Chinese Company SAIC takes on a booming market segment in Australia with a dual cab ute
SAIC says that the LDV T60 has a muscular look that gives it a real presence on the road.
The T60 comes with 2 model options the Pro aimed at the trade market and the Luxe aimed more at the family who wants to have room for the kids and be able to put the surfboards or other similar types of activity resources in the tray at the back
Both models have the same a 2.8 litre turbo diesel engine which is a good capacity but the performance figures of 110 kW and 360 Newton metres of torque are not class-leading
The maximum torque is achieved that 1600 revs and it holds that maximum power over most of the rev range. However, the rev range is rather limited.
The automatic gear change was acceptable but noticeable and it seemed to hold in Top Gear just a little too long and then change down a bit late. Perhaps this is a setting to try and achieve maximum fuel consumption.
Which is rated at is 8.8 L/100km for the manual and 9.6 litres per 100 km for the automatic.
All models have electronic four-wheel drive selection with low range but the Luxe is fitted with a rear differential Locker.
Neither model has a central diff so if you are in four-wheel drive and trying to go around the carpark you can field the tires scrubbing.
The turning circle like many of these vehicles is not great at 12.6 metres.
The T 60 has achieved a five-star ANCAP safety rating. a result many other Chinese vehicles would long for.
It does so with 6 airbags, front passenger, side airbags, roof curtain airbags that extend to the rear passenger compartment, electronic vehicle stability control, rollover movement intervention, Hill Descent control, hill start assist, driver fatigue monitoring, tyre pressure sensing, reversing camera and rear parking sensors.
It does not have automatic emergency braking which means that if it was tested in 2018 in this current configuration it would not achieve a 5 star rating. Quite a number of vehicles are in this situation.
Cruise control is standard but it is not adaptive.
For the retail buyer the drive away price for the base model manual pro is $30,516 going up to the top of the range Luxe automatic at $36,831
It gets better for business owners with an ABN number where you can save a bit over 1 and a half thousand dollars on the base model and nearly $2,000 on the top of the range
The Australian market for utilities particularly dual cab models has been booming.
The LDV T60 is certainly capable to hold and tow a load, to have room for the kids and their gear and to get you into the country at a steady pace
Many of its sales will be in urban areas where its tiring ride on the poorer rural roads will not be a problem.
It is certainly cheaper than the current top selling models in the market while having some good features.
It will capture some of the usual buyers but also may temp a few more people away from an SUV.
https://youtu.be/-5YLdTffcCs
