It’s not hard to design a ute, right? It’s two boxes, plus an open box at the rear. Easy, done, everyone can go home.
Except, as one major auto brand demonstrated recently, it’s entirely possible to badly miss the mark when designing a new ute. Which is what makes Chery’s new dual-cab – now officially christened the Stockman – so refreshing.
Chery has never offered a ute in Australia, and has only a limited track record with utes in its home market of China – its last conventional dual-cab ute was axed roughly a decade ago.
And yet, its designers have put together something that our team finds distinctive, handsome and purposeful, which is why we’ve given it the nod for Best Design in the second year of our CarExpert Choice Awards.
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This new category looks at upcoming new models which, at the time of voting, we hadn’t had the opportunity to test yet but which have wowed us with their designs.
The Chery Stockman, as it’s now known, beat out some tough competition, with the runners-up being the BMW iX3 and Honda Prelude – two designs that certainly wowed us too.
No, the Stockman doesn’t reinvent the wheel. We’ve seen plenty of utes with flared wheel-arches, big grille lettering and boxy fenders, but it blends all these design elements so cohesively – and that front-end with its round headlights gives it a touch of retro flair.
In short, the Stockman is distinctive enough to get your attention without looking out of place at the job site, the boat ramp, or on the farm. In a market segment where there are some blatant copycats, dated designs, and some truly unfortunate-looking utes, the Stockman passes the pub test.
Then there’s the interior. At some point, ute manufacturers – particularly the Chinese ones – realised the interiors of these vehicles didn’t have to be so drab, especially considering utes have become popular family vehicles in our country.
Chery got the memo too, and there’s a rather luxurious look to its interior. It was initially previewed to media with a tan interior, but Chery subsequently revealed a black cabin that’s much more practical for owners that will track grime into the cabin.
Unlike so many Chinese vehicles in Australia, Chery has remembered physical switchgear is crucial – particularly in a vehicle being used for hauling and off-roading. To that end, there are plenty of actual buttons and knobs in the cabin.
It’s still thoroughly modern and high-tech in appearance, however, with a pair of large screens. We also like the practical touches, like the huge grab handles on either end of the dashboard, and the clever storage shelf under the centre console – the latter a feature ubiquitous among SUVs today, but not as common in utes.
We’re just talking about the design here. Mechanically, there’s even more to be excited about, with the Stockman set to be the first diesel plug-in hybrid ute to arrive on our shores. A petrol plug-in hybrid, to take on a growing contingent of rival utes led by the BYD Shark 6, will follow.
The Stockman strikes us as a carefully considered new ute offering, developed by a brand that wants to get its first dual-cab ute in Australia right from the start. It certainly helps that it’s one good-looking unit.