Four-wheel-drive sales so far this year suggest the luxury end of the market is doing considerably better than the market as a whole. They also demonstrate that punters shopping amongst these heavyweight image-makers can spot real bargains, where they exist.

Apart from rocketing Hyundai's bargain priced Santa Fe to top selling SUV status, buyers have also shown enough acumen to exploit the Double Cab Pickup zero VRT rating to the full - before cash-strapped McCreevy closed that last window of opportunity in July.
 
Sadly, that action will just re-open another can of worms. Companies and individuals will return to buying panel vans - and commercial 4x4s in growing numbers - and to carrying their personnel on make shift seats mounted on the cargo decks. What does that say about the Minister's attitude to insurance and road safety?
 

Year to date (January to July inclusive) pick-up sales, many of them of the double cab variety are up a thumping great 51 per cent on 2002 with Mitsubishi's L200 amassing 1320 unit sales. Up 31 per cent on 2002, it relegates Toyota Land Cruiser to number 2 spot in the overall commercial 4x4 sales charts - though the Toyota does lead its own class by a considerable margin. Best performance, though, amongst the 4x4 pick-ups comes from Nissan's Pathfinder. Sales of 1095 units are up by 582 units - or 113 per cent - on the same period in 2002. Another impressive performer here was Toyota's Hilux. Sales of 445 units in 2003 show an increase of 30 per cent on 2002 but even this performance was overshadowed by the new Ford Ranger. A newcomer to the market, Ranger sales in 2003 total 391 units pushing it into fifth place in this segment close behind its Mazda B Series sibling (406 units sold) which has been the subject of a major revamp this year. Sixth spot. With 260 units sold, belongs to the ubiquitous Land Rover Defender.
 

Leading the luxury 4x4 liner race, Range Rover posted 2005 sales for the first seven months of the year - an increase of 84% on its performance in 2002. Not surprisingly because we are talking rich here, the majority of those sold came from the pricier end of the range. Also recording an 80 per cent lift on 2002 (actually 80.7%) BMW's X5 (159 units) moved into third place in the super league table behind the Mercedes-Benz M-Class - and ahead of the new Volvo XC90 (115) - and opened up real daylight between itself and the Lexus RX300 which tipped in dead on the 100 mark.
 

Lexus won't be overly disappointed. The one hundred units sold represent a 47.1 percent increase on the year before. And they've just introduced a new model which should guarantee even better things for 2004. Nissan's Patrol nestling amongst the luxury set on its E60,000 plus price tag, though it's far more versatile off-road than anything else in the group, also came in with 100 units sold year-to-date. That's an increase of 44.9 per cent on the same period for 2002.
 
Leading the real working 4x4 set, Toyota's Land Cruiser commercial recorded sales of 1273 units (+22% on the same period for 2002) - an achievement that nearly doubles that of its closest rival. That rival, Mitsubishi's Pajero (662 sales) and third placed Isuzu Trooper (502 sales) recorded drops of 14 and 17 per cent respectively on 2002. Hyundai's Santa Fe, now zero-rated for VRT, jumps an amazing 204% on 2002, returning 271 units sold against just 89 for the previous year.
 
Five other commercial 4x4 vehicles also showed improved form in 2003. January-to-July inclusive, Land Rover Discovery (107 sales), Hyundai Terracan (81 sales), Suzuki Grand Vitara (71 sales), Land Rover Freelander (37 sales) and Jeep Cherokee (36 sales) are up 20%, 37%, 13%, 16% and 15% respectively. The news isn't so good for Nissan Terrano, Nissan Patrol, and Daewoo Musso. Sales of 143 units (Terrano), 42 units (Patrol) and 19 units (Musso) show them falling back by 28%, 63% and 70% on their position over the same seven months of 2002.
 

Passenger carrying vehicle wise (1140 units sold) - and overall (1411 sales) - Santa Fe is the number one seller in the country. Naturally, it also leads its own SUV classmates by a considerable margin. A new model RAV4 launch last year keeps the sleek Toyota SUV (614 sales) in second position ahead of the Land Rover Freelander (602 sales). The Hyundai is up 16.3% on last year; Toyota's RAV4 is back by 14.2% and the Freelander trails its 2002 showing by 14%. Nissan's X-Trail (440 sales), the Honda CR-V (335 sales) and Suzuki's Grand Vitara (283 sales) bring up fourth, fifth and sixth places - the X-Trail up by 116%, the other two down respectively by 10.9 % and 45.6%.

Of the bigger bodied 4x4 passenger vehicle segment, the Land Rover Discovery (255 sales) pips the Mitsubishi's Pajero (242 sales) for the number one spot with Kia's Sorento (107 sales) third, Nissan's Terrano (91) fourth, the Land Cruiser (79 sales) fifth, Isuzu's Trooper (55 sales) sixth and the SsangYong Rexton, 50 sales in seventh.

What's to look forward to for the remainder of the year? A battle royal between Toyota's Land Cruiser and the Hyundai Santa Fe, though we aren't really talking like for like. Also, expect to see the pick-up segment contract over the next five months - with a corresponding increase in the 4x4 commercial sector - as the VRT changes crush the double cab brigade. 


Pick-up Sales 03
January to July inclusive

1. Mitsubishi L2001320
2. Nissan Pathfinder       1095
3. Toyota Hilux    445
4. Mazda B Series   406
5. Ford Ranger 391
6. Land Rover Defender    260
7. Isuzu TFS190


SUV Passenger Sales 03
January to July inclusive
1. Hyundai Santa Fe  1140
2. RAV4    614
3. Land Rover Freelander    602
4. Nissan X-Trail   440
5. Honda CR-V       335
6. Suzuki Grand Vitara      283
7. Suzuki Jimny     159
8. Honda HR-V       146
9. Subaru Forester 126
9. Daihatsu Terios    98
10. Kia Sportage 23
11. Mazda Tribute 17


Passenger 4x4s
January to July inclusive
1. Land Rover Discovery 255
2. Mitsubishi Pajero242
3. Kia Sorento      107
4. Nissan Terrano   91
5. Toyota Land Cruiser       79
6. Isuzu Trooper     55
7. Daewoo/SsangYong Rexton   50
8. Hyundai Terracan  33
9. Opel Frontera 22

Luxury 4x4s
January to July inclusive
1. Range Rover     205
2. Mercedes M-Class 197
3. BMW X5   159
4. Volvo XC90       115
=5. Lexus RX300     100    
=5. Nissan Patrol      100
7. Jeep grand Cherokee      55
8. Audi All Road            24

Commercial 4x4s
1. Toyota Land Cruiser      1273
2. Mitsubishi Pajero       662
3. Isuzu Trooper    502
4. Santa Fe 271
5. Nissan Terrano   143
6. Land Rover Discovery     107
7. Hyundai Terracan 81
8. Suzuki Grand Vitara       71
9. Land Rover Freelander     48
9. Nissan Patrol     42
10. Jeep Cherokee    36
11. Daewoo/SsangYong Musso 19