Ute Advice

Be honest: new vehicles get your blood pumping. And news about new vehicles at the start of a new year merely serves to bump your pulse up and whet your appetite for even more tidbits about upcoming vehicles.

You could argue there’s nothing more Aussie on wheels than a Commodore or Falcon - with the exception of Les Patterson dinking Steve Waugh on a bicycle - but neither of them is as unique, innovative o

If we'd been writing a list of the most exciting cars due in the coming 12 months even a handful of years ago, four-wheel drives would be lucky to have rated a single mention.

Among Australia’s many, many gifts to the world - Rebel Wilson, Tony Abbott, the cork hat, Clive Palmer, Vegemite, Dame Edna - perhaps the most profound, yet sadly unrecognised, is the ute.

Safety should be foremost in your mind when buying a new ute. After all, it's a highly risky game of dodgem cars played out in fast-moving two-tonne tanks.

Research shows which are the most affordable SUVs, utes and vans to own and run.

It's no secret that Australians love their utes. These days, light commercial utes like the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max are moving beyond their traditional rural and tradesman roles thanks to improvements in safety, refinement and efficiency, and often being used as family transporters or adventure

I just got a new car. It's a station wagon, bought second hand. I've had three cars in my life now — two wagons and a hatch — and I expect I will go through the rest of my life not owning a sedan.

Very few SUV or four-wheel drive owners take their vehicles off road, let alone into demanding terrain.

There are no deals on the just released, all-new version of the market-leading Toyota HiLux ute but big discounts have emerged on rivals fighting over the scraps. Here are the best deals — down your tools and go and kick some tyres. Ford Ranger Discounts on the Ranger are extremely rare, so we had to double check this one wasn't a misprint. The workhorse XLS grade 4WD four-door ute may lack the bling of the XLT and Wildtrak but it has the same strong 3.2-litre five-cylinder diesel engine and all the other Ranger attributes (including 230V power adaptor). The price of $45,490 drive-away after a $500 bonus is super-sharp. The RRP is $48,090 plus on-roads, so this is a discount of nearly $5000. Auto adds $2200. Nissan Navara RX 2WD Nissan has a headline price of $36,835 drive-away for the base model four-door ute but there are a few caveats. This price is for the 2WD, not the 4WD, the 1 per cent finance deal must be repaid over just three years — then there's the massive balloon payment of $19,795, more than half the purchase price. Best to arrange your own finance and haggle harder on the price. Mazda BT-50 Need a workshop runabout? The Mazda BT-50 single cab with 2.2-litre turbo diesel and factory dropside tray can be had for $26,990 drive-away, or $1500 less than the Ford Ranger equivalent. Mitusbishi Triton The new Triton was well priced at launch earlier this year but buyers have avoided it in droves, due to either its ungainly looks or its mainly carry-over chassis. So Mitsubishi has made the price even more compelling. The GLX 4WD four-door is $36,990 drive-away, including alloy wheels, reversing camera and five-year warranty (which the Colorado lacks). But the best buy is the $39,990 drive-away GLS with Super Select (4WD can be used on sealed roads), larger alloy wheels, rear-view camera in the central display screen, sports bar, hard tonneau cover ... the list goes on. If Mitsubishi fitted the new Pajero Sport nose to the Triton it would have a winner on its hands. Holden Colorado The Colorado — one of the first cars to suffer from General Motors cutbacks during its development in the global financial crisis — has been in permanent discount mode since it went on sale a couple of years ago. It is not rated as highly as newer utes. But the basic LS 4WD four-door (pictured, LS-X) at $35,990 drive-away (after a $1000 bonus) is sharp buying if you're on a budget. At that price, the equivalent Isuzu D-Max ute can't get close. Ford Falcon XR6 Ute Want to buy one of the last homegrown utes? The XR6 ute limboes to a new low: $31,940 drive-away after a $500 discount. That's with six-speed automatic transmission, 18-inch alloy wheels, alloy sports bar and eight-inch colour touchscreen. This is about $5000 off the full RRP for the XR6 ute and about $10,000 less than the Commodore SV6 ute.