Few segments radiate with Kiwi new car buyers like Utes. Something to tow the boat, something for work, or something tough to transport your nearest and dearest, both of the human and animal fraternity, you really are spoiled for choice.
It’s even more so these days with relative newcomers LDV joining the fray. LDV’s back catalogue is one of commercial success with, well, commercial vehicles. Now the brand has been a gaining grown in the Ute sector and this is what brings us to the new LDV T60 MAX Plus, a ute which seems to offer all the gadgets and gear but at a price slightly more down to earth than many of its contemporaries. LDV claim the T60 MAX Plus is “The Ultimate Balance between Workhorse and Family Ute” but is it enough to tempt your average Ranger or Hilux devotee?
The T60 MAX Plus certainly looks tough from an aesthetic perspective. I quite like that non-nonsense squared-jawed front lip and blacked out front grill. Front to rear you get plenty of black accents around the wheel arches, roof rails, and especially on the tailgate with “T60 MAX” embossed in bold lettering. There is also a set of beefy looking 18-inch blacked out alloys. Throw in the fact my particular test car was clothed in a flamboyant shade of Metallic Orange and this T60 MAX Plus doesn’t look too bad at all.
The T60 MAX Plus gets its go courtesy of a bi-turbo 2.0L diesel four cylinder engine. Power sits at a respectable 160kW but torque is the biggie at 500Nm, 20 more than the previous T60. Coupled to this is a ZF 8-speed automatic transmission with 4WD, naturally. This grunt can allow the T60 MAX Plus to proudly claim membership of the “three-tonne towing” club and can also lug 1188L and 830kg of whatever in its line rear tray.
It sits above the T60 Elite and T60 Lux variants in the range but below the all-electric T60e in terms of price, which is $55,990.That is certainly very reasonable indeed, especially when you factor in that other big selling point of the T60 MAX Plus and that is tech.
The T60 MAX Plus provides you with electric power steering, LED headlights, auto wipers, a 12.3-inch touch screen infotainment system, heated leather seats, heated steering wheel, 3x USB ports, a wireless phone charging pad, a 360-degree reversing camera, electric power steering, parking sensors fore and aft, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, autonomous engine braking, keyless entry with push button start, attention assist, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. A 7-year, 200,000km warranty is also part of the deal.
Keyless entry located where the ignition key would normally go and the switchgear is intuitive with mix conventional switchgear and touch buttons. Centre stage is that infotainment screen which much like many products from SAIC is far more engaging and concise than you would otherwise first think. It also blends seamlessly with the LCD instrument cluster which displays all manner of driving data.
While you can tell LDV have done their utmost to provide the cabin with a premium feel, things like the firmness of the seats to detract from this somewhat. While they are clad in leather and are 6-way electrically adjustable, I found them to be rather firm, especially when traversing rough terrain. However, said seats do hold you high up and visibility all-around is generous.
When you get underway, those 500Nm make themselves known, with all that torque arriving in what feels like one solid lump. It does feel meaty as your saunter forward but the T60 MAX Plus Ute doesn’t exactly emit the most refined sounding engine note around. That said, the strong delivery of power and a smooth shifting 8-speed automatic transmission does over power this after a while. LDV also claim 8.9l/100km in combined fuel consumption.
You have the option of multiple drive modes including 2WD High, 4WD High, 4WD Low and Auto, the latter of which sorts it all out for you. Its easy to switch between each mode, not forgetting to come to a complete stop and stick it in neutral before engaging 4WD Low. For daily driving I found myself flicking over to 2WD high. Auto is the mode the T60 defaults to when you start it up. 2WD makes things feel a bit more nimble and the electric power steering provides some direct responses to changing direction, though lacking in feel somewhat.
At nearly 5.5 metres long, the T60 MAX Plus is a fraction longer than a Ranger but despite this manages to be fairly apt at maneuverability. I found U-turns on sections of urban motorway to be less hectic because of this. When sitting at motorway speeds, the lane keep assist feature can be rather intense, almost overly so at times, so I mostly found myself switching that off, but the T60 feels well planted at an open road cruise.
However, leaving the urban jungle and partaking in some light roughing it in heavily forested areas outside Christchurch and the T60 MAX Plus is in its happy place. Torque is evenly split and when you move off in low range, it hauls itself out of all manner of dips and ruts.
In summary, the LDV T60 MAX Plus is still a tad rough around the edges in places. However, it has plenty of appeal and remains a compelling buy, especially for those keen on a ute capable of doing ute things with loads of standard features and a more grounded price tag.
RATING: 7.5/10
