Cheapest and most expensive new cars per segment – pick-ups

Which are the cheapest and most expensive new pick-ups on the market in South Africa?

Pick-ups are available in 3 basic body styles, being single cab, extended cab (also cab-and-a-half) and double cab.  There is the regular bakkie with a bonnet, passenger cabin and read loadbay, and then there is the cab-over-engine (i.e. no bonnet) design as you’d find on most trucks.

If you need a bakkie for pure commercial use, a small cab-over-engine would perform most tasks, though if you need a more normal looking, driving and operating bakkie, you’d need to shop a regular-style pick-up.

Cab-over-engine

The cab-over-engine small pick-ups from the east are the cheapest new bakkies. 

The cheapest pick-up of any description one can buy new today is the Changan Star II.  Yes, it is the newer version of the Chana Star, which had to change its brand name.  A new Changan Star II 1.3 single cab is a cab-over-engine design, and is priced at R 106 990. 

Other cab-over-engine small pick-up are the Suzuki Carry 1.2 retailing for R 129 900, having been on the market for about a month now, and the Tata Super Ace EX2 1.4TD DLS which is the smallest and cheapest new diesel bakkie around, priced at R 159 995.

The bigger cab-over-engine bakkies are the most expensive, though can work the hardest:  these are the Hyundai H-100 Bakkie 2.6D models ranging from R 249 900 to R 304 900 for the tipper, and the Kia K2700/K2500 in the R 252 995 (K2700 chassis cab) to R 314 995 (K2500 tipper) price range.

Single cab

Often referred to as the workhorse bakkie, the trusty old single cab comes in 2 basic sizes, which tie in with their load-carrying capacity:  the ¾-tonner is the smaller type bakkie, originally derived as a bakkie version of a small hatchback, like the Ford Escort which became Ford Bantam, and Opel Corsa which became the Opel Corsa Utility (later re-branded Chevrolet Utility).  The Nissan 1400 was of course the ½-ton bakkie legend.

The new ¾-tonner pick-ups are the Chevrolet Utility and Nissan NP200.  These are priced to compete against one another – here you are looking at paying R 159 800 for a Chevrolet Utility 1.4 and for the Nissan NP200 1.6i, R 159 900.

The lowest-priced 1-ton payload is the Mahindra Bolero 2.5Di Maxitruck Plus, which costs just R 135 995 new.  Great for a tough don’t-care-to-scratch-it workload, but not suitable for use as business/private pick-up.

The Chinese bakkies offer the budget 1-ton prices:  the Foton Thunda 2.2 V has a price of a R 139 995, while the Tata Xenon 3.0L Fleetline retails at R 162 495, and the GWM Steed 5 2.2L Workhorse (called that) costs R 164 900 new, whereas a JMC Boarding 2.8TD is at R 174 880.  In common here, hence the low-low pricies – old tech and crudeness… great for a no-frills workhorse.
Getting to the more familiar-name bakkies, the cheapest you can buy is the Nissan NP300 Hardbody 2.0 from Nissan dealers at R 198 900, though look out for big specials on these venerable workhorses, with a design which refuses to age.  If you want something newer, the Ford Ranger 2.5 single cab base is R 221 900.  The just-launched Fiat Fullback 2.4 (Mitsubishi Triton derived) is on the price list at R 232 900, just-just under-cutting the Toyota Hilux 2.0 base at R 233 700 new.

The most expensive new single cabs on the market?  These must surely be the toughest and strongest?  They are… but also the old-school-est.  The Land Rover Defender 110 TD pick-up E is an icon (uses sparingly) which has just had an increase to R 559 700.  Production already stopped, so stock is on run-out.  The Nissan Patrol 3.0DTi pick-up is neck-and-neck with the Toyota Land Cruiser 79 4.2D – these legends price at R 563 900 and R 564 000, respectively.  Next, the Land Rover Defender 110 TD high-capacity pick-up E (HCPU in short, with higher load bay for bigger volume) costing R 577 600.  The 1st prize for most expensive single cab?  Toyota Land Cruiser 79 4.5D-4D LX V8, which is the old-school Land Cruiser bakkie, but with a kick: a 4.5-litre V8 turbodiesel low-revving engine.  Its price is R 645 400.

Extended cab

There is even a cab-over-engine extended cab little Changan bakkie, called Changan Star II 1.3 King cab, which sells at R 115 990.  By far the cheapest of its body type, and unique in this size.

When it comes to proper 1-tonner bakkies, though, the extended cab contenders are Ford Ranger 2.2 SuperCab Hi-Rider which went up to R 265 900 from July, though still by far the most affordable new 1-ton cab-and-a-half you can buy new.  How do they achieve this price point?  It does without equipment such as ABS brakes, airbags (optional), Bluetooth and electric windows, and has a lower-powered engine than other similar bakkies.  The next extended cab bakkies are in the R340k price bracket:  Isuzu KB 250D-Teq Extended cab Hi-Rider (R 337 400) and Mazda BT-50 2.2 FreeStyle Cab SLX (R 339 900) and Toyota Hilux 2.4GD-6 Xtra cab SRX (R 340 900).  

Only Ford has an extended cab in 4x4 and with automatic, and in lux spec, making it the most expensive of its type:  Ford Ranger 3.2 SuperCab 4x4 XLT auto (R 514 900).

Note to VAT-registered business owners:  these extended cab pick-ups are classified as light commercials, so the 14% VAT included in these retail prices can be claimed back from SARS.

Double cab

The Chinese/Indian cheapies are in the price lead here in the double cab sector, too:  GWM Steed 5 2.2L double cab Lux costs R 184 900 new, Foton Thunda 2.2 double cab CV at R 184 995, with Mahindra Bolero 2.5TD double cab and Tata Xenon 3.0L double cab DLE being the last new d/cabs you can buy new for under R200k, at R 197 995 and R 199 995, respectively.  There is a spread of GWM, JMC, SsangYong, Mahindra and Tata double cabs under R300k.

But a double cab is (most often) not a pure workhorse, so some social/street acceptability is what you need, then look at the Ford Ranger 2.2 double cab Hi-Rider which costs R 290 900 – it is basic spec, though.  The next cheapest is the Isuzu KB 250D-Teq double cab Hi-Rider for R 344 400, and above 350 thousand you enter the Nissan NP300 double cab, Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara area.

Must have 4x4?  Cheapest double cab 4x4 is – you guessed it, these are from the East but not Japan – JMC Boarding 2.8TD double cab 4x4 Lux at R 222 880 and Mahindra Bolero 2.5TD double cab 4x4 (R 226 995).  Ford Ranger 2.2 double cab 4x4 XL (now with some decent spec) is priced at R 411 900.

Priciest of the double cab bunch?  These are over R600k.  Of the modern double cab brigade, the Toyota Hilux 4.0 V6 double cab 4x4 Raider auto sits at R 606 400, while the limited-edition high-specced Volkswagen Amarok 2.0BiTDI double cab Highline 4Motion Ultimate auto has an RRP of R 628 700.

Back to old-school (as per single cabs) the Land Cruiser versus Defender tug-of-war continues:  a Land Rover Defender 110 TD double cab S costs R 665 052, while the really long Land Rover Defender 130 TD crew cab E (130 indicates the wheelbase in inches) has a price of R 674 852.  The Toyota Land Cruiser 79 4.5D-4D LX V8 double cab asks the most money for a new double cab, though, at R 706 200.

Source:  duoporta vehicle information specialists