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Here is every new or updated model eligible for the Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $50K category.
Drive Car of the Year 2025
Now in its 20th year, the annual Drive Car of the Year awards program continues to be the Australian new car buyer’s most-trusted advisor.
At Drive, we test drive more than 200 new cars every year, evaluating each against its innate promise to sort the best from the rest. We divide the 400-plus new passenger cars, SUVs, 4WDs and utes into 19 price-banded categories focused on the end-user. Then we analyse the strengths and weaknesses of every car to find the cream of the automotive crop.
Drive Car of the Year 2025 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year 2025: Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $50K
While Australia has always been a nation of ute lovers – after all, we did invent them – since the demise of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, Aussies have begun buying dual-cab utes in their droves.
It's now to the point where, for almost a decade, the best-selling vehicle in the country was a ute – with the Toyota HiLux taking top honours for a long time, before being overtaken recently by the latest Ford Ranger.
But with prices of popular dual-cab utes continuing to climb, we introduced a category in the Drive Car of the Year awards for the best-value models on sale today: the Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $50K.
This category was one of the most popular in 2024, and with good reason – many individuals and families may be in need of a brand-new car, but perhaps don't have the means, or even the want, to spend up to $100,000 on what is, at its core, a commercial vehicle.
For many, they need something that will do it all: be a workhorse during the working week, drop the kids off at swimming practice after hours, and take the family bush over weekends – maybe with a caravan or camper trailer in tow. And all without overstretching the budget.
It was the SsangYong Musso from South Korea that took the category win in the 2024 Drive Car of the Year, beating out two finalists from China: the GWM Ute and the LDV T60. The Musso impressed Drive judges with its build quality, features, and capability – both on and off the road.
This time around, the Musso – now sold under the KGM SsangYong banner – will defend its title against the new LDV T60 Max Plus, the all-new Mitsubishi Triton GLX, and the recently-revealed JAC T9.
While the T60 lost out last year, the new range-topping Max Plus offers a long list of features – particularly if the automatic transmission is optioned – all wrapped in an attractive and modern design. Significantly different to last year, the T60 Max Plus now runs a new coil-spring rear suspension setup and heavily revised interior compared to last year's T60.
The Mitsubishi Triton GLX is the entry-level four-wheel-drive variant, meaning it's a fairly basic vehicle going up against two fully-loaded models. Having said that, the Triton still comes with a decent bit of kit, along with a new body, interior, and twin-turbo engine.
The addition of the JAC T9 to the highly competitive ute category means buyers have even more options to choose from, with the four-wheel-drive ute offered in two variants: the T9 Oasis and the T9 Haven.
Drive judges will be looking for an automatic four-wheel-drive dual-cab ute that can cover dual roles – work and family – while offering the maximum amount of value to buyers for less than $50,000 (excluding on-road costs).
But finding 'the best' doesn't just mean comparing the longest list of features or which has the highest numbers on a page. It's about finding the vehicle that is more than the sum of its parts.
So, can the new range-topping LDV T60 Max Plus get over the line, will the newcomer JAC T9 steal the prize, can Mitsubishi's bargain Triton rise to the occasion, or is the KGM SsangYong Musso strong enough to fend off these much younger competitors?
Let us know how you think the pieces will fall in the comments section below, and stay tuned to the website over the coming months as we go deeper into the Drive Car of the Year 2025 awards.
Which cars are eligible for this category?
Drive’s rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:
| Contenders | Not here in time |
| – Cars that are all-new or significantly updated since they last contested Drive Car of the Year. – New categories are open to all cars that fit category requirements. – Last year’s winner is an automatic inclusion. | – These cars meet category requirements, but are not due to arrive in time for Drive Car of the Year 2025 judging. |
| JAC T9 KGM SsangYong Musso (defending) LDV T60 Mitsubishi Triton | GWM Cannon (facelift) |
The winner of the 2025 Drive Car of the Year Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $50K will be announced in February 2025.
Before then, we will announce the finalists, all of which can provide dual roles of a workhorse and family vehicle to the value-conscious buyers.
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Ben Zachariah is an experienced writer and motoring journalist from Melbourne, having worked in the automotive industry for more than two decades. Ben began writing professionally more than 15 years ago and was previously an interstate truck driver. He completed his MBA in Finance in early 2021 and is considered an expert on classic car investment.
