Best Toyota Utes

Roller Cover CSE: Toyota knew about the fault and still charged me to fix it Bought a 2023 HiLux Rogue for commercial use. The electric Roller Cover… Read more

started malfunctioning — exactly the fault described in Toyota Australia's own Customer Service Exercise (CSE) issued in July 2024, affecting 14,032 HiLux Rogues produced between May 2020 and November 2023. Here's what makes this worse: Toyota never contacted me about the CSE. Not by SMS, email, or mail — nothing. So when the cover failed, I had no idea it was a known manufacturer defect. I took it to Nunawading Toyota, paid $99, and they handed the car back in worse condition than it arrived — completely inoperable. I filmed it failing the moment I stepped outside the service centre. When I contacted Toyota's Customer Assistance Centre, they told me in writing there was "no outstanding recall" on my vehicle. That directly contradicts their own press release. The Roller Cover motor can overheat and continue running, draining your battery and potentially leaving you stranded. Toyota calls this "may cause overheating." I call it a safety issue they buried in corporate language. Vehicle unusable for over a month. Real commercial losses. Now at VCAT (Case C2236/2026). If you own a HiLux Rogue, check your VIN against the CSE range: https://pressroom.toyota.com.au/PressRelease?pr-code=4d013a7a-50d5-408e-80ad-ebb0efe01155 Don't wait for Toyota to contact you. They won't.

Big claim in the headline — but this is the main selling point of the Toyota Land Cruiser 76 Series Wagon. It’s the only large 4x4 on sale today… Read more

still available with a manual transmission. The interior fit and finish hasn’t changed since the 1990s, and it’s been given just enough modern technology to tick some compliance boxes.

The list of things this car is not is long. It’s like an old family friend you have great memories with. You don’t see them for a while and start to reminisce about the good old days, while the world moves on. Then, finally, you meet them again — and it feels like nothing has changed. And that’s exactly how you want it to be.

The Land Cruiser is a modern-day time machine. It doesn’t play by the rules, and it doesn’t have to. Toyota can’t build enough of them — and that’s why they haven’t changed the formula.

Sadly, many cars have lost their identity. And the Land Cruiser could have been one of them. The nameplate has been stretched across multiple models and variations. But the 76 Series remains the most pure 4x4 utility vehicle on the market.

It’s unapologetically flawed. The front wheels are wider than the rear to make room for a non-existent V8 option in the Australian market. The gear ratios on the five-speed mean you’re sitting far too high in the rev range at simple highway speeds. And you’ve got to love a separate key and remote fob in 2025.

All of these quirks are easy to dismiss with more expensive alternatives like the Land Rover Defender and Ineos Grenadier on the market. But if you’re after a pure driving experience — free of screens, connectivity, and modern creature comforts — Toyota still sells what brands like Singer charge millions for: tactile nostalgia.

Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jIKVwj0IZI