4x4 Double Cabs - Common Rivals

[jbowman1993]

Bangkok Post

Friday, January 20th, 2005

4X4 DOUBLE-CABS

COMMON RIVALS

The Chevrolet Colorado, Mitsubishi Triton and Toyota Hilux now have modern packages and technologies to stay ahead of the others. So which one's the best?

Motoring

With the advent of four-door pickups, or double-cabs as they are also known as, in Thailand, buyers had new alternatives to conventional saloons and SUVs priced under one million baht.

Despite being grossly vehicles, double-cabs highlight durability, low running costs (with the exception of annual road tax) and cargo-carrying versatility. Four-wheel-drive options have also made them practical for off-roading.

Highlighted in this week's comparison are three models that come with new-generation bodies and the latest in diesel engine technologies: Chevrolet Colorado, Mitsubishi Triton and Toyota Hilux Vigo.

Isuzu, the pickup champion in Thailand for over two decades, has the credentials to match this trio. Actually, the D-Max is the donor of nearly every component of the Chevrolet Colorado.

But why isn't the D-Max here? As ever, Isuzu has declined the invitation, as the brand says it has no policy of giving vehicles to the media for comparisons. So, the Colorado could somehow be reflective of how the D-Max would perform here, despite some small alterations like a more comfort-oriented ride, specification and price.

Three other players - Nissan Frontier and the jointly-developed Ford Ranger and Mazda Fighter - are obviously not here because they are a generation behind and are all due to be replaced with all-new versions this year.

The Frontier, Ranger and Fighter don't have turbo-diesel engines with common-rail fuel injection technology yet. As well, their four-door bodies can't match the others - rear legroom is far more inferior and the seating position is too upright.

Which leaves us with the Colorado, Triton and Vigo to see which one's the best choice. The brief this time is on- and off-road driving balance, practicality and value.

The 2,000km test route was rather comprehensive including highways, back-country and winding mountain roads, as well as off-roading between Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son provinces.

Exterior appeal

You may think that vehicles in this domain of the market don't have to look good, given that pickups are more like workhorses. But the latest trends suggest that buyers do crave for some good looks, especially in 4x4 form.

That explains why Mitsubishi has given the Triton much inspiration in terms of design. The curvy C-pillars and the shapely front and rear lights effectively lifts the Triton's presence on the road. And that apparently hasn't affected the vehicle's functionality.

The Vigo, on the other hand, looks just as modern, but in a more restrained and mature fashion. Toyota has ensured that practicality can't take a back seat, explaining the cavernous cabin and largest cargo bay of the three.

The Colorado is the plainest-looking vehicle of this triplet. However, it still looks distinctive in its own right, despite some clues of the D-Max. The sharp-looking front end and the distinguished bowtie-badges on the grille and wheels bring out some life from the Colorado.

Interior appeal

Since the Colorado was developed earlier than the Triton and Vigo, it has the least comfortable cabin. While comfort isn't a problem up front, rear occupants will find the seats too upright.

The Colorado is also the least interesting vehicle to be in. The dashboard and door panel design is utterly simple, but is straight-forward to use. The hard plastics may feel dowdy, but are screwed together well. In fact, finish is the best of the three.

Like the exterior, the Triton's interior is a flashy place to be in. The dashboard and upholstery combine several colours and trimmings in a contemporary manner. Our test car, however, suffered from some quality glitches which Mitsubishi claims will be ironed out after production for export has started. The Triton has the airiest cabin of the three. The seats are large - not shapely, though - and the rear bolsters are angled the most to yield a car-like stance as much as possible.

The Vigo, meanwhile, boasts a classy ambience by using cream and beige colours to lighten up the cabin.

It's just as functional and spacious as in the Triton, but not as special to be in.

Interior design is more inspiring than in the Colorado, but not as racy as in the Triton. The Vigo's overall cabin quality is good, although you could still find some panel gaps.

Driving -appeal

The Colorado, Triton and Vigo are good examples of how modern pickups should behave on the road. Memories of compromised dynamics and sluggish performance can now be forgotten, although you can't avoid the fact that they are bigger and heavier than ever.

At least, all three come with adequate performing turbo-diesel engines to offset their grossly body weights of some two tons. Their automatic transmissions haven't blunted performance either.

And since double-cabs aren't prone to carrying heavy cargo, engineers have managed to tweak the chassis on the plush side to improve ride comfort.

The Colorado appears to have the most nimble driving characteristics of the three. By standards of pickups, the Colorado rarely feels uncomfortable.

As well, it handles effortlessly. The steering may not be that precise or feelsome, but has been geared well to suit both on- and off-roading.

The 145hp 3.0-litre engine doesn't feel sluggish and yields sufficient punch whenever you crave for it. Refinement is okay, although the motor is noisy when pushed hard.

The Triton, on the contrary, is a mixed bag of virtues and flaws, despite being the newest entry in the Thai market and coming with the most powerful engine.

The 165hp 3.2-litre unit performs just as well as the Colorado's, but comes with added oomph in the mid-ranges. You can feel this when overtaking other vehicles on two-lane roads. But the engine is coarse at most times and gets too talkative when strained.

Handling isn't a problem in the Triton: of the three it feels the most planted to the road. But the steering is far too slow, meaning that you have to put more steering input at low speeds.

Such an unresponsive steering may give some driving comfort during off-roading. Even so, there is still too much slack. Also, all testers noted the excessive amount of steering kickback.

The front end of the Triton yields a comfy ride, unlike the rear end that appears to be firmer and tuned by another set of engineers.

It appears that the Vigo has the best road manners here. The ride quality is a tad firmer than in the Colorado, yet comfortable enough on both the tarmac and dirt.

What's better is the steering that feels the most direct here, as well as being not too heavy or light. It could get a little snappy in tough off-roading. But on-road, it's the best.

The 163hp 3.0-litre powerhouse may not beat the Triton's in the game of numbers, but it feels just as swift and spirited on the road. The Vigo seems to have the most responsive, linear and refined drivetrain here.

All three come with the usual front disc/rear drum brakes set-up and have slightly wooden pedal feel and yield sufficient, if not exceptional, stopping power. The Colorado was vividly remembered for not having enough bite here when compared to its rivals' grabbier stoppers.

Monetary -appeal

All three have prices retailing high up in the 800,000 baht range, with a 27,000 baht difference between the cheapest and most expensive ones. All have basic safety features like four three-point seatbelts, anti-lock brakes and frontal airbags

The Triton is the dearest at 898,000 baht, but comes with the best specification. Highlights include electric-powered, leather-upholstered seats, trip information and a window at the rear that opens via touch of a button.

The Vigo and Colorado don't have the aforementioned items, explaining their lower prices of 871,000 and 874,000 baht respectively.

There are some variations in the petty items offered in all three cars that allude to luxury and convenience. An example is the Vigo that has both side and rear steps. Or the shift-on-the-fly 4x4 gearchange in the Colorado.

As said in the beginning of the report, all three are subject to high annual road taxes worth at least 6,000 baht per year due to their high engine displacements and the inability to be - legally - categorised as a commercial vehicle like two-door pickups.

During the entire test which included the need to carry camping equipment and 2-3 persons on each vehicle, the three double-cabs returned average fuel economy. The Colorado was the best at 11kpl, the Vigo 10kpl and the Triton 9kpl.

The verdict

To us, it appears that the Colorado's fuel economy is competitive in this company and that could be of some concern to potential buyers of double-cabs. The Vigo may not be as economical, but is compensated with better performance. The Triton has the performance, but is not frugal.

The Colorado also stands out with a reasonable balance between on- and off-road ability, although the Vigo's more focused on-road behaviour and more responsive performance makes it a difficult choice to ignore when it comes to driving experience.

The Triton may have a flawed drive, but oozes with style and practicality. These two areas are certainly new benchmarks for the development of pickups. If these two attributes really matter to you more than anything else, the Triton is it.

But if they aren't, then the Colorado should be the more logical option. It's least comfortable cabin is made up with nimble driving manners and economical performance for the unfussed driver.

But if you need a little bit of this and that, the Vigo has it. It has both a practical cargo bay and spacious cabin, plus an inspiring drive to help quash its shortcomings that are petty rather than noteworthy.

The Vigo wins here, with the Colorado and Triton trailing behind depending on what you specifically need in a double-cab.

Edited January 21, 2006 by jbowman1993

[davethailand]

I'm pleased at that report as i'm tired of hearing "why did you buy a Colorado, the others are better"

[Bung]

Thats funny, I thought it said that the Vigo won the comparison..........

[davethailand]

Thats funny, I thought it said that the Vigo won the comparison..........

Never said it did'nt. But it does say that the colarado is better in some ways

[Rigger]

I tried to trade my 2 year old hilux in on a vigo but the toyota were taken the piss with there offer of 400,000 bht trade in mabe worth trying the Mitsubishi and see if they can offer me a better deal

[Bung]

Thats funny, I thought it said that the Vigo won the comparison..........

Never said it did'nt. But it does say that the colarado is better in some ways

Your right, I was going to type some response quoting the article blah blah but the topic of what pickup is best has been flogged to death. We all know what each other drives and there is so little between them that it just comes down to looks.

Still it's always a good laugh taking the piss out of each others cars and such

In another 4 years we will all be casting envious eyes at the latest models and counting our sheckels wondering if we can come up with a big enough excuse to buy one.

I can tell you though that if jbowman thought that article put the Colarado on top there is no way he would have posted it

[jbowman1993]

Don't kill the messenger, spanky.

[Bung]

Spanky....?

[taxexile]

just wait until the new ford ranger pickup hits the market later this year , even us smug vigo owners will be lying low.

hats will be eaten by all you chevy posers out there , and mitsubishi softies will be soiling their pink underwear.

happy motoring.

[davethailand]

In another 4 years we will all be casting envious eyes at the latest models and counting our sheckels wondering if we can come up with a big enough excuse to buy one.

You're dead right, my mate has hired a new fully loaded vigo with 22" alloys and I saw it and got really pissed off, drove it and the interior is out of this world but I actually enjoy driving the chevy more.

[chanchao]

Honestly it's impossible to buy a 'bad' pick-up in Thailand, and when comparing vehicles of the same generation, there just isn't much between them.

HOWEVER the differences in price may actually be larger than it appears from the list price; all manufacturers take care not to price them either too high or (especially) too low, not wanting to look like their product is inferior. However when you add all things up and figure in the money (not) spent on (free) options, as well as trade in value of your current vehicle, then suddenly you may find that one of them is up to 100K cheaper than another one. There's a lot of space to negotiate here, especially when trading in something.

> Our test car, however, suffered from some quality glitches which

> Mitsubishi claims will be ironed out after production for export

> has started.

Oh. Well that's nice to know. Guess anyone eyeing the Triton should exercise a little more patience then.

Nice review by the way, for BKK post standards. I missed their opinion on the respective auto transmission boxes though? Also they didn't mention the Colorado's rear suspension which has the springs below the axel? (That always struck me as less ideal in off roading).

I found it interesting to read that the Colorado has the softest/most comfortable ride. (Given that it's based on the Isuzu which traditionally has the suspension of a rock.)

[Plus]

New Ford pickup might be good, might be not. Ford Focus didn't make a splash when everyone was expecting it would. Unless it outpowers all the competition it's difficult to see how it can possibly be better. Ford has a tradition of putting new features like passenger airbags or "rear access panels". Maybe will get steering wheel mounted gear shifters, or elecric powered chairs with memory like Volvo S80 but I doubt it - low volumes, high price. Difficult to compete with Toyota and Isuzu prices. Even for Mitsubishi it's difficult.

[tavarich]

This post has helped my to decide which truck to buy. What is the best way to deal with the dealers. I guess my question is : are there any cultural things going on with the dealer here in LOS, in the U.S. you go in and put the screws to the dealer. And hope you come out on top. Any tips or ideas,

[terdsak_12]

Just buy the Toyota and be done with it. The best on the market.

Toyota Sure in Bang-Na have a few used Vigos with minimal mileage at reasonable savings over new. Warranty is still valid too.

I do like the Mitsu interior though!!!!

[chanchao]

> What is the best way to deal with the dealers. I guess my question is :

> are there any cultural things going on with the dealer here in LOS,

> in the U.S. you go in and put the screws to the dealer.

Same. And note that for many brands, there are different, competing dealers. So you can take the best offer to the other dealer and see if he wants the sale more than the other guy. I would imagine this works better on Isuzu dealers than it does on Chevy dealers (of which there are less)

> New Ford pickup might be good, might be not. Ford Focus didn't make

> a splash when everyone was expecting it would. Unless it outpowers all the

> competition it's difficult to see how it can possibly be better. Ford

> has a tradition of putting new features like passenger airbags or

> "rear access panels". Maybe will get steering wheel mounted gear

> shifters, or elecric powered chairs with memory like Volvo S80 but

> I doubt it

LOL. :-) How about wing-doors that open vertically, up, like some 70's/80's sports cars? Or a sliding door like a van.. Or a convertible model..

Have to say though those rear-access doors on the extra cab model were a pretty brilliant idea. (Not implemented from the initial release of that model though. And didn't quite work out as Ford had hoped because the tax-man taxed the thing as a 4-door pick-up.)

But let's see, what could they do.. Separate aircon vents to the back? Proper thermostat-controlled aircon? Built in truck-bed cover that can be rolled up? Side impact airbags?

Note that Ford also did things that dind't get/warrant a helluvalot of attention but did show that they care about details, such as even quite old models that had the rear-view mirror with the anti-blinding switch and child-safety locks in the back.

> Just buy the Toyota and be done with it. The best on the market.

What's with that loose wire to the rear-window heating thingy though? I mean, seriously! Or is that addressed now?

Cheers,

Chanchao

[Thaiboxer]

I found the back seat on the Colorado Double Cab to be a bit cramped and I'm under 6'. I would imagine the D-Max would be the same since they're virtually identical. The Vigo is plenty roomy on the inside. I'm not sure about the Triton since I haven't had the chance to sit in one of those. The Strada was VERY cramped and would be painful for anybody over 6' tall.

[Bung]

I'm in the US at the moment and they are saying on the news that Ford has lost 1.2 billion last year and are shedding 20000 jobs.

Still better than Chevy's though.

Mostly because they have been making rubbish cars for years and now have to try and catch up with their Japenese rivals. Also they went all over the world and bought up other marques to fiddle with and now it's turned around and bitten them.

The top 2 auto makers in the US are Toyota and Honda. Toyota has only ever made their own cars and never bought other ailing brands.

Who would want to buy a car from a company on their knees?

[chanchao]

> I'm in the US at the moment and they are saying on the news that Ford

> has lost 1.2 billion last year and are shedding 20000 jobs.

> Mostly because they have been making rubbish cars for years

Fortunately then that the Fords in Thailand have preciously little to do with Fords in either the USA or Europe. They're rebadged Mazda's with slight visual tweaks.

> and now have to try and catch up with their Japenese rivals.

"If you can't beat them, join them" they must have thought.

> Who would want to buy a car from a company on their knees?

Well in this case it honestly doesn't matter as they're Mazda's, and Mazda dealers are perfectly happy to serice them AND are mostly cheaper to boot. I have my Ford serviced at the Mazda dealer. Part for part they're the same vehicle.

Ironically though it seems that the public in Thailand perceives Ford as a bit more upmarket compared to Mazda. Which is why Ford gets more sales of the higher-end models (4 door 4WD pickups) and Mazda sells more of the base model cargo haulers. Oh well.

[Gary A]

I was looking forward to the common rail diesel being more fuel efficient than the others. At 9 kilometers per liter I would be pissed off to say the least. I just got back from Jomtien yesterday with my non turbo 3.0 liter Nissan. I got 13.5 kilometers per liter at about 100 kilometers per hour. My Nissan is a 2004. I think I'll keep it.

[chanchao]

> I was looking forward to the common rail diesel being more fuel efficient

> than the others. At 9 kilometers per liter I would be pissed off to say the

> least.

Hear hear.

> I just got back from Jomtien yesterday with my non turbo 3.0 liter

> Nissan. I got 13.5 kilometers per liter at about 100 kilometers

> per hour. My Nissan is a 2004. I think I'll keep it.

Yup. A problem could be though that it seems that new 4 door 4WD models aren't made available with the smaller, more fuel efficient engines anymore.

I have to say I was very disappointed to read that the new Triton's engine is now 3.2 litres, and even more thirsty than the Toyota.. I am NOT going there.

You can say a lot of things about Isuzu, but one thing they have consistently done over the years is keep excellent fuel economy on just about all models. (As well as parts/maintenance). It really is a big part of their success in Thailand, anything else is secondary to good fuel economy, general longevity and low maintenance.

I'm currently doing around 15-16 km to a liter in the previous model's 3.0 Turbo Diesel engine.. That's in (sub)urban driving, mind. (But not Bangkok, obviously). (And the 2.5 liter engine, especially the newest common rail one is even more fuel-efficient.) I think on those you can drive Bangkok to Chiang Mai AND BACK on one tank of diesel.