Best utes of 2023 and 2024

There is a lot of brand loyalty out there, owners firmly entrenched in their camps and one eyed when it comes to these things. If sales are anything to go by, it’s the Ford Ranger, NZ’s best selling vehicle now for the past eight years. And then there’s the Toyota Hilux, the next best selling vehicle. So clearly there are two top dogs, and we’d have to agree that these two represent the best options for buyers. Both Ford and Toyota have a big range, with many different variants for all sorts of buyers from those that do the work to those that give the work orders. Other utes like Navara, D-Max and BT-50 fall into the also ran category, being either older, or just outclassed. And Ford and Toyota are constantly updating their utes and introducing new variants to keep the battle interesting. The only other ute that comes close is the VW Amarok, a mechanical twin of the Ford Ranger. Mitsubishi has a new Triton coming along soon that could be interesting, but here are our picks of the Hilux, Ranger and Amarok ranges.

The Ranger’s a good thing to turn through the bends; it’s stable, the roll is well controlled and it rides the lumps.

The cabin has more of an SUV feel to it than a utilitarian pick-up. The dash is dominated by the large centre screen and the XLT is smartly specified with items like a smart key, LED lights and all the safety gear. This includes nine airbags, active cruise with stop and go, lane centring, evasive steering assist, reverse brake assist, and blind spot monitoring.

Rear accommodation remains adequate, two adults fitting comfortably, with enough leg and head room and there are Isofix points for car seats.

It has a decent 900kg payload and a 3.5 tonne tow rating. Getting things out of the back is made easier with the bed step, while a tray liner is standard, as is the tow bar.

Read our Ranger XLT and Wildtrak V6 comparison here

The PA gets a 3.0-litre V6 diesel with 184kW and 600Nm on from 1750-2250rpm and a ten-gear auto. There’s always enough torque on tap from the V6 and the auto is smooth. It’s all rather quiet too, for a ute, with minimal road and wind noise, the engine refined and hushed. The stated fuel use is 9.6L/100km while we saw 11 on test.

The new Amarok now gets switchable four-wheel drive with 2H and 4H settings, a variable AWD mode, and a genuine low range. A rear diff lock is standard as are various terrain modes for the traction control system to keep it trucking along.

The PA gains a ‘comfort suspension’ tune and with the generous sidewalls of the 18-inch rubber, the unladen ride is fairly settled at all speeds, the jiggling kept to a minimum.

The cabin is quite flash for a ute with special leather work and comfy seats. It has a big touchscreen with nav included and while there is a wireless charger there’s no CarPlay or Android Auto. Old Amarok owners will like the added back seat space in the new model.

Amarok comes with a tow bar fitted at the factory, all models with the mandatory 3500kg braked rating. The deck gets a spray-in liner, has 1.2m of load width between the arches, and is 1.6m long, payload rated at 967kg.

Amarok has always had a higher price point in the market, the PanAmericana costing a lofty $88,000. But at least buyers no longer have to pay the ute fees in 2024, which used to add $6555 to the price.

Read the full PanAmericana review here

The Hilux rolls with a 2.8-litre four cylinder diesel, outputting 150kW and 500Nm of torque. While it has a six-speed auto, the Hilux has a strong midrange and pulls its ratios well. Consumption figures for the SR5 Cruiser read 9.5L/100km (10.9L100km during our testing). It has the usual switchable 4×4 set-up with 2- and 4-Hi, a low-range transfer case, rear diff lock and electronic hill descent control.

The ‘widetrack’ SR5 Cruiser gains suspension changes that are said to bring about both increased on- and off-road capability and stability. The Hilux can jiggle over the bumps, but otherwise it drives competently.