Are big trucks really worth the cash? If you want a big US-sized pick-up truck such as the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150, Ram 1500 Toyota Tundra then prepare to pay the price in Australia | Opinion

So you want to have the biggest ute on the road? You’ll have to pay for it. 

Just like here in Australia, the best-selling vehicles in the United States are pick-up trucks. In their case, it’s the home-brewed Ford F-150 and has been for over 40 years. In Australia the F-truck’s Ford Ranger cousin will take top honours this year. 

Ford Australia is looking to increase the F150’s popularity globally, and it’s not the only carmaker. General Motors via Chevrolet, Ram and now Toyota are looking to make similar moves having all introduced right-hand-drive remanufacturing facilities in Australia. 

And Aussie buyers are paying through the nose for the privilege for the biggest ute bragging rights. 

The most recent offender is the Toyota Tundra, finally arriving in dealerships following a year-long customer evaluation program to ensure the conversion work is up to scratch. 

It’ll cost you a pretty penny at $155,900, before on-road costs (and before arriving at your first fuel bowser). The Tundra Limited has synthetic leather upholstery, heated and ventilated seats and a pretty big 14.0-inch touchscreen.

There’s the added bonus of its ‘i-Force Max’ hybrid engine that develops stunning power and torque outputs of 326kW and 790Nm, blowing its rivals like the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150 and Ram 1500 into the weeds.

You might think it’s a pretty good deal … Until you look at the Limited hybrid’s retail price in the US, equivalent to just A$90,000. Ouch. 

Toyota isn’t the only company with strong mark-ups, the facelifted Ford F-150 Lariant is the equivalent of A$105,500 in its home market, rather than $140K in Oz, and the new Ram 1500 Limited with its ‘Hurricane’ straight-six is $116,000 instead of the outgoing V8’s $156K list price here. 

Big utes aren’t the only offender, with the Chevrolet Corvette another prime example. It’s built from the US factory in right-hand drive for Australia and the 2LT version costs US$77,095, or about A$120,000, not the A$182,000 before on-road costs it does locally. 

It is not all profit for car companies, though, who are taking the utes from the United States, shipping them to Australia where local operations evaluate, comply and then complete conversions from native left-hand drive to Oz-friendly right-hand drive. 

Australia is known for its tricky Australian Design Rules (ADRs) that have proved a challenge, even for experienced manufacturers such as Ford having to disable various lighting features of its F-150. 

Then there’s the manufacturing facilities and know-how needed to convert the vehicles locally, which is a serious program. At least there are no tariffs, with the US and Australia’s free-trade agreement. 

Toyota Australia's official response to the Tundra’s high comparative price is below. 

“The price disparity can be attributed to the extensive development work to locally re-engineer the Tundra to meet the demands of Australian customers and our unique conditions. The process ensures Tundra meets Toyota’s global quality, durability and reliability standards.”

Still, a $60,000 mark-up is steep when Australia is, typically, quite an affordable country to buy a new vehicle compared to the United Kingdom, European countries and Japan. 

It is also enough to make sure these big utes remain a relative rarity on Australian roads, for now. Don’t expect the Silverado, F-150, Ram or Tundra to take top honours from the established dual cab brigade any time soon.