Early in the morning of May 21 a trio of Nissan Hardbody single cab 4x2 bakkies left the Nissan headquarters in Midrand, crewed by three intrepid Johannesburg-based motoring journalists, and three Nissan staff members. Their mission: to get the vehicles to Cape Town by May 26, and deliver a cargo of 2,4 tons of Iwisa maize meal donated by Premier Foods to a worthy charity in the Mother City.
The first leg of the journey saw the vehicles travel to Durban, where a further three journalists took over the driving of the Hardbody Hi-Rider single cabs. Nissan bakkies have built up an enviable reputation over the years, and the scribes were exposed to all of the brand's high-tech powerplants; namely the acclaimed 3,0-litre16-valve turbodiesel, as well as the gutsy 2,4-litre 16-valve 4-cylinder and the brawny 3,3-litre V6 petrol engines.
The Durban writers embarked on the longest leg of the journey both in terms of time and distance on the morning of May 22, with East London their target. They travelled via the old Transkei, and once they arrived at their destination in the Eastern Cape they were put on an aeroplane back to Durban, but for the Hardbody single cabs the journey had just reached its halfway mark. The next group of writers also appreciated the trimmings that come with the SE specification, and comfort and convenience features fitted to these popular single cabs include carpeted interior, individual seats with full cloth upholstery, air conditioning, central locking, cupholders, tuner/CD-player and map reading lights.
After Eastern Cape journalists drove the bakkies in and around East London on May 23, it was a short hop to Port Elizabeth, where another three writers got behind the wheels the following day. They had the enviable talk of carting the precious cargo around the picturesque mountain passes in the Baviaanskloof and Gamtoos-valley area.
While the VG33E big six with its 125 kW and 265 Nm was undoubtfully the favourite for the high speed haul to George, the 2,4-litre petrol was certainly not left behind. With a class-leading 110 kW and a useful 208 Nm of torque it can certainly hold its own on a freeway – or any road for that matter. The 3,0-litre turbodiesel was something of a revelation both in terms of performance and fuel consumption, even with the loadbox loaded almost to its gills with its cargo of dozens of 12,5 kilogram bags of maize meal. For those who don't yet know it, the four-cylinder multivalve oilburner has turned the diesel bakkie market on its head since its introduction in April 2002, and its 105 kW and lusty 314 Nm at just 2 000 revs/min have made it a hot favourite with bakkie operators.
On Monday May 26 three Cape Town scribes flew to George to take over the driving duties for the final leg back to their home town. Winding their way through the passes of the Swartberg mountain ranges the three Hardbody single cabs demonstrated their handling houling abilities under fully laden condition. The three vehicles, the three journalists and the three Nissan personnel reached their destination by late afternoon on Monday, early enough to have the cargo distributed to the Mowbray-based Feedback Food Redistribution in time for supper. For many of the hungry that the organisation feeds, it really was precious cargo.
# # #
