+ Click to Enlarge UPPER-CRUST HALF-TONNER: Nobody said a bakkie had to be plain and Ford's latest Bantam bakkie prove it - smooth lines, smart wheels and a load bed cover come with the XLE 1.6i model. Pictures: LES STEPHENSON

July 20, 2003
By Dave Abrahams

The new Bantam is the first major upgrade for Ford's popular half-tonner since the advent nearly two decades ago of the original Mazda-based Bantam. The company has been at pains to tell the world that this model is "all Ford" with no Mazda components.

It's aimed at the upper end of the light utility field, as well as the leisure market, where it should be well-suited to carrying the surfboards, quads and other toys of South Africa's outdoors-loving weekend warriors.

Looks: The new Bantam bears a strong family resemblance to the Fiesta and, more recently, the Ikon, with its elegantly aerodynamic front and completely new grille, colour coded on the range topping 1.6XLE which IOL had for review.

Concealed drip rails help with streamlining, along with the integrated air dam, while flush-mounted body panels with reduced shut lines reduce wind noise and turbulence. The little extra window aft of each door gives it the biggest cab and the most leg-room in its class, as well as ensuring very good all-round vision.

Careful redesigning of the interior around the Ikon fascia moulding gives it the best head and shoulder-room.

The transition from the car-like front section to the squared-off load bay is neatly handled and the wheel-arch mouldings add definition to the large side panels. Little polyurethane "bumperettes" do the same for the tailgate while protecting the tail light clusters from parking-lot dings.

There's also a plastic-lined step let into the body on each side of to improve access to the load, especially when you're busy tying down a bulky load, a feature unique to this model.

Legs: The Bantam is motivated by the now-familiar RoCam engine, built by the thousand at the Struandale engine plant in East London. The fuel-injected, 1597cc version used in the XLE is rated at 70kW at 5500rpm with maximum torque of 137Nm coming up at 2500rpm.

It drives the front wheels via a predictable clutch with a solid take-up and a pleasantly slick-shifting five-speed gearbox based on that employed in the Fiesta and Ikon.

On the road the motor is remarkably quiet; most of the time the tyre roar was louder than the drive train. With the windows closed the only time we could hear it working was under hard acceleration.

Ford speedometers are traditionally very accurate and this one is no different. Over 10km at a steady 120km/h it under-read by an insignificant 0.607%. True top speed, in standard street trim with two adults aboard, works out at 171.03km/h.

True speeds through the gears (at 6000rpm, except for top) were:
1st: 45.3km/h
2nd: 82.5km/h
3rd: 121.7km/h
4th: 155.9km/h
5th: 171.03km/h

Dumping the clutch at 4000 revs produced a brief but eminently satisfying burst of wheelspin. Sprinting to 100km/h required an average expenditure of 12.38sec, while the standing kilometre took 32.85sec, achieving a terminal velocity of 156km/h.

In the overtaking tests the little bakkie pulled from 80 to 120km/h in an average 8.9sec, staying in third gear. It pulled even harder in fourth, starting from slightly higher revs, and shot up from 100 to 140 in a very creditable 5.34sec.

However, the Bantam accelerates slowly in top – always change down for overtaking.

Ford's workpony (it's too little and cute to be a horse) has disc brakes in front and drums on the dead rear axle with a load-apportioning valve to prevent rear-wheel lockup when the load bay is empty. It works; when we overdid it in testing the front wheels always locked up first.

The Bantam isn't fitted with ABS and the brakes are very sharp; an injudicious jab at the pedal will usually provoke a chirp of protest from the 175/65 radials. Ex-racer Jenni Peters got her best results by initially braking quite gently and then rapidly increasing the pressure on the pedal to bring the vehicle's nose down sharply as it scrubbed off speed, pulling slightly but consistently to the left.

Emergency stops from 100km/h to a standstill averaged 3.56 seconds, with a best of 3.19sec.

Fuel consumption averaged out at 9.36 litres/100km over the nine-day test period. With a full payload (the Bantam is actually rated for 630kg) it will obviously be considerably thirstier.

The power-assisted steering is a boon in city traffic. Together with its light clutch and slick gearshift, driving the Bantam around town is effortless. At highways speeds, however, the test vehicle displayed a slight tendency to wander which had both drivers constantly correcting the steering.

The steering tightens up nicely as speeds increase but there's a lack of feel around the centre, as well as too little self-centring action. After a while you don't even notice you're doing it but it would become tiring on a long journey.

Around corners the front Macpherson struts and gas-filled shocks make the steering positive and accurate, right up to the point where mild understeer sets in - I didn't push it any further than that. The rear rides on a conventional dead axle, also on gas-filled struts.

Together they give the Bantam a comfortable, car-like ride, slightly bouncy on really poor surfaces (once again – unloaded), but generally very good by bakkie standards. Very little road noise gets into the cabin, although Peters mentioned a gentle bass booming which is not an engine noise.

I declutched and idled down a hill at 110km/h and the noise stayed the same – it was probably the empty load bay acting as a sub-woofer!

The fanciest edition of Ford's littlest load-carrier comes with an impressive list of safety features, starting with driver and passenger crash bags, three-point pre-tensioned inertia seat belts, side impact beams and sturdy cab protection bars over the sliding rear window.

An inertia fuel cut-off valve reduces the risk of fire after an impact.

There's a high-mounted brake light on the back of the cab which will, however, completely disappear as soon as a canopy is fitted, as is the case with most light pick-ups in South Africa.

Luxury: The interior of the new Bantam is based on the Ikon and in fact uses the fascia from Ford's Indian-based world car unchanged. The smoothly curved dash looks (and feels) a little plasticky but all the controls are positive and nicely weighted, with the single exception of the airflow director for the air conditioning, which feels loose and indistinct.

The seats and door panels are trimmed in cloth, while the floor and rear storage area are finished in cut-pile carpeting.

The XLE's standard features include electric windows, electrically adjustable exterior mirrors, immobiliser and central locking via the key. The ignition key will in fact open both doors from either lock; as Herself never tires of pointing out, in this land of violent hijackings that imposes an unacceptable risk factor.

The air-conditioning has rather basic controls but operates efficiently to cool the interior of the vehicle even when it's been standing in the sun. On cold mornings the "demist" setting in particular cleared the windscreen with impressive alacrity.

The sound system has an FM/AM radio with a single front-loading CD slot and four speakers, two in the doors and two behind the seats, delivering better than reasonable sound quality.

Luggage: There's plenty of places for stashing things in the spacious cabin, including little cloth pockets in the front of the seats, door pockets, a headlining stowage net for eyewear and a lockable cubby.

There's also a CD-sized, covered storage box on the fascia for eyewear and cell-phones, as well as two little oddment bins in the centre console.

The narrow shelf behind the seats has a neat sliding double cupholder and what yachties would call a lee-board – a little wall in front which stops loose items such as pens and calculators rolling off and getting lost behind the seats.

The 1635-litre load bay, 1030mm wide between the wheel arches, will take a standard square-metre industrial pallet (it's the only half-tonner that can). It's fitted with a plastic cover as standard on all but the base models and the tail-gate has an easy-to-use single central release.

Competitors: The only other competing half-ton bakkie on the SA market based on current technology is the Opel Corsa 1.6iS Sport, the Mazda 1600 Rustler (which is actually this Bantam's predecessor under another badge), the Nissan 1400 and VW Caddy all have their roots firmly in the 1970s.

Conclusion:The Bantam is firmly parked at the top of its class and its premium price reflects this; the XLE is aimed mostly at the leisure market, with all the features that requires. Aside from the slight wander in the straight-line steering, it's fun to drive with light positive controls and a robust feel.

It comes with a three-year, 100 000km warranty.

Balance Sheet:
For:
Spacious cab
Quality upholstery and carpets
All-round visibility
Sporty handling and roadholding
Good sound system.

Against::
High price
Wandering steering
Plasticky fascia
All-or-nothing central locking.

Price: R127 306.

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Specifications:

Engine: Water-cooled, transverse-mounted, four-cylinder, fuel-injected RoCam, displacing 1597cc.
Power/torque: 70kW at 5500rpm, 137Nm at 2500rpm.
Transmission: Front-wheel drive via five-speed manual, floor shift.
Wheels and tyres: 14” alloy rims shod with 175/65 radials.
Brakes: Discs front, drums rear.
Suspension: Macpherson struts with gas-filled shock-absorbers and anti-roll bar front, dead axle with leaf springs and gas-filled shoc-absorbers rear.
Dimensions: Length 4.269m, width 1.634m, height 1.465m.
Capacities: Two passengers, 54 litres fuel, luggage volume 1635 litres in load bay.
Licensing mass: 1055kg.
Warranty: Three-year or 100 000km.
Service intervals: 15 000km.
Competition in class: The only half-ton pick-up in the same engine capacity and price bracket is the Opel Corsa Utility 1.6iS Sport at R116 650.

Price: R127 306.