What Pickup?

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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?

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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

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Well having done a bit more research, I appear to have hit a minor snag. The Ranger Wildtrak appears to only have a load capacity of 1005kgs, which means if I add the hard top cover it drops it below the magical 1000kg payload capacity for my BIK to remain at a sensible level. Having spoken to 3 Ford dealers and Ford themselves, none of them can actually agree what the payload capacity is, the answer varied from 995kgs to 1050kgs, all without a rear hard top fitted. Having read every review I could find then referencing it with Fords own brochure, then digging around the HMRC website it isn't actually clear what method is used to work out the kerb weight vs the gross weight.

Does anybody actually have one they use via a business that has the hard top canopy or roll cover that can clarify? I found a couple that my boss is willing to buy, but one with and one without a rear cover and I'd rather not get shafted by the tax man if I can avoid it by buying the wrong one!

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powerstroke said:

The hard top or any other accessories are part of your load so yes they reduce the payload capacity but they don't change the manufactures quoted weights which have to show a payload of 1000kg or more to be VAT reclaimable and classed as a commercial for tax purposes !!
the hard top would be classed as part of the load like passengers or cargo so won't affect the tax position ...

I know, but according to the HMRC website if you add a hardtop to a double cab pickup you must take a generic weight of 45kgs off the payload, which if the initial payload was 1040kgs would make it 995kgs which brings it under the magic 1000kgs

Extract below

From 2002/03, when deciding whether double cab pick-ups count as cars or vans, HMRC will interpret the legislation that defines car and van for tax purposes in line with the definitions used for VAT purposes. The position in respect of earlier tax years remains unchanged.

Under this measure, a double cab pick-up that has a payload of 1 tonne (1,000kg) or more is accepted as a van for benefits purposes. Payload means gross vehicle weight (or design weight) less unoccupied kerb weight (care is needed when looking at manufacturers’ brochures as they sometimes define payload differently).

Under a separate agreement between Customs and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), a hard top consisting of metal, fibre glass or similar material, with or without windows, is accorded a generic weight of 45kg. Therefore the addition of a hard top to a double cab pick-up with an ex-works payload of 1,010 kg will convert the vehicle into a car (net payload reduced to 965 kg). Under this agreement, the weight of all other optional accessories is disregarded. HMRC has also adopted this treatment.

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That's what I don't know, and I can't get a straight answer from Ford. I spoke to their Commercial Vehicles customer service team today and they couldn't actually answer the question which was more than a little frustrating. I read it as anything that covers the loading bay, be that a roller cover the same height as the side or a full canopy would impact the load capacity, but even our company account isn't sure and he's apparently done this before!

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Well, to round this thread off (a rare thing on PH!), I ended up with a 2 year old Shogun 4Work, otherwise known as a Commercial. £5k cheaper than a brand new L200 with a top on the back (we use a supplier who get's 28% discount), it's a bit agricultural and not quite what I wanted only having 2 seats, but the deal is I have it for 2 years then P/X it against something I do want. Seemed fair enough!