2019 Best Dual-Cab 4WD Ute: Sealed & Unsealed Road Driving

The utes on test have all undergone the road test treatment at carsales.com.au previously. In the situation, it was about seeing how the field compared when driven by the same drivers over the same stretch of road.

We drove the field across a circuit comprising the very worst of Australian sealed and unsealed roads, the differences highlighted here showing what can be expected by any dual-cab 4WD ute buyer irrespective of where they might live.

For the Nissan Navara ST Black Edition it was a sharp ride and generally truck-like demeanor that let it down. You’d hardly think the current Nissan Navara is all that old – let alone an intimate relative of the Mercedes-Benz X-Class.

Yes, it does have an effortless, 140kW/450Nm 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel engine driving a responsive seven-speed automatic transmission, and the ride on bitumen surfaces is fine, as is the relatively low-geared steering which Andrea Matthews described as “lighter and easier” than in the Benz X-Class.

But get the Navara onto a badly-rutted road and everything changes. It was a handful on loose surfaces. The steering felt indirect and body stability was poor. In spite of off-road focusses tyres the grip on gravel roads was second-rate, the Navara trailing the field in this particular portion of the test.

For the latest SsangYong Musso it was a discrepancy between front and rear-end stability that let it down. Behind the wheel, you’d barely realise the latest SsangYong Musso is actually intended to be a workhorse. The driving experience is marked by lightish, quick steering and a punchy yet remarkably muted 133kW/400Nm 2.2-cylinder turbo-diesel.

Likewise the suspension, which allows very little noise to intrude. The downside relates to its reduced wheel travel – compared to the others – which can be readily felt and translates to a ride that is compromised and ultimately less stable and assuring than you’d hope. Judge Barry Park claims that “The front-end is nicely controlled, but the rear follows it around like a playful puppy.”

If there’s a workhorse ute here representing the honest, old-school approach, Isuzu’s D-MAX probably comes closest. None of this has anything to do with its competence, or necessarily discounts the fact that the Isuzu cousin to Holden’s Colorado has advanced a lot over the generations.

But it’s unreservedly truck-like with a noisy (the least powerful on test) 130kW/430Nm 3.0-litre engine, very heavy steering and an abrupt, sharp ride across all sorts of road conditions. Nevertheless the D-MAX’s suspension is well-enough controlled that it sticks to its line on rough gravel and the engine’s torque carries it through all but the most heavily-laden situations.

Less noticeably than ever a spin-off from the Ford Ranger, the Mazda BT-50 nevertheless presents a brave face with its more-than-competent 147kW/470Nm 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel, six-speed auto combination and fundamentally-sound on-road qualities.

It’s had suspension development over the years, yet still lags behind the Ford in terms of its handling/ride qualities. In general the BT-50 is firmer, yet feels less planted than the Ranger. But the powerful driveline and no-nonsense presentation work in its favour.

Mitsubishi’s strong-selling Triton, in its latest guise, somewhat surprisingly conceals its developmental freshness with a noisy (though capable) 133kW/430Nm 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine and a front-to-rear suspension imbalance that makes the unladen ride uncomfortable and, at times, quite abrupt.

That said, the Triton feels planted, secure and tight at higher speeds on gravel roads. The steering errs on the side of ponderous though, with plenty of wheel-twirling (3.8 turns from lock to lock compared to, say, the Amarok’s 2.9) and a heavily-weighted rim both carry-overs from Tritons past.

No surprises that Toyota’s market-dominant HiLux comes across as a workhorse ute imbued with an overall impression of durability and competence.

The 130kW/450Nm 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel is notably quiet on light throttle loads, yet gets noisy as the effort increases, and the six-speed transmission is unobtrusively responsive. Judge Andrea Matthews reckoned that the “gearing felt very tall with a payload, but less so when unladen.”

The ride is on the firmer side of decent at low speeds, damped well enough to take the spike out of hard-edged impacts and the steering is reasonably quick, accurate and nicely weighted.

There’s a huge gulf between the Mercedes-Benz X-Class and its donor, the Nissan Navara. Among other things, the Benz is noticeable for its creamy 190kW/550Nm 3.0-litre V6 engine and its comfortable ride which approaches that of the Ford Ranger.

It grips when you want it to and is pretty confident across a wide spectrum of roughed-up road surfaces. The steering is nicely judged to straddle the extremes of power assistance and, for a ute, is pretty quick too. But it doesn’t feel as tight in the body as, for example, the Ford Ranger and suffers from a distressingly-long brake-pedal action.

Long considered as the most refined workhorse ute, Volkswagen’s Amarok, particularly in monumental 200kW/580Nm 3.0-litre V6 TDI580 guise as featured in this comparison, continues to make a mark with its Euro-style on-road composure and its ability stick straight and true on the gravel.

Funnily, the Amarok’s steering, while actually faster than anything else on test here, somehow contrives to feel – though always accurate – slow. Go figure. The ride, though well-controlled to imbue confidence, is a bit firmer-edged than expected and the transmission, though pretty quiet, is a tad reluctant to kick down at times.

In almost every sense except sales (the HiLux is still more popular, although only just these days), the Ford Ranger has been at the pointy of the dual-cab ute pack since the current, Australian-engineered generation emerged in 2011.

So there’s no surprise the latest 2019 iteration still impresses with its almost uncanny blend of composure, refinement, overall capability and general fitness for purpose -- whatever the road surface.

Judge Barry Park waxed enthusiastic about its “lovely, calm environment” and the effortless ease with which it can be driven. The new-generation 157kW/500Nm 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel engine (the smallest-capacity here) worked well with the also-new 10-speed transmission to create a hushed, unobtrusive but capable and responsive driveline.

Localised suspension development played a part in Holden’s once-average Colorado being ranked highest, in terms of its capabilities on unsealed/bitumen surfaces, of the 10 utes reviewed here.

The nicely-weighted, accurate steering was second only to the Volkswagen Amarok in its quick, car-like gearing and the overall sense of confidence on all types of surfaces combined with impressive body control to make for a great sense of composure and refinement.

The beefy 147kW/500Nm 2.8-litre turbo-diesel and six-speed auto come together to deliver a muted power delivery that works well in a nicely-resolved performance package.

Scoreboard (On-road):
10. Nissan Navara ST Black Edition (10.5/20)
9. SsangYong Musso Ultimate (12.0/20)
8. Isuzu D-MAX LS-T (12.5/20)
6. Mazda BT-50 GT (13.5/20)
6. Mitsubishi Triton GLS Premium (13.5/20)
5. Toyota HiLux Rogue (14.5/20)
3. Mercedes-Benz X 350d POWER 4MATIC (17.0/20)
3. Volkswagen Amarok TDI580 Ultimate 4MOTION (17.0/20)
2. Ford Ranger Wildtrak Bi-Turbo (17.5/20)
1. Holden Colorado Z71 (18.5/20)

Best Dual-Cab 4WD Ute: The Verdict

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