Utes are incredibly popular in Australia as evidenced by the fact that the Toyota HiLux and the Ford Ranger consistently top the sale charts here.
A huge part of the appeal of utes is their ability to be used as work vehicles, they’ve always been regarded as workhorses, and utes are undoubtedly a big favourite of tradies everywhere.
But have all of those people who’ve bought utes for work too easily succumbed to the ute-worshipping hype? Have they too easily been persuaded to jump on the ute bandwagon? Are they in fact using entirely the wrong vehicle for work?
Is a van actually a better work vehicle than a ute? Let’s have a look at how the two compare…
Read on.
Van vs ute as a work vehicle
In terms of engine and transmission, power and torque outputs, driver-assist technology (including off-road traction control systems and the like) and general day-to-day performance, vans and utes are fairly even.
The cabins of both types of vehicles are quiet similar in that they can be set up as complete mobile offices, with ease of use and comfort as priorities: cloth seats, durable plastic surfaces and an abundance of storage spaces including, ideally, a lockable glovebox, dash-top slots as well as the usual door pockets and bottle-holder, a cup-holder at each end of the dash, and a deep centre console bin.
But each vehicle type has definite benefits over the other, as well as exhibiting some characteristics that may count against them when it comes to their potential as effective work vehicles.
Vans have plenty of positives in their favour as work vehicles, even as standard, i.e. sans modifications.
But really the rear load space is where a van could be considered to have a definite advantage, or at least a major point of difference, over a ute.
A van can be rather big, for example the cargo space in a 2021 long-wheelbase Mercedes-Benz Vito 116 is 3061mm long, 1709mm wide, and 1391mm high; with 1265mm between the rear wheel-arches, so a 1165mm standard Australian pallet will slot in, no worries. Official cargo volume in the Vito is 6.6 square metres.
Vans are built to carry loads inside the aptly-named load space and as such there is plenty of space, tie-down points (with which to secure your load in the rear), lighting systems (halogen or LED), usually some sort of wood panelling on the interior walls and rear door, some kind of rubber or vinyl matting, or other grippy protective surface on the floor of the cargo area, and even power points.
And the rear load space may be open access to the driver and front passengers(s), or it may be separated from the cabin of the van by a bulkhead with a built-in cargo barrier.
Access to that fully secure load space may be via sliding doors on either side of the van or by using the rear door, which might be 180°-opening rear twin barn doors (with window), or a single lift-up tailgate, and either of those can be fully locked open so a forklift can be used to place a heavier load in the cargo area.
So while there’s no problem with permitted access when you need it, the load space is fully lockable, so theoretically secure, and the contents may be concealed.
A ute’s tub/tray is not secure, not as a standard open load space, so the extent of your packing is not limited by your vehicle’s roof-line – as it is in a van – because a ute’s tub/tray doesn’t have one. You can load beyond the top edge of a ute’s tub if needed, and tall or awkwardly shaped loads aren’t a problem either.
But because there is no actual physical barrier to loading taller objects in a ute’s tub, some people may assume that, because of this characteristic, a ute offers superior and more flexible load-carrying capabilities than a van.
However, security and protection from the elements remain a serious issue on a ute with no covering at all on its tub/tray. But that’s easily fixed: there are all manner of OEM or aftermarket tub coverings on offer (hard or soft tonneau covers, roller shutters, aluminium lids etc) for utes.
Or you can purchase a great aftermarket canopy to be fixed to your ute tub to protect your load, and some of those options are lockable and quite comprehensive in their features. However, a canopy is not an engineered-at-vehicle-origin solution, so while it offers much better security, water- and dust-proofing than having no tub cover at all, it’s no match for a van’s factory built-in load space.
And, besides, by affixing a cover to a ute’s tub – whether it’s a tonneau, roller shutter, canopy, or simply a bit of tarp over the top – defeats the original purpose of owning an open-topped ute anyway, because by doing so you’re instantly robbing the ute tub of its load-carrying versatility.
As for payloads, well, in vans those can be upwards of 1000kg, while payloads in utes (e.g. a single-cab) can also range upwards of about the 1000kg mark. (Sure, US pick-ups can manage a whole lot more – with listed payloads of 1759kg and up – but for the purpose of this yarn we’re only considering mainstream utes.)
What I reckon
Vans and utes are generally comfortable, functional, and, especially contemporary versions, they are composed with or without a load, and either a van or a ute has plenty of potential as a small business or fleet purchase.
Ultimately, utes and vans are quite evenly matched for day-to-day driving duties – in terms of engine and transmission, power and torque outputs, driver-assist technology and general performance.
I see plenty of both types of vehicles being used as work conveyances by plumbers (utes and vans), electricians (vans), flooring installers (vans), and builders (utes).
Utes are often also used as recreational vehicles – just take a look at the plethora of them on and off the road in the bush and at the beach on weekends.
That’s not to say vans can’t be used for recreation, in fact, the bonus of something like a double-cab or crew-style van is that it could even double as a very decent alternative to a dual-cab ute as a recreational vehicle, especially if going off-road is not in your plans.
I prefer utes.
I use my ute to transport precious cargo, about 800kg of it at a time, for my other job. A van would perform the task just as well – in fact it’d be a whole lot easier to keep the product safe from bad weather in a van than it is in a ute that has only a soft tonneau cover over its tub – but I still prefer the ute. On any given week, at different times my ute will carry firewood, landscaping rocks, building rubbish, surfboards, kayaks and more in its tub.
Both vans and utes have merit as work horses, but for slightly different reasons – all to do with practicality, not performance. The ultimate choice for you depends on what you need the vehicle for and how you will use it in your daily work life.
I still prefer utes.
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