Ford Ranger is carsales' Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021

carsales’ Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute 2021 is the Ford Ranger.

Australia’s only locally developed pick-up was today announced the winner of our dual-cab 4x4 mega-test.

Dual-cab 4x4 utes have become the default new-vehicle choice for an increasing number of Aussies, thanks to their combination of versatility, go-anywhere capability and passenger-car-style levels of safety, technology and refinement.

But none combine these attributes more completely or effectively than the latest-generation Ford Ranger, which was born in Australia in 2011 and has received significant annual updates since then.​

Despite being a decade old and due for replacement in 2022, Ford’s global mid-size pick-up remains ahead of its rivals in the seven key areas against which we tested it, including safety, technology, comfort/convenience, on-road performance, off-road capability, towing/payload and cost of ownership.

And despite the release of an all-new nameplate and several new and upgraded competitors in the past 12 months, Australia’s most popular 4x4 ute continues to outperform its direct rivals – including the nation’s top-selling ute and the most popular new vehicle overall for the past five years, the (recently facelifted) Toyota HiLux.

For 2021, carsales’ Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute award compared the most popular premium versions of every mainstream mid-size four-door four-wheel drive ute currently available Down Under. The field comprised:

Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2
GWM Ute Cannon-X
Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain
Jeep Gladiator Overland
LDV T60 LUXE
Mazda BT-50 GT
Mitsubishi Triton GSR
Nissan Navara ST-X
SsangYong Musso Ultimate
Toyota HiLux SR5

Volkswagen Amarok Highline V6 TDI580​

This year’s victory makes the Ford Ranger a three-times winner of carsales’ Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute, after taking the title both in 2019 and in the inaugural 2015 awards. The Volkswagen Amarok took top honours in 2017.

The Ranger’s mix of eye-pleasing interior and exterior design, comprehensive safety features, intuitive technologies, generous equipment levels, low cost of ownership, extensive aftersales provisions, class-leading ride/handling and exemplary off-road, towing and carrying capabilities make it our top ute pick once again in 2021.

Quite simply, there is no other mid-size dual-cab 4x4 ute on the market today that handles, rides and performs as well as the Ranger – whether unladen, laden or towing – while also offering cutting-edge safety and technology.

That’s why the Ford Ranger Wildtrak 3.2 is carsales’ Best Dual-Cab 4x4 Ute for 2021.