Small Utes in Australia: A Brief History

Last year, the two best-selling vehicles in Australia were Toyota Hilux and Ford Rangerand combined, they accounted for more than 100,000 sales. Rivals like Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton Also in the top 10.

Australian buyers clearly appreciate the basic concept of a pickup: a versatile, do-it-all vehicle with an open bed that can carry any kind of cargo.

Australians are not alone here. While the US has had an ongoing love affair with its larger pickup trucks, small crossovers have made a comeback there in the form of Hyundai Tucsonbased on Santa Cruz and Ford Escape-derived Maverick.

In Latin America, they never leave. There are still a variety of models available that are under 4.5m in length and around 650kg in payload, such as the Renault Duster Oroch, Fiat Strada, and Volkswagen Saveiro, plus a new Chevrolet Montana on the way. These popular models are all derived from small car or SUV platforms.

THAN: Car-based utes: Small pickup trucks are thriving abroad

Over the decades, various car manufacturers have tried to sell miniature versions of the concept car in Australia, with varying degrees of success.

One of the earliest small utes ever sold in Australia was the now-forgotten Lightburn Zeta Utility, offering buyers the versatility of a car but the more agile dimensions of an urban car.

A product of the Adelaide-based Lightburn Car Company and sold for three years from 1963-66, the Zeta was a small, fiberglass-bodied car marketed as a second car.

With a two-stroke, 0.3-litre, two-cylinder engine, a top speed of only 60 km/h and a payload of approximately 230 kg, very few models were sold. Alas, the entire Zeta lineup, including the roadster and wagon, was considered a crushing failure.

Various automakers have been trying their hand at the small concept lately, and four of the more popular models on offer are the Proton Jumbuck, Subaru Brumby, Suzuki Mighty Boy, and Datsun 1200 Ute.

Proton Jumbuck (2003-2010)

In Australia, Proton is perhaps best remembered for offering a range of affordable hatchbacks and sedans, some of which sported the Tuned by Lotus badge on the bootlid. One of its most popular vehicles, however, is the Jumbuckonne.

The newest car on this list, the Wira/Persona-based Jumbuck, is in turn based on the older generation of the Mitsubishi Lancer.

A live axle and leaf springs are fitted at the rear, while under the bonnet is a Mitsubishi-supplied 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, which is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission for power. 64kW and 120Nm of torque.

It weighs only 1015kg, but the Jumbuck still offers a payload of 550kg.

The Jumbuck measures under 4.5m in length and has a ground clearance of 170mm, although it is only available with front-wheel drive. Two variants were offered, with the top-spec GLSi including 14-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, power windows and mirrors, and a four-speaker audio system.

With prices starting at $16,990 to drive, Jumbuck’s small size, simplicity, and low price have captured the attention of some customers. These attributes are clearly strong enough to cause buyers to miss out on the one-star ANCAP rating miserably.

Although Proton said a new generation was coming, Jumbuck was eventually dropped from the local lineup in 2010 without a replacement.

THAN: 25 Years of Failure: Australia’s Unsuccessful Car Brands, Part I (Including Protons)

Subaru Brumby (1978-1994)

Subaru already has a good image of being a brand for outdoor enthusiasts, made possible by including all-wheel drive as standard across the entire lineup (with the exception of BRZ).

Brumby is no exception. Known elsewhere as the BRAT and 284, this will be the only car model ever sold by the Japanese brand in Australia.

It arrived in 1978 and originally had a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, which in 1981 was changed to a larger 1.8-liter four-cylinder Boxer engine. This produces 61kW of power and 132Nm of torque, and is mated to a four-speed manual transmission.

The vehicle’s all-wheel drive system can be activated on demand via a lever located on the transmission tunnel. Brumby’s small size and all-wheel drive have made this vehicle popular with farmers who appreciate its modest off-road ability coupled with its nail-hardening reliability. .

Based on Leone (the predecessor to Impreza), the Brumby offers a payload of just 400kg, but makes up for this with a low price tag.

In its last year on sale, 1994, it was priced from just $17,085 before on-road transportation costs in basic guise, cutting back on more traditional vehicles like Nissan Navara and Toyota HiLux.

Subaru introduced a potential successor to the Brumby called the Suiren at the 1993 Tokyo Motor Show. Following in the footsteps of its predecessor, this will be based on Subaru’s new small car, Imprezahas been produced.

Unfortunately, Brumby’s niche position in the automaker’s lineup, coupled with a general stagnation in the Japanese economy, means that the Suiren remains a newborn, production-ready concept. .

American customers received a spiritual legacy in the 2000s with Libertybased on the Subaru Baja mun, although it was short-lived.

Suzuki Mighty Boy (1985-1988)

Japan is famous for its tiny Kei cars, which are often a creative outlet for manufacturers to enhance practicality, utility and space as much as possible within the constraints of size and construction. very tight capacity.

The Mighty Boy is Suzuki’s attempt to create a vehicle that conforms to these regulations, and also features the distinction of being perhaps one of the few kei cars exported outside of Japan, also on sale. in Australia and Cyprus.

With a total length of just 3.2m, the Mighty Boy is ironically very small in nature, matching the Lightburn Zeta mentioned above for the title of smallest car in this article.

Like other kei bikes of this era, the Mighty Boy used a 0.5 liter (543cc) three-cylinder engine that produced just 19kW of power and 35Nm of torque, resulting in a 0-100km top speed. /h at 24 seconds rpm.

Maximum payload is a surprising 440kg (for its size), and oddly enough, the Mighty Boy is optionally available with a two-speed automatic along with a matching four-speed manual transmission as standard.

The Mighty Boy is one of the cheapest new cars on sale in Australia, at one point starting at just $5795.

Datsun 1200 Ute

While the Toyota Corona is already available in Australia with a plastic body, the Datsun 1200 is the Japanese truck with a stronger hit today.

Introduced as a half-ton truck and marketed as a “strong dwarf”, the pickup truck – known as the Sunny Truck in Japan – is an older version of the popular 1200. , the predecessor of 120Y.

As the name suggests, it uses a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine that produces 52kW and 95Nm. The only transmission is a 4-speed manual transmission and the 1200 Ute is only 3845mm long overall while weighing less than 750kg.

It had a long run in Australia, selling from 1971 to 1985. It outlasted its sedan and wagon rivals, and was sold alongside its 120Y, Sunny and Pulsar alternatives.

That, however, pales in comparison to its tenure in South Africa.

There, the popular mini bakkie continued to be produced until 2008 before finally being made available by stricter emissions and safety regulations. Although officially sold there in 1400, it is also colloquially known as “kanniedood”, Afrikaans meaning “impossible to die”.