, whose health was not always the best, but who kept on bouncing back in fine fettle, like he'd just had a good lube and oil change, which is why we thought he'd also bounce back from this last illness.

One of his great passions was packing his gear into HANG OVER and taking off to the South Island with a few mates to enjoy off roading, fellowship and visiting historical sites. It became almost an annual affair. I just about managed to join one of those trips, but it fell through and now I'm sorry that it will never be. However, over the 20 years I knew Pete, I joined him on many other closer-to-home off-road adventures where his wit, driving skills and depth of knowledge on so many subjects raised the outings to another level. A skilled and experienced civil engineer, he always knew the best, most effective and usually quickest way to recover a vehicle from any situation, a skill I had to call on more than once.

Robin was so right in a message sent to old friends and colleagues when she said, "in spite of all of his medical obstacles he thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of life, and was such good company."

I kept in touch with Pete somewhat sporadically over the years; a coffee here, an email there, but it never seemed to matter because he was one of those people who, it seemed, would always be there with another story, another amusing internet find to share and another tale of something that had happened to Hang Over. But now he isn't, and that's pretty darned sad. 

Phil Hanson

• SMYTHE, Peter John. 2 June 1941 – 25 August 2015. The most incredible and dearly loved husband of Robin, wonderful, loved and informative dad of Abi and Jamie. Much loved and loving dad-in-law of Shane and Maria and very proud and loved pop of Xavier and Rhiannon. Our warrior now at peace. A Service for Peter will be held at the All Saints Chapel, Purewa, 100 St Johns Road Meadowbank, on Tuesday 1st September at 10.30am.

Toyota puts new 2.8 litre 'Global Diesel' engine in Prado

Critics of the Toyota Prado – and believe it or not there are some – tend to zero in on its "old" and "agricultural" 3.0 litre turbodiesel. That's now history with the introduction of a new 130kW 2.8 litre Global Diesel unit, which will also be under the bonnet of the forthcoming Hilux. Maximum torque is up by nearly 10 per cent to 450Nm, low-speed torque is better, and fuel efficiency is improved by almost six per cent, at 8.0 litres per 100km, overall. Fuel filtration has been enhanced with a secondary high pressure filter to protect components. The engine meets Euro 5 emissions standards and has six per cent lower CO2 emissions. The direct-injection engine also has what Toyota claims to be the first use of Thermo Swing Wall Insulation Technology (TSWIN), which is thermal barrier technology that helps the engine achieve a maximum thermal efficiency of 44 per cent.

"By starting with a clean sheet of paper the Toyota engineers were able to use new materials and innovative thinking," said a Toyota New Zealand spokesman. "For example, a more rigid block allowed the number of head bolts to be reduced freeing up space to optimise head port shape for better fuel flow. Higher engine outputs make it easier to drive, especially with new levels of low-down torque." Noise suppression is said to have been significantly improved.

The 4.0 litre V6 petrol engine continues to be available. All variants use a new six speed automatic, sequential shift transmission.

Toyota has also upgraded specification across the range, including satnav on the base GX, that lists at $78,490.  The top VX Limited costs $99,990.

One to watch for Land Rover Defender fans

If you like Defenders and are near one of the few places that sells copies of Autocar magazine, the British one, keep an eye out for the August 12 issue, which has an interesting tribute to the Land Rover classic (opening spread, above) that's about to go out of production.

Big upgrade in 2016 for Land Cruiser 200

Toyota's making some fairly extensive changes to the 2016 Land Cruiser 200, according to overseas sources. The 4.5-litre twin-turbo diesel gains new injectors, different mapping and a diesel particulate filter with its own skidplate. Power is up slightly, but torque remains the same.

Seems like yesterday we were getting all excited about the
then just-revised Land Cruiser 200 – now, another new model
is on the way.

The wagon's front end looks bolder, with a prominent chromed grille, a different bonnet and a wider, lower air intake. Headlight clusters and fog lights are more deeply recessed. The rear has a new tailgate, bumpers and light clusters. Almost every interior surface that comes into contact with occupants is upgraded with soft padding, thicker materials and more rounded edges. VX Limited models have air conditioned seats, at least in some markets. Switches and displays for driving functions, audio and aircon are reshaped and laid out in more-logical groupings. Top versions have an instrument cluster centred on a 4.2-inch colour trip data display, as well as a nine-inch centre-stack display for navigation and rear camera.

The VX Limited now has a pre-collision system, lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control that also monitors other vehicles both merging into the lane from on-ramps and changing lanes, and "smoothly" makes room for them. A new auto high beam system detects tail-lights ahead of the vehicle as well as oncoming headlights.

A country crazy for SUVs

New Zealanders' demand for SUVs is one of the highest in the world with an annual growth  of up to 44 per cent, according to latest industry figures. This sales trend is expected to continue and some industry experts predict that within three years SUVs will make up half of all new passenger car registrations. They're closing in on that number already, making up 47 per cent of new cars sold so far this year.  Last year 37,000 new SUVs were sold, compared to 53,000 passenger cars.

The water crossing from hell (well, from Australia)

Ford Everest: you'll need an oxygen mask to read the price tags

Ford's Everest is due to arrive next month and pricing starts at a not-inexpensive $75,990 for the Trend model and a nosebleed $87,990 for the Titanium. Based on the Ranger, both models use the ute's 3.2 litre Duratorq five cylinder turbodiesel with automatic.

Not so long ago, ute based wagons such as the Toyota 4Runner/Surf and the Mitsubishi Challenger were very much mid-range and of interest to off road enthusiasts. Ford, and some other manufacturers of the newest generation of these passenger-hauling utes-at-heart, seem hell-bent on moving them upmarket, loading gadgets and luxury equipment, then attaching high-end list prices. Out of the forest track and onto the school run.

The Everest, for example, is full of "connectivity and driver assistance technology", including SYNC2 that lets drivers use voice commands to control the entertainment system, climate controls and connected mobile devices. Also on board are Active Park Assist, Curve Control to help drivers maintain control when approaching turns too quickly, and Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert. Other stuff: Roll Stability Control and an Electronic Stability Program that works with traction control, and Active Park Assist so drivers can parallel park hands-free.

Power is 143kW and torque, 470Nm from 1750rpm. The automatic incorporates driver recognition software that adapts to the driver's style. A Terrain Management System has four pre-set modes: Normal, Snow/Mud/Grass, Sand and Rock.

Ford is making much of the vehicle's toughness and off road credentials but approach and departure angles of 29.5 and 25 degrees along with fairly serious overhangs suggest that it will be better on gentle terrain. The company claims 225mm of ground clearance and an 800mm wading depth, which is one of the best. Turning circle is a reasonable 11.7m.

Updated Ford Ranger: more at home in town than the Range

The updated Ford Ranger is arriving – more than 1000 of them are passing through Auckland’s wharf this month. According to Ford, about 85 per cent are XLT and Wildtrak models and 75 per cent are automatic, suggesting that most will end up in town rather than country.

First aid ideas: The things you find in a Nissan Navara

A Nissan Navara BNP300 currently in possession of 4wdNewz had in its driver's door pocket a QS1 "Vehicle/Lone Worker First Aid Kit." It turns out that QS1 is a trademark of the J M Smith Corporation of South Carolina, one of America's largest private companies, a major supplier of pharmacy and first aid products. Given the credentials of the company, it seemed like an idea to list the pouch's contents for those who might be thinking of adding a first aid kit to the 4WD, as you should. 

20 x assorted plasters.

2 x Triangular badge with two safety pins.

2 x antiseptic wipes.

1 each of the following:

Eye pad.

Wound dressing.

Non-absorbent 5cm x 7.5cm dressing.

Gauze swabs, 7.5cm x 7.5cm.

Roller bandage 5cm wide.

Paper tape roll, 1.25cm.

First aid tweezers.

Economy scissiors.

CPR resuscition mask.

Examination gloves.

First aid tips (which they emphasise is no substitute for training).

Aids/hepatitis warning label.

Clean-up/containment bag.

4wdNewz recommends: Anyone living near a St John office that sells supplies can go there for really good advice and assistance with putting together a custom first aid kit. Or take your present kit there and have them look at it for what's missing or needs replacing. The Red Cross and good commercial suppliers may well do the same thing, but it's nice to know that when the ambulance comes the profit from your sale has helped, in its own tiny way, to get it there.