- Already most frugal, now confirmed as most affordable to maintain & repair.
Rosslyn, South Africa - Nissan is keeping the wheels of industry turning with the most cost effective single cab pickups on the market.
According to the 2015 Kinsey Report, Nissan South Africa’s locally manufactured workhorses, the one ton NP300 Hardbody and half-ton NP200, are the pickups to own if you are shopping for a new bakkie. What is even more impressive, is that these pickups are also the most affordable to repair.
The Kinsey Report states that the Nissan NP200 is the most affordable single-cab pickup and half-ton pickup to service and maintain in South Africa, while the NP300 Hardbody was the second most affordable overall and the most affordable to service and maintain of all the tested one-ton pickups.
Nissan manufactures the NP200 and NP300 Hardbody at its South African production facility in Rosslyn, north of Pretoria, from where it also exports these models to several countries in Africa.
"We have spent a considerable amount of time and engineering effort in optimising our production methods and in supporting local part suppliers. It is very heartening to see this hard work being rewarded by the authoritative Kinsey Report," says Mike Whitfield, Managing Director of Nissan South Africa.
Nissan’s engineering efforts has already paid dividends, after tests by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) reported an combined cycle fuel consumption of 6,8 litres/100 km for the 2.5 DCI single cab NP300 Hardbody and 5.3 litres/100 km for the NP200 with 1.5 dCi engine. This makes the NP200 and NP300 Hardbody the most frugal pickups on the market and means that the NP-range of pickups are the most affordable to service, operate and repair.
The annual Kinsey Report this year celebrates its 26th anniversary of publication.
Every year Malcolm Kinsey, a journalist and industry specialist, selects a range of vehicles and a list of crash and service parts. He then anonymously sources the prices of these parts at dealers across South Africa and ranks the cost of service and repair of the selected vehicles in specific segments.
It is the second year running that the Kinsey Report has included entry-level single cab pickups in its report. Last year the Nissan NP300 Hardbody was identified as the most affordable to service and maintain in this category, while the Nissan NP200 ranked in the top three overall and was the most affordable to maintain and repair in the sub one-ton category.
The two Nissan pickups are joined by the Nissan Micra, which was selected as one of the most affordable city and entry-level vehicles to maintain and repair in South Africa. The Micra was just pipped to the post by the entry-level GO! from sister company, Datsun, and like its pickup brothers it was commended for its affordable service and repair costs.
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