Just as high-riding four-wheel-drives are no longer exclusive to off-road explorers, the diesel ute has become much more than a tradesman's tool.

Toyota's HiLux was the best-selling car in Australia last year, and the best-selling HiLux is the high-end SR5 loaded up with extras such as leather trim, sat nav and climate control once restricted to luxury cars.

Ford will tell you that the Ranger outsells the HiLux (only if you count high-riding four-wheel-drive versions), with the Ranger Wildtrak is proving immensely popular at the top of its pick-up totem.

The Ranger and HiLux are clear leaders in the sales charts, followed at a distant third by Mitsubishi's Triton and a gaggle of contenders including Holden's Colorado, the Isuzu D-Max, Mazda BT-50 and Nissan Navara.

Nissan drew controversy with the debut of its current-generation "NP300" Navara in 2015, dropping the previous-model's range-topping (and segment-leading) 3.0-litre V6 diesel with 170kW and 550Nm outputs in favour of more compact and efficient four-cylinder alternatives. The brand also broke with tradition by adopting a car-like coil spring rear suspension for the current-shape Navara, setting aside the proven, truck-like leaf spring layout used by rivals including Toyota and Ford.

That didn't work well, so Nissan has beefed up the car's suspension in a bid to make it more suitable for Australian conditions.

Nissan Navara ST-X

We're testing the Navara in top-end ST-X automatic form, priced from $54,490 plus on-road costs – around sixty grand drive-away. Like its costlier rivals here, the ST-X has four-wheel-drive, a leather interior with heated seats and gadgets such as sat nav and a reversing camera.

Nissan's 2.3-litre engine is the smallest of our trio, but it has the benefit of twin turbochargers to help make respectable 140kW and 450Nm outputs. It's also the lightest car here and the only one with a seven-speed auto, which helps it use less fuel than the Ranger and HiLux.

Trainspotters will struggle to pick the difference between the 2015 Navara and this upgraded model that arrived at the end of 2016 - the easiest way to spot it is by the absence of external "NP300" badges. 

The important changes are under the skin, where the Navara features firmer rear springs, new shock absorbers at the front and rear and reworked rubber bump stops (Nissan calls them "dynamic rebound" dampers) intended improve the car's composure when loaded.

But the new Navara's suspension still feels unable to cope with a decent load on board, relying on rubber bungs that do a poor job of controlling its movement.

We put 600kg in the tray and found that the car sagged immediately onto the bump stops when parked. It slaps off and onto them while driving with a load on board, feeling nervous and jittery on the open road.

Better without a heavy load in the tray, the Navara is nonetheless a less-than-shining example of the modern four-wheel-drive ute, with noticeably slow steering that requires a lot of work at low speed. 

It doesn't feel as stable as the Ranger or HiLux, and its grabby stability control system is the first to intervene when asked to change direction quickly - a trait that might be related to 18-inch wheels with comparatively narrow 225mm-wide rubber. That said, the Navara's light weight and skinny tyres make it feel reasonably comfortable on sand.

Decently brisk in the real world, the Navara's little engine sounds stressed when pushed and its seven-speed automatic transmission can be indecisive in search of the right ratio.

Nissan's interior presentation is bland in this company, and it's infuriatingly easy to bump the Navara's horn you're driving around corners, thanks to a poorly designed steering wheel.

The brand supports the Navara with a three-year, 100,000 kilometre warranty.

This Navara requires servicing every 12 months or 20,000 kilometres, with capped-price maintenance for automatic models listed as $1832 for three trips to the dealer covering the first 60,000 kilometres.

Nissan Navara ST-X

Price: From $54,490 plus on-road costs

Engine: 2.3-litre four-cylinder twin turbo diesel

Power: 140kW at 3750rpm

Torque: 450Nm at 1500-2500rpm

Transmission: Seven-speed auto, four-wheel-drive

Fuel use: 6.8L/100km

Toyota HiLux TRD

Toyota's HiLux TRD is a celebration marking Toyota's rise to the top of the national sales charts. Cosmetic in nature, the TRD treatment includes black 18-inch wheels with Ranger-matching 265mm-wide tyres as well as black body cladding and a red bash plate under the engine compartment.

The exterior treatment looks brilliant to our eyes but has disappointed supporters who expected more from the TRD nameplate – better suspension or extra power would be welcomed by the Toyota tribe.  

Priced from $60,990 drive-away in automatic form, the TRD features fundamentally the same gear as the HiLux SR5, including leather trim, a touchscreen stereo with sat nav, a reversing camera and more.

While the HiLux's seats offer excellent support and its lovely leather steering wheel feels as though it comes from a sports car, the TRD's cabin is a little underdone at this level. 

The HiLux is powered by 2.8-litre, four-cylinder engine with 130kW and 450Nm outputs - exactly the same as a standard SR5 - and its engine can feel strained when put to work, feeling the burden of a load more acutely than the Navara or Ranger. 

But the opposite is true of its suspension, which feels at home with a load on board, remaining planted and stable on the road. While the ride is a little tauter than the Ranger, it makes up for that with excellent body control that communicates well with the driver.

Some pilots won't like the heavy weight to the HiLux's steering at low speed, while others may feel it suits the model's butch appeal.

Toyota's 3.2 tonne (auto) maximum towing capacity is 300 kilos short of the other two cars here and its 925kg payload maximum ranks in third place. Nevertheless, it offers body control that shames the Navara's unruly behaviour.

The HiLux is excellent on loose surfaces, combining a lighter weight than the Ranger with a wide footprint that offers plenty of purchase.

Like Nissan, Toyota supports the HiLux with a three-year, 100,000-kilometre warranty. The HiLux is impressively cheap to service at $1440 for the first 60,000 kilometres, an appeal somewhat blunted by the requirement to bring the car in for attention six times in that period for maintenance due every six months or 10,000 kilometres of ownership.

Toyota HiLux TRD

Price: From $60,990 drive-away

Engine: 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 130kW at 3400rpm

Torque: 450Nm at 1600-2400rpm

Transmission: Six-speed auto, four-wheel-drive.

Fuel use: 8.5L/100km

Ford Ranger Wildtrak​

Tipping the scales at more than 2.2 tonnes, the Ranger Wildtrak is easily the largest and heaviest car in our group. It also carries a weight of expectation, as the Ranger is the reigning best ute champion in Drive's car of the year awards.

Priced from $61,790 plus on-road costs in automatic form, Ford's top-tier Wildtrak is the most expensive car here.

But it goes a long way toward justifying that.

This is the only model of our group available with active driver aids such as lane departure warning and lane keeping assistance as well as niceties such as front and rear parking sensors. It's the only one with twin digital driver displays in addition to a class-leading infotainment system loaded up with Apple CarPlay connectivity, and its leather-trimmed cabin with contrasting stitching is a cut above the crowd.

Powered by a 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo diesel engine that makes 147kW and 470Nm, the Ranger has more grunt than all rivals bar Volkswagen's new V6-powered Amarok.

The motor is comparatively effortless when tested, feeling the strongest of this trio with a load in the tray.

Ford's big unit handled three blokes and a 600kg payload with composure, absorbing bumps in a much more refined fashion than the unsettled Nissan.

Taking a different approach to the somewhat firm Toyota, the Ranger can feel a little loose and floaty from time to time. While it flows more comfortably than the other cars here, you can feel the Ford's weight working against it, particularly on soft sand where it laboured harder than the other machines.

The Ranger splits the difference between the HiLux and Navara with servicing required every 15,000 kilometres or 12 months. Ford's capped price servicing program is the dearest of this group across the first 60,000 kilometres, setting back customers $2020 for four services.

Ford Ranger Wildtrak

Price: From $61,790 plus on-road costs

Engine: 3.2-litre five-cylinder turbo diesel

Power: 147kW at 3000rpm

Torque: 470Nm at 2500rpm

Fuel use: 8.9L/100km

Summary

Four-wheel-drive utes represent some of the hardest vehicles in the world to get right.

People expect them to be comfortable on the open road, easy to drive around town, capable of getting where you need to go, to tow a decent amount of weight and carry a heavy load in the tray.

Of course, most of these utes are going to spend the majority of time on sealed blacktop with little load on board.

But the point of these cars is that they can get the job done when called upon, and that's where the Navara falls short.

Presenting as excellent value to buy and run with strong efficiency to its credit, the Nissan feels adequate until you put it to the test and find that its underpinnings are less than sound.

Toyota's HiLux is a different story.

There's a reason this machine remains so popular with Australian buyers – it's a rugged, proven proposition that can take a hard day's work in its stride. While we remain impressed with its core abilities, the skin-deep nature of Toyota's TRD pack leaves us wondering what might have been possible had engineers been allowed to push the boundaries a little further.

Ford's Rangeranswers that question.

With superior performance, refinement, safety and technology than the latest HiLux and Navara, the Ranger Wildtrak remains the best ute you can buy for sixty-odd grand.

Photos: Mark Bean, David McCowen. Thanks to Belle Tiles at Narellan for help loading the utes.