OPINION: South African bakkies – an enduring status symbol

Let me tell you, South African bakkies don’t come much better than the Ford Ranger Tremor I’ve been driving. You already know my top five every-day features on this tough double cab, but after spending yet more time behind the wheel, I found 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 terms – has been on the wall for some time now. We’ve all seen it coming but perhaps couldn’t allow ourselves to say it out loud. I’m talking about the remarkably quick death of ‘status cars’ in South Africa … and around the globe. I personally think you can trace it back to (in part) the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, the sale of expensive, flashy cars has been in steep decline. Replaced, in turn, by affordable counter-offerings from the Far East and – that’s right – unflappable South African bakkies!

’64 BEETLE, BABY

Although, my own interpretation of status on wheels is checkered at best. My first car was rear engined, air cooled and penned by Ferdinand Porsche. Not a Porsche 911, but 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 really rattled around like a tank.  

BUT IT’S GOT A WING!

My next car purchase was made purely on the strength of how much 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 few minor (and major) heart transplants in later life as a track-day toy.

THE ROOT OF VOLVO LOVE

However, perhaps my worst motoring faux pas came a few years earlier, when I had to collect a matric dance date I wanted to impress very much. The beige VW Jetta GLX we owned, as wonderful as the old lass was, would not suffice on this occasion. So, my dad dutifully embarked on a scouting mission. The car that materialised was a mid-‘90s Volvo 850 Sedan of a decidedly cream disposition. He managed to borrow the Swedish hunk of metal from a work colleague of his.

I was rather taken with it, to be fair, and was feeling good about the evening. It certainly had the most buttons I’d ever seen on a dashboard. And it’s headlamps had little wipers! Even if I was far too young to appreciate what a pioneering force Volvo already was in road safety (inventor of the three-point seat belt, deforming bumpers, et al). Because, yes, that sort of kudos is sure to impress at a matric dance afterparty.

You can imagine my disappointment then, as we ascended a long, steep driveway to a palatial mansion in the affluent suburb of Waterkloof Ridge, Pretoria. After being buzzed through the gates, my dad parked behind a veritable phalanx of luxury Mercedes-Benzes. The whole scene looked like something out of Scarface. Needless to say, the night didn’t proceed as I had imagined. Oh, I mention all this because I own Volvo now. Except mine’s white and is a station wagon.

WHAT’S THIS GOT TO DO WITH BAKKIES?

Since then, I’ve never been too impressed by ‘status cars’ and what they represent. In fact, that’s the moment I decided I couldn’t care less about how affluent a car made you look. Like the many great South African bakkies on offer today, I much prefer a vehicle’s utility to do the heavy lifting. Like the Ford Ranger Tremor that I have absolutely turned into a leisure lifestyler over the summer.

Not one trip over the last month hasn’t detoured past a beach, tidal pool or hiking trail. The surfboards have sat strapped proudly (if slightly awkwardly) to the Tremor’s sports bar. And the clever plastic floor mats have earned their keep tenfold, keeping sand and water at bay in its footwells. Better still, the Ford Ranger Tremor, with its increased ride height and chunky all-terrain tyres, gets an all-knowing nod wherever it goes. Aficionados of South African bakkies know what’s what. Like I said, you can’t go wrong with the only enduring automotive status symbol.

WHAT’S YOUR DREAM SOUTH AFRICAN CAR?

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