During the Ploughing we were asked by our readers and some in the motor industry to give more details about the reasoning behind the selection of the winners of the Irish Farmers Journal’s 4x4 Awards. We created the awards to give readers guidance on their 4x4 choices for farms, as a 4x4 can represent a significant cost. Our scoring needed to reflect this.

There were eight assessment points – power, towing ability, towing stability, ease of driving, off-road ability, economy, comfort and functionality, and value for money, each ranked 1 to 10. Areas such as power were scored based on machine specifications, with the most powerful 4x4 ranked with the highest points and descending thereafter. We made our judgements on the other areas during our testing programme, carried out over a number of days.

There were some clear differences noted, but the top three of the Toyota Land Cruiser, Mitsubishi Pajero and Land Rover Discovery all scored very closely.

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We compared the economy results from our tests with the rated economy figures. Given the recent Volkswagen scandal, it was interesting to note that the economy differences were reasonably similar to the rated figures.

The top three all scored top marks in terms of power, while the Land Cruiser was clearly ahead when it came to towing stability with the loaded trailer.

The SsangYong Rexton was included in the comparison, but it scored significantly lower than the others in terms of power and stability than the others. We also compared the 4x4s with the original of the species, the Land Rover Defender, and this provided us with a clear view of how much 4x4s have improved.

The test

Over a period of three days, five 4x4s and six pickups were tested on the Lett farm and across local roads at Hollyfort, Enniscorthy, Co Wexford.

The 4x4s were tested as part of the three-section programme. Each was driven on the local road empty, and on-road with a loaded Ifor Williams livestock trailer provided by Westwood Trailers of Naas. Finally, each 4x4 was tested in the fields at the farm for off-road driving ability and stability.

Ford Ranger secures the 4x4 Pick-up Award

The Ford Ranger came out as the top 4x4 pick-up in our test. Its competitors included the Great Wall Steed, Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi L200, Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Amarok.

The scores were tight for the pick-ups, making our overall decision that bit more difficult. There were a few stand-out points, such as economy and comfort. These are often not appreciated on paper and can only be judged on the road and in the field.

The Volkswagen Amarok came out on top in terms of power.Other measureable features such as the size of the load bed were scored accordingly and again the Amarok received the highest score. The Mitsubishi L200 got the highest score for economy, with both its rated and actual economy figures clearly ahead of the rest. The Isuzu D-Max also impressed in terms of fuel economy.

For the other seven results we compared notes on our actual experience on the testing days. The Ford Ranger scored well in terms of being family friendly, while the Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi L200 scored highly in towing ability. The Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux and Volkswagen Amarok were deemed to be very stable when towing a loaded trailer.

The Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi L200 and Toyota Hilux were all deemed to be easier to drive, while the Ranger, D-Max, Hilux and Amarok all scored highly in the off-road driving test.

The Toyota Hilux topped the scores in the comfort test, with the Mitsubishi L200 and Great Wall Steed at the bottom of that listing.

Our overall value appraisal was based on a combination of specification and price and here the Ford Ranger came out on top, while the more expensive Volkswagen Amarok was at the other end of the scoring.

The Ford Ranger came out on top in more sections, giving it a marginal lead over the Toyota Hilux to be the overall winner. The Ranger scored 86 out of 100 points and achieved a consistently high ranking in almost all areas.