It’s just after 7am on the Sunday of the Cape Argus and my big 3.0 D-4D is clattering through a maze of closed roads in Cape Town’s CBD. The wind is pumping, rocking the burly single cab from side to side like a student car at a drive-in.

Unlike the cleat-clinging cyclists, I feel really good. I’m off for a few days’ break in a brand-new Hilux with barely 120km on the odo. Life is great.

I finally hit the N1 and the congestion clears, the Hilux now cruising effortlessly in long-ratio fifth gear. My plan is to give the latest addition to our long term test fleet a good ‘bed-in’ run along Route 62 to Wilderness and Plettenberg Bay.

Driving past the winelands, through the tunnel and out on the open roads of the hinterland, the sheer bakkie count makes you realise that South Africa is pure Hilux country. And rush is no part of it. Even though this picturesque route has some of the best driving roads in the country, we had no intention of careering through like a mountain pass muncher. The Hilux is a consummate cruiser and, like all bakkies, has its own practical appeal.

My affinity for them stems from my old man, who owned every conceivable Hilux from a 2200 petrol, via two successive 2.4Ds to a gutless 2800 (later fitted with a Cirrus intercooler and Alpine turbo for some more oomph). They towed everything from racing cars to ski boats without fail. Sadly each of these machines eventually got nicked or hijacked (that’s Johannesburg for you), prompting a change of allegiance to his current Colt 2800 diesel.

For this long-termer, Toyota has dipped into their Genuine Accessories bin, kitting out our single cab with a removable towbar, running boards and a colour-coded canopy. The SA canopy is a quality item and is thus far keeping out the dust and damp. We’re hoping to get a bicycle rack and durable rubber mat to protect the load bay in the course of the year ahead.

Packing for a trip has never been so easy with all that space in the rear load box. It easily swallowed two mountain bikes, two golf bags, a king’s ransom in groceries and my girlfriend’s numerous suitcases. With any other vehicle, a load like this would have required my best Tetris skills.

Packing space and go-anywhere practicality typifies the single cab’s appeal, but be wary of that long rear when reversing in and around tight confines. But its most attractive asset has to be the diesel powertrain. So far it has averaged only 8.6ℓ/100km, and this great fuel index should improve further with more miles under its belt. 

Needless to say, I’m already planning my next getaway. 

UPS | Long-legged diesel power, packing space galore
DOWNS | Mind that long rear end when reversing