New Stockman 4WD Ute Makes HiLux and Ranger Look Limp. Seriously.

Don't get me wrong, very interested in finally seeing a diesel PHEV......but until these Chilux's are floating around with 300 000km of reliability on them, it will be hard for my to move away from a Hilux. Business owner here with half a dozen Hiluxs and Hiaces on the road. I service them, put tyres on and they are flawless. For me, reliable matters 100x more than beating a ranger off the line.

Great to see the old overpriced manufacturers being put to the sword.🤔

Front is reminiscent of an International Scout, looks good and sounds good on paper

Awesome shirt ❤

JC thanks again for your unbiased opinions. Couple of things, are Chery seats now ok. Please wear your cap, I didn’t know who it was. 😂😂😂

Love your T-shirt, good to see more people are waking up

In all fairness, the Tasman looks fine in black...at nightime....away from streetlights.....

Bronco vibe was my first thought too.

If I bought one I'd change the badging to a "CHERYL" ! Far more Aussie sounding.

I support this market upset. I bought a new Ranger Raptor in February 2023, but I don’t do burnouts in the industrial park on Sunday arvo’s, or race people at the lights; I love it for its suspension, and it took my family and me from Townsville to Uluru and back - via the Plenty Highway and Finke - back in September 2024. It was sensational at 130kph on the dirt. Is a BYD Shark faster? Yep. Does it use less fuel? Yep. Will the Chery Stockman be faster and use less fuel? Yeah, most likely. I welcome them coming to the market. I’m not about ”who’s faster 0-100” or “bang for buck”; I appreciate people not being flogs and enjoying the camaraderie of overlanding/camping/four-wheeling. I’m not about fitting the biggest tyres, the highest offset wheels, the biggest lift, towing the heaviest thing, etc. I want people who appreciate the engineering and appreciate the company of those they travel with. These products push the market to be better. The progress the mainstream brands have made in their product offering over the last 15 years is (maybe) 30kW, and 200Nm? These emerging brands are doubling down on the hybrid powertrains, and blowing the establishment out of the water with what they offer. Imagine if you’d said 15 years ago that you’ll be able to buy 4x4 Utes with over 300kW/750Nm in 15 years? People would think you’re mad or that the future will all be supercharged V8’s requiring you to be followed everywhere with a personal petrol tanker. Too many beard strokers bitch and moan how much power is left when you run out of electricity, but these offerings with decent sized batteries give you reassuring energy reserves for when you require that energy demand, but these people fail to acknowledge that you don’t need most of your power capacity most of the time. That’s the market these newer players recognise and exploit; you need that extra power to take off from a stop, or climb a long range road, but most of the time you don’t need it. In 1998 you could buy a Land Cruiser 105 series with the 4.2L HZ diesel engine, pushing 96kW and 285Nm, yet it was rated to tow 3,500kg, and have a GCM of 6,680kg. Show me on the precious ego doll where you “NEED” 150kW/500Nm at any given second of driving. You don’t. These hybrids with 350kW/800Nm might only have 140kW/450Nm when they’re out of electric juice, but those times will be few and far between, and every moment it’s not fulfilling your ignorant predictions, it’ll be amazing to drive. I will eat my hat if by 2030 ALL new Utes aren’t at least hybrid - let alone complete EV.

9:30 John, you and I both know that the standard philosophy is if it can tow “3500kg”, then a disturbing amount of caravan owners say “sweet!”, and buy a 3500kg caravan, so that if they throw a teaspoon in it’s overweight. I see so many wobbling along the Capricorn Highway up here, sagging at the hitch and weaving gracefully along the highway. The authorities really need to crack down on it. We’re happy with our GWM Cannon towing a Jayco 1200kg pop top camper, and won’t even consider towing a huge van. Unfortunately plenty do.

The current situation with Chinese cars reminds me of the British motorcycle industry in the 1970's. The british sold more than1 in 3 motorcycles in the world but they were primarily twin cylinder engines that hadn't had alot of investment to keep them upto date. Honda introduced a 4 cylinder 750cc followed by kawasaki a 4 cylinder 900cc and within10 years the motorcycle industry in the Uk was dead. Insert honda for toyota and kawasaki for ford and you can see where this will end up if they don't start matching the chinese on price and specification.

your article is probably 100% right the main issue with all these Chinese manufacture is support in parts and customer service that's a big issue

It's taken me a good 5 mins to get used to - no hat. My first thought was a 70's International scout Ute from that angle.

Good seeing you healthy! Even better capless!

The electric range is something of a boon for those mothers doing the school run which is where most 4 door 4 WD utes are seen.

Remember the Holden Stockman? Nee Suzuki Sierra Ute.

John, looking good with the visible weight loss and great shirt..thanks for this video..I think you're on the right track in regards to looks..I'm wondering if it's the main tipping point in peoples decision to purchase the Ford or Toyota over the other contenders in the market..certainly not for power or torque. I predict the Chery stockman will be a success in Australia..waiting for further vids from you in the future especially on the Chery Stockman..

Looks like they've managed to minimise the wheel arch size in the tub as well which would be a win!

China has no record of building long lasting ICE engines. Who is to say how long the engine will last?