LDV T60 2020 ute sees major changes in its bid to fight against the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux

The 2020 LDV T60 ute range has seen a major change - but you’ll have to drive one to feel the difference.

The Chinese brand’s local arm has confirmed it has rolled out a retuned suspension setup across the entire LDV T60 ute range - from the entry-level single cab through to the top spec dual-cab.

The range-topping limited edition Trailrider model debuted the reworked suspension tune, which was tailor-made for Australia by the same company that used to fine-tune the hottest Commodores - Walkinshaw Automotive.

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A spokesperson for LDV said: “Our engineers re-calibrated the suspension to better suit Australian requirements, and it’s now across all variants of the T60.”

When the LDV T60 Trailrider was launched, it was described by local chief Dinesh Chinnappa as being “the result of the Walkinshaw Automotive Group working closely with LDV in China to produce a new and unique suspension calibration that is ideally suited to Australian road conditions and driver requirements”.

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The between-the-lines reading of that was the brand had received some criticism for the way the T60 handled and rode, and it needed to make changes for the T60 ute to stand a bigger chance of success in the hugely competitive ute market.

Growing brands tuning suspension to suit Australia’s unique road conditions is a well trodden path in this country. Kia Australia and Hyundai Australia both employ local teams to adapt and adjust their car’s suspension and steering systems to better suit local tastes and requirements, and the results have clearly done those marques no disservice.

Read More About LDV T60

Could an LDV T60 extra cab ute be on the way?

There have been no other major changes to the T60 ute, which still runs a 2.8-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine with 110kW of power and 360Nm of torque. There’s the choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic depending on the grade, and all models in the line-up are four-wheel drive. The previously-available 2WD base model has been dropped.

The LDV T60 2020 range is priced from $28,411 drive-away for the base model single cab manual variant, up to $41,042 drive-away for the Trailrider 4WD auto. Those are RRP prices - there are even better deals for ABN holders.