Can-Am off-road vehicles have earned a reputation for high performance and durability.

Utes or pick-ups, as they are known in the northern hemisphere, don't have the following they have in these southern climes...

There's no doubting the popularity of SUVs in New Zealand.

When it comes to four wheel drives the ubiquitous Toyota Land Cruiser has been around for 60 years, and the Prado variant for the last twenty.

Large passenger vehicles seem to have gone out of favour as the march of the once humble ute seems to move on into suburbia as the macho mover and shaker.

We've all got one, whether it’s the old t-shirt from the seventies, the old shoes even after the puppy chewed them, or that favourite spade with the handle taped up.

Firstly, in my defence, I’m a 1970s petrolhead who knew his way around Cortina, Capri and Weber carburettors no problem, so a trip to the Toyota dealers to pick up a loan Camry Hybrid shouldn’t have been a problem.