Daihatsu Hijet HD Dump vs. Can-Am Defender XT

Which of these work UTVs is worth your money in 2026? The traditional work UTV style Cam-Am, or the upstart Hijet HD Dump Japanese mini truck? Scroll down to read our analysis.

So you’re looking for a serious work machine — not a trail toy; you’re not a weekend warrior. You need something that hauls and dumps heavy loads, handles tough terrain whatever the season, and keeps you comfortable through a full shift. As one of the most popular work UTVs on the market, the 2026 Can-Am Defender XT may well be at the top of your list. But then there’s the Daihatsu Hijet HD Dump. Yes, it’s a Japanese mini truck, but it’s also a machine that more and more serious operators are considering for their work UTV needs. After all, both are 4WD off-road vehicles, both are built to haul and dump, and both in a same price ballpark (more on that later).

Perhaps you’ve never thought of a Japanese mini truck as a work UTV — they do look very different, after all — but you may be surprised just what an effective case this HD Dump model makes when stacked up against this top-selling Can-Am model. And by the end of this comparison, you’ll know exactly which one belongs on your property. And why.

Two Machines. Two Very Different Philosophies.

Before we get into numbers and statistics, you need to understand the thinking behind these two machines. First up, the Can-Am Defender. This is a purpose-built all-American work UTV (well, a Canadian-owned, Austrian-engined, Mexican-assembled machine). It’s a side-by-side designed for farms, ranches, and property work, with a tipping cargo box and a rugged powertrain. It’s well-engineered and capable, and backed by one of the largest dealer networks in North America. Yes, there are good reasons it’s become one of the best-selling work UTVs in the country.

Now, over to the Daihatsu Hijet. This HD Dump comes from a completely different background. These are the machines that Japanese farmers, fishermen, foresters and more have put to work for decades — not as recreational vehicles adapted for work, but as dedicated work vehicles built from the ground up for exactly that purpose to Japan’s incredibly exacting standards. The HD Dump has one job: haul heavy loads, dump them efficiently, and do it all day without complaint. That singular focus is evident in every aspect of the design.

With that context, let’s get into the details.

The Dump Box: The Number That Changes Everything

The dump box is supposed to be the Defender’s trump card. Can-Am markets it hard — “industry-leading cargo box” — and by UTV standards, they do have a point. But put it up against the Hijet HD Dump, and the story shifts quickly.

Can-Am Defender XT dump box:

Length: 38 inches
Width: 54.5 inches
Depth: 10–12 inches (depending on trim)
Payload: 1,000 lbs

Daihatsu Hijet HD Dump box:

Length: 74 inches
Width: 54 inches
Depth: 13 inches
Payload: 1,500 lbs

That’s a box nearly twice the length of the Defender’s. And 50% more payload capacity. If you’re hauling gravel, topsoil, mulch, or any dense material regularly, that difference is really going to add up fast — fewer trips across your property means less time wasted and less fuel burned per job.

But the spec sheet dimensions don’t tell the whole story. There’s more to the HD Dump’s box than just dumping. First of all, the HD Dump’s bed folds down on three sides — rear and both flanks. Full walk-up access to every corner of the box without reaching or stretching. The Defender opens at the rear only. Not such a big deal for the Defender, as it’s only 38 inches long, but for the HD Dump, this extra ‘party trick’ is what makes the impressive length of that dump box genuinely useful as well.

Finally, there’s the construction of the box itself. The HD Dump’s sides and floor are stainless steel over 1/16-inch thick, reinforced with evenly-spaced steel pillars along the sides. At the front, you’ve got a protective plate almost completely covers the rear of the cab, shielding it from shifting loads. This is where the Can-Am comes up empty handed with no answer to the superior size and construction of that box.

Edge: Hijet HD Dump. And it’s not close.

Tipping Mechanism: One Option vs. The Right Option for Your Work

When it comes to dumping, the Defender comes with a hydraulic power tilt bed as standard. It does the job and it’s easy to use. One mechanism. No options, no variations. The HD Dump, on the other hand, gives you a choice — and that choice matters more than it might seem.

Electro-hydraulic: Push a button, the bed rises. Totally comparable to the Defender’s system. But here’s a bonus the Defender can’t match: the HD Dump’s mechanism can operate while the mini truck is in motion. That means you can gradually tip the load as you drive slowly across a field — spreading feed for livestock, distributing gravel along a track — instead of dropping everything in one pile. That’s a real game-changer.
PTO (Power Take-Off): This draws power directly from the engine for maximum lifting force to shift the heaviest loads. The HD Dump has a PTO variant that’s perfect if you need to dump a lot, and do it all day. As long as there’s fuel in the tank, the PTO will keep on dumping. Perfect for serious commercial operators — municipalities, construction sites, colleges — who need that all-day stamina.

And we should mention that the PTO can be co-opted to run all sorts of tools as well by adding in a 3-point hitch. If you homestead or just want a truly multifunctional machine for your property, this is a real boon.

So, first ask yourself: how often will you be dumping, and how heavy will those loads be? The answer tells you which mechanism you need. Then consider whether being able to run tools off the rear hitch is going to be useful to you. The Defender only has one stock answer to every scenario. But with the HD Dump, you get to choose the right tool to best match your actual work needs.

Edge: Hijet HD Dump.

The Real Price: This Will Surprise You

Here’s the part that surprises almost everyone who sits down to do this comparison properly — genuine apples to apples. So, you’ve got the 2026 Can-Am Defender XT HD11 starting at $22,699 MSRP. Then you stack it up against the HD Dump’s $30,500 MSRP, and on the surface it looks like a pretty easy win the Defender.

But, here’s the thing: that $22,699 buys you an open-sided machine with no doors, no proper windshield, no heating, no air conditioning, and no audio. Essentially a roof sitting on a frame with some wheels attached. Perfectly fine for a sunny afternoon. Less fine for a full day out working in the fields in a February snowstorm, a July heatwave, or a capricious April rainstorm. The UTV manufacturers have programmed us to accept this crazy way of pricing vehicles, but it doesn’t make sense in any other context. It’s all smoke-and-mirrors to make them look like a deal, when the real cost is much higher after you’ve put in those must-have ‘options’ to make your UTV genuinely useable.

So what does it actually cost to drag the Defender up to the same level of everyday equipment that the HD Dump has as standard? Well, here’s the Can-Am trim ladder:

Defender XT HD11 (base): $22,699 — open cab, no doors, no HVAC, no audio
Defender XT CAB HD11: $29,999 — enclosed cab with locking doors and windows, but still no HVAC and still no audio
Defender Limited HD11: $34,699 — full enclosed cab, HVAC, and audio system

That last one — the Limited — is the trim that gives you roughly the same everyday comfort and equipment that the HD Dump ships with as standard. And it costs $4,200 more.

And that’s before you factor in destination charges and dealer fees. On a UTV like the Defender, these typically add another $1,000–$1,500 or more on top of the MSRP — charges that are standard practice across the UTV industry and that most buyers don’t see coming until they’re sitting at the finance desk.

On the other hand, the HD Dump’s $30,500 MSRP doesn’t work like that. It’s all-in. Yes, every item of equipment included, no destination charge on top, and no dealer prep bill waiting at the end. The only thing it doesn’t cover is sales tax. And if you’d rather have the machine trucked to your door instead of picking it up yourself, dealers can arrange that too for an additional charge. So that $4,200 gap in the apples-to-apples comparison? It’s looking more like $5,200 to $5,700 difference now.

Here’s what the Daihatsu Hijet HD Dump comes with at $30,500, right out of the gate:

Full enclosed, weather-proof cab with proper glass windows
Locking doors
Heating and air conditioning
Mirrors
Radio
Full lighting
Cup holders
Sun visors
Defroster

Daihatsu doesn’t play the options game. No packages to add. No accessories bill waiting for you at the dealership. One price, fully equipped.

When you’re comparing machines at a genuinely equivalent spec level, the HD Dump is the better value.

Edge: Hijet HD Dump, once you’re comparing apples to apples.

Fuel Economy: Watch Out For This Hidden Cost

The Defender XT HD11 runs a 999cc Rotax inline-triple making 95 horsepower. It’s a punchy, capable engine. But a gas-powered UTV of this size and weight is never going to be light on fuel and, unsurprisingly, the resule is that real-world work use puts the Defender’s economy somewhere in the range of 15–20 MPG. On the other hand, the Hijet HD Dump delivers over 35 MPG in typical work conditions. Conservatively. Many users see higher figures than that.

So, why do you need to pay attention to this ‘hidden’ cost? Well, think about what that difference means over time. Run both machines 4,000 miles in a year — a fairly modest figure for a machine in daily work use on a large off-road property. At 20MPG, that’s 200 gallons for the Defender, but only around 100 for the HD Dump. At a conservative $3 per gallon, that’s $300 the HD Dump is going to save you. Add all those savings up over the lifetime of the vehicle, and that’s a real-money difference that adds meaningfully to the purchase price advantage we’ve already laid out. For anyone running a fleet of machines, the arithmetic becomes even more compelling.

Edge: Hijet HD Dump — significantly.

Build Quality: What You See When You Raise the Bed

There’s no doubt that both of these machines are well-built by their own respective standards. The Defender is a tough, thoughtfully engineered work UTV, and the most recent generation seems to have brought real improvements in noise, vibration, suspension comfort, and overall cab quality.

But raise the bed on a Hijet HD Dump and take a good hard look at what’s underneath. What you’ll find is a chassis and subframe that reflects decades of commercial work vehicle engineering — heavy-gauge steel, dense welds, and a frame that looks more like it belongs under a piece of permanent industrial equipment than under a powersports machine. Not surprising when you find out Daihatsu is a subsidiary of Toyota. Compare that with the tube-frame construction of a UTV: adequate for the use case, but a fundamentally different approach to structure and longevity that’s not really in the same league.

Then take a look at the reinforced steel pillars along the sides of the dump bed. Look at the subframe connecting it to the chassis. Look at the plate protecting the cab. This is a precision-engineered machine designed to be in full-time commercial service for years — not occasional use, not weekend work, full-time daily operations. That difference in engineering depth doesn’t show up in the spec sheet, but it’s quality you can see and feel.

Edge: Hijet HD Dump, on engineering depth and durability.

Where the Defender Has the Edge

We’re trying to make this a truly honest comparison, and it’s true that the Defender earns real credit in some areas.

Raw off-road performance. With 95 horsepower and long-travel suspension, the Defender is the more capable machine in serious terrain — deep mud, steep climbs, technical rock work. If that’s what your property demands day in and day out, it’s a genuinely excellent machine for it, although there are very few situations in which it will leave the Daihatsu behind.
Towing. The Defender pulls up to 2,500 lbs. The HD Dump is built for hauling and dumping and can pull around 1,500 lbs, but it can’t meet the high bar of the Defender on this metric.
Speed. The Defender is significantly faster. If you’re covering large areas of property and travel speed is a real priority, that’s worth factoring in. But if you’ve got a load in the back, absolute top speed isn’t really an issue as stability on uneven off-road surfaces becomes more important.
Dealer network and aftermarket. Can-Am has one of the biggest dealer networks in North America, and the Defender’s accessories catalogue is enormous. If you want a dealer ten minutes down the road or plan to customize heavily, that ecosystem can be a genuine advantage.

So, Which One Is Right for You?

It comes down to an honest appraisal of what your work actually looks like most days of the year:

The HD Dump is likely the right choice if you:

Are doing regular, heavy hauling and dumping — dirt, gravel, sand, mulch, debris
Want to run tools on a 3-point hitch using PTO power
Work in all seasons and need full cab comfort as standard, not as an expensive option
Run your machine hard and want the build engineering to match
Are purchasing for fleet or commercial use and the fuel economy math compounds across multiple units
Want to have a price that’s all-in and (apples-to-apples) significantly lower than the Defender.

The Defender XT could be the right choice if you:

Need serious towing capacity as a core part of your daily work
Are regularly dealing with extremely challenging terrain — deep mud, steep grades, aggressive off-road conditions — where that Rotax engine and long-travel suspension earn their keep
Cover large areas of ground such that high speed travel genuinely makes a difference
Want a local dealer relationship or a deep aftermarket ecosystem to draw from

For the work that most buyers are actually doing day in, day out — haul it, dump it, do it in all weather, go home without a punishing fuel bill — the HD Dump delivers more per dollar in a compelling package. The initial sticker price may look higher, but the real price, once you account for equivalent specs, lack of destination etc charges, and lower running costs, tells a different story. The best advice? Come and see one in person. Contact Mini Truck Depot to find your nearest dealer and get a proper look. Take a look at detailed model specs and images by clicking on one of these below:

Head-to-Head Summary

	Daihatsu Hijet HD Dump	Can-Am Defender XT HD11
Fully-equipped MSRP (enclosed cab, HVAC, audio)	$30,500	~$34,699 (Limited trim)
Dump box length	74 inches	38 inches
Dump box width	54 inches	54.5 inches
Dump box depth	13 inches	10–12 inches
Payload capacity	1,500 lbs	1,000 lbs
Bed access	3-sided fold-down	Rear only
Tipping mechanism options	Electro-hydraulic or PTO	Electro-hydraulic only
Operate bed while moving	✓ Yes (electro-hydraulic)	✗ No
Fuel economy	Over 35 MPG	~15–20 MPG
Enclosed cab (standard)	✓ Yes	✗ No (add-on)
Heating & AC (standard)	✓ Yes	✗ No (add-on)
Doors & windows (standard)	✓ Yes	✗ No (add-on)
Audio system (standard)	✓ Yes	✗ No (add-on)
Towing	1,500 lbs	2,500 lbs
Top speed	25 MPH (limited under federal rules)	~50+ MPH
Best for	Heavy hauling & dumping, all-weather commercial use, fleet operations	High-speed work, heavy towing, demanding terrain