The Ford Bantam has always been a success story for Ford. From the glory days of the fabled 2.0 EGi to the “You need a Bantam, boet” days, the Bantam has become a South African mainstay, with it being known as the definitive half-ton workhorse. While the Bantam shape might have changed in recent years, it stays true to its roots by being rock solid and reliable as ever, offering exceptional valve for its price. And now with more models being launched by other manufacturers to contest this competitive market, its no surprise that Ford has upped the ante with an all-new Bantam, that they hope will once again make this segment their own.

The new Bantam features a sporty front-end thats more in line with Ford’s current face. New headlights, a meatier bumper and foglights dominate the striking front-end. The rear remains more-or-less unchanged bar for the revised taillights. The loading bay of the Bantam is impressive and capable of swallowing copious amounts of gear. There is some debate as to whether the face of the new Fiesta should have endowed the Bantam, but personally I feel, the boxy rear of the bakkie would not have complimented the angular front entirely. One pitfall of the Bantam is that, compared with the Opel Corsa Ute and the Fiat Strada, there is not enough aftermarket aesthetic bolt-ons available for the Bantam, and I think this to a certain degree has affected sales by the younger market. On the flip side of that coin, the Bantam along with the Nissan NP200, are regarded as genuine workhorses that deliver.

The interior whilst a comfortable place to be, is bitter-sweet. Positives being that the cabin is very roomy, with a decent amount of stowage space. Leg room is adequate for even taller folk. Headroom is also very impressive, with the footwells able to accommodate small bags with someone seated comfortably. Although, finding a hiding place for my laptop was a bit of a conundrum. The airconditioner is also extremely effective. That bring us to the negatives…sitting in the drivers seat of the Bantam reminded me of sitting in an old Sierra…build quality is unimpressive with the roof lining already showing wear. The dash looked as if it was pulled out of the Ford parts bin from the early 80s and there are no airbags! The cherry on top was the front loader CD that didn’t even have MP3 functionality. That is almost inexcusable in a modern vehicle!

Our Bantam was fitted with a 1400 turbo diesel engine. This lump was very impressive and pulled strongly in every gear. Although it only produces 160 nm of torque at 2000rpm, the gearing was spot on, with each gear-change dropping the rpm only 500rpm, so you are always slap-bang in the middle of the torque spread. Although at 120kmh, the engine is turning at 3000rpm, there is no compromise on fuel. This also translates into amazing fuel economy, with us registering well over 700kms on a single tank of diesel. The 0-100 dash however comes up in a while, but this was never intended on being an all-out sprinter. However, get yourself in the middle of the torque spread and you will be very impressed with this little Bantam. Handling is also stellar, helped by the wider new wheels. But perhaps some ABS braking would have been nice?

The Bantam 1.4 TDCi is priced at a shade under R150,000 and is proudly South African, in that not only it is made in SA, it is also 100% unique to South Africa. Its comes standard with a 4 year / 120,000km warranty too. And while the new Bantam is 25 years in the making, bear in mind that the trusty and refined 2009 Bantam has what it takes to certainly take over the mantle as the benchmark in this segment. If you’re looking for a super dependable bakkie with an awesome heritage, that can deliver, there should be only one choice on your shopping list.