What Ute to get next

[tyron]

Ok Guys,

Upgrading, not sure what to get next. Looking for some non brand fanboy object opinions. I know im on a navara forum, but most people have had other utes and can offer valid opinions on them.

I dont have any brand preference, except great wall haha. what i get will get Lift, tyres, bar before it leaves the yard.

Want a nice daily driver, that handles off road well too. preferably the less mods required the better.

 

[mike1303]

Im thinking of this myself, though I will wait to see how the d23 goes for 12 months first,
Give the new ranger a chance to drop in price if that fails to

 

[subz123]

Have a look at the new hilux comes out next mounth good specs. Not a fan of that ranger its a ford i dont like fords. Or just step it up a noch and just go get a conversation td42 4door

 

[MANNING]

Nothing wrong with the f150 svt subz.. it's not really just a Ford tho..
beast of a truck. Id probally rather 1 of these than a brand new 'Lux, Ranga & Nav all together
( for the price nearly be able to buy all three)

 

[nuckin futs]

the new dual cab cruisers look good. not cheap but

 

[Old.Tony]

You've got a bunch of options really.

If you don't want to tow or spend a lot of money, Mahindra (serious) is worth considering, it's tough and has a manual locker in the rear diff (costs about $20K).

Great Wall only has ONE thing going for it: for the price of ONE of the "mainstream" utes you can buy TWO Great Walls, so you have either spares or replacement when the first one breaks completely. GW's looks are improving, but they can't tow much and I wouldn't want to rely on one off-road (unlike the Mahindra, lots of farmers around here have them and swear by them - and if anyone's going to know, THEY will).

Ford Ranga is way overpriced and the brunette that flogs them on the TV ads does NOT come with the car, not even as an inflatable. That said though, the larger engine really has fantastic torque which suits off-roading and towing excellently. Don't bother with the smaller motor, word is they're ... a little like a Great Wall in the power and reliability department (rumour only, no figures to back that up).

Forget the Colorado and DMax. Both cars have occasional issues but Holden and Isuzu have been treating their customers like dirt (source: several other forums).

Nissan NP300: unknown quantity still. It has the power, it has a new tail end which suits offroading and it is supposed to tow 3.5T but there's no word on reliability yet. I'm curious how the bi-turbo is going to hold out under load but I'm going to wait.

Mazda BT50 is in a similar boat to the Ford Ranga but they capped their towing at 3.35T.

A bit about that towing capacity: the mainstream utes (Navara, Colorado, DMax, Ranger) all have a GCM of 6T. This is the combined weight of vehicle plus trailer. To tow a 3.5T trailer, you have to limit your vehicle to a max of 2.5T - that's going to be really tough, because some of them have a kerb weight of 2.2T already. Bullbar, spotties, recovery gear, and then there's no allowance for passengers.

You can go to the larger utes. Dodge, GMC and Ford all have them, from the RAM up to the F650 which is more of a truck with a tray than a ute. Cost of these starts around the $120K mark and goes upwards - not sure if I'd want to spend that sort of coin. The RAM has a 6.5L Cummins engine if I remember correctly, which is a GREAT unit. The others all have V8s or better. Even the F650 had the 6.7L Cummins engine up until the 2015 model and from 2015 onwards they're using the Ford Powerstroke V8 TD but I heard that Ford will (in 2016) also be offering a 6.8L V10 petrol engine as an option.

I wouldn't be unhappy with the Powerstroke, which produces around 205kW and 712Nm - for that much capacity you'd expect more beans, which means they're not pushing the thing hard - it should last a LONG time.

I'm waiting for the D41. Nissan go "No, no no" but either they'll rebadge the NP300 into the D4x range and bring out a budget tradie model to take its place, or they're waiting to see what Renault and Mercedes are doing as they enter the ute market (2016, maybe) and then they'll release something with a whizbang killer engine. I'd wager on the NP300 platform as a base, with rear discs and a tweaked 3.0 V6 TD that produces 180kW or more, and 600Nm or so. I know I'll lose the bet, so I'm only putting $0.50 on it!

 

[user 10312]

Diesel power is on the nose lately. Maybe something with a petrol donk;-) Hang on a minute there isn't any.

 

[tyron]

Thanks for the input guys.

I do like the look of the rangers, have been eyeing them for a while. i am not convined at the price tag though. Dont have the budget for a cruiser. Upper limit would be about 60k inc "upgrades ".

I dont tow anything, really. Used to cart a bike but not anymore, really want something that is decent off road, well as much as a ute can be without going crazy mods.

latest Triton seems like an intersting choice. I do like how all the utes 9except mitsi) is getting rear e-lockers now.

May even just get a D40 ST-X for a bit more power.

 

[nuckin futs]

Thanks for the input guys.

I do like the look of the rangers, have been eyeing them for a while. i am not convined at the price tag though. Dont have the budget for a cruiser. Upper limit would be about 60k inc "upgrades ".

I dont tow anything, really. Used to cart a bike but not anymore, really want something that is decent off road, well as much as a ute can be without going crazy mods.

latest Triton seems like an intersting choice. I do like how all the utes 9except mitsi) is getting rear e-lockers now.

May even just get a D40 ST-X for a bit more power.

bloke at work just got the new cruiser. got plenty of extras bit its over 80k. lot of money for a vehicle

 

[subz123]

Nothing wrong with the f150 svt subz.. it's not really just a Ford tho..
beast of a truck. Id probally rather 1 of these than a brand new 'Lux, Ranga & Nav all together
( for the price nearly be able to buy all three)

Lmao thats a different league that f150 rapture is not normal 150k so ill pass

 

[Old.Tony]

I forgot about the Mishitibus Triton because its previous (<2015) version was crap - but it DID have better leg room in the rear than the D22.

The new 2015 Triton still looks like a helicopter that everyone's ejected from, but it's supposed to be more powerful and agile. Also supposed to have followed the 3.5T towing thing, but as you say that's not important. Departure angle on the Triton's always been an issue and I haven't had a good look at the new one, so I can't offer an opinion on that.

 

[NAV012]

Hilux Tony?

 

[Old.Tony]

Bah. Toymotor is massively overpriced for the crap that you're getting, you're just paying for a Toymotor badge. The new one is getting 3.5T rating as well but only because they have been unsuccessful getting people to buy the cruiser for $120K+ which was their sales strategy - if people wanted to tow more than 2.5T the dealers were telling them to go the Cruiser - 200 series is comfy and has lots of features but it's hefty price tag puts it out of the reach of many and I can't see the justification. I've heard nothing about the new Lux donk, if it's still the pathetic powerplant in the current version then they're just blatantly stealing from people.