The VOTY for pick-up truck for 2023 goes to the Ford Ranger Wildtrak.
Pick-up trucks are a truly unique category of vehicle in Malaysia. It’s no longer about the most inexpensive, more rugged and rough-and-tumble products. The unique tax structure of ASEAN makes it so that increasingly, customers here are looking for a pick-up truck as a primary mode of transport within an urban setting. The urban cowboy is the target demographic and this group of customers are looking for something that really sets itself apart.
The king of that particular game is Ford. They were the first to differentiate their pick-up with a ‘Wildtrak’ offering and they perfected it over the years. For 2023, they have an all-new Ranger and with it, an all-new Wildtrak model. This model really impressed us. It’s the sweetspot now that the ‘Raptor’ model has moved even more upmarket with its 3.0L V6 twin turbo petrol motor. The Wildtrak gives Ford customers a glimpse of that performance flagship with a more sensible 2.0L turbodiesel motor that still packs plenty of punch. Unlike the XLT models, the WIldtrak packs a lot more character in the looks department.
ABOUT VOTY 2023
The Allianz DSF.my Vehicle Of The Year (VOTY) Award ceremony is the first and only vehicle award event in Malaysia that does not hand out paid awards, nor does it charge winners or participating brands any fee whatsoever. Winners are allowed to use the VOTY event logo free of charge in all marketing materials. Event attendees are not even charged for their seat at the award presentation. All car manufacturers that operate in Malaysia are invited to participate free of charge. All they have to do is let our judges test drive their nominated vehicles.
The nominated vehicles must have been launched in Malaysia in the last 12 months and cannot be a localised minor facelift (body-kits, stickers, wheel upgrades, etc). All judging is independent and is put down to a vote before the winners are selected. Car manufacturers are not informed if they are winning or not before the event.
