You can see it in the traffic. Four-wheel-drive utes are more popular than ever, and account for almost one in five (17.5 per cent) of all new vehicle sales in Australia based on sales data from January to April 2021. Indeed, between the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, four-wheel-drive double cab utes have been the top-selling vehicles outright for the past five years in a row, and are well on the way to notching up a sixth...
There's plenty of variety at the business end of the four-wheel-drive ute segment these days. We run through them from top to bottom.
We test eight of Australia’s favourite utes in our annual mega test.
The newest ute on sale in Australia takes on the top two sellers and the benchmarks of the class.
We test 11 of the best double-cab utes on sale in Australia today, including towing, loading, in the city and suburbs, and off-road.
Coke v Pepsi. Carlton v Collingwood. Balboa v Drago. Famous rivalries all, but none of them are a pinch on the fierce battle between Australia’s two favourite utes. The 4x4 versions of the Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger constantly duke it out for the honours of the top-selling car in the country...
So, you've got around $55,000 to spend on your next ute. You're tossing up between a trusty four-cylinder diesel Toyota HiLux SR5 and venturing out for what seems like the bargain of the century, a turbocharged V6 Volkswagen Amarok Core diesel. Bargain of the century is a relative term, simply because most other manufacturers in this segment churn out four-cylinder diesel jobs like they're going out of fashion...
Australians have always been fond of turning utes into status symbols – once of the two-doored, V8 variety. The market is quite different today, but the fundamental desires for head-turning load-luggers remain. Enter the trio of desirable workhorses you see here: the Ford Ranger Raptor, Toyota HiLux Rugged X and Volkswagen Amarok Ultimate TDI580...
Dual-cab utes are expected to be more versatile today than ever before. Rough and tough is not enough. The flagship versions must be comfortable inside, safe, and look the part because people want show ponies as well as workhorses. Consider, for a moment, that the eight most popular dual-cab models managed 193,000 sales in Australia last year, which equals 16 per cent of the entire new vehicle market...
They’re more likely to carry dirty nappies and road bikes than a bale of hay, but all eight of the cars on our 2018 dual-cab mega test are, you know, dual-cab utes. That means they still need to be fit for hard work. Has the transition to a life of luxury undermined the inherent practicality of these one-time work vehicles? Here’s a look at how the tray on each stacks up...
In such a competitive segment, there can be a lot to take in when purchasing your next ute. As a result, Bluetooth user-friendliness and quality often gets overlooked, but generally, it is one of the most used features for drivers - especially tradies - as a lot of business calls are conducted while on the move...
