We may not have had our Fieldays this year thanks to a bat hors d’ouvre on the other side of the world, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have utility vehicles ready to go from dealers yards to paddocks and roadways.
Due to restrictions on vehicle access, we haven’t been able to extend our bubbles to road testing, so instead, we’ve put together a little selection of the movers and shakers, delved into their histories and given you a taste of what we think they are like to drive.
Similarly, Covid-19 restrictions have meant we couldn’t cover everyone to the fullest extent, but we don’t want to miss anyone out, so here are the utes which you would also have seen at Fieldays, had there been one.
First out of the gate is the Great Wall Steed, a ute which – by virtue of its keen pricing more than anything else – is paving the way for an electric version due here this year. The Steed has some features which are unexpected given the price of the vehicle. Great Wall’s hero ute has elements which won’t be as forgiven by some as others, but again, at the price, the design and specification is a pretty good package.
LDV’s T60 has taken a bit of a back step to the vans which introduced the brand here. Some have uncharitably suggested the T60 as being a ‘me too’ vehicle trying to catch up with the bandwagon two or three miles down the road. On the other hand, LDV seems to be synonymous with ‘bloody hard worker’ and the T60 is no different, in service with plenty of roading and civil contractors and more likely to be seen carrying or towing bigger weights than the ‘glossier’ (twice the price) utes.
Mahindra’s Pik-Up is arguably the ugly duckling of the ute market. If you can get your head around its odd shape (not a challenge as the cabin has headroom for Africa) the Pik Up has a powerhouse of an engine, a sweet-as gearbox and is affordable enough to take panel damage without too much pain on the part of the owner.
Mercedes-Benz X-Class is at the end of its days. It suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous pricing, which doomed it right from the start. Now that its in ‘fire sale’ mode though, you can pick yourself up one of the most comfortable utes in the market. For anyone who gets snarky about your choice, just tell them it was an end-of-life steal, which demonstrates you are a savvier buyer than anyone with a $60 to $75k ute in their driveway.
RAM is the ute everyone wants for its legendary towing and carrying capacity. The high $80k and up entry point seems to be something users can live with too and, as far as parking goes, the question of ‘where do you park a RAM?’ is answered with “Anywhere you damn well want to.” Not as fuel hungry as you might think, the RAM has clever factory-fit features, creature comforts galore in a spacious cab and of course, on and off road presence to fill a 40-foot container, which it could probably tow…
SsangYong’s Rhino appears almost as endangered as its namesake, and we can’t figure out why. The ute itself is really good. It’s capable, comfortable and more palatable aesthetically than the successful Actyon Sport it replaces. It comes in a variety of spec levels, petrol or diesel options, auto or manual transmissions and two tray lengths so there should be a Rhino out there or everyone and yet, to see one on the open plains – erm, highways – is quite rare. Well priced, tough as and yet, one of ute world’s greatest secrets – go figure.
The Volkswagen Amarok is actually a German ute success story, but it has taken a while to get right. Once touted (by VW) as a superior ute to most by virtue of its German engineering and 4WD brilliance, the Amarok has morphed into a somewhat specialised vehicle, which really fights in its own ring. You can only get the V6-engined versions now and the rest of the ute doesn’t change much. Frequent trips to VW’s ‘tickle up’ parts-bin however, manage to keep the same vehicle looking as fresh as a new model release. Clever.
And that leads us to the high-fliers of New Zealand’s ute world on the next few pages.
