I know obviously a ute will have firmer springs so will be less comfy for on-road driving.
They may be much softer than you think. Our old 1991 Hilux is very firm with its leaf springs at both ends and heaps of unsprung weight but our 2003 single cab with independent front suspension is supprisingly smooth. That is both on and off road.
It was three years old and stock standard with no accessories when we bought it. It's LT tyres had 40 psi in them at both ends and the ride felt like it had no springs. The hand book said 25 psi at the front at all times and 25 to 34 rear depending on load. The book also said for the purpose of setting pressures, the car is considered to be empty when it is carrying two people and up to 100 kgs of luggage.
I contacted the tyre manufacturer and was told to use the handbook pressures, do not reduce them when off sealed roads, never exceeded them by more than 4psi and the 4psi rule for setting them is not reliable.
Thirteen years and 160,000 k's later and everywhere from the Sydney Harbor Bridge to tracks in the Victorian High Country to remote tracks through the centre to the middle of the WA deserts, we are still using those pressures and tyre sizes and are enjoying the ride from them and the standard springs.
When looking at utes, take note of the rear springs. Ours have three long curved leaves with two shorter, flat and heavier leaves under them. I used two of them under a trailer based on half a Hilux chassis and the aluminium tray that I took off our ute so I could build a camping body on it. I was amazed at how flexible those three long leaves are. I could place them upside down then stand on them with my little 70 kgs and easily bounce up and down. We have recently moved from a city environment to near the Snowy Mountains and I am going to have fit stiffer shocks on the trailer to reduce sway when full of firewood on bush tracks.
Todays utes are being sold in the thousands as family cars so I would imagine the suspension would have to give a comfortable ride while both empty and full.
We don't have a bull bar on ours. Hanging over forty or more kilos of the front about half a metre in front of the centre of the wheels will have an adverse effect on handling. I read in a NRMA journal recently that the installation kit for the genuine Toyota bull bar for the Hilux includes new front springs. I would imagine they have similar kits for all of their cars that they have designed bull bars for.
That is something to keep in mind if you want one.
