- You want a double cab as your family vehicle. But what if Hilux and Ranger have too much theft and hijacking risk for where you live?
- Which other proven double cabs are there? With the ruggedness to gravel-travel and enough cabin comfort to work as a family vehicle.
- We share insider knowledge on what you need to know about alternatives from Isuzu, Nissan, and Mitsubishi.
Double cab bakkies are wildly popular in South Africa. For good reason. They are versatile, and with the latest in-cabin tech, you can use a double cab as a family vehicle and adventure vehicle. Not to mention the usefulness of that loadbin when you need to occasionally move bulky things.
But what if you don’t want to pay the premium for South Africa’s most commercially successful double cab bakkies? Hilux and Ranger dominate the double cab market, but they are expensive and the associated theft and hijacking risks are high. Which means lots of insurance premium creep, depending on where you live and where your double cab is parked most of the day.
There are excellent value double cab bakkies, offering a great driving and passenger experience, that aren’t Toyota or Ford. From established legacy car companies. If you don’t want to own an emerging brand Chinese or Indian double cab bakkie, these are the best Japanese options...
Mitsubishi Triton
By far the most underrated bakkie in South Africa. A small dealer network and pricey parts are the only debits. Although it doesn’t have the range of engine options that Hilux and Ranger offer, but has a better drivetrain than either.
Mitsubishi’s SuperSelect transfer case does things that other 4x4 bakkies can’t. Unlike other bakkie transfer cases, which lock the drive 50/50 in 4H on gravel roads, Triton’s SuperSelect can vary torque. That enables you to keep steering control and traction through long dirt-road corners – even at high speeds.
Effectively runs a Quattro-type 4x4 system at high speeds, on gravel roads. And when you are towing a heavy caravan, horsebox or boat trailer up a steep tar road, in the rain, Triton’s SuperSelect 4H setting gives you all the traction when rounding a tight, very steep, hairpin corner. It’s a huge safety feature win for drivers to tow a lot.
The Mitsubishi 2.4-litre turbodiesel engine isn’t particularly powerful, but Tritons are amazingly well-built. And have almost no theft or hijacking risk – unlike Hilux or Ranger.
Want a new or used Triton? Browse our available Triton bakkies for sale
Nissan Navara
Timelessly attractive bakkie design with low risk of theft and hijacking – unlike the market leaders from Ford and Toyota.
Navara’s 2.5 turbodiesel engine makes decent numbers (140kW/450Nm). But can’t compare with a Hilux 2.8 for overtaking and towing performance.
Only bakkie in class with coil-sprung rear suspension and a full 1t payload ability (Ranger Raptor also has coils, but much lower payload). Navara’s ride quality and stability on corrugated dirt roads can be class-leading with appropriate tyre pressures.
The cabin is feeling its age, with average materials and cramped rear-seat accommodation. It is worth remembering that Mercedes-Benz based its double cab on the Navara’s platform, so the core chassis is well engineered. Navara is locally built, which means there’s a reasonable onshore supply chain of parts
The Warrior version is a very capable off-road upgrade without compromising on-road performance. And Warrior is the best Navara you can buy, with Cooper AT3 all-terrain tyres and 270mm of ground clearance, making it a great all-terrain touring bakkie. With excellent pothole strike survivability and true expert level 4x4 trail capability.
Want a new or used Navara? Browse our available Navara bakkies for sale
Isuzu D-Max
Isuzu’s business is bakkies. And it builds more diesel engines than anyone else per year. That means dealerships are hyper-specialised in servicing bakkie customers. With bakkie needs.
D-Max bakkies don’t have the most powerful diesel engines or sophisticated automatic gearboxes. But all Isuzu engines run timing chains, instead of belts. Making them tremendously reliable long-term.
Suspension is specially configured for South African conditions. That means all versions of D-Max have excellent stability on severely corrugated dirt roads. Except for the OTT Arctic Truck version, which is a disappointing halo model. The Arctic Truck D-Max has a dramatic look, but it doesn't really work in local conditions and Ford's Ranger Raptor is a much better extreme 4x4 bakkie, as is Jeep's Gladiator.
D-Max’s cabin design is ageing a touch, and the hyperactive lane-keeping assist is intrusive, annoying and not easy to disable. But with much lower theft/hijacking risk than a Hilux, the D-Max is a real consideration.
Our buying advice? The 1.9 turbodiesels are a bit slow. So make sure to get a 3.0 turbodiesel, with LSE being the best trim level offering real value and good all-terrain driving ability.
Want a new or used D-Max? Browse our available D-Max bakkies vehicles for sale
