SA Road Tests

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Retrospective: South Africa’s biggest double cabs of 2022

A bit more

Pics supplied
Posted: January 11, 2023

This is the quiet time with motor manufacturers’ press fleets still in festive season storage. And nothing happening apart from a Dakar Rally staged in Saudi Arabia. But deadlines still loom.

At such times writers traditionally revisit the fast, frantic and fancy cars they drove the previous year. But how about something different; South Africa’s biggest dual-cab pickups of 2022? One is longest, next-widest, second-tallest and most expensive while the other simply has the biggest load box presently available. That they hail from the same, very extended, manufacturing family is pure coincidence.

First up is Jeep’s Gladiator Rubicon, an impressive 185 mm longer than its closest length challenger, Ford Ranger; as broad as Nissan Navara and bested, only in height, by Toyota’s Land Cruiser 79 that is otherwise the shortest and third-narrowest of local offerings.

Power is supplied by a 3.6-litre, V6 petrol motor without turbocharger, gearing is courtesy of a ZF-Chrysler eight-speed automatic, and it has more off-road kit than anything else seen lately. Not just one, but two, electrically switched differential locks; front sway bar disconnection to increase wheel articulation by thirty percent; 2High, two levels of 4High; extra skid plates and reinforcing bars; virtual gauges covering fluid temperatures, oil pressure, tilt and inclination. And a four-way panel partly pre-wired for accessories like long-range driving lamps and winches.

A further attribute is Off-Road Plus. When engaged, it automatically evaluates terrain and adjusts key systems - throttle, Selec-Speed Control, adhesion control and transmission shift mode - for optimal operation. When enabled in 4-HI, it tailors traction for higher-speed sand performance. In 4-LO, it optimises for low-speed rock-crawling.

It’s pleasantly old-school with analogue instruments, big square windows for clear views outward, manual seat adjusters, non-folding mirrors, climb-in handles at all doorways, plain transfer case- and gear selectors and a mechanical hand brake. Depending on weather conditions, one might remove doors and roof sections, or lay the windscreen down on the bonnet - should its crew be partial to catching winged creatures in their teeth. Safety conscious buyers might balk at the fact that, like the Cruiser, it offers just two airbags.

Then we have Peugeot’s Landtrek. Built in partnership with Chinese manufacturer Changan, it uses a 1.9-litre turbo-diesel and a six-speed automatic transmission designed by GM and built in France. One can have it in either 4x2 or 4x4.

It is generally more modern; having six airbags, ABS brakes with EBD, ESP, traction control, automatic door locking, hill start, hill descent, reversing cameras, and trailer sway control. The 4x4 version features a transfer case providing 2high, 4high and 4low; side steps; tyre pressure monitoring; lane keeping alert; power adjustable seats with lumbar support for driver and front passenger, and satnav.

But its unique selling point is the bin; 1630 mm long by 1638 wide with 1220 mm between wheel arches, it’s the biggest in the local dual-cab business and able to accommodate two DIN pallets, measuring 1200 x 800 mm, one behind the other. Further, unlike most dual-cab offerings, the 4x2’s rated payload is 1085 kg (1015 kg on 4x4) with driver, rather than the roughly 800 kg offered by most competitors.

There is, unfortunately, a downside to fitting a longer bin into a dual-cab frame that’s much the same length as everyone else’s; six-foot back seat passengers, seated behind equally tall drivers, find themselves strapped for knee room although headspace is fine. And performance, from its smaller-than-most engine, scores “satisfactory” rather than “great.”

Not everyone agrees that “biggest is always best” but should you need a bit more load capacity, or extra off-road ability, one of these would be worth a second look.

Test units from Stellantis SA press fleet.

Prices
Jeep Gladiator: R1 329 900
Peugeot Landtrek: 4x2 at R599 900, 4x4 at R689 900