A guide to choosing a dual cab ute for towing

Finding the right dual cab ute to suit your needs and towing requirements can be an arduous task — but you’ve come to the right place.

Dual cab utes have become the most popular type of vehicle on Australian roads. They are used for running the kids around, tradie workhorses and, of course, for hauling caravans. The popularity of the category has driven many manufacturers to throw resources into developing some very desirable products and we are spoilt for choice with multiple brands and variants. 

If you are in the market for a dual cab ute, you have come to the right place. We have pulled together a handy reference article summarising important specs to give you a head start on your research process. Referring to the comparison tables at the end of the article while reading the commentary is a good idea to help you get the most out of the article. While we can’t cover everything it will help you ask the right questions when doing your own homework. 

Scope

For brevity, we have narrowed our comparison down to pick up, 4x4 and automatic transmission models retailing up to $80k (we have also let the Ranger Wildtrak V6 sneak in at $81k). Even though most of the utes explored here have a theoretical tow rating of 3.5T, we will work through why we believe 2.8T is a better towing benchmark. And because we are a caravan magazine, we pay a lot of attention to the vehicle specs that contribute to a positive towing experience.

What are we covering and what we are not

Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux and Isuzu D-MAX are no-brainers because they are top-selling utes, but they were also the top three-selling cars in the country last year across all categories. Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara round out the big-name brands in the category. We have skipped over a couple of badge-engineered cars. The Volkswagen Amarok is essentially a Ford Ranger with a few cosmetic variances. Similarly, the Mazda BT-50 is a twin to the Isuzu D-MAX. 

Ford Ranger XLT 2.0

We have also included up-and-coming players, SsangYong Musso and LDV T60 MAX, operating at the budget end of the market. It’s worth noting that LDV T60 and SsangYong Musso have extended wheelbase/tub versions but for simplicity, they have been omitted from the comparison. 

The GWM Cannon range has been eliminated as its low 5500kg gross combination mass (GCM) provides very little margin for error when the ute is loaded up. The Mahindra PIK-UP didn’t make the cut because of its modest 2.5T tow rating.

Nissan Navara

Comparing apples with apples

This is tricky, because do you compare the top of the range versus the top of the range (where there is a dramatic price difference between brands)? Or do you try to line up price points and see what you get for your money? We have selected a base model, one of the mid-specs and top of the range for you to compare in the tables. Just to complicate things some brands offer two engine variants with quite different specs, so we have tried to take that into account.

As you embark on your own research here are some tips to keep in mind. Being the fanciest isn’t always the best. For example, the very high-end Ford Ranger Raptor is not a suitable mid-size caravan tow vehicle due to its significantly lower towing capacity, GCM and rear axle load rating compared to the rest of the Ford Ranger range. Conversely, often a base model has some features that make it more suited to towing straight off the showroom floor. Base models tend to have more robust all-terrain tyres whereas higher-spec models usually have smoother highway tyres. Base models also often have more heavy-duty rear springs to support heavier loads whereas higher-spec models tend to have lighter-duty springs more suited to a comfortable ride with little load. In addition, base models tend to have more payload available as they are lighter than their upmarket siblings due to having fewer physical features. Of course, the high-end models win on some fronts with more sophisticated features as we will see.

Finally, do your homework on option packs that are available. A mid-spec model may not have all the goodies you desire but may work out fine once you add in some options. 

Product life cycle

Understanding product life cycles is a useful way to get a handle on where each of the brands is at with its product offer. Car makers invest huge amounts of time and money into developing a new vehicle model. Therefore, they try to get about 10 years out of a platform to deliver a return on their investment. Brands will launch facelifts with tweaks every couple of years or so, but significant advancements are held back for all new models. 

The Ford Ranger has enjoyed the honeymoon phase of a new generation vehicle launched in 2022 which helps it lead the pack in features. In contrast, the current Toyota HiLux is at the end of its life cycle with the platform launched in 2015. It now lags behind in critical payload and GCM ratings. 

The current generation Isuzu D-MAX sits in the middle of its life cycle, striking a balance between the latest tech features and known reliability.

2024 Isuzu D-MAX

The latest generation Mitsubishi Triton is the newest shiny toy having just hit the market. It features much bigger specs than ever before, but it has not had the time to prove itself. 

The Nissan Navara is another ute on a long run, having been first launched in 2015 and is very much a known quantity.

The LDV T60 MAX was launched in Australia in 2017. Originally lacking in autonomous safety features, it has recently made some steps to catch up to the rest of the field.

The SsangYong Musso has been on the market for many years in Australia too, progressively improving safety tech along the way.

Towing weight specs

This section has a bunch of acronyms relating to weight. To learn what they mean, check out our Caravan Safety 101 feature here.

All the utes listed have a tow rating ‘on paper’ of 3500kg except for the Isuzu D-MAX 1.9L version at 3100kg and the LDV T60 MAX at 3000kg. Historically, we have disregarded 3500kg towing rates because of car manufacturers’ GCM ratings. We are going to assume some hypothetical vehicle weights to work through the logic of GCM. The upper limit for GCM offered by ute manufacturers used to be 6000kg. A ute of this nature weighs around 2100kg empty. It’s a pretty conservative estimate to add 500kg payload to the ute bringing the ute weight up to 2600kg loaded excluding towball weight. When you add the ATM of 3500kg your GCM is going to be around 6100kg. That’s at least 100kg over the allowed GCM. If your ute has a lower GCM or you add more load to the ute the problem gets even worse. This means, depending on your specific numbers, a 3000kg ATM caravan would be the upper limit for real-world towing. In fact, there is a strong case for limiting the van weight to 2800kg to prevent the van from being substantially heavier than the car. An ATM of 2800kg also happens to be a very common rating for mid-sized single-axle caravans. Therefore, our comparison tables use the benchmark of a van with an ATM of 2800kg, a towball download of 280kg and a GTM of 2520kg and assumes a modest 500kg tow vehicle payload excluding towball download (780kg including the towball download).

LDV T60 MAX

The tables reveal some interesting data. The HiLux has modest payload capacities in the lower to mid specs and quite low in the premium Rogue and GR Sport Variants. Careful attention to payloads would need to be taken to avoid exceeding GVM. Also, the GCM is the lowest on offer (bar the 1.9L D-MAX) providing the least scope to consider heavier vans or more vehicle payload. The LDV T60 MAX and SsangYong Musso have miserly payloads across the board, limiting their usefulness to accommodate medium or larger towball downloads. The only exception is the base model Pro in the T60 Max range.

At the other end of the scale, Ford Ranger and Mitsubishi Triton have good payload figures but more importantly, they have really boosted GCM numbers. The Ranger offers 6350kg for its four-cylinder models and 6400kg for its six-cylinder models while the Triton offers 6250kg across the board. This gives you far more margin to consider towing a heavier van and staying within GCM. The only downside you will have to consider is that you now have the potential to have a van that weights significantly more than the car, which could lead to the van pushing the car around in certain dynamic handling scenarios. 

Mitsubishi Triton

Tow safety

I can tell you from personal experience that sway control safety features in modern tow vehicles work and can save lives. Ford Ranger, Toyota HiLux, Isuzu D-MAX, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara list sway control in their safety features and the LDV T60 MAX and SsangYong Musso do not.

Nissan Navara

Tow ready

When looking at the total outlay for the car you need to consider any accessories required to be ready to tow. The Ford Ranger is a winner again, being the only brand with an electric brake controller fitted as standard on all models except the very base unit. The Ranger also comes with the towbar fitted as standard on all models except the base unit. Mid-spec and upward HiLuxs and D-MAXs include towbars. The rest of the brands do not list towbars as standard.

Toyota HiLux

When you are at the pointy end of the decision process ask about details such as trailer wiring looms as some switch off certain safety features when a trailer is connected for a better driver experience.

Engines

The Ford Ranger 3.0L V6 has easily the best-in-class performance numbers. A 2.0L four-cylinder is also offered across most of the range. Toyota offers a 2.4L (base model) and 2.8L version of its four-cylinder turbo. The interesting development with HiLux is the introduction of a V-Active system which has a motor generator, 48V battery and DC to DC converter all working towards improving fuel efficiency and smoothness of the diesel engine. Isuzu offers a 1.9L four-cylinder (base model) and a 3.0L four-cylinder engine. While the smaller engines can be perfectly adequate there is no doubt the larger engines tackle heavier towing duties and extra weight with a lot more ease. 

Mitsubishi and Nissan offer one engine type at 2.4L and 2.3L, respectively. LDV offers a 2.0L four-cylinder power plant with pretty big performance numbers for its capacity. The SsangYong Musso sits at 2.2L with average performance numbers.

Four-wheel drive systems

This isn’t just about going offroad. Most brands offer part-time 4WD which can only be used when driving on loose surfaces such as gravel roads. The better systems offer a full-time 4WD mode which enables all four wheels to have drive control even on sealed roads, thus providing much better traction control in scenarios such as wet bitumen roads. Brands that deliver the goods are the Ford Ranger with V6 engines (but not the four-cylinder versions), mid-spec and upward Mitsubishi Tritons and the LDV T60 MAX offers a variation of the concept.

Brakes and suspension

Many of the big brands are still old-school running rear drum brakes that simply don’t have the same performance as disc brakes. Ford Ranger bucks the trend with disc brakes on most of its range, bar the most entry-level models which sport rear disc brakes. You need to step up to very high-end models in the HiLux range to enjoy rear disc brakes. Emerging brands, LDV T60 MAX and SsangYong Musso have both upped their game with rear disc brakes as standard.

Most brands also run old-school leaf springs in the rear, but I am OK with that. Coil springs, as featured across the Navara, Musso and some of the LDV T60 range, tend to be more compliant/comfortable when driving unladen around town and articulate better when offroad. However, the heavy-duty nature of leaf springs tends to handle a heavy load better, such as when towing.

Camera convenience

Reverse cameras are standard fare on vehicles these days, but they are not created equal. Centralised rear cameras (as opposed to offset cameras) are far easier to use when reversing to line up your vehicle towball/pin to the van hitch. So have a look at where the camera is positioned when checking out vehicles. 

Reversing camera in the MY24 Isuzu

Cameras with 360-degree visibility are awesome in providing a view of what is around you outside the car and this means you are far less likely to hit things! Ranger makes it standard in up-spec models and it can be optioned in lower models. HiLux makes it standard from mid-range up, as do Triton and Navara. The T60 MAX and Musso also have a 360-degree camera offering in their ranges too. The Isuzu D-MAX is the only brand not to come to the party at all.

Infotainment

Mobile phone interface is an important factor with contemporary vehicle users with manufacturers battling it out for screen displays, phone app connectivity and phone charging convenience. The Ford Ranger premium Wildtrak trumps the field with the quadrella of a big screen, wireless phone charging and wireless connectivity for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. All others have pros and cons, as shown in the tables.

Ford Ranger Wildtrak

Connectivity

Both the Ranger and HiLux offer online connectivity capable of tracking a vehicle and sending messages. This helps with stuff like locating a stolen vehicle, generating alerts in the event of a collision alert or initiating an SOS call during an emergency.

Which one?

If you’ve got the money the 3.0L V6 Ford Ranger outperforms the rest of the pack on so many fronts. Conservative buyers might want to see how the reliability stacks up after a couple more years in the field, but a five-year unlimited kilometre warranty is a pretty good counter argument.

Among the rest of the big brands, they all have their pros and cons and hopefully, this article helps you weigh up the decision. A really important variable we haven’t covered is individual preference for seating comfort. We would suggest a decent test drive to see what works for you is a must. We documented the driveaway prices listed by manufacturers at the time of publishing — except Mitsubishi which doesn’t list them. Right now, it is a buyer’s market and there are plenty of deals to be had. Just one example is the Isuzu D-MAX X-TERRAIN with a list of $76k that is being offered for $68k. Therefore, I suggest shopping around will help make the decision. 

The emerging brands are attractive in terms of price and features. However low payload numbers and the absence of trailer sway control put them at the bottom of the consideration list. 

— All specs should be verified before making a purchase decision
— Driveaway prices recorded are for postcode 3000
— Mitsubishi Triton offers a 10-year 200,000km warranty when serviced through a Mitsubishi dealer 

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We're shining a spotlight on all things tow vehicle for the next handful of weeks — so don't miss the next instalment: Maintenance on your tow vehicle

If you missed last week's article, a review of the Ford Ranger XLT 2.0L dual cab 4x4, check it out below. 

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