With a new 160kW/500Nm turbo diesel engine and eight-speed automatic transmission, the updated LDV T60 Max has the potential to be a real cat amongst the pigeons.
- Still good value for money, despite the price rise
- Good amount of available punch from the new 500Nm motor
- New interior looks the goods
- Still trailing behind the established competition for ride quality and load-carrying ability
- Infotainment misses Android Auto connectivity
- Lack of powertrain refinement at times, and binding in reverse
Introduction
The 2022 LDV T60 has been heavily revised – enough to appear like an all-new model. It’s a sign of the times; a fast-moving segment requires a constant flow of new metal and models in order to gain (and keep) the attention of the car-buying public.
This is an update, however – a major one for the Chinese ute that has muscled its way into the Australian four-wheel-drive ute segment after first appearing back in 2017.
Back then, LDV was aiming to slice off a hearty 10 per cent slice of the market for itself. Such a number is yet to be attained. LDV managed to garner 3.5 per cent of four-wheel-drive ute business in 2021 from its 6705 sales in a market that tallied 189,614 4×4 utes overall (according to VFACTS).
It’s a number that certainly falls short of the LDV’s bullish targets, but is impressive nonetheless.
And with a lot more power and torque under the bonnet these days (enough to give some of the regulars a red face), along with the updated look and a smattering of new tech, the Chinese brand is no doubt looking to peel off a little more market share in 2022.
Prices have recently gone up for the T60, however, thanks to ongoing new car supply shortages amidst increasing demand. The cheapest T60 Max Pro manual starts from $35,779 plus on-road costs, the better-equipped Luxe steps up to $40,516 plus on-road costs, and in both cases an automatic adds $2105.
This is, after all, one of the biggest and fastest-growing segments of the Australian new car market.
| Key details | 2022 LDV T60 Max Luxe |
| Price (MSRP) | $42,621 plus on-road costs |
| Colour of test car | Metal Black |
| Options | Metallic paint – $500 |
| Price as tested | $43,121 plus on-road costs |
| Rivals | Mitsubishi Triton | Nissan Navara | GWM Ute |
Inside
We’ve got the most expensive choice out of a two-variant T60 Max range known as Luxe. It’s around an extra $5000 over Pro specification, and nets things like leather upholstery, heated front seats with electric adjustment, keyless entry and push-button start, 360-degree camera and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.
This comes atop gear like a 10.25-inch infotainment display, tyre pressure monitoring, climate control, and a six-speaker sound system.
It’s an interior that has been refreshed and is well laid out for day-to-day usage. There are a couple of cupholders next to the manual handbrake, some storage for your incidentals below the infotainment display, and twin USB power outlets (along with a 12-volt plug).
The quality of the seating position is good, but not as good as the best in the segment. The seats lack a bit of under-thigh support, and the steering column only has tilt adjustment, no reach adjustment is available. While the seats might not be as comfortable or well bolstered as the Ranger Wildtraks and HiLux SR5s of the world, I did find them comfortable enough after a week of driving – recording a couple of decently long stints behind the wheel, as well.
The second row is reasonably spacious as well, thanks to the 3155mm wheelbase and 5365mm of overall length. These are two numbers that are unchanged with this new facelift, and it’s still not certain whether the long-wheelbase LDV T60 Megatub will make it with the Max facelift. There are air vents back here, a single 12V plug, and enough room for adults to slide in with decent comfort.
| 2022 LDV T60 Max Luxe | |
| Seats | Five |
| Tray dimensions | 1485mm L / 1430mm W |
| Length | 5365mm |
| Width | 1900mm |
| Height | 1809mm |
| Wheelbase | 3155mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
With a large-for-segment 10.25 inches of real estate, the T60 Max’s infotainment is an impressive system, especially when you consider the sharp pricing of the T60 Max Luxe. Plus, it looks pretty good mounted up onto the revised dashboard design.
The operating system behind the screen isn’t as much to write about unfortunately, not scoring particularly well for features or intuitive control. However, that becomes less of an issue when you plug in your iPhone and start running Apple CarPlay for functionality.
Those on the other side of the fence – who use an Android-powered smartphone – are left out in the cold without such functionality built in. In most other applications, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are like two peas in a technological pod. However, the 2022 LDV T60 Max is the exception to the rule.
Some buttons help with general functionality of the infotainment display, but the T60’s eagerness for a clean look does seem to shoot itself in the foot somewhat. The only volume control I could find is on the steering wheel, and other buttons are within the screen display itself.
In front of the driver, there is a multifunction display that runs through the usual array of readouts and information, along with tyre pressure monitoring – handy for those spending time on worksites and unsealed surfaces.
Safety and Technology
Although the T60 Max has a wide array of safety equipment in its home market of China, such technology hasn’t made its way to Australian examples with this update. Most notably, there is no autonomous emergency braking – safety technology that is now common fitment on most new cars and utes in Australia.
There are parking sensors at the back, along with lane-departure warning and a 360-degree surround-view camera in this Luxe specification. But front parking sensors are missing, along with lane-keep assistance, blind-spot monitoring and adaptive cruise control also missing. And their omission forms the biggest criticism for this ute.
The five-star ANCAP safety rating from the T60’s 2017 introduction is good to have, but it’s also worth noting here that the T60 was tested against less stringent requirements that year in comparison to a five-star result today.
| 2022 LDV T60 Max Luxe | |
| ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2017) |
| Safety report | Link to ANCAP report |
Value for Money
The LDV T60 is good value for money, offering a broad array of equipment for the asking price. It goes a long way to undercut most of the established competition out there, and the offering is now made better by the more powerful 2.0-litre twin-turbocharged engine.
However, there is a select group of cut-price four-wheel-drive utes laying siege to the establishment. And for those not willing to pay Ford Ranger money for an up-specced 4×4 ute, then they will need to consider two or three other key competitors in this neck of the woods.
Countryman competitor, the GWM Ute – in Cannon X specification – offers a similarly sharp price offering. It might not pack the same underbonnet punch as the T60, but it does score meaningful points back with a more complete offering of standard safety equipment.
And while recently there have been dark clouds circling SsangYong from a corporate point of view, its latest Musso is an impressive four-wheel-drive ute in many respects. It’s sharply priced as well, with a $41,290 drive-away asking price for the Musso Ultimate.
And, of course, there is the current champion of the value-conscious utes: Mitsubishi’s Triton. Top specification in this sense sets you back a bit more at over $50,000, but there is a big range of models and specifications to dig through.
One element that is hard to get a gauge on is servicing, because of the lack of a capped-price servicing program for the LDV T60. It’s something the company is working on, as the Deliver 9 van has recently taken on capped-price servicing.
| At a glance | 2022 LDV T60 Max Luxe |
| Warranty | Five years / 130,000km |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
| Servicing costs | No capped-price servicing |
Fuel Consumption – brought to you by bp
| Fuel Usage | Fuel Stats |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 9.3L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 9.5L/100km |
| Fuel type | Diesel |
| Fuel tank size | 73L |
Driving
Despite dropping down from the previous 2.8-litre capacity, the updated LDV T60 Max packs some serious punch from the new 2.0-litre engine. With 160kW and 500Nm, LDV takes the title of the most powerful four-cylinder diesel engine in the segment.
That’s right, established players like the Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton, Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 all sport less power and torque than this new T60.
That older, larger and less powerful motor was a VM Motori design (similar to what you’d find in some Jeep Wranglers and Holden Colorados) made under licence by SAIC in China and tuned to 110kW/360Nm for the T60.
And while that motor was decent enough, there were times when it felt a bit sluggish.
This new twin-turbo diesel engine, however, seems to be an engine of LDV’s own design and manufacture. And with 160kW at 4000rpm and 500Nm at 1500–2400rpm, the T60 matches the likes of a Toyota HiLux and Ford Ranger for torque, and betters them for kilowatts.
And while on-paper specifications are only one thing, this new engine does deliver with purposeful propulsion when you need it. Its throttle calibration doesn’t feel perfectly dialled, though, and you need to navigate past a couple of flat spots before the engine punches forward nicely.
The gearing seems to be quite low overall, no doubt aiming to make the most of the engine’s outputs. You’re using eighth gear by the time you are in 70km/h range, which is beneficial for performance and economy around town. But at the same time, the T60 doesn’t seem to be revving or working too hard on the highway.
We did notice that our ZF eight-speed auto gearbox shuddered from time to time, and gets caught out with an occasional late or sloppy decision. That could be symptomatic of the throttle calibration, but on the whole its gearbox performance was good.
That being said, there are better executions of automatic gearboxes out there. Manual gear changes out of school can induce an electronic slap on the wrist from the gearbox computer: ‘Dissatisfy shift condition’ appears on the head-up display, and you’ll be stuck in the gear of the T60’s choosing.
One more significant problem that we had was a feeling of binding up in reverse. It was only apparent when in Auto 4 High mode, which is meant to allow four-wheel drive on the blacktop. However, reversing with this mode engaged induced some significant windup in the drivetrain, especially when turning in reverse.
I’m not sure if it’s the automatic locking of the four-wheel-drive system – binding front and rear differentials together – or the action of the auto-locking rear differential. Perhaps it’s a combination of both? But either way, it’s not pretty. In order to avoid it, you need to ensure that the T60 stays in normal 2WD when reversing.
The ride quality of the T60 – sporting a suspension tune designed for the Australian market – does feel a little bit brittle at times, and is reminiscent of what a four-wheel-drive ute would feel like 10 years ago. It’s comfortable enough on the whole, and good enough to live with, but doesn’t feel as polished or refined as the current segment leaders.
It’s worth noting here that the Luxe specification gets a comfort-oriented suspension set-up, with softer tuning and a lower payload in comparison to the Pro spec.
Loaded up with 700kg of weight, the T60 did a good enough job of hauling around a near maximum payload. One could feel the rear bumpstops getting a proper workout at this kind of weight, and the dampers did feel like they were at the upper end of their load capacity.
For doing this kind of hard yakka occasionally, then the T60 gets a solid pass mark. But if you were planning on doing this every day, I’d consider adding a little extra into the budget for some additional suspension work. Or, the heavier-duty suspension of the Pro model might be a better choice.
The steering is also affected by the loads – needing heavier steering inputs at low speeds around town. And fully laden on the highway, it feels fidgety and busy, needing constant inputs to stay on the straight and narrow.
Engine noise and refinement are on par with most other four-wheel-drive utes, but maybe a little noisier. It would take some getting used to for newcomers to this segment, but if you’re used to diesel-powered light commercial vehicles, then you’d likely be fine.
| Key details | 2022 LDV T60 Max Luxe |
| Engine | 2.0-litre four-cylinder twin-turbo diesel |
| Power | 160kW @ 4000rpm |
| Torque | 500Nm @ 1500-2400rpm |
| Drive type | Four-wheel drive |
| Transmission | Eight-speed torque convertor automatic |
| Power to weight ratio | 74.4kW/t |
| Weight (kerb) | 2150kg |
| Tow rating | 3000kg braked, 750kg unbraked |
| Turning circle | 12.6m |
Conclusion
Adding more power and torque is never a bad thing for a four-wheel-drive ute, and this facelifted T60 has got a big shot in the arm with this new powertrain. Whereas the old model certainly felt more lethargic, this new T60 has some genuinely useful acceleration when driving around towns and on highways.
It rounds out an overall package that has also improved in terms of equipment and general presentation. The value-for-money stakes have taken a hit with the latest price rises, however, and the omission of some crucial safety technology also leaves the T60 Max open to a clear line of criticism.
And it’s a problem for the T60, because key competitors like the SsangYong Musso, GWM Ute and Mitsubishi Triton all have more safety boxes ticked.
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