I don't know much about off-roading. Somewhat lazily, I usually leave the gory details of low-range gearboxes and rampover angles to colleagues who have big muddy boots.
But I do know this. Last year, the world of utes changed dramatically for us townies. With the arrival of the Volkswagen Amarok and Ford Ranger/Mazda BT-50, we found ourselves with heavy duty off-road utility vehicles that were genuinely entertaining on the road.
It might sound a bit odd to say I've been itching to find out which of these utes was sportiest on the road, but isn't it wonderful to have a calibre of pickup that allows you to consider such a thing?
Enter the $49,500 Amarok Highline and $46,990 Ranger XLT. Those prices are for two-wheel drive versions . And to be fair, I've gone for manual-transmission models because that's the only way you can have the Volkswagen at the moment. Actually that's not fair to the Ford at all, because the Ranger is also available with a simply superb six-speed automatic. An eight-speeder is mooted for Amarok in the near future - but it's not here yet.
On paper, the Amarok looks a little puny in this company, with a mere 120kW/400Nm from its 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel four. The Ranger pumps out 147kW/470Nm from its 3.2-litre turbo diesel five-pot and feels every inch the muscle-ute. No question the Ranger's monster engine is the way to go off-road, but in spirited road driving the sprightly nature of the Amarok's powerplant is truly entertaining. There's a dearth of torque below 1500rpm, but when you're pressing on the 2.0-litre rips up and down the rev range like a petrol engine. Great manual gearshift, too.