A quick history lesson, Ford is claimed to be the first company to produce an Australian "Ute". This was the result of a 1932 letter from the unnamed wife of a farmer in Victoria, Australia asking for “a vehicle to go to church in on a Sunday and which can carry her pigs to market on Mondays”...
My experience with HSV is a 0 out of 10 I am afraid extremely difficult company to deal with and resolve any real issues. The rear compartment of my Maloo has leaked like a river. HSV didn't want to know about and referred me to some very small print in their glossy catalogue. I can't even go out bush and throw my swag in the back...
I was so excited to get a 20th-anniversary HSV R8 Maloo. After a few months car was veering always to left. I was told it was camber but after some wheel alignments same still.. I need to hold and concentrate a lot when driving this car, then there's the driver's door not closing properly, belts always making noise... OMG...
After purchasing our new HSV Maloo GXP in July 2010, 7 months later the clutch developed a knocking noise. The gearbox had to be removed and the clutch replaced, by warranty. 14 months later the gearbox developed a clunking noise when changing between 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear. We are still having a battle to have the gearbox replaced after it was diagnosed as a design flaw in the Maloo GXP 2010 models...