It’s the best value-for money two-seater sports car available. It’s not particularly fast, but it’s lively enough and it handles like a thoroughbred.
It stops on a tickey, it has lots of luxury features and there ‘s plenty of room for luggage because it’s a bakkie. After a week behaving like a teenager in the new Ford Bantam 1.6i XLE I was genuinely sorry to have to let it go.
The best thing about the Bantam is the way it handles. It’s become a bit of a cliché to say that it goes around corners like a go-kart but this one really does. There’s absolutely no understeer even when you drive it like a hooligan, which I found I was tempted to do much more often than in other cars. In fact, it clings to the road more desperately than a disgraced politician does to his job, and that’s saying something. I suspect it’s marginally slower in a straight line than the excellent Opel Corsa Utility 1.6iS, but I’d put my money on the Ford through the twisties.
The R127 306 XLE is the flagship of the Bantam range and comes with a pretty healthy spec level which includes mag wheels, a sporty steering wheel, a tonneau cover, aircon, electric windows, spotlights, an immobiliser, central locking power steering and electric mirrors. It’s also the first bakkie in its class to offer dual front airbags. On the downside, the interior trim is a little cheap ‘n nasty, but the driving enjoyment the Ford offers more than outweighs that.
The Bantam’s bin measures 1770mm X 1430mm X 410mm, which is enough to accommodate a standard pallet, and despite its half-ton label the 630 kg payload is nearer three-quarters than half a ton.
The1.6i XLE isn’t the Bantam I’d buy for my staff to drive, because I suspect it would bring out the devil in them much as it did with me and that wouldn’t do, now would it? But for my own exclusive use, as a sports car with a bin I’d have one tomorrow.