Off-road abilities without any electronic assistants are as rare these days as human dignity and authenticity. That’s why it’s so surprising to find simple, straightforward equipment that earns its money’s worth. This is exactly what the new representative of the Maxus T60 pickup truck segment is.
Honesty without embellishment and full frankness of technical components. Nothing is hidden in Maxus T60, everything sticks out. Starting with the design of the last century and ending with the absence of any modern assistants. Its main advantage is the price of $29,880 (1,260,936 UAH) and the status as one of the most affordable pickups in the segment. The main thing is that it lives up to expectations.
No matter how much they talk about the historical heritage and affiliation with the English brand MG, it’s all a bit of a stretch. They never produced any SUVs, it was a sports brand of sophisticated cars with a subtle elegant design, not this dinosaur appearance and the same behavior on the road. The other thing is the history of the Maxus brand’s commercial direction as part of SAIC, one of the largest concerns in China, and they have a lot to tell. It may not inspire confidence and popularity, so it’s worth looking deeper under the surface of this workhorse.
The Maxus T60 is not as simple as it seems at first glance because it is based on a decent set of units from such renowned manufacturers as ZF, Bosch, Eaton, Sikes, Valeo, and others. And the whole bunch is well selected and customized.
Content
Looking at the exterior of the Maxus T60 pickup is not even interesting with these large headlights, like on the 2012 Mitsubishi L200, chrome grille surrounds, and a rigid plastic bumper. It’s good that at least the fog lamps were integrated, and they are large and help quite well in lighting. The headlights are halogen and switching is only manual, there will not even be an automatic light off when the car is locked. This threatens to drain the battery if you forget to turn it off, but the T60 has a loud reminder for this case and will not lock if something is left on. There’s also a central lock, but ten years ago there was one too, even on the «Tavria».
A loud and locking pickup truck is a bad thing for our soldiers, if we consider it to be their transportation. It’s annoying when the car makes a horn when you lock the doors, and you can’t turn it off. But unlocking is surprisingly standard without any hysteria. By the way, such a loud locking volume is also inherent in representatives of the Ford brand, so even this is not unique to Maxus T60.
It’s good that the profile is a regular pickup truck with a 3155 mm wheelbase and large wheel arches, where you can put the necessary tires if you wish. No tricks with 18-inch wheels, like in the L200. By default, there are 16 radius alloy wheels and 245/70 off-road tires.
The body length is 5,365 mm, which corresponds to the current L200 and is 5 mm shorter than the Ford Ranger. The width (1900 mm) of the T60 is between the Mitsubishi L200 and Toyota Hilux. And in height, it is lower than all representatives of our market with its 1815 mm. In addition, it offers the lowest ground clearance of 215 mm (minimum) compared to 230 mm or more in the others.
While researching the Maxus T60, I couldn’t help but want to equip it with additional bells and whistles in the form of footrests, chrome bodywork, a winch, a snorkel, and a large roof light panel. But for such gizmos, you should still go for the Ranger or Hilux, where it will look more harmonious and stylish. This is a different concept altogether, devoid of any decorations or amenities. The task of this worker is to be affordable, reliable, and to overcome difficult roads and their absence.
While most pickup trucks are trying on the image of businessmen, getting a glamorous appearance and a number of electronic assistants, the Maxus T60 remains true to its original traditions. Yes, there are offers abroad with top versions of this SUV, but we have long needed such a clear and technically unloaded SUV at an affordable price. And it is especially pleasant to think about this while driving on a road scratched with holes.
It’s important not to forget that when you start the engine, you need to depress the clutch pedal, apply the brakes, and only then will it start. This machine moves off with a jerk and without any tenderness. All movements must be done confidently and with pressure. The steering is the same: heavy, powerful, and with effort. It’s a conventional power steering system, and you need to handle it accordingly.
The suspension easily swallows up everything the road offers it, and you hardly feel the reflection on the body. There is surprisingly little goat-like feel, which most pickups suffer from and which manufacturers are fighting against by adding more and more comfort to the suspension. It seems that the weight of 1970 kg is not so high here, and the ride is quite soft for a pickup truck.
The Maxus T60 is equipped with double wishbones and leaf springs at the rear. This is a standard suspension scheme for pickup trucks and differs only in the details and thickness of the steel used in the suspension, as well as the presence of differentials. Everything is as simple as possible in the Maxus T60: the default drive is rear-wheel drive, and with the help of a «transfer case», the front drive is connected. That is, the simplest and most reliable 4×4 Part-Time scheme is used, and the «transfer case» has a lower gear.
I saw one Chinese pickup truck that had springs as thick as my little finger. It seemed that if you put a little load on it, it would jump up on a hill and crack. That’s why I climbed under the bottom to see what they had arranged here. And I liked what I saw, if only they had covered the transfer case from dirt more, as well as the engine.
When driving the Maxus T60, you don’t even have to think about it, you just turn off the track and plow through the mud right where you want to go. I didn’t even have to downshift once, it handles mud and sand so easily. If you feel slipping, there is always an additional 4L mode that adds torque to the wheels, and in very difficult moments you can also turn off ESP. And it’s worth remembering that the most important principle for SUVs is not to stop in difficult areas, so you should calculate the path and understand how and when to use all the abilities of the pickup truck.
A pleasant surprise was the availability of assistance when going downhill, when the car holds the gear. This is not the kind of cruise offered by Toyota or Mitsubishi, and it does not work in fully automatic mode. Its presence alongside a manual transmission is all the more surprising, as it clearly keeps the car in gear when going downhill and prevents acceleration. Only this system will gradually bite the wheels, which stabilizes the car on slippery ground.
In general, the transmission works perfectly, and the pickup moves smoothly through the mud, somehow catching the grip, or maybe just rowing. The same story happens with the sand, and we can only be glad that these honest workers still exist. Like an alien from the past. But along with such magical manifestations, there are parallel flaws. For example, a loud, grumbling diesel engine that does not let you forget about it for a second.
We are offered only one version with a 163 hp two-liter diesel engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission. The torque of 375 Nm picks up well from 1200 rpm. This is a good pair, which is great for off-road driving. But it does not provide economical fuel consumption, and the average consumption is 9 liters per 100 km.
The manual gearbox from Dymos (Korea) is set up for off-road driving. It has a long front gear, and you can even start from third. Soft shifts, easy clutch. If at first you may stall, getting used to its operation, then after a couple of kilometers you forget about the difficulties and shift on the automatic.
This is really easy, understandable car behavior. As for the Chinese automotive industry, everything is quite decent, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that I was driving a Mitsubishi L200 from ten years ago. It was very similar. Moreover, there are no assistance systems — only standard ESP, EBA (HAS, RMI, HDC) and only two airbags for the driver and passenger.
There are no rearview cameras either, but at least they installed parking sensors. You’ll also have to adjust the mirrors with the handles and reach for the right one, which is a challenge. And it’s better not to change the position too much later.
Driving a Maxus T60 pickup is like stepping back in time. When you get on board, you feel like you’re in a time machine. There’s hard, simple plastic everywhere, no design elements — straight shapes, simple stripes, everything is as restrained and elementary as possible. I think I’ve seen this before, somewhere.
Wide armchairs made of rough fabric, buttons, and levers everywhere, and there is a minimum of them. The front seats are also adjustable in height, the steering wheel is only adjustable. At least everything here is comfortable, even if it is mechanical. What about heating? There will be none, as well as USB inputs — only a regular cigarette lighter and an ashtray ala «back to the USSR».
No touchscreen monitors… And oh, miracle — a plain old radio, but with Bluetooth function, which allows you to connect your phone and even listen to music through it, not just make calls. The driver’s eyes are confronted by conventional instruments with a small monochrome monitor displaying information from the on-board computer. Separate icons indicate the drive mode that is enabled.
The console has a separate area for the climate panel, which is represented here only by a conventional air conditioner, but the direction and temperature are controlled by separate keys. Everything is clear and convenient. There are niches for the phone and small items, and you can optionally add more advanced multimedia. The main thing is that everything works simply and without glitches.
A lot of space was left for the rear passengers, and even the back of the sofa has a comfortable tilt. There are air deflectors and a retractable armrest with cupholders. The main thing here is the storage. The seat can be lifted up and there are separate containers under it for storing tools or small items. Ahead of the torpedo there is a niche for documents, to the left of the steering wheel there is a small glove compartment, in the console there are niches for cards, a decent armrest with a hard cover. The door pockets could be wider.
Only in a pickup truck, cargo capacity is much more important. And in this regard, the Maxus T60 even stood out. First of all, you can immediately see the hooks on the body where you can attach a cover or cargo in the body, and it is lined with plastic for reliability, but it is much harder to scratch than metal. And things will fidget less. Only in terms of size, it loses a little to its rivals in length (1485 mm) and width (1510 mm), and only in height it has the largest size of 530 mm. The towing capacity is standard — 3500 kg, as with all of them.
| Model | Length | Width | Height | Load capacity |
| Maxus T60 | 1485 mm | 1510 mm | 530 mm | 800 kg |
| Peugeot Landtrack | 1600 mm | 1595 mm | 500 mm | 1020 kg |
| Mitsubishi L200 | 1555 mm | 1545 mm | 525 mm | 1030 kg |
| Toyota Hilux | 1569 mm | 1645 mm | 481 mm | 1000 kg |
| Ford Ranger | 1613 mm | 1544 mm | 525 mm | 992 kg |
Each manufacturer offers its own convenience for using the trunk, and the Maxus T60 has an interesting solution in the arrangement of a step, which is integrated directly into the bumper and rear end. You won’t even notice it until you need to quickly climb into the trunk.
The Maxus T60 is just a pickup truck worth up to $30,000, which is the most important advantage. For this money, you can get an honest, reliable worker who will help you out in difficult situations. It doesn’t matter that it looks like a traveler from the past with a heavy steering wheel, a loud vibrating diesel engine, and a primitive interior. It performs the basic tasks of a pickup truck with ease, and the mechanics, not loaded with electronics, will work honestly and reliably.
Next to the glamorous dressed-up Ranger, Hilux or L200, which over the years have been gaining in technology, sophisticated electronic systems and assistants, the T60 may be lost, but a workhorse should not cost like a decent business SUV. So Maxus T60 has the right concept, and it’s just a matter of convincing consumers of this and getting them on board. It is especially worthy of the attention of volunteer organizations that are constantly looking for good equipment for our guys in the Armed Forces.
PROS: accessibility, off-road capabilities, practicality.
CONS: engine volume, lack of heating, multimedia, lack of smartphone connections.
| Body, type | pickup truck |
| Dimensions (LxWxH), mm | 5365х1900х1809 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 3155 |
| Declared ground clearance, mm | 215 |
| Trunk volume, liters. | – |
| Curb weight, kg | 1970 |
| Engine | diesel |
| Working volume, cubic cm | 2.0 |
| Power, hp. | 163 (120) |
| Torque, Nm | 375 |
| Type of drive | 4×2, 4×4, 4L |
| Suspension in front of. | double lumbar levers |
| Rear suspension | leaf springs |
| CHECKPOINT | 6MT |
| Dynamics 0-100, s | – |
| Maximum speed, km/h | 150 |
| Fuel consumption, l (mixed) | 9,1 |
| Cost, UAH | UAH 1,260,936 |
| The cost of the test car, UAH | UAH 1,260,936 |
| Competitors | Peugeot Landtrack (1 504 900 UAH) |
| Mitsubishi L200 (UAH 1,734,000) | |
| Toyota Hilux | |
| Ford Ranger (UAH 1,996,925) |
