Your questions answered: Which cheap new ute should I buy?

About half of all ute sales go to the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux, but some people can’t stretch the budget to the established players, which aren’t particularly cheap these days.

So where should you park your ute dollar if you don’t want to spend big? That’s the first of our reader questions this week.

We’re also looking at whether to get an off-road SUV or a dual-cab ute. It’s a popular dilemma.

So too is the choice of a small hybrid or electric SUV priced below $40,000.

Plus, one reader is wondering whether to put off a Toyota RAV4 purchase until the 2026 arrival of the new model.

And we’re also re-crunching some numbers from this column last week (yes, we were wrong!).

Got a question but don’t know where to find the information you need? Email us at editor@carsales.com.au

Question: I’m after a new cheap dual-cab 4x4 ute and wanted to ask what you thought was the pick of the cheaper price-driven brands.

I’m not a tradie and only need it as a second car to ship the kids’ bikes and stuff around, so it will have a fairly easy life.

I don’t need heavy duty and can’t afford one of the big boys, HiLux or Ranger. Not ready for electric yet. – Todd

Answer: Action is heating up at the affordable end of the ute market and the offerings are improving. But whichever you choose, there are still compromises.

The LDV T60 has a grunty engine but feels tired inside and has average below-par cornering manners.

The Ssangyong Musso is cheap but has some oversights, including an unsafe lap-only belt in the centre position and an underwhelming engine.

I reckon the GWM Cannon edges ahead following a recent update that beefed its engine up to 2.4 litres, in turn giving it more muscle.

It’s not perfect (there’s still turbo lag) and the steering is so-so. Plus, the infotainment screen can be clumsy and the lack of a central volume dial is crazy. But learn to deal with that and it packs plenty in.

If the budget stretches to circa-$60K (which it sounds like it doesn’t), the newcomer plug-in hybrid utes such as the GWM Cannon Alpha and BYD Shark 6 are absolutely worth a look.

Provided you can charge them at home, it’s a great way to lower running costs while also delivering on performance.

And if you can wait till later in the year, there’s a lot more coming. MG is set to introduce its U9 and LDV the Terron9. They’re the start of an influx of new utes.

Question: I’m looking at updating my current 2015 PX1 Ford Ranger Wildtrak within the next 12 months. I don’t really require a ute but if it suits my needs then I won’t discount it.

I’ve been tossing about the following vehicles:

My kids are still young so I haven’t gone camping with them yet. I go camping two to three times a year with friends and the trails can be harsh with overgrown trees and branches.

I’m up for suggestions.

Answer: There’s plenty of depth – and diversity – in your shortlist.

The Defender is a terrific car but expensive, especially once you start ticking boxes for options. And, as you point out, a reputation for reliability isn’t a strong suit.

We’ve heard of plenty of people having no issues but have also heard plenty of Land Rover horror stories over the years.

The Lexus comes with a brilliant reputation for reliability and is a terrific car. It’s a surprisingly accomplished off-roader (it’s pure Toyota Prado DNA) and is also great on-road.

The negative is its engine: feisty and fun, but thirsty.

If you can live with that, then stick it above the Defender on your shortlist.

The Ranger Raptor is also a terrific car, albeit one that’s thirsty.

It’s brilliant on fast, flowing dirt tracks and also holds up well in gnarly off-road situations.

Its suspension setup is brilliant, making for such a fun truck to drive. But its payload and tow capacity also doesn’t match other utes.

As you point out, the Everest is a sensible choice – and also a great car.

If you don’t need the higher payload of a ute then it’s a great way to go.

I’ll pop a fifth car on your shortlist, too: the Toyota Prado. It’s not perfect (seven-seat models have a ludicrously high boot floor) and comes with a decent price premium, but it’s an excellent off-roader and pretty handy on-road too.

As you probably know, it shares plenty with the Lexus GX, although it doesn’t get the heart pumping quite like the Lexus. But you’ll certainly spend a lot less on fuel!

Also, if you have up to a year to make a decision, it’d be worth waiting to see what else pops up, especially on the ute front. There’s a lot of activity expected in the second half of 2025.

Question: I’ve always loved cars and have had many over my driving life. My first car was a Ford Popular. Yes, that does age me and I’ve decided my last car is going to be the latest technology in cars.

My first thought was an EV until I realised I only have single-phase electricity in my garage of the retirement village in which I live.

I’m happy to go with a hybrid and would prefer to purchase now while the current models are being sold for a good price before the 2025 models, of which there are many.

I currently drive a Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross 2018 which I have certainly enjoyed. I love driving and have no anxiety at all having recently driven through the city with all the road changes happening.

My driving patterns these days are much less than previously, not driving very long distances, a lot more locally and distances to the ACT and Taree a couple of times a year. Interstate rarely – train and hire car for holidays.

How much do you think I could sell my six-year-old Eclipse for? It is in excellent condition with regular servicing and has only done 40,000km.

I am interested in purchasing a new hybrid hatchback, wagon or two-wheel-drive SUV the same size or a bit smaller than the Eclipse. My price would be no higher than $40K on-road.

What other new hybrids (from 2023, 2024) from the Asian markets are currently selling in Australia?

The makes of cars I have looked at so far include GWM, BYD and MG.

I was looking at these when I was interested in an electric car.

On test driving the MG HS EV I didn’t like the dash panel and where the speedometer sat, which was partly obstructed by the steering wheel. It was also too far away and not a flat screen that was right there.

The BYD EV I loved but they don’t have a hybrid.

The GWM Ora EV I didn’t test drive and was fairly small for what I was after.

They do have the Haval H6 Hybrid Lux and Ultra Hybrid.

I have not test driven the car but I like its story although its size and price is a bit too ‘big’ for me.

This is why I’m looking for something similar but not quite so ‘big’ that I don’t know about and can’t find.

So, what is it? How much is it? And how big is it?

Then there’s the other direction – how about a used hybrid? Where’s the best place to look? and how do I know if they will be reliable? – Wendy

Answer: Let’s tackle the single-phase/three-phase charging issue first. With single-phase power you can draw up to 7.4kW of power, which will easily charge an average EV overnight.

The only reason you’d need three-phase is if you were driving 400 to 500km a day and needed to top up within four or five hours to then drive another few hundred kilometres.

In other words, in your instance (and most people’s) single-phase power would be more than enough to keep an EV charged.

As for the best car for you, it could potentially be a wide range. I’ve tried to stick to predominantly small SUVs, some of which aren’t that small (some will be bigger than your Eclipse Cross).

The best hybrids are from Japanese brands, predominantly Toyota. You should be able to get into a Corolla Cross for your budget, which is excellent buying.

Also look at a Hyundai Kona hybrid or Kia Niro, each sharing the same hybrid system.

And check out the Honda HR-V; it only gets four seats but is otherwise a solid all-rounder.

If you’re looking for a sub-$40K used EV, the MG4 and BYD Atto 3 would be at the top of my list. Neither is perfect – the MG drives better, the BYD has more space – but they pack plenty in.

As for how much your Mitsubishi is worth, check Redbook for a guide.

Obviously it depends on the exact model, condition and kilometres, but you’ll get a fair idea from Redbook.

Question: I see Toyota has released details about the new RAV4 – it looks great. I was looking to buy the current one later this year but am now torn.

The plug-in hybrid won’t work for me because I don’t have home charging, so do you think I should just get the RAV4 we’ve got in Australia now? – Jane

Answer: It’s very difficult to say because we haven’t got behind the wheel of the new model yet. It could still be a year away from showrooms (Toyota is saying it’ll arrive in the first half of 2026).

It’d be safe to assume it’ll be a step up in most areas, though. And certainly the added tech and new cabin – which we have seen – is a huge step up on the old model, which is starting to show its age in a super competitive segment of the market.

That said, the current car still stacks up well, especially with its hybrid drivetrain. It’s still among the most efficient regular (non plug-in) hybrids and is still great to drive.

The current model is also likely to be more affordable; Toyota has given some fairly strong hints that the new RAV4 will be more expensive, which gels with every new Toyota for many years.

Given you can wait until later in the year, it may be worth seeing if any runout deals make the current car a tad more tempting.

If not, you can always wait for what is looking like being a fairly solid mid-sized SUV offering.

Question:

Let’s be clear. You do not add depreciation to the purchase price. You subtract the residual value from the purchase cost.

So, in the example from last week the Volkswagen Tiguan is:

The total is $82,224.

Then you deduct the residual value which is $70,490 - $21,147 = $49,343. So the total is $82,224 - $49,343 = $32,881.

That is less than one third of the calculated cost above.

Pretty sloppy, guys. – Carl

Answer: You’re absolutely right and I should have picked up that the reader had calculated it incorrectly.

I was more focused on the difference between the two; given they both used the same calculation it was still an apples-versus-apples comparison (albeit with heavily oversized apples!).

Thanks for pointing it out.

Another way of looking at it is that the car is likely to lose, say, 30 per cent of its value, or $21,147 in this instance. And the total running costs in this instance are $11,734. So the total estimated costs are $32,881 over the life of the vehicle.

But, as pointed out in my reply last week, we’d expect depreciation to be higher, adding to those estimates.

Got a question but don’t know where to find the information you need? Email us at editor@carsales.com.au

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