Namibia's content-driven motoring portal
Golden geese, gift horses and hands that feed – surely you are familiar with these sayings? That’s as diplomatic as I can be about our latest long-term test vehicle, a bright red Isuzu KB X-Rider double cab bakkie which most of us at NamWheels drove over the festive season 2017 / 2018.
Henrie Geyser
Bakkies are hugely popular in this country, just like “UTEs” in Australia and “trucks” in Yankeeland, and Namibians have a vast choice of brands and models in 4×2 or 4×4, single or double cab guises to pick a load-carrying chariot of their choice.
As a city kid that was transplanted to a farm at the tender age of 10, a bakkie has always held a certain kind of magical fascination for me. I think it stems from those early days of embracing farm life on a massive estate that mixed dairy, sheep, fruit and grape farming into one fabulous whole and which was managed by friendly farm managers who didn’t mind nosy kids tagging along for a ride on the back of their sturdy farm bakkies.
Dit gebeur elke keer as ek met ‘n Isuzu 4×4 ry, die eerste ry-ervaring met ‘n Isuzu hier uit die tagtigerjare, die bakkie wat aanvanklik bekend was as die Chev Luv. Wat opgeval het was die feit dat hy dieselfde grondvryhoogte as die gewone 4×2 modelle gehad het en hoegenaamd nie bo die ander uitgetroon het nie.
Mededinging om ‘n beduidende aandeel in die mark vir bakkies in Suid-Afrika moet beslis van die taaiste in die wêreld wees. Die land se ekonomie word veral deur primêre sektore gedryf waar die funksionaliteit van veral die 1-tonners onontbeerlik is en wat gevolglik ideale bemarkingsomstandighede skep.
Die voortreflikheid, voorkoms, betroubaarheid en sommer alles wat mens van ‘n bakkie verwag is alles faktore wat daartoe bygedra het dat Isuzu se KB-reeks deur die jare ‘n reputasie opgebou het wat moeilik oortref sal word.