If there's one thing that us New Zealanders love more than a good pavlova, or a summer evening's BBQ, it's a double-cab ute. And another brand is looking to take a slice of this pie in the coming months.
This brand is the French giant Renault, who is set to bring in the mid-sized, Dacia-based Oroch ute before the end of the year, and then a full-sized Mitsubishi Triton-based ute in 2021.
The Oroch is currently sold in Latin America and European markets, where it sits at the bottom of Renault's ute line-up, underneath the mighty Nissan Navara-based Alaskan.
Despite its small stature that measures 4700mm long, 1822mm wide and 1694mm high, you'll find five seats in the cabin, and space for four adults plus the dog.
While it might be based on the Duster SUV, Renault has stretched the wheelbase to 2829mm, which allows for a tray that's almost as big as that of most double-cab utes on the market. It measures 1175mm wide and 1350mm long with a load capacity of 650kg.
You won't find a big turbo diesel lump under its hood, or a diesel engine of any kind, as Renault New Zealand is looking at bringing in the 1.6-litre petrol variant. Power is sent exclusively to the front wheels through manual and auto transmission options.
It may not be a massive, grunty ute, but the ability to be able to parallel park in Ponsonby will certainly appeal to a multitude of buyers, and you can expect it to be priced underneath the current double-cab offerings.
Being the only compact four-door, double-cab ute currently on sale around the world gives it some serious cool points in our books.
Alongside the Oroch, Renault New Zealand also revealed plans to bring in a Triton-based used to compete in the incredibly popular double-cab ute segment. While a specific date wasn't given, this will reportedly land in 2021.