There’s a new ute coming to Australia: the LDV T60. Coming in with LDV’s growing range of vans and people movers, the LDV T60 will land in Australia in the second half of 2017.
details are pretty scant at the moment, but we can expect this ute to slot somewhere into low-to-mid price brackets of the always-growing utility segment. What we do know is that it’s going to land in Australia with a five-star ANCAP safety rating, and will have a fairly high level of spec available.
Check out the below video of the LDV T60, and enjoy the snazzy music while you’re there …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqbBUami0Bg
There will be a good variety of driveline and body configuration options available on the LDV T60. Nothing is confirmed yet, but the above video shows a ‘2.8 VGT’ engine under the bonnet. VGT stands for ‘variable geometry turbo’, the same sort of technology that leading vehicles like the Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Amarok use. Other videos also show a fairly high-end interior, with a large touch-screen infotainment system, leather seats with coloured stitching, and air-conditioning. So, this isn’t going to be your typical cheap Chinese ute.
Seeing that LDV do a new one-tonne vans with turbodiesel engines and powerplants, it woudn’t be a bad assumption that the T60 might also have similar running gear. The G10 has a 1.9 litre turbodiesel engine, kicking out 106kW of power and 350Nm of torque, and uses 8.3 litres per hundred kilometres. This isn’t confirmed, mind you, but we reckon there is a chance this motor might land under the bonnet as an option.
There will be 2WD and 4WD options, including a low-range transfer case for the 4WD option. There will also be three different gearbox options … hinting towards a more ‘premium’ driveline option for the LDV T60, like a 2.8 litres turbodiesel and automatic gearbox.
Other important facts to note: The chassis is galvinised, and has further protection by ‘advanced wax injection’ and ‘new paint processes’. On the back of this, there will be a ten-year rust warranty. There are six airbags, pre-tensioning seatbelts, lots of electronic drivers aids (including ESP), as well as driver fatigue warning and 360 degree cameras.
LDV is a division of SAIC (Shanghai Automobile and Industry Corporation), China’s biggest and oldest vehicle manufacturer. SAIC sold more than 5.9 million vehicles last year; compare that to the 9.93 VAG sold in the same year (2nd in the world), and you get the idea of how big this company is.
