What’s this new ute all about then?
On the surface, the T60 Max Plus is a new flagship model for LDV’s existing ute range; that’s if you don’t count the extreme-4x4 Traverse, which is a bit of an outlier because it’s built-up to order locally as a showcase for off-road accessories. It’s not really a factory model.
The T60 Max Plus is all dressed up with gloss-black everything, fancy wheels, automatic wipers, power/heated front seats and part-leather upholstery with red stitching.
The previous-flagship T60 Lux (which continues in the lineup) already has cruise control, a 360-degree camera system and rear parking sensors, but the Max Plus ups the ante with adaptive cruise and sensors all-round. It’s also gained a spray-liner on the deck and a lock for the tailgate. It’ll be on sale in January.
So that’s it, then: a dressed up T60? No, not quite. There’s a whole new electronic architecture happening in the cabin. While the Max Plus is essentially the same-gen T60 as the rest of the range with a slightly reshaped nose, it’s also heavily upgraded in some key areas - a significant facelift if you like.
There’s a flash new interior with “continuous display” digital screens across the dashboard and centre console, tiny column-mounted gear selector, wireless phone projection for Apple/Android with wireless charging, a new electronic power steering system with steering-assist function and in fact a whole new range of camera-based active safety assists (hence the adaptive cruise), including autonomous emergency braking.
It’s a whole new interior for the T60 and a world away from the underwhelming cabin you get in the existing Elite, Lux and Traverse models.
So the Max Plus represents a design and technology update for the T60, but it just so happens that it’s being marketed as a new flagship model alongside the old versions, which remain in production.
Make sense? It makes sense to us that eventually, the new nose, cabin and tech will trickle down to the rest of the range, but there’s no word on that right now; LDV is a budget brand, so it’s important to keep the cheapies going as long as it can.
Distributor Inchcape is honest about the T60 being a workhorse for fleets and tradies - even the fancy models in bright colours with sailplanes around the tray.
Inchcape only took over the brand in 2023, so it’s rebooting and remarketing in the appropriate places: it made a big effort at Fieldays this year and will be back for 2025, it’s a partner with the Conztruct trade-show programme (16 shows nationwide June-Nov) and it’s held several fleet drive days this year. Count the vans and LDV NZ claims it has the biggest commercial range in the country.
How much is it?
Further to the above, the T60 Max Plus is not exactly expensive. It’s priced at $55,990, which is $5000 up on the previous flagship Lux.
Cheaper than the pure-electric eT60, which is still with us at $59,990 (and still has the old-gen cabin, do keep up). It’s a big jump up to the Traverse, but we’ve warned you about that. Don’t bring it up again.
What’s it like to drive?
There’s no change to the 160kW/500Nm 2.0-litre biturbo-diesel engine, 8-speed transmission or chassis, so the answer is: quite similar to the older T60s. The new EPS presumably makes a difference to steering feel (we didn’t get a chance to back-to-back them).
We can’t claim to give a firm verdict on much here, because we accidentally cut a short drive route on the media launch even shorter by ignoring the supplied turn-by-turn instructions in favour of Google Maps. Really, it’s a compliment to the Max Plus’s new wireless phone projection, which was quick to connect, stable and easy to use. We were so impressed, we just stuck with it.
Some of the driver-assists could be potentially a bit irritating judging by the motorway portion of our drive, but we’ll reserve judgement until a proper review in 2025.
What’s the pick of the range?
For a $5k jump from the Lux, the T60 Max Plus should be a no-brainer given the massive advance in cabin quality and safety technology.
Safety does sell (as does wireless phone projection). But given the powertrain is unchanged, fiscally-conscious business buyers could still be drawn by the current specials on the LDV website, offering the T60 Lux at just $43,990 - that's a $12k gap to the Max Plus. The entry Elite is currently just $39,990.
However, the T60 Max Plus has one further ace up its sleeve: a 7-year, 200,000km warranty. The older-gen Elite and Lux currently still offer 5 years/130,000km.
What other cars should I consider?
The T60 Max Plus’s arch-rival is surely the Jac T9, a recent launch in one luxury specification that’s been priced completely coincidentally at exactly the same as the full retail for the T60 Lux (the Jac launch was prior to the Max Plus, of course).
The Jac has the same 3t tow rating, much less power (125kW/410Nm)... but it does have a pie warmer.
The more established/proven Mitsubishi Triton is also in the frame: the GLX-R is $53,990 and the VRX $59,990. Comes in orange as well.
Realistically, the LDV is a tier down on the big-selling Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux. The Max Plus sticker of $55,990 doesn’t even get you a basic Ranger XL double-cab (steel wheels!), although it could net you a Hilux SR Hybrid (also with steel wheels!).
