So much negativity from people who have never driven/owned or required one. If these things are the devil reincarnated why are there so many sales? Perhaps individuals actually require vehicles of this type? We don't all live in suburbia (thank goodness) and drive exclusively on tarmac. Where a lot of you will be going on staycation, some of us live and work there year round. Often using these monsters to remove Prius etc from verges, fields, mild frosted campsites. If you are after a witch hunt go look at the people who purchase hybrids for a tax dodge and run them on exclusively hydrocarbon power. How friendly is this to the environment? Or the latest lifestyle statement of owning a van, the same negative arguments could be directed here. People drive what they want/need to, what's the point in getting heated up about it? What are you going to be doing next, inspecting their bikes before a ride for environmental considerations and then telling them they would be better off with a/b/c. Live and let live. Flame away as expected.
My pick up does maybe 2.2k on a busy year…. Most of them towing a trailer.
If I did 22k in a year a pickup would be the last thing I’d be thinking about doing it in
Which pickup do you have if don’t mind me asking?
whasnt there a thread on here about a year ago started by a chap who’d swapped his mercedes for a truck but couldn’t fit his bike in the back and found it a bit rough going on the motorway.
Personally an land rover pick up.
But I spend enough time rumbling about in Hilux and l200 with work to have an appreciation that in reality all the fancy toys inside and a flash leather interior(only in the l200s we had ) don't make them ride any better or drive any better or fuel economy any better or cab space any better or bed any more secure.
The only worse vehicle we have to drive is a base model transit pick up that won't go above 60 without a tail wind - but it's much older
When your 5 up in a Hilux doing a 10hr drive across the desert bobbing about .... You begins to wish you were almost anywhere else than in a Hilux.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2791663/nissan-navara-safety-fears/
The black one is a colleagues. Still on the road . He cut it up and rewelded it and made it into a king cab with extended bed with coil overs. Solved all the issues basically made it what pick ups in the UK would be if they had a purpose more than a tax break
Trailrat, the first line of that Sun article is the best thing i think i have ever read in the sun.
Aye . The rust was brought about by a badly designed chassis accelerating the rust. But yes...it was an obvious news day.
If these things are the devil reincarnated why are there so many sales?
Fashion
So much negativity from people who have never driven/owned or required one. If these things are the devil reincarnated why are there so many sales?
Because they are a fashion/lifestyle statement, and the Owner needs to keep up with others of their ilk.
My boss bought one. He finally realised it was a really poor decision when he couldnt even fit some storage cases in the load area, so he called me in to take them away in my small van.
There are very few trades where these vehicles are better than a van. But, it isnt trades that are the target market anymore.
So much negativity from people who have never driven/owned or required one.
Not surprising if people are getting a more environmentally damaging vehicle just so they can pay less bik tax
Where a lot of you will be going on staycation,
You don't go on a staycation, the clue is in the name.
I've got a Navara as a company vehicle, I use the towing and off road capability, though. I had a Freelander 2 before which was better in every respect but the tax was horrendous. The Navara is big and a pig to park, but reasonably comfortable (the seats are the best I've ever experienced) and has all the toys. MPG is between 25-35 depending on usage. 40 would be possible if you avoid motorways and drive very carefully. Mine has the 190 bhp engine with a 7 speed autobox. I've done 113,000 miles in 3 years with no issues worth mentioning. It's not good for carrying bikes, though. One of those tailgate pads would be the way to go for non-ebikes, I reckon. I'm about to buy an e-bike however and will get a towbar rack.
We've got a Ranger (the reliable Mazda based one, not the T6 or newer pavement-princess, unreliable ones) as a family wagon/tow car/farm truck/4x4 and it is blood awesome at all of those. Don't think we'd ever be without one but as an mtb transporter they're utterly crap - give me a car with a rack or van any day, pickups are the worst of both worlds.
Infact those saying they are now more refined…..that’s a step backwards for a pick up . Utilitarian and easy to fix would be far better than a show pony tax wagon -most of which have cart springs out back and drive like they do.
100% this, I wouldn't dare put our kids in some of these tarty new trucks never mind use one how they're supposed to be. Can't see working on them being DIY-able any more either.
If these things are the devil reincarnated why are there so many sales?
Becausew shallow and gullible people are impressed with "Walloper" "Barbarian" written on the side of their vehicle.
No, don't do it. Honestly I tick all of your boxes and I would rather eat a lump of dogshit than have another pickup.
15yrs ago I worked for Ford main dealer and had a Focus Estate as my co car doing 120mls per day. I mountain biked all I could so my company offered me a Ford Ranger XLT (TOTR at the time) thinking this would fit in with my lifestyle. I tried one for a couple of weeks. The outcome was I offered my resignation if they forced me to take a pickup. It was planet damagingly bad on fuel. It was huge, it was heavy. It had a stupid seating position. I had to climb into it and bang my head. It wallowed into corners and it had no rear legroom. I didn't have a canopy on the back so I never ever used the back as its about as secure as a chocolate fireguard. All in all I couldn't give it a single positive unless I actually needed 4x4 toolbox.
So 15yrs later I am now driving a TOTR Mercedes X Class 250 pickup. Yes I know Nissan Nivara etc etc. The tax break is just about worth it until you find you get 29mpg average (That's common over 40 members of staff) so you are putting twice as much fuel in. I am at about break even over a car in costs. All of the above negatives are still present and I still think anyone who doesn't need a 4x4 toolbox is just trying to look like The Fall Guy. They are still hugely compromised in every department. They are horrible for the environment and I really cant see them making it past WLTP rules in the future.
Thankfully my replacement hybrid C Class is being built as its replacement. Lower tax whilst actually being somewhere near a reasonable day to day vehicle.
Further to my post above about my Navara - I have to say that if I would much rather have a 'normal' car if I didn't need the towing and off-road ability (although the tyres severely compromise that). Mind you, if it was choice between a van and the pickup, I'd choose the latter.
Welcome to Australia y'all. The most popular family car down here now. Mum will have a 2wd SUV behemoth for the school run.
Don't proper vans still have a similar reduced tax liability? I suppose if you need the rear seats, (though your kids may have to have lower leg amputations if you get the wrong pickup) that's a no-no, but in general a smallish van will do all the pickup stuff except serious towing and be a nicer and more economical vehicle to drive.
You could still put bit BARBARIAN/WALLOPER stickers and a private plate on it. 
^Is that the new Mitsubishi Bampot or the Nissan Dobber? They've toned the plastic body parts down abit this year!
The only pick up I'd entertain would be something like our old lodger has. Nearly 20 year old Ford Ranger/Mazda b, looks like it's fallen down the stairs and has had the front end adjusted by hitting a wood chipper.
I helped him fix it and I used a club hammer to straighten it out enough to fit a headlamp from the scrappy.
In more recent times it was involved in a small crash and the at fault parties insurance wanted to write it off, they took some convincing that the damage was mostly pre existing.
Its still trundling about doing tree surgeon stuff now.
Pick-ups can be the perfect tool for the job so if you want one then go for it, a mate has a new VW V6tdi Amarok (to replace his transit) that's been fettled by Darkside Developments for 400+ bhp and over 600ft-lbs torque, he is a skipper on the fishing boats and regularly loads his pick up with a few tons of kit in the trailer and the cab is a very nice place to sit on for long journeys up and down the country.
I follow their YouTube channel, some impressive work on those Amaroks. I keep telling myself I need to pay them a visit.
I've got a D-Max currently and previously had a new shape Navarra (which I detested with a passion that I've never felt for any other car I've owned or driven in nearly 30 years of having a license!!).
I hate the fact it is so uneconomical, I can live with the handling and I love the practicality of it for regular off road use, working dogs, shooting, collecting logs etc. BUT if I didn't need the load carrying / off road ability then there's no way I'd own one.
a mate has a new VW V6tdi Amarok (to replace his transit) that’s been fettled by Darkside Developments for 400+ bhp and over 600ft-lbs torque, he is a skipper on the fishing boats
I thought the fishing industry was on the bones of it's arse and everyone is currently bending over for a repeat Rogering from the EU!
I had a Ford F150 in the states for a couple weeks, I enjoyed driving it but it was huge and completely unsuitable for the UK.
However...1978 Chevy K5 blazer...yes please.
For my job I have a fully expensed company vehicle that I expect to do 25-30k miles PA in (though will be little over half of that this year because of Coronavirus), I just have to pay the BIK tax... My brief was very open, as long as it came in budget and it did what I needed it to do, then game on...
I ended up with another VW Caddy Maxi (having owned one before)... WAY under budget, but I can actually live with it day to day, and get bikes in the back. I don't need more than 2 seats fortunately, nor do I need to pretend I go offroad. It's a 2L with the DSG box so it goes quite well and its relaxing to drive, and still does a real 45mpg average (as opposed to the 48-50 it can claim it does), has heated seats, parking sensors, Apple Car Play, Adaptive Cruise Control etc... It's more refined than a lot of cars I've driven!
The other week, my van had to go into the local VW dealership for the day, they game me a brand new 3L Amarok courtesy vehicle, same spec as some of my colleagues drive... In the 20 miles I drove it, from the dealership to my house and then back, I think I'd be looking for a new job if I'd had to have one of these as a company vehicle! Forgetting the useless load carrying capacity and the inability to store anything safely, I'm on about the driving experience here... It made my Dad's old 1993 Land Rover Discovery seem like a dynamic driving experience by contrast! Sure, it has every toy you can imagine, the seats are comfy and recline further than in my van... That's where the good points finish. The chassis was unfit for use on the road I'd go so far as to say! Driving it was a terrifying exercise in desperately trying to keep the thing on the road, every minor bump/catseye/pothole/camber change and it just wanted to fly off into the scenery. Combined with the incredibly lazy steering rack it has, you're fighting with huge amounts of steering lock at all times to keep it on the straight and narrow, mostly at speeds well below the posted legal limit! And as big as it is, you've got little room for error... Then there's the engine... It would feel overpowered with half as much power as it has, putting a 268bhp V6 in this truck is madness! Then I see that people are tuning them to 400bhp+... 🤦🏻 Absolute Death Trap!
I got back in my Caddy after giving the Amarok back and it felt like a tight little sports car afterwards, like comparing an MX5 or a Lotus Elise to a bloated SUV like an X5 or Q7 in full Cheshire Housewives spec. The receptionist at the dealer asked me how I got on with the Amarok, did I like it... I don't think she was expecting my answer of "thank god I only had to drive it home, and then back here, it's horrendous, please just give me my van back!"
I've driven a few pick-ups over the years - thought they were great for towing but nothing else - it worked but wasn't great. Used a couple for firework shows and it was multiple trips to move the kit due to lack of carrying space on the vehicle.
I don't need to use one anymore and glad I don't as everything is a compromise or impractical.
They are great as a tool for doing practical work (especially towing), otherwise, I think there are better vehicles. However, as a utilitarian working vehicle, they can work well.
Each to their own though...try and enjoy it, if you get one.
I thought the fishing industry was on the bones of it’s arse and everyone is currently bending over for a repeat Rogering from the EU!
He's doing ok despite the current shower of ****s in government, pretty much his entire catch is sent to france/spain once its been landed/processed and he's been pretty vocal about the transportation issues come 2021. Alister Jack (our tory mp in galloway) attempted to do a piece to camera on our harbour in town but my mate was on his scallop/queenie boat in the background and started throwing anything on deck he could get his hands on at him whilst shouting a few choice phrases regarding brexit and the tories in general (he's not a fan of either) - Jack ended up doing his piece to camera from a local tory farm which is probably just as well as my mate threatened to string him up from the boats crane if he didn't **** off