Toro Workman UTX 2-seater diesel
James de Havilland
Technical Freelance WriterWhen’s it my turn!
As the little Toro Workman UTX was driven up to me, I expected the two-man team from Barbury Shooting, based near Swindon, to jump out and let me take a drive. But Connor and Josh just stopped to let us know they were off to refill the traps at one of the club’s eight stands, the vehicle’s rear platform being loaded with boxes of clays and a couple of batteries used to power the traps. The latter were hungry for fresh targets, despite it being a ‘quiet’ Tuesday.
“On a typical weekend we are running around pretty much non-stop and during competitions and club shoots we and the rest of the team are all on the go full time. It gets really busy”, says Connor. “We will just drop of these boxes off and reload the traps on Paddock ground. See you there”. With that, the pair drove off.
The whole idea of a ‘test drive’ is of course to get an idea of how a given machine does its job. In this instance, Connor and Josh were pretty much doing this for me. Over a couple of hours, the little Workman was scurrying between Barbury’s Top Meadow grouse, Rosebowl high pheasant, Middle pheasant / partridge, Oval pheasant / partridge and Skeet partridge ‘ranges’, each having between four and eight traps in action on the day. Not only does each trap magazine cartridge hold 400 clays, but the traps also need checking for consistent performance and adjusting to suit prevailing conditions. Every morning, each of these automatic traps needs to be towed to each location, and they may be moved to different locations during the day. The aim? To provide shooters with a huge variety of challenges.
One set of traps we viewed in action had to be accessed via a steep incline, this providing an elevated throwing platform. Getting access to these traps to refill them was not a challenge for the UTX. In all-wheel drive it just ambled up the slope, drama free. Josh decided to repeat the climb with drive just to the rear wheels, this again barely taxing the vehicle’s traction over the damp grassy track.
One word summed up Connor and Josh’s time with the little Toro Workman. Impressive. By the time it was my turn to have a drive, the UTX was emptied of its third or fourth load of clays and the towing hitch removed. Unencumbered, I took the little UTV for a blast and found it exactly what I expected. Comfortable, perky for a 25hp diesel, easy to manoeuvre and perfectly happy to drive over rougher terrain. As to its worth as a load carrier, it had proven itself, with ample space for a decent load on its rear platform.
First impressions
Offering clay pigeon shooters a huge variety of challenges, the team at Barbury Shooting use UTVs all-year-round, all day and every day. So who best to visit when time came to trial the Toro Workman UTX? I got my answer to this in a roundabout way. The demo Workman UTX was used to lug boxes of clays, tow and move various traps into position, carrying personnel and just being employed to help ensure a busy shoot ran smoothly.
This meant the Workman was in action pretty much non-stop, with some of the work tougher than expected. Scaling some steep slopes, crossing rough ground and tackling sodden turf in slippery conditions is not much of a UTV challenge but it is a stiff ask when the vehicle is loaded with boxes of expensive clays that can be damaged if roughly handled; the job is more demanding than you might think. Was I impressed by the machine’s abilities? More importantly, was the team at Barbury impressed? Absolutely we were.
Boasting a weight capacity of 567kg, the size of the UTX platform is of equal importance. This was clearly demonstrated as we stacked boxes of clays. If the platform had been smaller, it would risk damage. The vehicle’s ride is also proving important. Excess jolts can potentially damage the clays, leading to them falling apart at launch. At least ten boxes of 150 clays per box can be safely moved on the UTX platform with space for a couple of vehicle size 12v batteries per load too.
Front and rear 2ins/5cm tow receivers are fitted to the UTX. This enables the end user to choose between ball and clevis hitches that can be fitted to either end of the vehicle. Towing a trap at a leisurely pace to prevent damage proved an easy job for the Toro UTX, its three-cylinder 25hp Yanmar diesel engine no doubt sipping fuel as a result. Managers can peg the vehicles top speed incidentally, a useful feature to check driver enthusiasm in controlled environments. As it is, the UTX maxes out at 40km/hr for the diesel model, a top speed of 25mph suiting most off-road duties.
It is difficult to show an incline in a picture, but this climb was around 50% and proved a decent test of traction of the UTX in two-wheel drive. More aggressive tyre patterns are available, but the block tread fitted to the UTX proved well up to the task of climbing this grassy bank.
Like most small UTVs, the Workman UTX has a belt-drive constantly variable CVT dual range transmission. Simple and well-proven, this type of drive makes this type of UTV a doddle to drive, the set-up Toro uses proving extremely smooth in its pick-up. A standard belt CVT will offer little in the way of engine braking when descending a steep slope, so you do need to use the brakes to control your descent. Toro fit the UTX with discs on each wheel, with enough stopping power to comfortably slow the vehicle. A simple driving tip it to select low range before going down a steep slope and upping the engine speed. This will keep transmission engaged and is a useful way to control a heavy trailed load down a steep incline.
The steel cargo bed on the two-seat Toro Workman UTX is 1.13m wide, 1.42m long, with the sides rising to 0.28m. To rear tailgate is simply raised to unlatch, cables keeping it level with the platform form to extend the load area if required or unclipping to allow the tailgate to swing down. An electric tip systems can be fitted, this enabling the cargo bed to be used to easily discharge loads such as gravel. The crackle paint finish of the load area looks durable, fixed lashing points to secure awkward loads.
Double wishbone rear with adjustable coil and damper suspension provides a good ride for both platform load and the operator. Towing capacity is up to a generous 907kg, which combined with the 567kg platform capacity makes for some hefty haulage muscle.