The little Blue Oval bakkie that could… and still does

In a bakkie-mad country where our favourite vehicle come in all shapes and sizes, it’s hard to believe that there is still only one half-tonner available on the new car market today.

The Nissan NP200 has for a long time on its own carried the flag for the smaller bakkie segment which was once jam-packed with offerings such as the Ford Bantam, Opel Corsa/Chevrolet Utility, Fiat Strada and Proton Arena. But with the NP200 range starting just under R200k on the showroom floor, anyone in the market for a half-tonner will be wise to shop around for pre-owned models.

This way you are not limited to a NP200 and might be pleasantly surprised by the amount of half-tonners on offer which is still in decent nick, carrying much more affordable price tags. We have been searching around the pre-owned half-tonner segment online and on Saturday will focus specifically on the Bantam.

The production of this much-loved South African icon might have ceased as long ago as 2011, but after nine years you’ll still find plenty of these little versatile workhorses on our roads. And quite a lot of them are looking for new homes too.

The third generation Bantam, which was assembled by Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa in Silverton from 2002 and based on the fifth generation Fiesta, was initially available in two petrol derivatives, the 1.3 and 1.6-litre. The model underwent two facelifts with various spec grades and towards the end of its life cycle and also adopted a 1.4-litre Duratorq diesel engine.

On Saturday citizen.co.za will showcase the finest selection of pre-owned Bantams we could find.

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