What Pickup?

[D_T_W]

I know it's probably been done to death (even I've asked before!), but with the new crop of pickups on the market now, what's the opinion on them all?

I'm getting one via work, will be used mostly on road, occasional site visit on lumpy bump terrain, probably dragging the odd truck out of a hole in our yard, bit of towing if my track/sprint car plans come to fruition later this year.

Leaning towards a Ford Ranger at the moment just because I like the look of it, but I'm guessing the driving experience is broadly similar across the board. I had an '11 plate Hilux before so I'm aware they tend to be a compromised drive, but the tax benefit through the company makes a great deal of sense for me at the moment.

Any other suggestions worth looking at?

[justanother5tar]

Ford Ranger would be my choice, for what you want.

Nicer place to be than a Nav/L200/Hilux. They drive really nice for what they are, too.

[powerstroke]

Im running a new shape Hilux still very pleased with it after 5 months and 8,000 miles ...

[308mate]

I don't see how Toyota sleep at night with the new Ranger on offer. They were caught resting on their Hilux laurels before and it took a sharp ultimatum from some big fleet buyers to pull their socks up and bring the Hilux up to date. The face lift is subjective but I think its half arsed, the infotainment panel is comedic and its expensive for what comes standard. Small things like a 12v jack in the tray, Ranger has it, Hilux doesnt. Hilux new engine options fall short also. They cant trade on the name forever but they will try.

[Jag_NE]

I like the ISUZU DMax, mainly because the others have a tendency to be driven by angry fatties, the DMax (in a non bling trim) is still quite subtle and has more of an agricultural as opposed to scrap metal image.

However, based on what you stated you need the vehicle to do, are you sure an SUV will not suffice? An SUV will be a far more pleasant ownership experience.

[Mammasaid]

justanother5tar said:

Ford Ranger would be my choice, for what you want.

Nicer place to be than a Nav/L200/Hilux. They drive really nice for what they are, too.

L200 would (is) be my choice, drives much nicer than ranger, can run in 4wd on the road, and better value for money.

Also about 200mm narrower than ranger/hilux/amarok so can be threaded down the average uk country lane a little bit easier.

[D_T_W]

Jag_NE said:

However, based on what you stated you need the vehicle to do, are you sure an SUV will not suffice? An SUV will be a far more pleasant ownership experience.

It most certainly would be a far more pleasant ownership prospect, but the driving experience isn't worth the £600-800 a month extra it would cost in tax as this will be a company car (as I mentioned in my first post). If you're not aware a pickup attracts a flat rate for both the vehicle and fuel due to being classed as a commercial vehicle, meaning it costs around £100 a month for a 20% tax payer. The only other alternative would be a Disco or Shogun Commercial, but I need the rear seats occasionally and the pickups are significantly cheaper (to the tune of around £10k!)

Mammasaid said:

justanother5tar said:

Ford Ranger would be my choice, for what you want.

Nicer place to be than a Nav/L200/Hilux. They drive really nice for what they are, too.

L200 would (is) be my choice, drives much nicer than ranger, can run in 4wd on the road, and better value for money.

Also about 200mm narrower than ranger/hilux/amarok so can be threaded down the average uk country lane a little bit easier.

I was out having a look at some of them today, I thought the L200 seemed a bit cheap inside, a bit like my old Hilux in terms of touch and feel. No doubting it's a far better 4wd system however, but any off roading will be a very small part of the ownership experience and I don't anticipate needing 4wd on road very often either. Ranger is a nice place to sit, as is the new Navara (or whatever it's called now) however oddly the Hilux seems a step backwards. Didn't get a chance to look at the D-Max but I'm lead to believe it's similar to the L200.

L200 is certainly the cheaper option, from my browsing it seems to be coming in around £2-3k cheaper than any of the rest. It will likely come down to availability and value for money at the end of the day, I only get to make a suggestion but it's our MD who makes the final call as he's paying for it!

Appreciate your thoughts on it all though

[scrwright]

I have a '16 Ranger and really like it apart from crap mpg (well it is a 3.2 auto LOL) and only 2wd on the road, really is prone to spinning tyres when empty and the roads are damp/stty etc

[Mammasaid]

D_T_W said:

I was out having a look at some of them today, I thought the L200 seemed a bit cheap inside, a bit like my old Hilux in terms of touch and feel. No doubting it's a far better 4wd system however, but any off roading will be a very small part of the ownership experience and I don't anticipate needing 4wd on road very often either. Ranger is a nice place to sit, as is the new Navara (or whatever it's called now) however oddly the Hilux seems a step backwards. Didn't get a chance to look at the D-Max but I'm lead to believe it's similar to the L200.

L200 is certainly the cheaper option, from my browsing it seems to be coming in around £2-3k cheaper than any of the rest. It will likely come down to availability and value for money at the end of the day, I only get to make a suggestion but it's our MD who makes the final call as he's paying for it!

Appreciate your thoughts on it all though

Being able to tow in 4wd on tarmac is definitely a plus for the L200, it's more reassuring given the state of the roads in the UK.

BTW, don't confuse cheap with durable/hardwearing, at the end of the day these are supposed to be working vehicles, and I was able to get out after a 6 hour drive up the M5 > M6 over Xmas without feeling that I'd been tortured.

[308mate]

D_T_W said:

I was out having a look at some of them today, I thought the L200 seemed a bit cheap inside, a bit like my old Hilux in terms of touch and feel. No doubting it's a far better 4wd system however, but any off roading will be a very small part of the ownership experience and I don't anticipate needing 4wd on road very often either. Ranger is a nice place to sit, as is the new Navara (or whatever it's called now) however oddly the Hilux seems a step backwards. Didn't get a chance to look at the D-Max but I'm lead to believe it's similar to the L200.

L200 is certainly the cheaper option, from my browsing it seems to be coming in around £2-3k cheaper than any of the rest. It will likely come down to availability and value for money at the end of the day, I only get to make a suggestion but it's our MD who makes the final call as he's paying for it!

Appreciate your thoughts on it all though

Be sure to check the seats in the new L200 against the others. I had the ML model and compared to other utes available, the leg and lateral support in the seating was woeful. Often the L200/Triton is cheaper, I agree. Most of the areas where the savings are made are liveable. This is one area I really noticed though. On the flipside, nothing compared to the ML's turning circle but that in response to the MK's turning circle being akin to that of the Titanic.

[Mammasaid]

308mate said:

D_T_W said:

I was out having a look at some of them today, I thought the L200 seemed a bit cheap inside, a bit like my old Hilux in terms of touch and feel. No doubting it's a far better 4wd system however, but any off roading will be a very small part of the ownership experience and I don't anticipate needing 4wd on road very often either. Ranger is a nice place to sit, as is the new Navara (or whatever it's called now) however oddly the Hilux seems a step backwards. Didn't get a chance to look at the D-Max but I'm lead to believe it's similar to the L200.

L200 is certainly the cheaper option, from my browsing it seems to be coming in around £2-3k cheaper than any of the rest. It will likely come down to availability and value for money at the end of the day, I only get to make a suggestion but it's our MD who makes the final call as he's paying for it!

Appreciate your thoughts on it all though

Be sure to check the seats in the new L200 against the others. I had the ML model and compared to other utes available, the leg and lateral support in the seating was woeful. Often the L200/Triton is cheaper, I agree. Most of the areas where the savings are made are liveable. This is one area I really noticed though. On the flipside, nothing compared to the ML's turning circle but that in response to the MK's turning circle being akin to that of the Titanic.

See above

As I mentioned 6 hours slogging up the M5 & M6 in post Xmas traffic is enough to test the comfort of any seats! (BTW, mine's a Warrior Series 5 with 'leather' seats)

P.S. what's ML/MK?

[308mate]

Mammasaid said:

308mate said:

D_T_W said:

I was out having a look at some of them today, I thought the L200 seemed a bit cheap inside, a bit like my old Hilux in terms of touch and feel. No doubting it's a far better 4wd system however, but any off roading will be a very small part of the ownership experience and I don't anticipate needing 4wd on road very often either. Ranger is a nice place to sit, as is the new Navara (or whatever it's called now) however oddly the Hilux seems a step backwards. Didn't get a chance to look at the D-Max but I'm lead to believe it's similar to the L200.

L200 is certainly the cheaper option, from my browsing it seems to be coming in around £2-3k cheaper than any of the rest. It will likely come down to availability and value for money at the end of the day, I only get to make a suggestion but it's our MD who makes the final call as he's paying for it!

Appreciate your thoughts on it all though

Be sure to check the seats in the new L200 against the others. I had the ML model and compared to other utes available, the leg and lateral support in the seating was woeful. Often the L200/Triton is cheaper, I agree. Most of the areas where the savings are made are liveable. This is one area I really noticed though. On the flipside, nothing compared to the ML's turning circle but that in response to the MK's turning circle being akin to that of the Titanic.

See above

As I mentioned 6 hours slogging up the M5 & M6 in post Xmas traffic is enough to test the comfort of any seats! (BTW, mine's a Warrior Series 5 with 'leather' seats)

P.S. what's ML/MK?

That's the model code for the various shapes of L200/Triton. The current one is MQ.

[matsoc]

It is probably pricey but I recently drove a brand new 3.0 tdi VW Amarok and it impressed me. Much more car-like than I thought and with brisk performance. The L200 is a much more rough experience. But I have no experiences of current Ranger and Hilux

[Mammasaid]

308mate said:

That's the model code for the various shapes of L200/Triton. The current one is MQ.

Mine's a MQ then, presume it stands for muddy quick. Though Mitsubishi and most others call it the Series 5 now.

[powerstroke]

Mammasaid said:

308mate said:

That's the model code for the various shapes of L200/Triton. The current one is MQ.

Mine's a MQ then, presume it stands for muddy quick. Though Mitsubishi and most others call it the Series 5 now.

That's just our importer being a tart again like calling the Pajero a shogun ,
What about the Fiat badged one ?spec price etc ...

[powerstroke]

308mate said:

D_T_W said:

I was out having a look at some of them today, I thought the L200 seemed a bit cheap inside, a bit like my old Hilux in terms of touch and feel. No doubting it's a far better 4wd system however, but any off roading will be a very small part of the ownership experience and I don't anticipate needing 4wd on road very often either. Ranger is a nice place to sit, as is the new Navara (or whatever it's called now) however oddly the Hilux seems a step backwards. Didn't get a chance to look at the D-Max but I'm lead to believe it's similar to the L200.

L200 is certainly the cheaper option, from my browsing it seems to be coming in around £2-3k cheaper than any of the rest. It will likely come down to availability and value for money at the end of the day, I only get to make a suggestion but it's our MD who makes the final call as he's paying for it!

Appreciate your thoughts on it all though

Be sure to check the seats in the new L200 against the others. I had the ML model and compared to other utes available, the leg and lateral support in the seating was woeful. Often the L200/Triton is cheaper, I agree. Most of the areas where the savings are made are liveable. This is one area I really noticed though. On the flipside, nothing compared to the ML's turning circle but that in response to the MK's turning circle being akin to that of the Titanic.

I had the previous L200 of ,r a short while it was horrible cheep and everything seemed cheesy /blingy. they are also the truck of choice for our caravan using nomadic types ,and the lower end of the building trade , It seems to be law that you have tats and go to the gym if you own one
must be the daft names some ponce at the importers came up with warrior ,barbarian etc ...

[Mammasaid]

powerstroke said:

I had the previous L200 of ,r a short while it was horrible cheep and everything seemed cheesy /blingy. they are also the truck of choice for our caravan using nomadic types ,and the lower end of the building trade , It seems to be law that you have tats and go to the gym if you own one
must be the daft names some ponce at the importers came up with warrior ,barbarian etc ...

Homophobia, nice.....

[muppetdave]

Got a '65 Ranger 2.2 Limited 2 - have to say I thoroughly love it. To be honest, I didn't look around at the opposition; Dad has an L200 (albeit a few years old) and just not overly impressed, and it was much the same on the others to be honest when I looked pound for pound on specs. DMax was the other I'd have looked at in earnest, but I got lazy!

Really pleased with it a year and 16.5K miles in. Nearly all road miles, including longer runs down to Le Mans. I find it very comfortable, including for the long runs. Plenty of space in the rear for two car seats (my Mum even sat comfortably between them on a long run). Layout inside is good. Engine is good enough, albeit a little more noisy than I'd like. If it has any bearing, my wife has always been a small car person, and absolutely loves it.

Not done heaps off road, but thus far it's done ok, never had to drop it in to low range though.

Plan as it stands is to have another in two years time, although I'll probably opt for the 3.2 Limited. That said I've been told the newer smaller diesel is a lot smoother, so we'll see...

[normalbloke]

If you're considering the new L200, take a moment to read the NCAP report, especially the part where the airbags failed to deploy properly. Scary stuff indeed.

[308mate]

powerstroke said:

Mammasaid said:

308mate said:

That's the model code for the various shapes of L200/Triton. The current one is MQ.

Mine's a MQ then, presume it stands for muddy quick. Though Mitsubishi and most others call it the Series 5 now.

That's just our importer being a tart again like calling the Pajero a shogun ,
What about the Fiat badged one ?spec price etc ...

Mitsubishi decide the regional names. The series is accurate worldwide but within a series you may get more than one model code. For example Series IV included both ML and MN models. The later MN has a longer tray.

Warrior and Barbarian, I'm not sure who's responsible for that tat.