Every man should take pride in their car. But what makes the car the right choice for the man? I spent years driving an SUV until I changed to a 4wd dual cab ute. It took me a bit, but this is what I learnt choosing the best 4wd dual cab ute for my purposes.
In this article, I am only going to focus on how I went about choosing the best 4wd dual cab ute for use. As that is where I spent most of my time looking. I won’t cover SUVs, sedans, station wagons, or any other motor vehicle type.
Why choose a 4wd dual cab ute
Utes are different from any other on-road vehicle. They can be used for all manner of purposes from a tradie ute, surfing ute, carrying family or friends, taking rubbish to the tip. Having a ute is an amazing general all-purpose vehicle.
Why choose 4wd instead of 2wd
That’s simple, how many times have you been driving down a country road and see a little road off to the left or right. You’ve thought “well I’d love to go exploring but I’d get stuck in the family station wagon”. Well having a 4wd lets you take the road less travelled.
Simply engage 4wd and off you go, some of the hardest terrains become a fun outing of 4wd driving.
Why choose a dual cab
When I looked for a new vehicle, I was single. Although I knew that I would need to take two or three family or friends in my car at some stage. Having a dual cab lets you transport several people at once.
Most dual cab options allow up to 5 people, being driver, front passenger and 3 seats in the back.
About 12 months later, my family came along. So with a partner and child, I could put a child seat in the back, and take my partner and child with me where ever I went.
Combining a dual cab and 4wd
Just like any car, utes only have a certain amount of design length to work with. So keep in mind a standard 4wd dual cab might only have a short tray in it. They only issue here is limited space for putting things in.
I have a mate who ended up taking his tub tray off an replaced it with a drop-side tray. Which was smart as it gave him more functional room to put things in. Unless you are wanting to do that you are stuck with that space in the tray that you have.
The best 4wd dual cab ute is smart
I bought a 2015 Mitsubishi Triton 4wd dual cab, just before the latest model came out. I had to put an aftermarket Clarion entertainment system in it. Here is a picture of my pride and joy.
Not the best way to go about it, to be honest. By that I mean I would never put an aftermarket entertainment system in any vehicle moving forward.
About 8 or 9 months later Mitsubishi released their new model. Which had an entertainment system built-in?
So I’d suggest if you are buying a new model make sure you get a model that already had a system in it. If you are buying an older model and want to upgrade the radio system in it. That’s ok, as well.
Best 4wd dual cab ute makes
I think when it comes to cars or utes, everyone has a favourite make or manufacturer. There some amazing 4wd dual-cab utes manufactures on the market.
From Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Dodge, Mazda, Volkswagon being the mainstream manufactured brands. There are some cheaper manufacture brands on the market like the Great wall out of China.
Every manufacturer brand of 4wd dual cab ute will offer their ute at different prices. You will also find differences between each ute, research for what you want.
The only gripe I would ever have on my Mitsubishi 4wd dual cab ute is the turning circle at full lock. That’s not to mean I didn’t take it for a test drive I just didn’t really drive it as I would normally.
Take the best 4wd dual cab ute that you choose for a test drive and put it through the paces.
Power and economy with the ute
A major buyer’s decision these days is the cost of running a car. So that’s all about fuel-efficiency.
Also, if you get a ute that chews less fuel, that means your ute is expelling lower CO2 emission. Which in turns helps the environment.
You can’t test drive a ute for 500 miles to know how much fuel it uses, over different surfaces, and conditions. So you need to read and understand the car manufacturer’s fuel consumption figures.
Also, you need to understand that manufactures do their testing on a dynamometer in the safest of conditions. Most testing environments are at least 1 or 2 fuel litres lower then what your real-world use might be.
Your actual fuel consumption will depend on, how hard you drive it, the conditions of where you are driving, what load you might be carrying. So, there are is no real actual figure here.
Plan your budget before you buy
Different manufactures have different price points. So, while you might end up with a 4wd dual cab ute you could end up paying very different amounts for it.
Not only do you need to have a budget but you need to research what the best 4wd dual cab ute will cost for you.
What accessories do you need?
When I bought my Mitsubishi triton 4wd dual cab ute, I bought a tonneau cover, bump bar to suit and the Clarion entertainment system.
There is a range of accessories that will suit any 4wd dual cab ute. You can get hard tub covers, 2-way radios, bedding custom made for the tub, floor mats e.t.c the list goes on.
So, take your time and work out if you want accessories or not, you can always add them at a later date
The key take away for choosing best 4wd dual cab ute
The dual-cab ute market is very competitive and popular car market. Which is great as there are plenty of options that will suit you.
Take your time and research the factors that matter before purchasing like, buying a second-hand dual cab ute, storage space, power, fuel economy, safety, off-road performance, reliability and back up and support.
A 4wd Dual cab ute can give you the best of all worlds, utes for carting things, dual-cabs for carting people and 4wd for some off-road adventures.
In my mind you can’t beat that value, can you?
