Great idea. I'm looking forward to the review and details, regardless who "wins" it.

That looks like a snorkle on the Colorado. The front end on the Colorado looks like an Equinox. Hopefully they will change that when it gets to the US market. A car nose just doesn't look good on a truck. The same can be said for the Fusion nose on the Ranger.

I've got to say that between the Holden and the Ford shown above, I like the looks of the Holden better.

This is not making any claims as to superiority or inferiority of capabilities between them.

I'm curious to see how the VW stacks up.
I would think Nissan sells a small truck down there as
well.

Really looking forward to this!

Think the VW might take the whole shebang. The Chevy and Ford both look a lot more aerodynamic then what we have now. Hard to put a grille gaurd or winch on them though.

Ford T6 Ranger will win… the one that Ford won’t let USA or Canada have. Dumb.

Finally a article that cannot be overtaken by the Rambo Cult Militia. Just incase they get the idea I will state the obvious to get it out of their system.

The 2016 Ram Dakota is class leading in everything and will be #1 in sales. The other trucks are so far behind the world class Fiat unibody Dakota with a HEMI 3-CYLINDER V8/ Schwinn 10 speed chain drive transmission and whoopie cushion suspension. It doesn't matter that the truck isn't even on the market yet because it is the best ever since the automaker who single handedly stopped Hitler and made the Atomic Bomb built it. Just study the facts on Allpar a trusted History site. The Internetz doesn't lie. They can't put anything incorrect on the internetz. I read it on the internetz.

MoRe gUts
mOrE GlOrY
FIAT RuLzE!!!

The two trucks simply do not matter. Just wait until the all new Dakota shows up here! It will shatter the competition.

GUTS
ALL GLORY
INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE
ALL NEW DAKOTA

@ HEMI_4U

Will the new Dakota have a quick detachable hood and wing nut head studs to make simple 3,000 mile cylinder head change maintenance quick and easy? I bet that if the Dakota had a Rambo box it could hold extra heads easily.

@ HEMI_4U

Will the new Dakota have a quick detachable hood and wing nut head studs to make simple 3,000 mile cylinder head change maintenance quick and easy? I bet that if the Dakota had a Rambo box it could hold extra heads easily.

Posted by: Pentasuck | Aug 21, 2012 11:34:27 AM

Negative. That pittley issue has been fixed and nipped in the bud, unlike GM's piston slap and Ford's crappy diesel engines and spark plug spitting gas engines.

GUTS
GLORY
MOST RELIABLE AND POWERFUL ENGINES
RAM

Ford needs to bring the Global Ranger here, a base model F-150 is not a substitute for a Ranger or a smaller truck, and it never will be.

@Mark Williams,
Can the writer of this shootout arrange photos of the Colorado next to a Chevy 1500, and the Ranger next to a F150? I would love to see both mid and full size trucks sitting side by side in both front and side pictures. I'm tired of hearing the controversy of these new mid sized trucks being too close to a full size. I'm not asking for a full size truck in the shootout, but there must be at least ONE F150 over there that the writer could park next to in a lot and snap a couple of quick shots. Thanks.

Lets hear it for midsize pickup's!... should be a great article.

PU's here have over the last 20 years just gotten progressively larger,uglier and harder to park & maneuver.

@Ford850 Unfortunately we won't be able to get that done for this report, but I'll see if I can't get our freelancers over there to come up with something. Would be interesting to compare some specs and the actual trucks side-by-side.

I litterally just got back from Panama yesterday and have seen all of these trucks but the Chevy/Holden up close. We probably won't see the Mitsubishi truck in the shootout but it was fairly popular down there but by a mega-huge margin the trucks I saw were the Toyota Hilux in every spec imaginable.

Never got a chance to drive down there (based on their driving this was a good thing) but these were almost all working trucks that look like they can really stand up to abuse.

can't wait to read about the shoot out!

Well Chevy managed to make the global Ranger look good lol

Gosh that GM is ugly.

I saw a VW Amarok here in the Phx area last week. I it was drivng on I-17 just north of the 101 freeway. This happens from time to time as VW has test site here and I often see undesguised or lightly desguised VWs in running city/hwy test loops.

I wonder if they are planning US introduction. I remember seeing the A3 here abotu 2-3 years before Audi formally released it in the USA.

@Mark Williams,
Thanks for the reply. A future Mid vs Full picture and spec comparison would be very interesting, and maybe settle some of the 'discussion'.

I think this is more exciting than the U.S. spec competition we had last. Looking forward to it!

I couldn't figure out why neither truck has a driver...

It would also be nice to have a mid-size vs full size half-ton vs full size 3/4 ton Driving/Hauling/Towing comparison.

What is really the benefit of moving from up in each truck size. Payload/towing numbers don't tell the story on how the trucks handle each load. Given the capabilty of each truck there is cross over where you can run a mid size at 90% of capacty vs half ton full size at 75% or 3/4 ton at 50%.

i think the hilux will own them, just my opinion. we'll soon see.

i would bet on the Ranger XLT 3.2 I-5 diesel, except I think they are overpriced. $60k in Australia. In America, you get a Sierra Denali 3500 dually with a Duramax for the same money. Nobody would be silly enough to pay $60k for a midsize with cloth seats here. The exchange rate is close to 1:1. My understanding is the next Ram will be built in RHD for Australia. Interesting times.

I hope to GOD i am never forced to drive one of these two trucks shown above. Gutless and ugly as puck!

This is gonna suck..."Look here is the best pickup that you can't buy here." We all know the hilux is going to blow away the competetion and we're stuck with the tacoma. Thanks EPA.

@ HEMI_4U

Will the new Dakota have a quick detachable hood and wing nut head studs to make simple 3,000 mile cylinder head change maintenance quick and easy? I bet that if the Dakota had a Rambo box it could hold extra heads easily.

Posted by: Pentasuck | Aug 21, 2012 11:34:27 AM

Will the new FURDS have an on board fire system like the ones in NHRA to save the vehicle from burning to the ground?http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/19/autos/ford-escape-recall/index.htm LOL

@Hemi V8: Your prejudice is showing. Whether or not you like the looks of the vehicle has no bearing on the performance of said vehicle. By claiming up front that they are "Gutless" is jumping to conclusions based on no data whatsoever--in other words, pure prejudice.

I will admit I'm prejudiced too; I hate full-sized trucks--despite the fact I own an older one. I enjoyed my 1983 Mitsubishi Sport much, much more because it was compact, agile and simply fun to drive--as well as having decent carrying capacity. When it came time to purchase a replacement vehicle, not one truck on the market interested me--they were all too big.

I believe, however, that my prejudice makes me a little more objective when it comes to following a shoot-out like this. I have no fanatic zealotry towards any one brand or body style (though I will admit I wouldn't buy a crew cab on a bet.)

This is awesome.

@Hemi

There you go spouting off again just because neither are a Dodge product. Want a laugh? Those "gutless" trucks have a better torque to weight ratio than your beloved hemi. How bout them apples? gutless, ha Did you know that ranger has a payload capacity a hair under 3k lbs and your Dodge can only do 3100? That is a midsize truck that can haul only 300 lbs less than your full size...

@Mark Williams and @Mike Levine. This shootout was done for a local Off Road magazine. No I will NOT reveal the winner.

@Ford 850 I took photos of a New Ford Ranger and a 2011 Silverado together both Dual Cabs ,not much difference. It was at around 6 pm and the image was not that great.
To remind you these are photos I took of the Old Ranger and a Silverado. The New Ranger is higher and larger.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/RobRyan7/SilveradoandRanger2.jpg

Old Holden Isuzu Pickup(Not Colorado) and F250
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/RobRyan7/F250Colorado1.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a186/RobRyan7/F250Colorado.jpg

@mhowarth Right about the Hilux, but the basic design it is now 9yrs old, .(The South American ones are different to the general global models) Completely brand new model coming soon.

@Alex probably not. That was a rumour, not an official release.

From Memory they also compared the Mazda BT-50 as well(Big Als from Oz , Ute)
http://images-2.drive.com.au/2011/11/22/2788993/Ford-ranger-XLT-4x4-and-Mazda-BT-50-4x4_1024-600x400.jpg

Ok guy's here is a true story of a truck at work, it is a 1998 F-250 Heavy Duty 4X4 ext cab 6.5'bed, with a 460 V-8 and a 4 spd auto with O/D, i has 4:10 lmtslp and it also carries 200gal diesel ina tank in the bed to fill the co. heavy equipment, excavators, loader, backhoe.... and it also plows in the winter, HARD!! we are allway overloading it with concrete blocks and septic tank risers and such, plus tools ect. you get the idea, as far as mpg thou it is lucky to get 12-14mpg, and when plowing about 8! Well one winter we had some yahoo out plowing in it, and he had the radio cranking,(must have to not hear what happened) one of the plugs blew right out of the engine!, and because he was plowing, said he didn't hear of feel a thing???? he went on plowing till the sun came up, and he came back in for some coffee, when he pulled in something sounded wrong, (you think)? make a long story short, he plowed threw 70 gals of gas,(2 special tanks, because the stations around here arn't open all night), when I tell you that truck was abused all it's life, well not all, when it was new it was the boss/owners personal truck, anyway, when it was pulled into the shop, it was discovered that the plugs were original!!! 98,000miles!!!! and one was so rusted, well it just came apart! and the idiot plowed all most of the night on 7 cyl!!! that truck never used ANY oil in it's life, to this day it is still running strong!! when someone tells me Built Ford Tough, I believe them!! at least that one is. Why did Ford quit making that engine I'll never figure out, maybe because they are GAS HOGS! that is the only reason I can think of, but then they went and replaced it with the V-10!! and just as long as the owners change the plugs, or at least remove them and put never seeze on them there won't be any problems.

They should test the winner of this shootout against a NA spec 1/2 p/u. Even if it was a few years old. That would provide a benchmark for comparison. Too bad that Canada is more alligned with the USA for pruducts. Maybe we could align with the UK just long enough to get a shipment of "globals". Rule Brittania. LOL

@Lou, You should join the Commonwealth LOL.

There have been other shootouts with all or some of the ones listed below. Some of the shootouts were comprehensive other not as much.
Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton, Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50.VW Amarok, Nissan Navara, Holden Colorado and Isuzu Pickup.

@Robert Ryan-I like the looks of the Isuzu better even though that is an older one in the picture. The front end on the Isuzu is nice than the Colorado. As for Ram the fanboys are upset that Ram is not in this. I will believe it when I see a Ram Dakota. I will not hold my breath for either the Dakota or the Global Ranger. I am kind of with Lou on the globals, I like what I see but it will take the new fuel standards and at least 10 to 20 years to see this in the USA if then.

The Driver is their... look to YOUR left...LOL

@Mark Williams
What will be the 4 utes tested?

@Big Al From Oz. From the Pickup .com Facebook page
"No, we didn't get to go to Australia to make this one happen, but we did partner with our long-time PUTC friend who lives and writes in Melbourne: Global Ranger vs. Colorado vs. Amorak vs. Hilux."

@Alex
In America you don't have a minimum wage of US$32 000per year, with compulsory 10% superannuation on top of it.

Our prices as you should know coming from Australia aren't as bad as made out in comparison to the US's average wage. I do wish they were cheaper, all is relative.

@HEMI V8
I feel for you. But don't worry Fiat could end up with a Nissan-Mitusbishi developed ute.

With the Mitsubishi element having ties to Puegot and Nissan with Renault and Chrysler owned by Fiat this could make for an interesting ute.

What could we name call it?:)

@Lou
You BC people still have a soft spot for the Queen:)

@Robert Ryan
Believe it or not I think the VW Amarok will take out the honours. I do think they are underpowered though. I say this because of the average of all the reviews I have read.

It would have been nice to see all of our 4x4 utes tested.

But, thanks to Mark Williams for the up and coming article.

@Ford850

Here is a link to an article that compared the size of the 2011 global ranger to that of the 2011 F-150. Its basically that same size difference as a Tundra crew max to a double cab short bed Tacoma. Go to you Toyota dealership and look at the two side-by-side. That will give you a clear picture of what Ford's "90%" looks like as the article states how close the Global Ranger and Tacoma are in size. It's really just a bogus excuse not to bring it here. I'm sorry but 18" is a huge difference in wheelbase length.

http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2011/03/grown-ranger-measuring-the-all-new-global-ford-rangers-size.html

Excellent idea

@toycrusher84 - the drivers are in the vehicle but on the right side.
@Big Al - our Canadian government seems to be into adding "Royal" to the military, maybe they could extend it to pickup trucks too ;)

There are people who have a soft spot for Queens......... Royal or otherwise. LOL

@Big Al, your point is valid, but I am betting that the price that Ford would accept for it in the US market does not meet the price that customers are willing to pay. Competition may force them to reconsider that, and I would not be surprised if that happens.

I can see why Ford will not bring this new Ranger to the US, because it is UGLY!

@sandman4X4 some ford trucks and cars have spark plugs with round part that goes into the cylinder. Carbon builds up on it so when you go to take the plug out it falls part into 3 pieces. Putting never seeze can help but it can still build up carbon. I'd take the plugs out and wire brush then ever once and while to keep the carbon build up low. This video shows the spark plugs thats do it and some the cars and trucks that has this type of sparl plug.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3MPAPXBB6Y&feature=plcp