What makes a vehicle a good towcar? Is it all about power and torque? Does the secret lie in the gearing? Or does the secret to hassle-free towing lie in advanced gadgets and gizmos such as trailer-sway control and stability control?
We recently attempted to find out what double cab bakkie is best for towing a caravan. The vehicles we tested were as follows (all the bakkies were diesels):
- Ford Ranger 2,2 TDCi
- Ford Ranger 3,2 TDCi
- Foton Tunland 2.8 TD
- GWM Steed 5 VGT
- Isuzu KB300 D-TEQ
- Mazda BT-50 2,2 CRDi
- Mazda BT-50 3,2 CRDi
- Mitsubishi Triton 2,5 DI-D
- Nissan NP300 2,5 dCi
- Nissan Navara 2,5 dCi
- Toyota Hilux 3,0 D-4D
- Volkswagen Amarok 2,0 BiTDi
I also formed part of the judging panel, and going into the test, I was pretty sure I knew which one would perform the best. I was also confident that I could identify those that would be abysmal. Some of the bakkies, though, really surprised me. For example, despite its age and the fact that it is on the cusp of replacement, the KB did very well. It didn’t boast the brute strength or fancy gadgets of some of the newer bakkies, but it performed admirably. The Triton’s 2,5-litre oilburner also managed to hold its own surprisingly well against the burlier engines. What surprised me most, though, was that the vehicle I thought would impress me most in fact didn’t. The bakkie that I liked the most was, in my opinion, a fairly unlikely contender.
