3 days ago
12
Here is every new or updated model eligible for the Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $150K 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 $150K
New to the Drive Car of the Year line-up for 2025, the Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $150K category acknowledges the growing demand for utes that offer more space, more power, and more capability than the traditional mainstream dual-cab utes offered in Australia.
From owners looking to upscale their towing, to buyers looking for additional comfort and luxury in their tool of trade, the flagship ute category needs to offset its higher pricing with features and capability to set it apart from the lower-priced utes in Australia.
Stepping up brings added space and comfort, and these dual-cabs need to deliver on that with passenger comfort as crucial as hard-working ability. Of course payload and towing factor in too, and not just raw numbers, but also any inclusions be they practical or technological, that help take the effort of loading and hauling.
As a new category in the Drive Car of the Year line-up, the Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $150K class is open to almost all utes in the segment.
The Chevrolet Silverado 1500 offers desirable V8 performance, and a sophisticated interior that provides occupants with creature comforts without sacrificing towing ability.
Arch-rival Ford has recently introduced the F-150 in 2022 but with the realignment of the price bands, is granted a look-in against like rivals. This American icon stands as the most popular option in its segment in the USA. Ford's attention to detail, as seen on the Ranger, applies here. Thoughtful working solutions both inside and out stand the F-150 in good stead.
Toyota too, joins the fray. While the LandCruiser ute has a long history as the work tool of choice, the new Tundra adds in a much more spacious cabin, an interior with more creature comforts, and a powerful turbo-petrol V6 working hand-in-hand with a hybrid system to deliver the performance buyers expect.
The upstart in this segment could be the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster, however. The Ineos brand is a relative newcomer, but with a focus on delivering the kind of bullet-proof reliability and relative simplicity of four-wheel-drives of old, the Grenadier range offers a unique appeal. The addition of the Quartermaster dual-cab ute to the Grenadier range should provide an interesting alternative to the American-style pick-ups.
The one vehicle sitting out this year's award is the Ram 1500. With the current V8 models in run-out, and a new inline six-cylinder engine set to replace it in 2025 we've held it out of competition this year as the current V8 line winds down. It will be eligible for the 2026 awards though.
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. |
| Chevrolet Silverado Ford F-150 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster Toyota Tundra | Ram 1500 |
The winner of the 2025 Drive Car of the Year – Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $150K will be announced in February 2025.
Before then, we will announce the finalists, all of which deliver CATEGORY REQUIREMENTS.
Read more:
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
