By: Jason Woosey
It goes without saying that the bakkie, or pick-up truck as it's know abroad, has come a long way from its humble origins as a rudimentary workhorse that was about as sophisticated as a rusty old axe.
Today double cab bakkies pound thorough the suburbs as family runabouts laden with luxury features although they're still not as comfortable as cars, owing to their body-on-frame construction.
Still, the bakkie market is only getting bigger and the traditional big players ( Toyota Hilux and Ford Ranger in South Africa) are having to face up to a whole batch of new contenders from brands that were never all that big on bakkies - some of them will even be built on unitary platforms to offer car-like comfort.
Let's take a look at the new pretenders on the bakkie scene, bearing in mind that not all of these have been confirmed for our market.
RENAULT DUSTER OROCH
The Renault Duster Oroch is one of the new-generation unibody bakkies developed for the South American market. The double cab claims to match the interior room offered by larger, traditional double cabs, while offering a more compact and refined alternative to them, based of course on the popular Renault Duster SUV. The Oroch has yet to be confirmed for the South African market, but it would certainly be an interesting proposition.
FIAT TORO
Fiat's new one-tonner is a natural rival to the Renault Oroch, except it's not visibly based on any existing product and it's somewhat more daringly styled. Interesting as it is, though, South Africa won't be getting the Toro. Fiat SA will instead offer the new Mitsubishi-based Fullback with traditional body-on-frame construction, and you can read more about it HERE .
HYUNDAI SANTA CRUZ
The Santa Cruz Crossover Truck is still strictly a concept, but it clearly shows that Hyundai is considering building a unibody bakkie aimed at traditional passenger car buyers that want a separate compartment to stash their dirty adventure gear. While the load bin is on the small side, the concept does have an extension mechanism to cater for larger loads. If it makes production, the Santa Cruz would surely carve itself a nice little niche in South Africa.
MERCEDES-BENZ ONE-TONNER
Mercedes-Benz is also reaching out for a slice of the bakkie market, although the new premium entrant will be aiming at well-heeled buyers that might have turned their noses up at the peasant bakkies that everyone else drives. Unlike the aforementioned three, the 'Benz will be a traditional ladder-frame offering and though it'll share a platform with the new Nissan Navara, the Merc will have its own style and snazzier fittings. This one is definitely coming to South Africa, before the end of this decade, and you can read more about it HERE .
RENAULT ALASKAN
Also sharing its underpinnings with the Merc and Nissan Navara, through its alliance ties, Renault's forthcoming one-ton bakkie aims to add a sprinkle or ten of French flair to the Hilux market. Expect the production version to look very similar to the Alaskan Concept you see here when it goes on sale abroad in the first half of 2016. Renault SA says it's currently under consideration for our market. More pics HERE .