Johannesburg - Given the emphasis laid by automakers on the gentrification of the once-humble bakkie, you'd think that luxurious double cabs dominate the South African market.
The term "car-like" is widely applied with reference to finishes, suspensions and infotainment systems - as if a 'real bakkie' is somehow less worthy. We've even seen a double-cab referred to as "An SUV with a load bed".
Yet, despite strong growth in light commercial sales over the past 15 years, single-cab bakkie sales still outweigh those of double cabs two to one.
Whereas 70 885 single-cab bakkies and 26 453 double cabs were sold in South Africa in the whole of 2000, 71 339 single cabs and 35 384 double cabs hit the road in just the first nine months of 2015.
According to Lightstone analysts, there are two main reasons for this: you can't claim tax on a double cab, even when it's exclusively used for commercial purposes, and the extra cab space inevitably cuts down on load-bed volume.
So, when it comes to bakkies that work for a living, the single cab is still king, especially in the construction, mining and agricultural sectors.
MORE SURPRISES
But even when you narrow the field to double-cab statistics only, there are still some big surprises, starting with fuel preference. Fifteen years ago double-cab bakkies sales were fairly evenly distributed over petrol and diesel models - 57.89 percent diesel to 42.11 percent petrol.
In the first nine months of 2015, however, the percentage of diesel sales had jumped to 92.25 percent - an astonishing number given that most double-cab bakkies are used as family cars and also considering that petrol engines are considered superior to oil-burners for serious off-road work.
Which is also a telling pointer as to exactly how many 4x4 double-cab beetle crushers actually get driven off-road (other than the gravel parking lot at the country club).
Also very revealing is that the percentage of double-cab bakkies sold with automatic transmissions has risen from 1.28 percent in 2000 to 27.78 percent in 2015.
And yes, bakkiedom is still a man's world; even in 2015, only one in five double-cab buyers is female - although we strongly suspect that category may be under-reported, due to the number of lumbering one-tonners bought by guys who discover that they don't make good commuters and which then wind up as Mom's Taxis while Mr Machismo goes to work in her compact hatch.
Which is cheekily illustrated by the three Toyota Hilux TV commercials below. Enjoy.
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