4WD Dualcab Utes: the 2012 market

For many years the 4X4 ute market was stagnant, with a few changed panels or tweaked engines good enough to be called an updated model.  But over the last couple of years the market has caught fire, and there's been some real improvement - but not where it's really needed.

Somewhat belatedly, utes are now being fitted with the life-saving technology of electronic stability control, and that has also meant an improvement in offroad capability as electronic traction control comes with ESC.  More advanced ABS features such as EBA and EBA are creeping in, and the important safety feature that is side (curtain) airbags is also becoming standard.  Refinement and handling are improved, and the headline figures of power and torque are always increasing, and that is what many blokes want out of their small trucks.  Transmissions are gaining five, six and even seven speeds.  And the big five of Toyota Hilux, Mazda BT-50/Ford Ranger, Holden Colorado, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara have been joined by Volkswagen with the Amarok and Isuzu with the Isuzu Ute, so there's more competition.

Despite all that change, the best utes don't handle, ride or perform offroad as well as the wagons from the same company and often they can't tow as much. My experience driving a Triton/Pajero/Challenger and Navara/Pathfinder bears this out, and if you drive those sort of cars back-to-back you too will notice the difference. 

There's no great mystery as to why - take a look at the back end and the transmission which is a throwback to twenty years ago.  None of the utes mentioned above has independent rear suspension or rear coil springs, all rely on disc rear brakes and only the Mitsubshi Triton and Volkwagen Amarok are all-wheel-drive, and the latter only AWD without low range. That's what is holding the utes back, and this is why. 

Leaf springs are crude.  They rub together when compressed and extended, unlike coils.  That rubbing creates friction, which acts as a natural damper.  Problem is, there's already a damper in the shape of a sophisicated shock absorber which is finely-tuned to precisely control the suspension.  A leaf spring is not, hence a less pliant ride.  The leaf spring also locates the axle relative to the chassis, and it doesn't do a great job as it is by definition a spring which has some give, not fixed like the arms used for coil springs.  Leaf springs also protrude in front of and behind the axle, which tends to get in the way offroad.  Finally, leaf springs are prone to getting debris between the leaves which increases inter-leaf friction at the expense of ride quality.  And the leaves fitted by manufacturers are not exactly the last word in leaf spring design, lacking greaseable shackles and poly bushes.

Coil springs avoid all of those problems, and they can certainly take the load.  Many very large military vehicles use them, and indeed the carrying king of the utes, the Defender 130, uses a coil-within-coil system, not to mention the incredible Unimog.  Yet the rest of the market insists on leaves.

Coils, independent suspension and not what you'd call a light vehicle. So, it's possible.

Then there's the live axle.  As one wheel is displaced over a bump, so too does the other one move.  Not great for handling, and you can't use toe or camber settings to improve handling on a live axle either.  But can an independent suspension carry a load?  Yes, and again there's military vehicles out there to prove that point.  Now you may be thinking that a live axle provides good articulation, better than independent, but that's only partly true.  The correct statement is "can" provide good articulation.  And your typical ute's rear end is not set up for mega-flex.  As an example, check out this Mitsubishi flex comparison.

And finally the lack of all wheel drive.  This is just embarrasing, as power rises to 150kw and beyond with torque to match and ever-more gear ratios.  That amount of grunt really needs to be chanelled through all four wheels, but by and large the utes remain wedded to a part-time, 2WD-on-road system.

So why are utes behind the times?  Because this older design is cheaper, none of the others have anything better so you aren't behind the competition, and the market doesn't really demand it.  Your average ute buyer is more interested in another 50Nm of torque than the rather less tangible benefits of a multi-link independent suspension, and there's a perception that independent is weak and girly. Not the sort of image Mr Ute Buyer wishes to project.

Anyway, let's take look at the market by reviewing the specs of each manufacturer's top-end dualcab 4X4 diesel auto ute, or manual if there's no auto.  I've included the 2011 Ford Ranger even though it's not released.   The Defender 130 is included as a reference, even though it's more in the heavy-duty class along with the Toyota 7x ute series and the Patrol utes.

The clear leader here is the new Navara ST-X  which quite comfortably out-grunts everything else.  Mere pulling power isn't t the entire story of course - the number of gear ratios is important, but again the Navara beats the field, and it even develops its massive torque from at a pretty low rpm.  Score one to the Navara.

Now let's look at weights.

Well, it seems mere power alone does not make a perfect towing machine, as the least powerful vehicle is alone up front with a 3500kg towing capacity.  These figures also demonstrate that the utes aren't one-tonners at all as their payloads mostly aren't even a tonne, and that's before you've got in.  Of the main market the BT-50 in heavy-duty mode manages a respectable tonne+, but the king of carrying is still the Defender 130.

The front and rear axle loads have been included as these give an indication of just how much a ute can properly carry in the rear.

Next up are the drivetrains:

And a sorry state that is.  Only three AWDs one of which doesn't have low range, and again only the Defender has rear coils and discs.  However, the Navara, Ranger, Hilux, Triton and Amarok are score well as they all have traction control, stability control and side airbags.  The Defender embarrases itself as that doesn't have any airbags whatsoever, or ABS.

So where does that leave a potential ute buyer?  Well, none of these utes will handle as well as the wagons such as Pajero, Discovery, Prado or LC200.  They won't match them offroad either, lacking suspension flex, clearance and needing longer wheelbases.  The wagons will also be safer through their better handling and greater focus on both active and passive safety which is more built-in than added later.  The utes are longer, and less manouverable, and by and large cannot tow as much.

In favour of the ute is a lower price, greater payload and sheer ability to carry bulk in the back.  That will be enough for many buyers, and it is not as if the modern ute is a particularly poor handler or unrefined - indeed, today's utes outperform yesterday's wagons so many will consider the ute's overall performance more than good enough for their needs.  That's why the segment is growing rapidly, and perhaps that's why manufacturers can't be bothered to truly update the design.  In the meantime, there's never been a better time to use a ute for purposes other than just utilitarian.

Navara ST-X 550 demonstrating its advanced ABS/EBA/BA.

Coil-within-coil on a Defender 130.  Much better ride and handling than a leaf spring.