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The sticker is one thing, but how do Australia's utes perform on fuel economy?
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In all of our big multi-car group tests and COTY assessment, Wheels has always prided itself on its rigorous testing and comprehensive assessment.
Beyond chassis dynamics and interior packaging, we apply the same discerning eye for data when it comes to testing a vehicle’s fuel efficiency against its manufacturer’s claim.
The catalyst for the data in this story was our dual-cab ute mega test, which put the major players of Australia’s hottest segment under review.
Where's the new Amarok?!
Only freshly launched into Australia, we've not yet had the opportunity to run the new Amarok through comparisons and a thorough fuel-consumption test.
Volkswagen claims 9.9L/100km for the 2.3L 4cyl turbo petrol, 7.1L/100km for the 2.0L 4cyl turbo diesel, and 8.4L/100km for the 3.0L 6cyl turbo diesel. We'll put those numbers to the test very soon.
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"Bloody hell, brought the wrong Ranger..."
The testing process
It's not rocket science, but it's thorough.
The Wheels fuel-use assessment sees all vehicles topped with fuel at the start of our primary drive day, then again upon final fills at the end of the day, with individual odometer readings recorded at beginning and end.
Recorded odometer readings provide distance travelled, while noting the amount of fuel filled at the end of the day allows us to calculate real-world fuel figures.
Best Dual-Cab Utes 2023 results
Prices shown are before on-roads costs, unless marked *DA for drive-away.
Table scrolls horizontally.
| Price | L/100 | KM travelled | Litres filled | Odo Start | Odo End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mazda BT-50 GT | $57,290 | 9.3 | 219 | 20.36 | 5048 | 5267 |
| Toyota Hilux SR5 | $58,680 | 9.5 | 215 | 20.42 | 10231 | 10446 |
| Isuzu D-Max LS-U | $59,000 | 9.65 | 215 | 20.75 | 24402 | 24617 |
| Nissan Navara Pro-4X | $58,730 | 9.83 | 217 | 21.33 | 10662 | 10879 |
| Mitsubishi Triton GSR | $55,690 | 10.64 | 235 | 25.01 | 2632 | 2867 |
| Ford Ranger XLT | $61,190 | 11.28 | 215.5 | 24.29 | 3755.3 | 3970.8 |
| Ford Ranger V6 Sport | $66,690 | 11.75 | 218.4 | 25.66 | 4278 | 4496.4 |
| LDV T60 Max Luxe | $43,674 | 10.37 | 204 | 21.15 | 4887 | 5091 |
| GWM Cannon Ute X | $44,490 | 10.39 | 204 | 21.19 | 710 | 914 |
| Mitsubishi Triton GLX+ | $43,940 | 11 | 205 | 22.55 | 1050 | 1255 |
| Ssangyong Musso XLV | $46,590* DA | 11.14 | 201 | 22.39 | 328 | 529 |
Among the more affordable utes, it was the LDV T60 Max Luxe that returned the most frugal fuel figures, returning 10.38L/100km - narrowly edging the GWM Cannon Ute X, at 10.39L/100km.
Finishing third in that group is the Mitsubishi Triton GLX+ with 11.0L/100km, followed by the SsangYong Musso XLV on 11.14L/100km.
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Among the more premium utes, the Mazda BT-50 gets the hyper-miler award, netting just 9.3L/100km.
The popular Toyota Hilux follows closely, registering 9.5L/100km.
The Isuzu D-Max, on our on-road assessment day, travelled precisely the same distance as the Hilux but drank 0.3L more at the end of the day, returning 9.65L/100km.
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The Nissan Navara Pro-4X dipped under double-digits, returning 9.83L/100km, while the Mitsubishi Triton GSR returned 10.64L/100km.
Ford’s impressive and desirable Rangers, in both 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel and 3.0-litre V6 turbodiesel guises, enjoyed the biggest drinks of our batch, with the 2.0-litre XLT registering 11.28L/100km, and the Ranger V6 Sport returning 11.75L/100km.
What about other utes?
Wheels is regularly testing the latest offerings in the popular dual-cab ute segment.
Here is a compilation of vehicles that we’ve recently tested for real-world data figures.
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2023 Ford Ranger Raptor
- Price: $87,490
- Fuel use as-tested: 14.8L/100km
TESTED: Ongoing long-termer
We recently had the loveable big Blue Oval beast, the Ranger Raptor, in the Wheels long-term test fleet.
Alex Inwood did the honours, clearly enjoying the new 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 petrol engine – currently sitting at 14.8L/100km over his first month of custodianship.
The official manufacturer ADR Combined claim is 11.5L/100km.
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2023 Nissan Navara SL Warrior
- Price: $60,500
- Fuel use as-tested: 9.9L/100km
TESTED: 4x4 Australia, February 2023
Our brothers at 4x4 Australia steered Premcar’s latest no-frills off-road focused Nissan Navara pitched as a more affordable counterpart to its fully-loaded Pro-4X Warrior.
Fitted with a 40mm Australian-optimised suspension lift, steel bash plate, front-mounted intercooler, winch-compatible bullbar with recessed LED light bar, and the same 2.3-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder found in the Pro-4X tested above – the SL Warrior 4x4 returned 9.9L/100km over a weeklong test, in line with prior testing from other variants.
The ADR Combined claim for the Nissan Navara SL Warrior is 7.9L/100km.
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2023 Isuzu D-Max 1.9-litre SX 4x4
- Price: $50,200
- Fuel use as-tested: 8.8L/100km
TESTED: February 2023
The new fleet-oriented 1.9-litre D-Max forms part of Isuzu’s recently-refreshed 2023 range.
Cobey Bartels ran the bare-boned workhorse for over 1000 kilometres, in a mix of urban and off-road driving with the odd drip into low-range - and registered 8.8L/100km against its claim of 6.9L/100km.
He further notes that the D-Max “wasn’t babied or driven gently”, and says that efficiency would undoubtedly improve with more sympathetic driving behaviour, and that the savings compared with the existing 3.0-litre D-Max are evident.
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2023 Toyota HiLux Rogue
- Price: $70,200
- Fuel use as-tested: 11.9L/100km
2023 Ford Ranger Wildtrak
- Price: $70,190
- Fuel use as-tested: 9.7L/100km
TESTED: January 2023
Two top-shelf variants of Australia’s most popular vehicles, the Ford Ranger Wildtrak and Toyota Hilux Rogue, were pitched against each other by Wheels in a discerning comparison that travels beyond tarmac’s end.
Over a gruelling day being tested on-road and off-, the kitted-up Hilux Rogue consumed 11.9L/100km while the Ford Ranger Wildtrak cruised through with a respectable 9.7L/100km.
They both share an identical 8.4L/100km claim on the ADR Combined cycle.
MOREUte Buyers Guide
Want more? Hit the big photo below to read our in-depth dual-cab utes test
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