Let me let you know, South African bakkies don’t come a lot better than the Ford Ranger Tremor I’ve been driving. You already know my top five every-day features on this robust double cab, however after spending but extra time behind the wheel, I discovered myself getting a tad whimsical about South African bakkies …

NOW IS THE TIME FOR SOUTH AFRICAN BAKKIES TO SHINE

You see, the writing – in automotive phrases – has been on the wall for a while now. We’ve all seen it coming however maybe couldn’t permit ourselves to say it out loud. I’m speaking in regards to the remarkably fast death of ‘status cars’ in South Africa … and across the globe. I personally assume you may hint it again to (partially) the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, the sale of high-priced, flashy vehicles has been in steep decline. Replaced, in flip, by reasonably priced counter-offerings from the Far East and – that’s proper – unflappable South African bakkies!

’64 BEETLE, BABY

Although, my very own interpretation of standing on wheels is checkered at finest. My first automotive was rear engined, air cooled and penned by Ferdinand Porsche. Not a Porsche 911, however a ‘64 Volkswagen Beetle. A lovely one, too, with the small rear window and ornate bumpers. And as a student when it broke down for the one-squillionth time on the side of the road in Mowbray, that was it. With no money to fix it, I simply left it there to be towed, impounded, never to be seen again. I do sometimes wonder what ever happened to ‘Sherman’. It actually rattled round like a tank.  

BUT IT’S GOT A WING!

My subsequent automotive buy was made purely on the energy of how a lot it wasn’t a VW sh!tty Golf. The ‘99 Nissan Sabre I settled upon was cheaper than a Chico. But so far as I could tell it was superior in every single department. Engine size, power output, performance and specification (power steering and electric windows). And it had the most-coveted thing any bloke in his twenties pines for – a rear wing! I still have it, except it’s required a number of minor (and main) coronary heart transplants in later life as a track-day toy.

THE ROOT OF VOLVO LOVE

However, maybe my worst motoring fake pas got here a number of years earlier, once I needed to acquire a matric dance date I wished to impress very a lot. The beige VW Jetta GLX we owned, as fantastic because the previous lass was, wouldn’t suffice on this event. So, my dad dutifully launched into a scouting mission. The automotive that materialised was a mid-‘90s Volvo 850 Sedan of a decidedly cream disposition. He managed to borrow the Swedish hunk of metallic from a piece colleague of his.

I used to be quite taken with it, to be honest, and was feeling good in regards to the night. It definitely had essentially the most buttons I’d ever seen on a dashboard. And it’s headlamps had little wipers! Even if I used to be far too younger to understand what a pioneering force Volvo already was in road safety (inventor of the three-point seat belt, deforming bumpers, et al). Because, sure, that type of kudos is bound to impress at a matric dance afterparty.

You can think about my disappointment then, as we ascended a protracted, steep driveway to a palatial mansion within the prosperous suburb of Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria. After being buzzed via the gates, my dad parked behind a veritable phalanx of luxurious Mercedes-Benzes. The complete scene regarded like one thing out of Scarface. Needless to say, the night time didn’t proceed as I had imagined. Oh, I point out all this as a result of I personal Volvo now. Except mine’s white and is a station wagon.

WHAT’S THIS GOT TO DO WITH BAKKIES?

Since then, I’ve by no means been too impressed by ‘status cars’ and what they characterize. In reality, that’s the second I made a decision I couldn’t care much less about how prosperous a automotive made you look. Like the various nice South African bakkies on provide right now, I a lot favor a automobile’s utility to do the heavy lifting. Like the Ford Ranger Tremor that I’ve completely changed into a leisure lifestyler over the summer time.

Not one journey over the past month hasn’t detoured previous a seashore, tidal pool or mountaineering path. The surfboards have sat strapped proudly (if barely awkwardly) to the Tremor’s sports activities bar. And the intelligent plastic ground mats have earned their preserve tenfold, retaining sand and water at bay in its footwells. Better nonetheless, the Ford Ranger Tremor, with its elevated journey peak and chunky all-terrain tyres, will get an all-knowing nod wherever it goes. Aficionados of South African bakkies know what’s what. Like I stated, you may’t go improper with the one enduring automotive standing image.

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM SOUTH AFRICAN CAR?

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