Double-cab utes are very much the thing in New Zealand. Around 90 per cent of sales, in fact. You could say that's a good thing - that the rising quality, equipment and safety of utility vehicles means that they now fulfil multiple roles in both work and weekend-motoring applications.
Or you could say that double-cab utes are the light commercial equivalent of a people-mover - there's a dignified sort of vehicle underneath, but the wand of uncoolness has been waved over them because they also have to make sure Gran gets to bowls every Sunday.
But that would explain the sense of boyish excitement I felt when I saw this week's test ute: styling-wise, the Toyota Hilux SR5 Extra Cab (that's two doors and a pair of strictly occasional squabs in back) has a bit of an American-style pickup truck thing going on. Superficial of me, I know, but after a diet of sensible double-cabs over the past few months, this was the equivalent of finding a stylish coupe in the driveway.
In purely analytical terms, Hilux has slipped quietly away from being truly competitive with new-generation utes like the Ford Ranger and Volkswagen Amarok. But it's also long-established as number one in its segment (sometimes number one overall) and nobody expects that to change. Hilux is a brand that really connects with Kiwis and it was easy to discern a certain degree of effortless cool surrounding this top-spec extra cab wherever it went.
People loved it.
