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We've already looked at the top five most-powerful petrol cars under $80K and the five EVs offering the most power for your dollar, but now it's time for the diesels to shine and we've added a twist.
Literally a twist because as you would know, the beauty of diesel engines is their ability to producing twisting force - or torque. Some would even argue that torque is more important than power because it's the element vital for acceleration and towing.
So, we've combed the new car market for the top five most torquey diesel-powered vehicles under $80K. And for a bit of fun we've given them a Newton metres per dollar rating - Nm/$.
Some of the manufacturers will only provide us with drive-away prices and we've used these in our calculations in lieu of a list price, which means the torque-for-your-dollar ratio is even better in reality than what we have here.
Of course, the big torquing stars here are utes but which utilities may surprise you. We've kept the price limit to under $80K again and also selected ute dual cabs only - which cost more than their cab chassis siblings.
Price: $40,290 (drive-away)
Torque: 420Nm
Toque-price rate: 0.00427Nm/$
Making it into the back our top five is the mighty Musso from SsangYong - a Korean brand which never says die and one that is having a huge resurgence lately thanks to utes just like this.
The Musso ELX XLV has a drive-away price of $40,290 and has a 2.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine making 420Nm from 1600rpm, and sends it to all four wheels through six speed automatic transmission.
Braked towing capacity comes in at 3500kg, while GVM is 3220kg.
Price: $40,290
Torque: 420Nm
Torque-price rate: 00427Nm/$
Ford's Ranger is one of the most popular vehicles in Australia and it's good to see it in our torque-for-your-money top five, too.
The XLS Hi-Rider with rear-wheel drive has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel making a whopping 500Nm. The list price of $47,330 before on-road costs makes it the most expensive model in our top five but this is a new-generation ute that's not only comfortable, safe and has plenty of modern tech on board.
Braked towing capacity comes in at 3500kg, while GVM is 3250kg.
Price: $40,440
Torque: 430Nm
Torque-price rate: 0.0106Nm/$
In third place and packing 430Nm straight off the bat is the Mitsubishi Triton in GLX Double Cab with two-wheel drive for a list price of just $40,440. That's a lot of torque and plenty of ute at a great price from an established brand.
A 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel sends the torque to the rear wheels via a six speed automatic transmission.
Braked towing capacity comes in at 3000kg, while GVM is 2810kg.
Price: $35,990 (drive-away)
Torque: 400Nm
Torque-price rate: 0.0111Nm/$
The GWM Cannon 4x2 dual cab might not be the biggest gun here in terms of torque at 400Nm but a drive-away of $35,990 gives you outstanding torque for your dollar.
This is the rear-wheel drive version with the 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel making all its torque from 1500rpm.
Braked towing capacity comes in at 3000kg, while GVM is 2985kg.
Price: $41,042 (drive-away)
Torque: 500Nm
Torque-price rate: 0.0122Nm/$
The winner for our top five most torque for your dollar diesels is the LDV T60 Max Pro. Yep, the manual version of this dual cab with four-wheel drive gives you an enormous 500Nm for a drive-away price of $41,042.
The T50 Max Pro has a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel making not just 500Nm of torque from 1500rpm, but a very healthy 160kW of power too.
Braked towing capacity comes in at 3000kg, while GVM is 3050kg.
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