Drive Car of the Year – Best Large Dual-Cab Ute Under $150K finalists announced – UPDATE

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Here is every finalist in the running for the Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Large 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 Overview

Drive Car of the Year 2024 winners


Drive Car of the Year 2025 – Best Dual-Cab Ute Under $150K

New for 2025, this segment in Drive Car of the Year judging is one that reflects the growing popularity of these full-size American pick-up trucks in the Australian new car market. Not a smart choice for city dwellers, few vehicles tour, tow or carry weight with the same level of comfort and safety as the contenders in this segment.

Three finalists are in to win this award, the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150 and Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster, with the Ram 1500 sitting this year out as the V8 models is in run-out – and the new six-cylinder not due until later in 2025.

All variants of the Silverado 1500 are capable of winning this award, with model grades to suit both on and off-road driving. The Silverado gets GM's excellent petrol V8 engine, ten-speed automatic transmission, and capability when you hitch up a trailer of any kind. 

The Silverado's cavernous cabin provides comfort no matter how tall the occupants are, and GM's choice of infotainment system is clear and easy to use. Occupant comfort, ride quality, and capability are highlights.

Read more about the Chevrolet Silverado here.

The Ford F-150 remains America's favourite truck and with good reason.

The new kid on the block in this company brings with it decades of proven capability on the roads in the United States. An aluminium body keeps weight down, and the new twin-turbo V6 driveline has proven to be popular in its home market as well.

Like the other contenders in this segment, the F-150 excels out on the open road, especially when towing. Cabin comfort is excellent, ride quality is solid, and many of the features Ford fans will be familiar with from Ranger or Everest are present in the F-150 cabin. Ford knows how to build a workhorse, and it shows in the F-150. 

Read more about the Ford F-150 here.

The Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster sneaks into the segment by virtue of price and size. It’s big, almost US truck-style big. With genuine off-road capability and load carrying to match, it steps apart from the US brigade and focuses more on those buyers looking to head off sealed roads more often. While it might not be an obvious contender in this segment, the Quartermaster has the capability to match its retro appeal.

Read more on the Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster here.

The Drive Car of the Year Best Large Dual-Cab Ute Under $150K will be announced on 24 February 2025.


UPDATE: 19 November 2024: The Toyota Tundra was initially included with speculative pricing under the $150,000 cap for this segment. With pricing revealed today over the price limit for this segment, the Tundra isn’t eligible in this category.

Our original story continues below with updates to reflect this change.

The below was published on 18 November 2024:

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.

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.

FAQs

Which cars are eligible for this category?

Drive's rules require that, for a car to be eligible, it must:

  1. Be all-new or significantly updated.
  2. Be on sale with customer deliveries commenced by 31 December 2024.
  3. Retail examples be made available for Drive to road test before that cut-off date.
  4. Pricing cut-offs exclude discounts and limited-time offers.
ContendersNot 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
Ram 1500
Toyota Tundra (over price cap)

What are the next steps?

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: 

Drive Car of the Year 2025 is a go!
Drive Car of the Year Overview
Drive Car of the Year 2024 winners

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