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Volkswagen’s Amarok is a stellar pick-up truck, one with which there have been a few lavish special editions – and now there’s another on sale.

The Black Edition is available on Highline Amaroks – including the Aventura flag bearer. The 204 and 258bhp versions of the 3.0-litre V6 will be on offer under the bonnet in conjunction with the eight-speed automatic transmission.

Black Edition models add the Lights and Vision pack (which includes rain-sensing windscreen wipers) and the Discover Media Navigation system, meaning it has European map data plus the off-road information display. All Black Editions also come with front and rear parking sensors, Trailer Stabilisation and Automatic Post-Collision Braking System.

Styling additions include 20-inch Talca alloy wheels – black of course. There are also black bumpers front and rear, black sidebars, black fog light frames, a black polish trim on the grille (which itself is black), then a sports bar in black, plus a black headliner for the interior and decorative black inserts on the dashboard.

Aventura Black Editions also come with a Nappa leather interior, upgraded Ergo Comfort seats in the front and a leather multifunction steering wheel with transmission paddles. On the outside it has power folding side mirrors, the front fog lamps have a cornering feature, there’s a front underbody guard, the underbody cladding has been styled and the truck bed has a protective lining.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles are also offering matt paint at a discounted price of £2,420, along side Mountain Top roll covers at a fitted price of £1,665.

Pricing for the Black Edition starts at £34,835 for the 204bhp V6 powered truck before tax – meaning that civilian trucks will cost £42,885 once they’re on the road. For the more powerful version those figures will rise to £38,465 and £47,241 respectively, with the Aventura Black Edition topping the scales with price tags reading £40,995 and £50,277.

It may not even have entered production yet, but Bollinger Motors have revealed that it plans to make four-door versions of it’s B1 and B2 electric vehicles – as well as the initial two-door ones that are set to begin belated production next year.

The all-electric company revealed the B1 a while back, as a real-life Meccano 4×4, before shortly after revealing the B2 pick-up version.

They have also revealed that the powertrain will now have 614bhp and a range of 200-miles from a 120kWh battery, as opposed to the 520bhp supposed before.

Designed to be as practical and spacious as possible, the interiors can be readjusted and the seats bolted into a variety of positions, but the trucks are very well proportioned – for outright storage and with off-roading in mind, too.

The pick-up B2 has 15” ground clearance, 52-degree approach angle, 25-degree break over angle and the 28-degree departure angle, whilst the bed measures in at 5ft 9in long and 4ft 1in wide – or 1.75m and 1.24m respectively.

This means that with the tailgate down in the cab, the Bollinger Motors pick-up is able to transport 4’ x 8’ sheets of plywood, and if you open up the glass on the rear as you can on the B1 in order to reach the top compartment, Bollinger say you can haul 72 sheets of ½” plywood. With the powertrain hidden beneath the floors, there’s plenty of room to store just about anything with the frunk and the huge rear space.

We’re excited to see what the finished products are like, although they won’t enter production until next year – and you can expect a wait on top of that before they make it over to the shores of Britain.

You may not have noticed, but car makers are all flocking to electrified powertrains in a bid to be kinder to the environment with their products.

Taking the first steps into this pool, Bentley have announced the Bentayga Hybrid – which is now on sale across the continent with lower emissions, higher fuel efficiency and an EV mode.

The Bentagya Hybrid’s gasoline propulsion comes from a ‘highly efficient’ 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 petrol unit, which is paired with an electric motor. Together they offer up 516lbf.ft, with the electric motor responsible for 295 of them. This means that the luxury mammoth hits 60mph in 5.2 seconds.

But, the big headline is that with the two working in tandem, the big Bentley can achieve up to 80.7mpg with only 79 g/km of carbon dioxide coming out of the back. All electric range stands at 31.7-miles on an NEDC cycle and the battery can be fully recharged in two and a half hours – at which point it is good for another 464 miles.

As you may have guessed, the thing isn’t cheap, with prices starting at £133,100.

With its debut SUV entering the final stages of production, Aston Martin have let slip that the DBX will be powered by a rather potent V8.

The 4.0-litre power plant is the same twin-turbo unit from the Vantage, but it will produce 542bhp combined with 516lbf.ft – making it the highest performer of all the V8s in the current Aston range.

Testing has been extensive, with the British marque determined to keep the DBX on par with it’s performance cars both on the civil roads and race tracks. There are no official top speed figures yet, but in testing the DBX is alleged to have broken 180mph on several occasions, according to Aston themselves.

In the remaining time before the scheduled December unveiling, engineers will be fine-tuning the handling setup and continue to fine tune the powertrain to, as Chief Engineer Matt Becker says, “make this the most exciting SUV on the market.”

The company who are building the self-proclaimed ‘spiritual successor’ to the old Defender, INEOS Automotive, have confirmed that their no-nonsense 4×4 will be called the Grenadier, rather than the working title of Project Grenadier, following an online vote.

It has also been confirmed that the Grenadier will be built in a brand new and bespoke facility in Wales.

Based in Bridgend, there will be 200 jobs created initially with that potentially rising to 500 in the long run. The site development is now underway to account for the planned start of production next year.

INEOS have also announced that there will be a sub-assembly plant in Estarreja, Portugal, which will produce the vehicle’s body and chassis in conjunction with the European chain of the brand’s suppliers.

CEO of INEOS Automotive, Dirk Heilmann, said of the progress: “Confirming production in the UK, as well as our investment in Portugal, is a major milestone for the project. We are progressing well with the design and engineering work, as well as our marketing and distribution plans. In the months ahead, we look forward to sharing more information about the Grenadier, and engaging with local suppliers, the community and region, in advance of the start of production in 2021.”

Renault have released the pricing for the new Koleos, with the entry point for the range set at £28,195 OTR.

That’s for the Iconic trim with the 1.7-litre 150bhp diesel, front-wheel drive version, though. The same trim with the 2.0-litre 190bhp engine, however, starts at £31,195. All engines are paired with Renault’s CVT transmission, and regardless of trim it is only the more powerful Koleos models that are available with power to all four wheels.

For the range-topping GT Line trim and four-wheel drive, the price is £33,195.

Click here to refresh yourself of the nuances of the latest Koleos.

Volkswagen’s latest addition to the R family is now on sale in the UK.

The T-Roc R packs 296bhp and 295lbf.ft, which means it will top out at 155mph and hit the 62mph mark in 4.9-seconds.

Customers on these shores will get a set of 19-inch alloys – a whole 2.54cm bigger than other markets – whilst you can add adaptive dampers to the party for £695. This enables access to multiple driving modes which offers drivers more adjustability in their performance focussed SUV. Plus, it is sold exclusively with the combination of 4MOTION and a seven-speed DSG transmission.

The T-Roc R has the most vibrant palette of any past R vehicles, with orange, yellow, and red all available. Obviously, being the 21st century, you can get it in black, grey, silver and white, too, along with the signature R Lapiz Blue hue. All colours are available in conjunction with a black roof, A-pillar and mirror housings, too.

On sale now, the T-Roc R’s pricing starts at £38,450 on the road.

£78,800. That’s how much you can spend on the new Land Rover Defender.

Unveiled at the Frankfurt motor show, the so-long-awaited-it’s-become-tedious 90 and 110 are at the other end of the tech scale from the vehicles that once bore the same names. Terrain Response and automatic transmission are standard on all models, as is air suspension on the 110.

The Defender 110, which is the first model to go on sale, has approach, departure and breakover angles of 28, 40 and 28 degrees respectively with its suspension set to Off-Road height. Max wading depth is 900mm – supported, naturally, by a Wade setting in the drive mode palette, at least on models with the top Terrain Response 2 programme.

The smallest wheels available on the new Defender are 18” in diameter. Fitted only to the base model, these are – almost unbelievably – steels. Next up the trim levels, the S model gains 19” alloys; the SE, HSE and X all run 20-inchers.

At launch, there’ll be a choice of four engines. If you want diesel, you’re looking at the 2.0-litre SD4 with 200 and 240bhp outputs, while the petrol options are the 300bhp 2.0 Si4 and 400bhp 3.0 i6.

Yes, a 400bhp Defender. This engine is only available in range-topping X trim – which in turn is the only way of getting Terrain Response 2. It’s also the only model with an electronic active diff, configurable Terrain Response, All-Terrain Progress Control and, on the 90, air suspension.

No surprises, this is the one that’ll cost you the £78,800 at launch. That’s on the 110, for which orders are open now.

At the bottom of the range, the base-spec Defender 110 D200 is priced at £45,240. Land Rover says that when the 90 goes on sale, it’ll start at around £40,000, and that there’ll also be commercial model costing around five grand less than that.

The interior is a smart affair, much in-line with the rest of the family, although it does debut the new Pivi Pro infotainment system. This has 14 different apps that can receive updates over the air, so you’ll always have an up to date system.

Whilst the contents of the engine bay may be found across the Land Rover family, the D7x platform is 95% new. Consisting of an aluminium monocoque, the new structure is the stiffest that Land Rover has ever produced. With triple the rigidity of a standard body-on-frame design, the D7x platform provides a setup suited to the new electrified powertrains.

Land Rover says the new Defender will be available in 128 markets around the world. Engineering boss Nick Rogers says it’s ‘the most capable Land Rover ever made’ – capable of what, we’re about to find out…

After debuting at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the new SsangYong Korando has officially been launched, with a totally new look, typical SsangYong value, a heftily updated interior, more safety tech, a choice of two powertrains and SsangYong’s 7-year 150,000-mile warranty.

The all-new C-segment SUV does everything it can to maximise interior space (1,350mm x 815mm x 899mm) , but it’s the redesign inside that is the biggest step forward. The wrap-around dashboard design – inspired by a classical string instrument, apparently – and at the top of the range it includes the Blaze Cockpit. This gives the driver the benefit of a 10.25-inch digital cluster along with a nine-inch touchscreen, too. Around the technology, the dash is all soft touch materials, with the seats either coming in quality cloth, a faux leather and cloth combination or premium leather that is heated, ventilated and electronically controlled. The air conditioning also features an air filter to keep pollen and other tiny matter from entering through the vents, whilst it has dual-zone capabilities. other benefits for the driver include paddle shifters (auto only, obvs) and a heated steering wheel with tilt, rake and reach adjustments.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will come with mid and top-spec Korandos, with all models getting DAB radio and Bluetooth and MP3 connectivity. Mid-speccers get an eight-inch screen, but the top dog gets the bigger display, and also a remote powered tailgate.

Driving the new Korando from launch is a 1.6-litre diesel unit. It offers up 136bhp with 239lbf.ft, whilst also achieving 48.7mpg on the WLTP cycle.

Coming in December there will also be a Euro 6d-T compliant petrol unit. The 15.-litre GDI-turbo will be more powerful with 163bhp, but being a petrol the torque is lower at 207lbf.ft.

Using the Aisin 3rd generation automatic transmission, the new Korando has Sport mode for a more reactive throttle, but also a Winter mode which sets off in 2nd gear to avoid wheel spin in slippery conditions. The option of manual is expected to arrive in early 2020.

New Korando models are available with all-wheel drive, which uses Automatic Drive Control to maintain appropriate speed for each of the wheels and distributes torque accordingly. It has Lock-Mode Function, too, which fixes the rate of torque and priorities the rear axle. The system switches modes itself, with Auto-Mode above 40kph and Lock-Mode below it. Off-road angles comprise of 18 degrees approach and 24.5 departure – not a hardcore rock crawler, obviously, but it’s nice to know.

Packed into the new Korando is a whole bunch of safety tech which helped it attain a five-star safety rating from NCAP. Each model has six airbags, plus electronic stability control, rollover protection, forward collision warning, ABS, emergency autonomous braking, lane keep and departure assist, safety distance alerts, driver attention warning and emergency stop signals. There’s also an emergency call system, a reversing camera, automatic wipers and headlights and front and rear parking sensors.

The range will consist of 2WD entry model in ELX trim and the petrol engine, whilst the mid-spec will be known as Ventura. The Pioneer is aimed at caravanning customers and comes in either two or four-wheel drive the the Aisin auto and diesel power. Topping the range off is the Ultimate, which is available with the the petrol in two or four-wheel drive, or the all-wheel drive diesel unit and the auto transmission.

Pricing starts at £19,995 for the ELX, whilst 4WD models start at £28,295 for the Pioneer and top out at £31,995 for the Ultimate.

Forty years after the first model, the Mitsubishi L200 Series 6 is now on sale in the UK, with a bold new look, a new engine, handling and chassis tweaks and active safety technology.

The new truck has been engineered with a reinforced chassis and suspension tweaks to offer improved on-road handling. The whole model, in fact, is geared towards making it more enticing for new pick-up owners.

Whilst the new and aggressive styling gives the truck a substantial presence on the road, the bonnet has been raised by 40mm for practical reasons – to make positioning the truck, which is already the narrowest in the segment, even easier on the road.

Under said bonnet is a new 2.3-litre diesel engine, which is Euro 6d compliant, offering up 150bhp and 295lbf.ft with the peak of both figures coming 500rpm sooner than in the old, bigger unit. It also has a 21-litre adBlue tank, which will last between scheduled services. There are also a couple of new features to the off-road tech, with the system now having a dedicated Off Road Mode and Hill descent control on board.

Safety kit now included as standard on the L200 betters that of any single pick-up in the current sector. Blind Spot Warning, Lane Change Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Forward Collision Mitigation, Ultrasonic Missaccelleration Mitigation, Lane Deoarture Warning, Active Stability and Traction Control, Hill Start Assist, Emergency Stop Signal and Trailer Stability Assist are all available in the new L200 package.

The Series 6 also features an improved interior, with a revised seat design that features sturdier bolstering. The steering wheel is now chunkier and heated whilst the instrumentation has been updated and the driver now benefitting from a full-colour LCD display.

Pricing for the new L200 kicks off at £21,525 for the 4Life Club Cab (as a CV) and rises up to the new Barbarian X trim, which starts at £32,200.

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