Bakkies. I never got bakkies. I mean, ja, I got them — they’re practical workhorses that appear to suit certain South African lifestyles, but I never GOT them. Never have bakkies even registered on my radar as desirable vehicles. Much like a tractor. Or a grader. Or, for that matter, anything yellow and made by CAT. Yes bakkies have four wheels and an internal combustion engine, but they were always utilitarian tools, not cars.
I’m beginning to get them though. And that’s more than a little worrying. Is it a genuine light-bulb moment — or yet another sign of old fartdom? You know, like people suddenly start to like Frank Sinatra. Or dislike graffiti. And I love old Blue Eyes. And tagging really pisses me off. Disrespectful little tossers.
It’s not that my lifestyle didn’t fit the bakkie profile either. All my pursuits have required equipment — mountain biking, surfing, the band and fatherhood — but the aesthetics of an estate or SUV have always appealed to me way more than the tailgated functionality of a flatbed.
That’s until I took stock of the family Volvo station wagon the other day. It’s really looking buggered. Especially the boot. The seats have been scuffed by prams, carry cots and guitar amps, the ceiling bears the scars of bike saddles and surfboard fins, and the carpets the stains of liquids I’m frankly reluctant to investigate.
Then I looked across the road at the neighbours’ shiny black double-cab bakkie. Hmm …
Clearly time to challenge my vehicular prejudices. So I called the Nissan guy. Two reason for this. One, I like the Nissan guy. We’ve got some stuff in common — kids and bikes — and we’ve kind of become friends. And two, Nissan have both a small bakkie and a big bakkie in their line-up. Both are diesels which surely, if you’re going the bakkie route, is mandatory (right?). With Nissan, then, I could sample both sides of the spectrum.
Nissan NP200 1.5 dCi S
First up was the little NP200. Now here’s a car with a big task ahead of it. Not only is it stepping into the shoes of the legendary Nissan 1200 bakkie, but it’s stepping into a hotly contested niche with likes of the Ford Bantam, the Opel Corsa Utility and the Fiat Strada all vying for attention.
Engine-wise, the 1,5-litre turbo-diesel has class-leading muscle and it’s an impressive little power plant. The car is pretty well specced too, with electric everything, aircon, a killer sounds system, and 15-inch alloys. Basically all the things an outdoorsy single young bloke needs. And more, unfortunately. Just like all bakkies aimed at this market, it’s got way too many things attached to its person … thick plastic wheel arches — and protective sidestrips — huge, tubular roll bars. It’s like a teenage boy with way too much hair gel.
If I still wore so much hair gel, the NP200 would certainly vie with the Corsa as my small bakkie of choice. But I am not. So, ja, not so much for the NP200.
Nissan Navara 2.5dCi 4×4 LE D/C
OK, now this should be more like it. There’s nothing of the young poseur about the Navara. It’s a car of stature. It’s a car that knows and understands itself. A mature car. A car — with presence. Seriously. It’s bladdy huge. It looks like Nissan hewed the Navara out of a single block of granite, rather than assembled it at their Rosslyn factory.
Sitting behind the wheel, hair suddenly sprouted from my chest. My left hand instinctively moved to the CB radio at me knee, and my right to the air horn cable above my head. In the Navara, I owned the road. With that 2,5-litre turbo-diesel under the hood, there was enough grunt to tow our entire house should we decide on a spot of camping. And its durable interior and rhino-skinned load bay just asked to have stuff chucked into or on it — the bike — the surfboard — the wife and kid. What fun.
Was this really what I needed? A double-cab interior for the family and an open, scuff-resistant, load bay for all my kit — one that even comes with that heady masculine scent of Diesel Fume?
Yes.
I can’t believe I just said that.
My default setting would be to harp on about how much I love the quirky Swedishness of my Volvo and the well-proportioned aesthetics of its estate lines. And that I could never ever go for something as blatantly utilitarian as a bakkie. Blah blah, bladdy blah.
Well sod it. The Navara is a damn useful piece of kit and I want one.
Hey — I am getting old, aren’t I?
Fast facts
Nissan NP200 1.5 dCi S
Price: R174 000
Engine: 1 598cc, 63Kw, 200Nm
Transmission: five-speed manual, front wheel drive
Load area: 1 807mm x 1 024mm
Warranty: three year / 100 000 km
Nissan Navara 2.5dCi 4×4 LE D/C
Price: R389 000
Engine: 2 488cc direct injection, common rail turbo diesel, 128Kw, 403Nm
Transmission: six-speed manual. 4WD
Service plan: three year / 90 000 km
Warranty: three year/100 000 km