Yes, yes I did. And only after I got here did I realize that the “Aussies and Kiwis” use Ute for more than just the cars with pickup truck style beds.
Ute is actually a universal term for anything with a bed – from a ’70s El Camino to a Ford Ranger Raptor. My sightings of the car-based Utes have been lower than I hoped, probably in large part to being located in a city, but I have seen a few Ford Falcon Utes and Holden Utes though. Let me run through some of the details of what can be found down here in the land of Hobbits.
First off, with the Holden Commodore-based Ute, it is offered with a 362 hp 6.0L V8 and a manual transmission. Think: Pontiac G8 GT or Chevy SS with a bed and that is what you have. In fact, at one point there were rumors that the US would get the Ute variant as well, before the whole recession causing GM to shutter Pontiac. Ford, on the other hand, had the Ford Falcon Ute. Rather than a V8, Ford went with a Inline-6 cylinder Turbo that still pumped out 362 hp and actually had 3 more ft-lbs of torque than the Holden’s V8. Think of the track-car possibilities here!
If you could legally import one of those final year Utes into the US (rather than wait till it is 25 years old) you would have room in the bed to haul things plus the ability to tow a small trailer. It would be so much quicker to empty than a hatch-back or a trunk just from sheer access.
Having the rear-wheel drive (RWD) Holden Commodore platform to build upon also presented the opportunity for a full-size RWD station wagon to be built (above). The Commodore Sportwagen was even available in an SSV Redline trim with the V8, but was unfortunately only available with an automatic. The Ford Falcon also has a wagon variant up until 2010, during it’s last two years of production it was only available as a very base trim and it never got the full performance treatment of the sedan and the Ute. All of this fun has come to an end though as both Ford and Holden shut down their Australia based production in 2017 which manufactured all of the RWD Falcon and Commodore variants. No more RWD sedans, car-based Utes or wagons are making their way through the pipeline. Now Holden imports car like the Buick Regal (as the Commodore) and Astra (yes Astra) and slap a Holden badge on them.
Being a RHD nation has lead to the presence of Japanese models being available in New Zealand that never made it to the US. The Honda Odyssey is a much different beast than back home. It still has three rows, but it is more like a high-roof wagon than a van with 4 conventional doors and a lower ride and roof line. I have seen a few Nissan R33 and R34 GTRs driving around the city. Then there are rest-of-world models that the US just never had or possibly had them under a different name (Example: Skoda >> VW below). Small jelly-bean shaped vans are also used all over as work vehicles, and while they aren’t as large as a Ford Transit van, they are very functional.
Obviously there is the Toyota Hilux, which unlike it’s American cousin does appear to have gotten more regular appearance updates. Similarly the Nissan Navara, which used to have styling identical to the Frontier, has left it’s American counterpart in the dust. Ever since the Tundra and Titan became more popular in the US, their smaller counterparts have been left to rot, and I believe a large part of that is to not cannibalize sales from their large siblings. Here in New Zealand, the Tundra and Titan do not exist, so the Hilux and Navara have been allowed to flourish. The Toyota Soarer might not sound familiar but sure would look familiar as we got it as a Lexus model, the SC-300. That said, all of these models are available almost every except the US, so no big shocks here.
Overall, I think the biggest surprise to me was the MkVI Golf GTI Cabrio (above) that I randomly stumbled across one day. I actually had to do a double take to make sure that it was in fact a “factory” convertible but the lines were so clean and it was molded so well into the car there was no doubt. Now, that isn’t a car I lust over, but it was nice to see. What I want is the B7 Passat R Wagon, the Holden Commodore Speedwagon SS-V and the Holden Ute SS.
Maybe in 20 years or so, one will be mine. For now, they will remain forbidden fruit that I lust after.
