“South Africa’s favourite half-tonne bakkie now cool as ICE” – Nissan
South Africans love their bakkies and if we’re not using them for surfing road trips we’re out and about transporting heavy loads for work or helping someone move house.
This week we spent a day with the all-new Nissan NP200 ICE edition in Durban where we head off for some sun, sand and surf.
According to Nissan the NP200 ICE is the coolest half-tonne pick-up to have rolled off of Nissan’s Rosslyn production line to date. Two colour options include Nissan’s eye-catching Starling Blue or Bright silver metallic paint finish giving the ICE edition a fun and adventurous feel.
Keep your surfboards in tact
As an outdoor person I spend the majority of my weekends and holidays driving out to coastal towns with friends and various water-sports equipment. Travelling with surf boards is a lot like transporting a delicate painting and reaching your destination ding-free is an art in itself. There are some pretty complicated ways to pack the boards and it all gets pretty tedious after a while, so I was pleased to hear about the ICE’s optional roll bar protector and standard sixteen anchor point in the load bay.
The bay is also rubberised as standard to help protect against water corrosion, impact and possible abrasive damage from certain loads.
Size-wise the load bay is 1.8 metres long and 0.535 meters deep while its 800 kg payload and additional 300 litres of storage space behind the seats make the NP a practical option for those interested in an affordable half-tonne bakkie.
Cool as ICE
It certainly stands out and while cruising down to Durban’s coastline, looking at the other ICE vehicles in front and behind us, I’d decided that I tend to agree with Nissan; South Africa’s favourite half-tonne bakkie is now cool as ICE.
The bold and bright metallic paint in contrast with the dark-tinted windows enhanced its sporty and fun feel, but that’s not all they serve purpose for: the treatment of the side and rear windows protects the driver and passenger from potential smash-and-grab incidents.
Speaking of safety, two airbags and ABS brakes are part of the standard Nissan Safety Package.
Inside, you wouldn’t expect too much from a vehicle that Nissan claims to be “for the plumber who enjoys a surf in his lunch break”, but we found ourselves quite at home while spending time inside. The special edition features eco combination leather upholstery and rubber carpets. The luxury interior trim, combined with the special entertainment system, with hands-free Bluetooth phone connectivity and audio streaming and a USB connection gave us all that we needed.
Practical Pricing
The Nissan NP200 ICE is available with a choice of petrol and diesel engines and at a price of R191 900 you can go for the most affordable of the range with the 8V 1.6 litre petrol engine. It delivers 64 kW and 128 Nm of torque, using only 8.1 litres of fuel per 100 km in a combined usage cycle.
We drove the diesel option which is fitted with Nissan’s acclaimed 1.5 dCi turbodiesel engine and delivers 63 kW and 200 Nm and uses only 5.3 litre per 100 km in a combined cycle. (R204 900)
It’s sold with a 6-year or 150 000 kilometre warranty, which remains best in its class. (Service plan optional).
Also read: Nissan NP200 SA’s favourite half-tonne bakkie upgraded!
Source: Nissan South Africa
