Shocking number of Aussie ute drivers never take them off-road
They're meant to tackle the harshest terrains, but new data has revealed Aussies are using utes for the exact opposite driving conditions.
They’re big, they’re tall, and they will somehow squeeze into most car parks in Australia.
There’s no denying the country has a deep love affair with utes, and the latest national data reflects Australia's growing obsession with this car type.
According to data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Research Economics (BITRE), light commercial vehicle registrations surged by approximately 15 per cent from 2021 (3,632,434) to 2025 (4,195,434), outpacing the 10 per cent total vehicle registration growth recorded in the same period.
Though these utility vehicles are meant to conquer the harshest off-road terrains and remote work sites, new data has revealed most owners use them in the exact opposite driving conditions.
According to a survey conducted by Continental Tyres – which polled more than 2000 Aussie ute owners – approximately one in four respondents (24 per cent) confessed they’ve never taken it off-road despite 22 per cent of participants stating they bought the car because of its off-road capabilities.
These durable workhorses are predominantly used for weekly mundane tasks such as grocery runs (57 per cent), daily work commutes (52 per cent) and school runs (31 per cent).
For Melbourne Demons defender Jake Lever, while he loves the idea of going off-roading, his Ford Ranger Raptor ute is his family's daily runabout.
"It's funny because when you buy a ute you think you're gonna do all this amazing off-road stuff. But for me, I've got three young kids, so I normally chuck everything in the back – the pram, my golf clubs when I can, but it's really used for pretty much everyday sort of things," Lever told Drive.
The sentiment is echoed in the locker room, where, according to Lever, "there's a massive ute culture at the Melbourne Demons footy club".
"I reckon literally half of the lads, so we've got 45 on the list, I reckon half of them would drive a ute, so it's well and truly part of our culture. Every time someone gets a new car, it's either a new Ford Wildtrak or a new Toyota Hilux.
"Eighty per cent of the guys have utes because it's quite convenient to be able to chuck the pram in the back, or some suitcases when you go away or when you're lucky enough to play golf," he said.
However, some ute owners said they've used their vehicle for weekend getaways (41 per cent) and other general leisurely drives (39 per cent).
Though approximately half of participants (49 per cent) said they’re “somewhat confident” in their off-road skills, 17.1 per cent of owners confessed they’re not confident despite owning an off-roader.
Additionally, a further 7 per cent said they avoid off-roading altogether, while approximately 6 per cent of ute owners admitted they’ve never been off-roading.
Though drivers who own small cars such as sedans or hatches don't generally think twice about encountering little road problems, it's the opposite for ute owners.
Among 2000 ute owners, parking in tight spaces was cited as the top road challenge they’ve encountered this month, with 39 per cent of survey participants confessing to encountering tight parking spaces in their cars.
Lever is part of the majority, where his ute's ride height sometimes throws him off-guard.
"I'm always very cautious about going into car parks and not knowing the height of the vehicle. It's like every day I go in there, and I go 'Geez, I wish I just got a sticky note and wrote down how high my vehicle is' because every time I go into a car park I don't actually know how high it is right now," he said.
Additionally, driving in poor weather conditions was also a common source of strife (37 per cent), as well as coming across pesky road hazards such as potholes (24 per cent), mud or water crossings (22 per cent).
Ironically, 21 per cent of ute owners said driving on rocky or gravel terrain presented some challenges.
As more utes turn to daily family cars, one road safety expert previously called on authorities to increase fines for large utes and SUVs – the two most popular types of cars in Australia – amid safety concerns.
The University of Melbourne Associate Professor and Principal Fellow in Urban Risk and Resilience, Milad Haghani, told Drive in May 2026 that authorities should scale penalties according to vehicle size.
“What we also know is that crashes involving large utes and SUVs are often much more consequential for other road users because of the size and mass of the vehicle. There is also research suggesting that being behind the wheel of a larger vehicle can increase driver confidence and may subconsciously encourage greater risk-taking,” Professor Haghani said.
“One possible way to account for that additional external risk is for penalties to scale with vehicle size or mass. It reinforces the notion that vehicle size matters and that the risks imposed on others are not equal across all vehicle types.”
