USED UTES

HAVE YOUR FINANCES BEEN HIT BY CORONAVIRUS AND A NEW UTE SUDDENLY LOOKS OUT OF THE QUESTION? HERE’S HOW THE CURRENT UTES SHAPE UP ON THE SECOND-HAND MARKET.

- FRASER STRONACH

HISTORICAL commercial alliances – and rivalries – within the global ute market means that now, in 2020, all the popular new utes currently on sale are all either near the end of their generational life or midway through a generation. In broad terms that means they are all near 10 years old, or five years old, with none of the current popular utes being new-generation designs.

In simple terms, the ‘oldies’ are the VW Amarok, Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50, Holden Colorado and Isuzu D-MAX, which arrived in Australia in that order in 2011/12. The mid-generation utes include the Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara and Toyota Hilux, all of which arrived here in 2015.

Of course, things haven’t remained completely static with those utes since their respective initial arrivals; although, some have changed more than others. Courtesy of a potent V6 diesel, the Amarok is the most changed; although, the 2016 re-engineering of both the Ranger and the Colorado also brought significant changes, as did the optional 2.0-litre 10-speed powertrain in Ranger in 2018. Even the mid-generational utes have seen evolution and changes in the last five years, with Triton receiving a mid-life refresh last year.

All of this bodes well if you’re looking to buy a secondhand ute, as you can go back a good number of years to something that’s more affordable without having to settle for a previous generation design, which, by and large, lack the performance, safety, equipment, general amenity and, in some cases, the cabin size of the current generation utes.

So here’s a rundown of the current 4x4 utes and how they shape up as a second-hand buy, and presented according to new-sales popularity.

THE SCIENCE OF BUYING USED