T60 Traverse — LDV Special Edition

You’ve gotta love the New Zealand automotive industry. It’s small enough that there’s some serious competition among vehicle manufacturers with famed events such as Fieldays, hosted every year at Mystery Creek Events Centre. What that means is, every year we get to see what each vehicle manufacturer or parts brand is building to attend and to showcase their product. Or, in LDV’s case, showcase what they’re willing to offer the Kiwi 4WD adventure enthusiast.

You can’t deny, the LDV T60 Traverse is a good-looking Ute, and although it’s priced some $14,000 higher than there T60 Lux, it’s dripping with performance-gaining adventure accessories. With the 2000cc four-cylinder’s rated power pegged at 160kW and torque sitting at 480Nm, the T60 platform is no slouch and must be running a ton of boost pressure (awesome!).

It’ll easily cart the kids around, lug the boat to the bach, be a reputable trade vehicle, or the base for an adventuring ‘overland’ type build. No, it’s not a Hilux, or a Navara, but does it need to be? It’s in its own class, offering incredible value, performance and manufacturer backing for the T60’s base price of $43,990 and the Traverse's $67,990.

The front badge could be slightly smaller, but overall the T60 platform is a great-looking Ute. We can picture one now, with a rooftop tent, front bullbar, much larger off road tyres… We’ve got a special trip lined up in the T60 Traverse at the end of the year. If it’s name doesn’t give the destination away, then you’ll just have to wait to find out!