Discover the Ford Wildtrak Super Cab: a new era in bakkie performance and comfort
Image: Kevin Ritchie
The age-old questions about bakkies have always been: what do you do with only two seats in front, and how do you protect the stuff in the back?
The answer for the first was the double cab, which started hitting South African roads in the 1980s, evolving from a cab and a half with facing jump seats behind the driver and passenger until it effectively became a sedan with a 'bak' in terms of quality and space.
The second answer was the either/or option of a tarpaulin or a fibre glass canopy, clipped onto the load bay of a single cab, which, with the addition of a foam mattress, could double as a kid's playground or a teenager's fantasy at the Drive-In.
This was the general fate for single cabs, which for much of their history seemed relegated to a life of commercial drudgery, with the same lack of respect as those destined to operate them.
Breaking preconceptions
Ford's Wildtrak Super Cab shatters all these preconceptions.
Equipped with a lockable, retractable tonneau cover, the load box is as secure as any boot in any car, while the Super Cab, effectively a 11½ cab, is a revelation of ergonomics, technology and luxury.
Accessed through oppositional hinged 'suicide doors', the space behind the two seats is generous in the extreme. There's space for pets or two small children or a rather small adult if absolutely needed.
It's a great space for the transport of the kind of personal effects you'd prefer to have closer to you on a long journey, rather than in the load box, such as laptops, cameras and picnic bags. You can put your entire luggage behind your seat, leaving the load box free to carry anything else.
The load box is equipped with tie-down points for securing cargo, as well as a three-prong plug point and a cigarette charger outlet to run anything from a fridge for the camper to power tools for a small business.
There are also down lights that assist with nighttime access to whatever you have put within the load box.
Ford The general build quality of the vehicle is top class, there is no road noise whatsoever in the cabin and the sound system is sublime.
Image: Supplied
Build quality
The general build quality of the vehicle is top class, there is no road noise whatsoever in the cabin, and the sound system is sublime.
The attention to the smaller details is understated, though omnipresent, like the courtesy lights that come on beneath the side mirrors to illuminate the ground as you get in or out of the vehicle in the dark.
There's just about every mod con you could hope for within the cabin, including a range of driving aids that literally make you stay in your lane with more interactive backseat driving/hectoring than even those that have been married for many years would be used to – including nanny like injunctions to stop for a coffee when the Wildtrak thinks you're tired.
The Apple CarPlay is seamless, projecting onto an iPad-sized screen in the middle of the console that effectively becomes an extension of your phone, ensuring there's no awkward relearning of other onboard GPS or music systems. You literally arrive, pair and drive off.
For those without either Android or iPhone, the Wildtrak does come with its own independent systems, all of which can be controlled via the oversized screen or directly from the steering wheel.
The only thing the steering wheel doesn't control is the aircon; everything else is accessible without having to move your hands too far down (or God forbid, for the onboard nanny, to take one hand off).
There's just about every mod con you could hope for within the cabin, including a range of driving aids that literally make you stay in your lane.
Image: Supplied
Effortless driving
This is a big bakkie by any metric, but after a very short while, it feels like an extension of the driver because everything is so intuitive. There are very helpful sensors and cameras fore and aft, with a panoramic one above, which are vital for parking – and especially when carrying a load that obscures the back window.
Having said that, the big side mirrors have sensors in them that light up when vehicles come up close behind you and overtake.
Despite its size, this vehicle is nimble; the 2-litre bi-turbo engine and the 10-speed automatic gearbox ensure there's plenty of power, but at the same time, the engine is very efficient.
1200kms on the clock, of which 200 were in town and 1000 were down to Kimberley and back, returned figures of 8.5l/ 100kms, but on the open road this dropped to 8l/100kms, making the Wildtrak the same cost to run as that of a much smaller vehicle over the same distance.
Versatile
The Wildtrak is incredibly versatile. Fully 4x4 with a substantial road clearance, dirt roads are no challenge and the off-road beckons with no trepidation, but it won't look out of place either in the executive parking bays of a blue-chip company.
Its very clean lines, unlike some of the aerodynamic-defying lines of some of its competitors, add further allure to a vehicle that refuses to be pigeon-holed.
Adept in different settings, versatile without compromising on performance or build quality, the Wildtrak Super Cab is a shape shifter that changes perceptions about what a bakkie can do and, more importantly, should do.
The answer is that the best bakkies do everything and do it very well.
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