Following last week’s launch of the new Isuzu KB range, CARtoday.com reader Mike Eaton sent us pictures of an unusual variant of the KB he spotted in Thailand. Could it be on its way to SA? There are also rumours about a stretched-cab Nissan Hardbody.
Following last week’s launch of the new Isuzu KB range, CARtoday.com reader Mike Eaton sent us pictures of an unusual variant of the KB he spotted in Thailand. Could it be on its way to SA? There are also rumours about a stretched-cab Nissan Hardbody.
CARtoday.com reported last week that an all-new, bigger Isuzu KB has been introduced and, locally produced with a specially developed engine, the new edition should endear itself to both the recreational and workhorse bakkie buyers.
But missing from the KB’s initial lineup was an stretched-cab variant in the style of the well-known Mitsubishi Colt Clubcab and Ford Ranger Super Cab.
“A few years ago, just after I’d bought my ’95 KB 280 4×4 (still got it), I phoned Delta’s product development department with a couple of suggestions, among others the issue of an extended single cab, and tie-down loops inside the loadbox (got those!),” Eaton said.
“In a normal single cab, you get in with your briefcase, and your wife has shopping and you have problems! Then you have to get out in the rain and open the rear of the canopy, get wet and be mugged. An extended cab makes sense! However, Delta (now General Motors SA) said that because of Nissan’s lack of success with its King Cab (which was launched in the ‘Eighties), it was hesitant to bring that variant out in South Africa.
“Late last year I saw a (heavily-customised) stretched-cab version of the KB in Thailand. It’s beautiful! I’d like to ask readers whether they would buy such a beauty, or whether Delta/GM made a wise decision not to introduce it?” Eaton asked.
In response, General Motors SA manager for product communications John Elford said: “The company is definitely investigating the option of introducing a vehicle like the one CARtoday.com described, but no decision has been taken. But following the initial launch of the KB it can be expected that different options and variations will be added to the range later”.
A source also told CARtoday.com that Nissan would be introducing a stretched-cab version of the Nissan Hardbody in the final quarter of the year.
However, Nissan SA communication manager Tania Steenkamp told CARtoday.com that “no such vehicle is in the pipeline for the moment. Nissan SA will nevertheless investigate the possibility of producing and marketing any types of variants for which there is a perceived demand on the South African market”.
