Australia is the birthplace of the ute – we invented it, after all. In recent years, we’ve been fortunate enough to see some of the most memorable examples roll across our roads, from the RAM 1500 TR-X and Ford Ranger Raptor, to Aussie-made icons like the HSV Maloo GTSR W1 and FPV GT-F Pursuit.
Since then, Australian tastes have shifted towards dual-cab utes jacked up to the sky, built as much for bullying right-lane hogs as they are for work or play. The result is a market that feels increasingly homogeneous, more about one-upmanship than variety.
Government schemes such as NVES and ANCAP’s uncompromising safety requirements haven’t helped either, pushing manufacturers toward a narrow, lifted off-roader formula. But not everyone wants a towering four-wheel drive.
We think there might be a strong case for cheaper, lower-slung utes with a broader range of powertrains – and some of the coolest examples are denied to us here in Australia. In this piece, we’ll highlight the top 10 of such unattainable packages.
1. Toyota HiLux Champ (Thailand)
We had to start with this one as it oozes cool and we wish we could buy it here. It costs the equivalent of AU$19,300 – a steal considering a manual HiLux Workmate starts from over $30k.
There are two petrol engines – a 2.0-litre and the trusty 2.7-litre 2TR – as well as the 2.4-litre turbo-diesel. This is a ute stripped back to bare essentials, with a rugged yet modern look that makes it super endearing. The interior is utilitarian and eschews the decadent luxury of infotainment and climate control.
Best of all, there’s also a wicked racing version. Thailand’s version of SuperUtes actually feature engines you can buy from the showroom, unlike our V8-powered contenders.
2. Toyota HiLux GR Sport 4×2 Low Floor (Thailand)
The locally-delivered HiLux GR Sport is a tough and purposeful looking beast, with lots of genuine off-road talent to boot. Its black wheel arches and bash plates give it an intimidating rear-view mirror presence, too. In Thailand, there is a low rider 4×2 model with a different bodykit and silhouette.
While it might look a bit under-tyred, it follows a different formula to the status quo and we love it for that.
3. Ford Ranger MS-RT(UK/Europe)
Developed in Europe by Ford’s WRC partner, M-Sport, the MS-RT Ranger again eschews the high-riding look for something very different. A wide-bodykit accentuates a 40mm wider track (front and rear). Honeycomb inserts in the top and lower grille give this a sophisticated appearance, rather than the brash, in-your-face obnoxiousness of the Raptor.
Other nice touches include a ducktail spoiler, 21-inch diamond-cut alloys and low-profile tyres. Ride height has been lowered by 40mm, with firmer dampers. A classy interior with blue stitching adds to the desirability factor. There’s even a PHEV version now.
4. GWM Cannon Alpha V6 (China)
While we get a potent PHEV version of the Cannon Alpha (pictured), we miss out on a Raptor-rivalling 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 offered overseas. While it trails the Raptor for outright power at 260kW and 500Nm, it would pair nicely to the nine-speed automatic. Its a 48V mild-hybrid as well, but local execs have cited NVES as a deterrent for importing this version. Ford and Toyota, for example, have a more diverse fleet to offset something like this.
Perhaps the V8 PHEV powertrain shown at Auto Shanghai 2025 could find its way into a ute soon? We’re sure many buyers would be lunging at the keys for that.
5. Jeep Gladiator EcoDiesel (USA)
The Gladiator is one of the coolest-looking utes on sale in Australia in our opinion, with the same utility as the Wrangler thanks to its removable doors and roof panels, and fold-down windscreen. There, quite simply, is nothing like it on the new car market anywhere.
What leaves us confounded is the 3.6-litre Pentastar V6 petrol, which is the weak link of the Gladiator due to abysmal fuel economy. The fact it is available overseas with a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 generating 194kW and 600Nm has us scratching our heads, considering the overwhelming majority of utes sold here are oil-burners. The Gladiator is also available with a manual transmission in the USA.
6. Isuzu D-Max Arctic Trucks AT35 (UK/Europe)
Continuing a trend first pioneered by the Arctic Toyota HiLux shown on Top Gear a long time ago, the AT35 D-Max is the toughest-looking D-Max…. in the world.
Pumped wheel arches contain 17-inch alloys, wrapped in gargantuan 35-inch 315/70 all-terrain tyres. While it definitely looks purposeful, it gets the weedy 1.9-litre turbo-diesel rather than the 3.0-litre 4JJ we know and love here.
We shouldn’t complain really, since we got our own, Walkinshaw-developed D-Max Blade with some very clever chassis and cosmetic enhancements. It’s just not as tough in visuals.
7. Ford Ranger Wildtrak (China)
China’s Ranger Wildtrak is a very different animal to the one we get in Australia. For starters, it swaps out rear leaf springs for the coil-sprung, Watts linkage configuration seen in the Everest. In addition to the rear diff lock we get, there’s a front diff lock too.
Integrated winch, snorkel and steel bumpers give us extreme FOMO. Curiously, the 2.3-litre petrol EcoBoost engine is used with 190kW and 450Nm, paired to an eight-speed ZF automatic – rather than the 10-speed we get here. They can keep the last part but the rest has us seething.
Other Rangers we miss out on include the diesel Raptor – basically a continuation of the PXII Raptor, with 157kW and 500Nm. Interesting factoid, the European-delivered Ranger Raptors are choked down to 210kW and 491Nm, thanks to emissions requirements and a petrol particulate filter.
8. Ford F-150 Lobo and Raptor R
Another understated looking low-rider denied to us Aussies, the F-150 Lobo borrows its name from a Mexican F-150 derivative. Once again, ride height is lowered by 2-inches, with 22-inch wheels wrapped in lower-profile tyres to give it a hunkered-down stance. A bodykit and grille illumination makes this a truck worth salivating over. Best of all, it is V8-only, rather than the EcoBoost V6 our locally-delivered F-150s get.
Another F-150 we don’t get is the Raptor R. This is a 536kW, 867Nm monster that would give the RAM 1500 TR-X a bloody nose. Powered by the same 5.2-litre supercharged ‘Predator’ V8 as the Mustang Shelby GT500, it can tow four tonnes and sprint from 0-100km/h in under 4.0 seconds.
9. Nissan Frontier Pro (China) / Frontier 3.8 V6 (USA)
We are due for a new Navara soon, but China and America already get some pretty cool versions which might preview the Triton-based successor, set to land here next year. The Frontier Pro PHEV combines a 1.5-lire turbocharged engine with an electric powertrain, for a combined 300kW and 800Nm. It looks very cool posing with its spiritual 1980s predecessor in press photos.
Meanwhile, the Yanks can get a 3.8-litre VQ38DD V6 engine, pushing out 228kW and 380Nm, connected to a nine-speed auto. You can almost be certain we won’t get that engine here when the next-gen Navara lobs.
10. Tesla Cybertruck
A polarising wooden-spooner rounds out this list. One one hand, it has some truly awe-inspiring innovations such as steer-by-wire, the over-engineering of the single wiper and tonneau shutter. On the other hand, it has been reported to chops fingers, mince pedestrians, and almost doubles the promised entry price, and doesn’t have an exoskeleton as it was supposed to.
Perhaps we should be grateful that safety legislation keeps this one at bay, considering how many shit drivers we have in Australia.
