THE INSIDE STORY

JUST over 27 metres. That’s nearly the length of a basketball court.

It’s also the difference in braking distance from 100km/h to standstill between two bakkies, with a 500kg load on the ‘bak.’ A crucial bit of information, you’d agree, if safety is at the sharper end of your wishlist for a new bakkie.

Part of the most extensive group test we’ve ever devised, and part of our inaugural Bakkie of the Year competition, the braking test is one of a host of new independent assessments to help determine which bakkie really is best.

We went more pragmatic than ever before, deciding to skip formerly populist criteria such as 0–100km/h acceleration times, top speeds, and so on. Instead, we focused on areas that make a real difference in real people’s lives. Like real-world fuel consumption, load-carrying ability, handling, 4×4 ability, safety, towing, the interior elements, and long-term ownership.

There were a lot of surprises. Like that braking distance, mentioned above. An eyewatering R140 000 difference between a typical parts bin of two bakkies, on either end of the affordability scale. The legal load capacity when the gross vehicle mass (GVM) of the respective vehicles is added to the equation. And many more.

In the end, 80% of the scores in this test were achieved in the following ways: repeatable dynamic tests at the Gerotek Vehicle Testing grounds near Pretoria, using an independent company; the acquisition and assimilation of data, in respective segments; and partnerships with industry leaders to help identify possible long-term