Owner
Pete McGregor
Kilometres travelled
50,000 - 75,000 km
Did you buy this car new or used?
Used
If used, what year did you buy it used?
2023
How much did you pay? (including all on-road costs)
$41,000
What were your needs when you bought this car? Has it fulfilled those needs?
Wanted proper 4wd so I could go on beach fishing
Wanted to be able to tow my boat and caravan
Wanted high technology as I was coming from a vw Tiguan
Yes 4wd is great and no issues accessing beach, a little bit of learning curve with setting up 4wd as there are two methods for engaging 4wd. Low 4wd is obvious as there is a button next to gear lever. I only discovered high4wd after reading about it in a facebook post
Ute has very comfortable seats which suit me admirably.
heaps of technology though some of that is a little clunky especially the lane keep assist. But the intelligent cruise control is great
No issues with towing boat and caravan
My boat is about 1800 kg and the caravan similar weight so well within the 3000kg rating
The Ute sits very level when the caravan and boat are attached
Only issue is that the proximity alarms go off when towing under 15kmh (it thinks something is very close behind!) but easily fixed as there is a button on dash that turns the beeper off.
So overall very happy with the Ute meeting my requirements
What were your initial thoughts about the car? Tell us why it appealed to you.
I loved the red paint and the panel fit and general quality of finish is very good
As mentioned I wanted a vehicle with similar technology to my previous cars and this really was the only option that met my requirements at my budget point. Most other ute brands had little or no technology
Heated electric seats, intelligent cruise control, lane keep assist, tyre monitoring, power windows and mirrors to name a few I also liked the tailgate step as I am older person and getting up on tray is an issue without that.
What have you discovered since owning the car?
Car has pretty much met my expectations
The build quality is great and service from my whangarei dealer is excellent and surprisingly cheap with some services only $400
Quite different from the $800 services for the vw
What do you like/dislike about the car?
The zf gearbox is 8 speed and is excellent very smooth.
The dpf burns take a bit of getting used to. This is first vehicle I have had that. But you get used to them occurring from time to time. I have had to do 3 manual burns which are not really an issue once you learn how to do it
As mentioned the lane keep assist is a bit clunky compared to the vw. It gives quite a kick through the steering wheel which can be a bit disconcerting.
The Ute has been comfortable to ride in and it handles well choppiness aside.
I love the huge screen and now I have a reliable blue tooth gadget the I phone connection is good and most phone apps are accessible from the screen or by voice.
A little bit disconcerting is the propensity for the voice activation to be activated by certain words during conversation. But this might be the phone rather than to ute.
One niggle and itʼs minor is that the doors need a slightly stronger pull to close fully. Newcomers often donʼt close them firmly enough. Itʼs better with a window down so I guess itʼs the air tightness of the cabin.
Any other comments on the car?
Overall I have been very happy with my first ute
It attracts a lot of comments when I park as the red colour is striking
Reliability
5
Features/technology
4
Performance/economy
3
Value for money
5
Overall rating
4
Lastly, would you buy this vehicle again?
Yes
Why would/wouldn't you buy it again?
I probably wouldnʼt go for a ute again because of load constraints but would certainly look at gwm again probably the tank 300
