Seeking the world’s best bakkie!

November 17, 2023

The group test of the finalists for the 2024/2025 International Pick-up Award took place last month in Greece. Which bakkie will be named the best in the world? VASSILIS DARAMOUSKAS and CHARLEEN CLARKE attended the group test, and they report that it’s a tight race!

Finding the world’s best bakkie was never going to be easy. This was highlighted when we arrived in Greece for the group test, which had been expertly organised by Agrimanaki Publications, owner of the leading Greek commercial vehicle magazine, Troxoi & TIR.

As Jarlath Sweeney, chairperson of the International Van of the Year Award jury, notes, bakkies are constantly getting better. “Every other year since 2009, the International Pick-up Award (IPUA) has been presented to the most efficient one-tonne pick-up truck at the time. As a multi-functional vehicle produced and sold globally, both the product and marketplace continue to evolve, with many brands setting high standards in performance, safety, and driver and passenger comfort,” he points out.

That was certainly the case with our spectacular line-up of bakkies, namely (in alphabetical order):

Ford Ranger (various models)
Ford Raptor
Toyota Hilux GR Sport II
Volkswagen Amarok (various models)

For three days, from 16 to 18 October, Anavyssos became the epicentre of the bakkie world. The judges descended on this gorgeous town on the Athens Riviera to test these one-tonne bakkies (pick-ups sold all over the world, except in the US and Canada, qualify for the award). The judging panel includes journalists from 17 countries, including huge markets such as South Africa. Testers were accompanied by development engineers from Ford, Toyota, and Volkswagen, while there were three European premieres during the three-day event.

Over the next couple of pages, you can read our driving impressions of all the vehicles. The winner of the 2024/2025 International Pick-up Award will be announced at Solutrans in Lyon, France on 22 November.

Photography for this feature by Alexandros Vetoulis, Giorgos Detis, Torbjørn Eriksen, and Charleen Clarke