DREDDED 2 IMPRESS

FORD AND TOYOTA APPLY THE LIPPY TO THEIR BIG- SELLING UTES TO ATTRACT THE BUYING PUBLIC TODAY IT IS FORD VERSUS TOYOTA AT THE TOP OF THE BREA SALES CHARTS HEADED BY THE BRANDS' MIDSIZE 4X4 UTES GR SPORT IS BASED ON THE ROGUE, THE FORMER TOP-SPEC HILUX WILDTRAK X HAS THE FEATURES OF THE V6 WILDTRAK X'S ENGINE AND TRANS COMBO IS MORE SMOOTHER, QUIETER AND REFINED THAN THE GR SPORT

THERE was a time when the Australian automotive sector thrived on the Ford versus Holden battle, but that has well and truly changed now. It's not just that the Holden brand is dead and buried but also the changing tastes of Australian new-car buyers.

Today it is Ford versus Toyota at the top of the sales charts headed by the brands' respective midsize 4x4 utes, the Ranger and HiLux. The HiLux was always the class champion, but in recent years the Ranger has taken over as the most popular new 4x4 ute in the country.

As the battle rages on, the manufacturers strive to offer new and different variants of their utes and, with strong demand at the top-end of the segment, the car companies are only too happy to bring out new high-spec models as this is where the big profit are.

Toyota's new hero model is the HiLux GR Sport, which squares off evenly with Ford's Wildtrak X model at $73,990 and $75,990 respectively (plus ORC).

While the GR Sport sits atop the HiLux list in terms of both price and equipment, the Wildtrak X is only the most expensive and best equipped of the four-cylinder Rangers, with the V6 Platinum and Raptor models sitting above it.

WHAT DO YOU GET?

THE HiLux GR Sport is based on the Rogue model which was previously the highest grade HiLux model. As such it gets heated leather front seats but with GR-S specific suede trim and colours, nine-speaker JBL sound system, an eight-inch screen with inbuilt satnav and audio controls, plus Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a 360° panoramic camera.

There's aluminium driver's pedals and red seat belts, which we guess will appeal to someone, but don't really add anything to the driving experience.