Pickup trucks as daily drivers...
Discussion
kustombrad said:
I'm in the US and pickup trucks are huge part of everyday transportation. They're also fun to make fast and handle extremely well. I'm curious if they have the same popularity in the UK. Here's my driver...
It's pics like this that remind me why I'm addicted to Roadkill's muscle trucks. Although in fairness yours looks a lot shinier than any of theirs!My mate has one as his daily but he also teaches diving so makes sense to have something he can sling his wet diving gear into. They were always considered farmers cars and were never that popular as a daily driver in the UK. Wasn't there some tax breaks getting a pickup as a work vehicle/company car as it was considered agricultural and subject to less tax? I'm basing this on pub conversations not fact so happy to be corrected but I remember one of the regulars in my old local bragging about how he got a pickup as a company car as some sort of tax benefit over a standard car.
Definitely not coveted like they are in the US though.
Definitely not coveted like they are in the US though.
They've become popular as an alternative to company cars. For reasons best known to our moronic government, they are very tax efficient as a company car.
Basically, you can have any pick up you want for a tax hit of £53.50 a month as as basic rate tax payer. If you chose a car and wanted to pay tax of a similar amount, you'd need to be looking at a small city car.
So you can have a 3 litre £40K double cab pick up truck and pay less tax than you would for a Ford Fiesta.
Basically, you can have any pick up you want for a tax hit of £53.50 a month as as basic rate tax payer. If you chose a car and wanted to pay tax of a similar amount, you'd need to be looking at a small city car.
So you can have a 3 litre £40K double cab pick up truck and pay less tax than you would for a Ford Fiesta.
Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Tuesday 13th February 16:44
Edited by TwigtheWonderkid on Tuesday 13th February 16:46
soad said:
More popular in Australia, than here.
Most "Utes" (if we're talking about Hostralia... we should use the correct terminology) are working cars, equivalent to the white van in the UK. A lot of them are Japanese 2-2.5L diesel 4-bangers designed for going places that don't have roads and towing heavy loads... They're not designed for comfort, negotiating a narrow country lane or low running costs. There are a small number of show off utes (mostly Holden, some Ford) that are driven by utter oiks. Imagine a Chav with less class, less sophistication, less intelligence and a bigger penchant for violence... That's the kind of oik that drivers a Holden Maloo ute with a cheap aftermarket exhaust and coilovers to lower it. You can get the Maloo here but insurance will rape you for it.
However back to the Japanese utes, if you want a cheap 4x4 (proper body on frame) then a Hilux, BT-40 or similar is cheaper than most and just as capable. They would suck as a daily though.
If you're thinking of something like VW Armarok... Its time to tell your wife about Tarquin, your secret boyfriend.
I always assumed pickup trucks just don't stack up very well for most people's purposes in the UK compared to a van. A van can carry more stuff, its towing capability is adequate for most uses, and the limited offroad capability is rarely a problem.
The majority of pickups I see are towing a trailer with a car or building equipment on it.
The majority of pickups I see are towing a trailer with a car or building equipment on it.
I do know a couple of people who have got double-cab pick-ups as daily drivers/family cars in the last few years, including my uncle, and they are definitely a bit more popular for that purpose than they used to be. As I understand it manufacturers have cottoned on and are making efforts to make them generally less agricultural all round. I can see the appeal but the thing that got me when I went with my uncle in his to get a load of building materials was that we were in this gargantuan (by UK standards) 'car', which was a bit of a pain to manoeuvre around and park, but we couldn't get three metre lengths of pipe in it because of the bulkhead. If you're not a builder/farmer I don't really see why you'd have one rather than an estate of some sort, but each to their own.
I've had a L200, currently daily a Jimny. I do commute around northern Scotland though where roads are somewhat lower quality to much of the UK, however I would agree with the OP. Simple pickups and 4x4s (not so much the modern computer on wheels type ones) really are great for worry free commuting, they breeze through all weather conditions, they tend to be simple and cheap to fix, they benefit from commercial grade consumables which, whilst costing slightly more have the potential for great longevity (70k tyre changes aren't abnormal with big ATs) and with proper body on frame designs and chunky tyres you can rattle them over speedbumps, potholes and kerbs all day long without feeling like you are bending stuff. And obviously the off road performance is there when wanted/needed.
I also find as an added advantage, whilst not being 'good' to drive they are 'fun' at more legal speeds. On a local A road which my MX5 can do comfortably at NSL, and doesn't break a sweat right up to 90ish on many of the corners, in the Jimny it is an event, holding on for dear life throwing it into the bends at 55-65. The L200, whilst a different beast in the handling department was similarly fun at less licence threatening speed.
I'd highly recommend anyone who has discounted the big body on frame, solid axle units in the past give one a try, they are certainly not fast but do have the potential for fun.
All that without even touching on the practicality of an open bed and 3ton towing capacity.
I also find as an added advantage, whilst not being 'good' to drive they are 'fun' at more legal speeds. On a local A road which my MX5 can do comfortably at NSL, and doesn't break a sweat right up to 90ish on many of the corners, in the Jimny it is an event, holding on for dear life throwing it into the bends at 55-65. The L200, whilst a different beast in the handling department was similarly fun at less licence threatening speed.
I'd highly recommend anyone who has discounted the big body on frame, solid axle units in the past give one a try, they are certainly not fast but do have the potential for fun.
All that without even touching on the practicality of an open bed and 3ton towing capacity.
to3m said:
I always assumed pickup trucks just don't stack up very well for most people's purposes in the UK compared to a van. A van can carry more stuff, its towing capability is adequate for most uses, and the limited offroad capability is rarely a problem.
The majority of pickups I see are towing a trailer with a car or building equipment on it.
I've always thought it was because a van has a roof. Anything you put in a tray in a pickup is going to get wet here The majority of pickups I see are towing a trailer with a car or building equipment on it.
A Hilux can take 1t in the tray and another 2.5t in a trailer without breaking a sweat but just isn't as suitable for the UK climate.
I'm not sure how well they would work in the UK. In Texas ,people generally do their own towing and hauling. People own their own trailer for boats, cars etc which make a truck very useful.
The open bed may not be that appealing in the wet weather climate of England and as nobody owns guns, i suspect that it would be just a matter of time before someone will walk up to your truck while you're sitting in traffic and walk off with whatever you have in the bed.
The open bed may not be that appealing in the wet weather climate of England and as nobody owns guns, i suspect that it would be just a matter of time before someone will walk up to your truck while you're sitting in traffic and walk off with whatever you have in the bed.
First came the car then someone improved the design and put a load bed on the back !!!
I've always wanted a pick up maybe it was seeing the latest dirt bike on one in the american
dirt bike mag as a kid in the 70s so I've had, first car was a Mini pickup then a datsun 720 one ton which I re engined with a bluebird SSS engine , had countless Japanese trucks and quite a few american ones since then , repaired and modded , carried my bikes both MX and Enduro and everything else, to do with DIY ,work ,restoring vintage tractors ..
horses for courses and all all that maybe a bit marmite for some but I've had some fancy cars but soon got bored with them love my pick ups looking for another Datsun 2wd single cab long bed ..
I've always wanted a pick up maybe it was seeing the latest dirt bike on one in the american
dirt bike mag as a kid in the 70s so I've had, first car was a Mini pickup then a datsun 720 one ton which I re engined with a bluebird SSS engine , had countless Japanese trucks and quite a few american ones since then , repaired and modded , carried my bikes both MX and Enduro and everything else, to do with DIY ,work ,restoring vintage tractors ..
horses for courses and all all that maybe a bit marmite for some but I've had some fancy cars but soon got bored with them love my pick ups looking for another Datsun 2wd single cab long bed ..
DoubleTime said:
My mrs uses ours as a daily driver. Not sure I would ever describe one as handling extremely well. Not compared to the likes of a well sorted 911 for example.
You need to come and play over here. I know of LOTS of pickups that wouldn't even see a well sorted 911 as a challenge...
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