Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021: Ownership costs

Unexpected maintenance costs in the early life of a dual-cab 4x4 ute are much less likely as warranty provisions now extend to at least five years among the leading players, reducing the chance that you’ll have to pay for a manufacturing defect or faulty part.

The introduction of capped-price servicing and roadside assistance also provides transparency and gives peace of mind to new-vehicle owners. 

Resale values have become more predictable and easier to access, too, with the likes of RedBook.com.au making a science of it.

It won’t be a surprise to hear the most popular new utes are also the most popular in the used car market too.

Using resale prices supplied by the experts at RedBook, we found that the Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-MAX lose just a few hundred dollars in value over 12 months – influenced, we suspect, by the disruptive COVID-19 lockdowns last year.

Of the 11 utes on test here, you would tear up most money if you bought a Jeep Gladiator and sold it after 12 months (down $10,350). The GWM Ute Cannon-X (-$9690) and SsangYong Musso (-$7990) also significantly drop value in the first year, although their new prices include on-road costs, unlike the others.

The just-released 2021 Nissan Navara is too new in the market to gauge resale value, so we’ve based our data on the MY20 model. If the upgraded 2021 Navara follows its predecessor, then it would be worth $4400 less if sold a year after purchase.

All but the LDV T60 offer a capped-price servicing (CPS) scheme. The rest have a CPS offering that in some cases includes roadside assist, meaning you need to get the ute serviced at one of the brand’s franchised dealers to take advantage of the extra benefits.

While Toyota’s lowest individual capped price at $299 is cheapest, the catch is that the HiLux also has the shortest service intervals here, at six months/10,000km.

That blows out the annual average Toyota HiLux capped service cost to $600, making the Toyota one of the more expensive utes to service.

The cheapest average annual service cost is for the GWM Ute at $340, while the most expensive is for the Volkswagen Amarok, at $652 per year.

All utes on test have at least a five-year/100,000km warranty. The best warranty offer comes from GWM and SsangYong, which offer seven-year/unlimited-km cover.

But with a six-year warranty and seven-year CPS, the Isuzu D-MAX has the best mix of aftersales provisions, thanks to strong resale value, good-value capped-price service costs, long service intervals and those lengthy roadside assist and warranty periods.

The Ford Ranger comes a close second. Although its warranty is one year shorter and its capped service price average slightly more expensive, it offers the advantage of a free loan car during a service.

We have not included tyres as part of the ownership costs here, as there are too many variations in tyre brands, types and prices. Yet tyres are expensive and form a big part of ownership costs for a ute, so for reference we’ve selected an indicative price range for a good-quality highway-terrain tyre for each model.

You’ll spend about $300-$350 per corner for the 265/60 R18s fitted to the Ranger, D-MAX, BT-50, Triton and HiLux, the 255/60 R18s on the Cannon-X, Musso and Navara, the 255/70 R18s on the Gladiator, and the 245/65 R17s on the LDV T60.

The Amarok’s 255/50 R20 sizing is a bit more expensive at about $390-$450 each.

Ford Ranger Wildtrak key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 7 years/$488*
Dealer service network: 240
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 1 year/Yes
* Free loan car with Ford service

GWM Ute Cannon-X key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 7 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/10,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 5 years/$340
Dealer service network: 54
Roadside assist period/linked to servicing: 5 years/No

Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 6 years/150,000km
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 7 years/$482
Dealer service network: 160
Roadside assist/linked to servicing: 7 years/Yes

Jeep Gladiator Overland key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/100,000km
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/12,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 5 years/$399
Dealer service network: 70
Roadside assist/linked to servicing: 5 years/Yes

LDV T60 LUXE key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/130,000km
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: n/a
Dealer service network: 80
Roadside assist/linked to servicing: 5 years/No

Mazda BT-50 GT key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 7 years/$497
Dealer service network: 150
Roadside assist/linked to servicing: 5 years/No

Mitsubishi Triton GSR key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/100,000km*
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 10 years/$609**
Dealer service network: 204
Roadside assist/linked to servicing: 1 year/Yes (after first year)
* Warranty can be extended to 10 years with dealer servicing
** Some services beyond five years are expensive, pushing up average; over five years, average for Triton is $519pa

Nissan Navara ST-X key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/20,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 6 years/$604
Dealer service network: 188
Roadside assist/linked to servicing:  5 years/No

SsangYong Musso Ultimate key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 7 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 7 years/$375
Dealer service network: 50
Roadside assist/linked to servicing:  7 years/No

Toyota HiLux SR5 key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited*
Service intervals months/km: 6 months/10,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 5 years/$600
Dealer service network: 199
Roadside assist/linked to servicing: 5 years/No
* Warranty and roadside assist can be extended to seven years with dealer servicing

Volkswagen Amarok Highline V6 TDI 580 key warranty/service data:
Warranty years/km: 5 years/unlimited
Service intervals months/km: 12 months/15,000km
CPS period/average cost per year: 5 years/$652
Dealer service network: 105
Roadside assist/linked to servicing: 5 years/No

Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021 RedBook resale table:

* Nissan Navara resale value is for pre-update model