Australia has voted and named the Ford Ranger Australia’s best-looking ute. Over 1,000 votes were surveyed, with each asked to rate utes from Toyota, Mazda, Holden, Ford, Isuzu, LDV, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Mercedes and Volkswagen.
Not only were we looking to find out what drivers really want in the look of a ute, but to answer the important questions like: “Does the type of person who drives a Ford Ranger just want to be a tough guy? Does Toyota’s reliability make them utterly boring? And should Volkswagen stick to making sensible cars for sensible people?”
The aggressive-looking Ford Ranger Ute was voted the best looking overall, narrowly edging out the Isuzu D-Max for top honours.
A poll carried out by our friends at Bloke Vote, the Ranger received votes thanks to its large and imposing looks. This was a consistent theme amongst the voters with words like tough, aggressive, solid and rugged being used to describe the design.
The question is, does the car look tough, aggressive, solid and rugged, or does it just make drivers feel that way? Maybe it’s both.
Car buffs will know that Ford Ranger campaigns have certainly played on this interesting quirk, particularly in male psychology that requires them to have a car that makes them feel tough!
So, how does this translate into sales? Well, in 2021 the Ford Ranger was the second most popular car overall in Australia.
Tradies too, like the aggressive styling of the Ford Ranger with better scores than the overall group. From a Tradie’s perspective, the reliability, toughness, style and generous deals for ABN holders make the Ford Ranger the first choice.
Moving on to second place, the Isuzu D-Max missed out on the top spot by a narrow margin overall. Unlike the Ford, voters seemed to appreciate the detail of the D-Max’s design features rather than just its overall “toughness”.
Ute fanatics did mention that the Isuzu appealed to them because it looked modern, bold, and had the best design of the lot. Toughness was still a key factor in their decision making, however, this wasn’t the overwhelming feedback like with the Ranger.
This attention to design and what its target audience wants has been reflected in sales numbers, with Isuzu’s total sales up 61 per cent in 2021, and the D-max the sixth overall.
Finishing out the podium in third was the Toyota Hilux, where brand value underlines the sentiment toward the looks of the ute. Reliability may not be the sexiest way to describe your partner, but when it comes to choosing a ute, Toyota’s renowned brand value and reliability seem to be the thing that gets ute lovers all hot and heavy. Sales numbers reflect this with the Hilux the number one selling vehicle in Australia in 2021.
The Volkswagen Amarok came in as the best of the rest and seemed to be the one you choose if you’re not that interested in any. Reflecting the German brand’s conservative appeal the commentary around why voters chose the Amarok often centred around it being more conservative and less bogan or “if I had to choose a ute, it’d be this one”.
Crunching the numbers
4X4 Utes made up the largest percentage of sales by segment (18.1 per cent) in 2021. Instant asset write-off policies, superior products with greater comfort and safety, and less tangible aspects like changes in customer preference and self-image are all reasons why 4X4 utes make up four of the top 10 most popular vehicles in 2021. Buyer data shows the majority of these were dual-cabs priced above $50,000, rather than vinyl-floored workhorses. Yet at the same time, cheaper China-made options like the LDV T60 and GWM ute are storming up the charts.
BlokeVote is Australia’s research-only panel that specialises in understanding behaviour and identifying trends in the Trades, DIY, Auto, Leisure and other related industries. Put simply, BlokeVote exists to create a link between consumers and the brands they love.