Best Dual-Cab Utes 2025: Truck

Contenders

• RAM 1500
• Toyota Tundra
• Chevrolet Silverado
• Ford F-150

Winner: RAM 1500

• Price: From $141,950 plus on-road costs (Laramie Sport) – $159,950 +ORC (Limited)
• Drivetrain/economy/CO2 emissions: 3.0L turbo-petrol inline six: 313kW/635Nm (Standard Output) – 403kW/707Nm (High Output), eight-speed auto, 4WD, 10.7-11.8L/100km, TBC CO2
• Dimensions: 5916mm long, 2057mm wide, 1971mm tall, 3672mm long wheelbase
• Towing capacity/GVM/GCM: 4200kg (High Output) – 4500kg (Standard Output)/3505kg (High Output) – 3521kg (Standard Output)/7285kg (High Output) – 7711kg (Standard Output)
• Warranty/roadside assistance/service intervals: Three-year/100,000km warranty, three years of roadside assistance, annual/12,000km
• Five-year service cost: No capped price servicing

Believe it or not, but the Ram 1500 was actually the first big American truck to be offered in Australia in the modern era when local conversions to right-hand drive commenced in 2018. Since then, the Ram 1500 has received a big upgrade with updated styling, more standard features and a powerful new turbocharged 3.0-litre petrol inline six.

The new engine has been a point of controversy for buyers, mostly because the Hemi V8 that the Ram used to use is a legendary engine. The company has promised to revive it in the US for 2026, under the marketing strapline ‘Symbol Of Protest’, but it’s yet to be locked in for Australia. Even if it does arrive here, it’ll likely be a little shy of the Hurricane twin-turbo inline-six’s massive 403kW of power and 707Nm of torque (that’s in High Output form but the Standard Output still makes a huge 313kW/635Nm).

Inside the Ram 1500 range is a cabin that’s much better quality than its rivals, with lots of leather-covered surfaces and clever storage solutions for life’s trinkets. The centre screen measures a huge 14.4-inches in size, while even the front passenger gets a separate screen with headphones so that they can watch a movie.

Like its Chevrolet Silverado main rival, the Ram 1500’s service and warranty campaign could be improved – at just three years/100,00km of coverage, it’s short compared to Ford and Toyota rivals, while there’s no capped price servicing so who knows how much it’ll cost to service. But regardless of those, the Ram 1500 is a serious truck that does it all and it should be at the top of your test drive list if you’re after such a big vehicle.

Chevrolet Silverado

• Price: From $130,550 plus on-road costs (LTZ) to $141,500 +ORC (ZR2)
• Drivetrain/economy: 6.2L NA V8: 313kW/624Nm, 10-speed auto, 4WD, 12.2L/100km, 199g/km
• Dimensions: Up to 5935mm long, 2086mm wide, 2000mm tall, 3760mm long wheelbase
• Towing capacity/GVM/GCM: 4500kg/3300kg/6851kg
• Warranty/roadside assistance/service intervals: Three-year/100,000km, three years of roadside assistance, annual/12,000km
• Five-year service cost: $1655

While it wasn’t the first of the American trucks to launch in Australia, the Chevrolet Silverado has certainly proved popular since it launched locally in 2020. That’s largely because of its 4500kg braked towing capacity and its lovely 6.2-litre petrol V8 engine.

Making 313kW of power and 624Nm of torque, the Silverado’s V8 engine is unique in the segment, with all rivals having moved to turbocharged six-cylinder engines that give more effortless performance, though not the same great noise, compared to the V8. But even in moderate driving, you’ll easily see upwards of 20L/100km for fuel consumption, which is higher than turbo six rivals.

Inside the Silverado is a huge leather-lined cabin with a lot of standard equipment, regardless of which model you choose, though the quality could be better with some iffy-feeling plastics lower down. There is plenty of storage space, however, with seemingly endless cubbies available to store your items. The ride quality is also surprisingly sharp in urban situations, and you very much notice its sheer size in anything but open road driving.

What could be improved with the Silverado is its aftersales and service program as currently, only a lacklustre three years/100,000km of warranty is given and no capped price servicing either, making it potentially expensive to service. But overall, the V8 appeal is strong with the Chevrolet Silverado, as well as its great towing capacity and if you’re after a big truck, it’s a necessary consideration point.

Toyota Tundra

• Price: From $155,990 plus on-road costs (Limited) to $172,990 +ORC (Platinum)
• Drivetrain/economy/CO2 emissions: 3.4L twin-turbo petrol V6: 326kW/790Nm, 10-speed auto, 4WD, 12L/100km (estimated)
• Dimensions: 5955mm long, 2040mm wide, 1985mm tall, 3700mm long wheelbase
• Towing capacity/GVM/GCM: 4500kg/3536kg/8030kg
• Warranty/roadside assistance/service intervals: Five-year/unlimited km, no roadside assistance, six-monthly/every 10,000km
• Five-year service cost: $4500 ($900 per year)

Toyota calls it genchi genbutsu – “go to the source”. It’s what drove the Australian program for the Tundra, and it involved Japanese Toyota executives speaking to hundreds of Hilux owners here and asking them how they used their utes, what they wanted over and above the capability they had and, for 280 of them, it marked recruitment into a year long trial of the vehicle that eventuated – the huge Tundra hybrid.

If it seems that the Tundra had been promised for a very long time before the first official deliveries took place, that’s why. In short, Toyota Australia couldn’t afford to get the engineering on this one wrong. And it has been a hugely involved effort. Partnering with Walkinshaw has been a world-first for a third-party supplier, and the aim of the program was that all work had to be 100 percent to factory quality specifications or there would be no green light.

The Tundra is far from a simple big-banger V8 ute either. The hybridised 3.4-litre powerplant offers massive and instant torque, which is crucial when towing horse floats, heavy construction gear or large caravans. With a system output of 326kW and 790Nm it’s not shy of go.

Where the Tundra feels a little less than its price tag is in the cabin. It’s certainly not small inside, but some of the cabin materials are a little unexceptional, with lots of hard plastics and dowdy colours. Get out of a Ram and into the Tundra and it’ll feel very mass-market in comparison.

Australia also gets the ‘short’ 5’5” tub, rather than the 6’5” CrewMax that’s offered in other markets. There’s no lighting or power access, and the liner is a drop-in item rather than a spray-in. What’s more, a hard or soft tonneau cover is a cost option. The slick step ladder that slides out of the Ford F-150’s tailgate? Nothing of the sort here.

So what you get is something that feels big and well engineered, but it’s expensive and lacks the depth of value that you’ll find in some of its rivals. Toyota is confident that it’ll sell as many as it can roll into dealers, and we wouldn’t bet against that. Brand loyalty might plump up Toyota’s margins but it doesn’t win reviews though.

Ford F-150

• Price: From $107,945 plus on-road costs (XLT SWB) to $140,945 +ORC (Lariat LWB)
• Drivetrain/economy/CO2 emissions: 3.5L turbo-petrol: 298kW/678Nm, 10-speed auto, 4WD, 12.5L/100km, 290g/km
• Dimensions: Up to 6184mm long, 2030mm wide, 1955mm tall, 3694mm long wheelbase
• Towing capacity/GVM/GCM: 4500kg/3320kg – 3265kg/7270kg – 7315kg
• Warranty/roadside assistance/service intervals: Five-year/unlimited km, 12 months of roadside assistance with each dealer service up to seven years in total, yearly/every 15,000km
• Five-year service cost: $2081 ($416 per year)

When it comes to towing big rigs, size matters. Ford‘s F-Series has been a consistently huge seller in the US, but translating that formula to the Australian market hasn’t been the work of a minute. Those with very long memories might well recall that Ford had tried with F trucks here before, but it never really gained much in the way of traction. This time round, it has thrown some budget at getting the right-hand drive F-150 right, and the results have been encouraging.

It’s not been without the odd blip though. Ford could probably have been a bit more nuanced in the way it specified the F-150 XLT and Lariat models, one fairly basic, the other loaded with virtually every accessory you can think of. A huge gulf in price between these two versions also left those who wanted the missing one in the middle looking at rivals from Toyota, Ram and GMSV.

A spell in the Wheels garage proved the merits of the big F-150, but better is on the way. Place an order now and you’ll be in the queue for one of the new facelifted versions, due to land in dealers in the second half of 2025.

The 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine has some heft to it, with 298kW and 678Nm driving through a 10-speed automatic transmission making it quicker than a Ranger Raptor off the mark. The best thing about the F-150 is that the combination of ample torque and decent damping means that it completely takes the stress out of towing, especially if you have an ounce of mechanical sympathy. Others might claim a 4500kg towing capacity and then subject you to stratospheric teeth-clenching engine speeds when you try to maintain speed up an incline. Not the F-150. If your idea of a big ute is one that barely breaks a sweat when asked to tow serious loads, look no further.