A celebration of our most popular vehicle type
Utility can be simply defined. It means usefulness, and it explains – and in this case defines – whether a vehicle is fit for purpose.
South Africa calls them Bakkies.
Aussies – like New Zealanders – call them utes, and claim to have originated the category.
Americans generally call them pickups (if big) and minitrucks (if small). They too claim to have created the category.
Europe and the UK don’t have a strong ute culture, and they really go more for what are now known as SUVs. And that’s fine. It does rain and snow more there than it does here, so a big single-box interior is probably better for their purposes. Unless it’s also carrying a half ton of wet golden retrievers or Labradors. In which case the owners might well yearn for the aroma-proof design of a ute with a good canopy.
Modern European utes are pretty good – VW makes a handy one – but in the past they were in many cases little more than cut-and-shut versions of four door cars. Land Rover and Ineos are persevering with ute offerings, but both brands would agree the big market for them is all about their SUVs.
Whatever the truth of the matter, it’s also true that the ute – whether humble or bling-festooned – has a special place in our national character. People who don’t have one want one, and people who do have one want a newer one.
The SUV might suit our lifestyles just as well, it might be superb for the run to and from weekend sport, and it may well have done away with wagons/estates in this market. The vehicle of choice and desire for most Kiwis, though, is a ute, preferably a double-cab, most often diesel powered and mostly with a nice smooth auto transmission offering a gear for every occasion.
But which ute is right for which buyer? We all have different personalities (of course) and we all want to do different things with our utes (of course). What is needed is a one-stop information resource that gives people a ready comparison with which to go shopping – for new or used utes.
Welcome to the 2022 ute market review.
