Which double cab?

[Mopkop]

Hi everyone

So I'm in the market for a double cab. Ill get an allowance from work which covers about 50%, depending on how I structure the finance. After the 5 years the vehicle is mine.  Ive narrowed it down to the following:

 

Ford Ranger 2.2 XL(sport pack) manual +-R469k

Isuzu Dmax 250 manual R470k

GWM P series LS R440k

 

I head is saying Ford but my heart is saying GWM purely from a value for money perspective, Isuzu is the dark horse, its a bit dated but its a proper workhorse. Ill probably do about 25000km for work with a 50/50 split between tar and gravel with light offroading/ I curently use a nissan NP300 4x4. I might use the 4x4 1 a month thought BUT a difflock would work fine too

 

What do you guys think?

[Dusty]

I've gone through this process recently. I avoided the Ford because it is right up there in terms of vehicle theft stats

I would not touch the GWM personally.

Isuzu it is.

Edited July 8, 2021 by Dusty

[agilwolf]

Don't forget about the Mitsubishi Triton ...  (If you get past the styling and appearance)

[BaGearA]

+1 for the Isuzu 

[Skott5]

Out of that list Isuzu every day of the week and twice on Sunday. 

[Mopkop]

7 hours ago, Dusty said:

I've gone through this process recently. I avoided the Ford because it is right up there in terms of vehicle theft stats

I would not touch the GWM personally.

Isuzu it is.

 

6 hours ago, BaGearA said:

+1 for the Isuzu 

 

5 hours ago, Skott5 said:

Out of that list Isuzu every day of the week and twice on Sunday. 

What is your guys reasons for the Isuzu? 

Do you have the manual or the automatic?

[BaGearA]

8 minutes ago, Mopkop said:

 

 

What is your guys reasons for the Isuzu? 

Do you have the manual or the automatic?

I don't have one my grandfather has had one since the early 2003/4( i was qround 7 when he got it so thats just a guess)and it still goes well today and its the 'plaas bakkie'. Gets abused like hell and has never given a days worth of trouble.

[BaGearA]

Its manual 

[PhilipV]

8 hours ago, Mopkop said:

Hi everyone

So I'm in the market for a double cab. Ill get an allowance from work which covers about 50%, depending on how I structure the finance. After the 5 years the vehicle is mine.  Ive narrowed it down to the following:

 

Ford Ranger 2.2 XL(sport pack) manual +-R469k

Isuzu Dmax 250 manual R470k

GWM P series LS R440k

 

I head is saying Ford but my heart is saying GWM purely from a value for money perspective, Isuzu is the dark horse, its a bit dated but its a proper workhorse. Ill probably do about 25000km for work with a 50/50 split between tar and gravel with light offroading/ I curently use a nissan NP300 4x4. I might use the 4x4 1 a month thought BUT a difflock would work fine too

 

What do you guys think?

If yiu want it to be nice inside but don't mind taking a bath on the resale, get the GWM. It's a dark horse, might even be nice. 

If you want a lekker drive, and won't own it past the warranty expires, get the Ford. 

 

If you  want to drive it for many years, want it to be reliable and don't mind dated looks, get the Isuzu. 

The gwm will probably be worth very little in 5 years. It might even age well. 

The Ford might not break. It might even not leave you  stranded somewhere. But it is a very lekker bakkie. 

I can't say anything bad about the Isuzu, but bear in mind that the new dmax will launch next year.

The new dmax and the new Mazda bt50 is the same. With Mazda just changing the styling and interior on theirs. Their new bakkie will be in SA soon. With their 7 year unlimited kms warranty this would be a very strong candidate, if it is in budget. 

 

Now for my experience. 

I grew up with Isuzu. I still regret trading in a 250dtec club cab we had. 

But my last three bakkies have all been 2.2 Rangers. Mainly because they tow very well, they are comfortable on long distance drives, they have a relatively decent interior in XLS spec, they have a great ZF 6SPD auto, and they have Trailer Sway Control. (That saved me from needing new underpants again this afternoon.) 

The first Ranger needed a new oil pump and turbo at 123k km.

The second one needed two new common rails before 75k km and started using too much oil by 120k. 

The current Ranger needed a new engine at 26k km after a faulty injector lead to a cracked piston. Now it has electrical gremlins. Switches that has stopped working. It has spent 8weeks at the dealership this year. Half of it is because of an unreliable product, other half is because the dealer in Somerset West is useless. As an aside, one of the demos I had while they replaced the engine was a 2.2XL DC. The new radio is nice, albeit rather slow. Other than that it does everything well. 

My next bakkie will without a doubt be an Isuzu again. 

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by PhilipV

[PhilipV]

56 minutes ago, Mopkop said:

 

Do you have the manual or the automatic?

The Isuzu auto is an Aisin unit. It is good for cruising, but if you are in a hurry it might frustrate you. It's a solid gearbox though, and very reliable.

We usually replaced our manual Isuzus' clutches at around 200k kms. But they towed heavy trailers and broken down trucks way too often. Wouldn't happen with normal driving. 

 

[Duane_Bosch]

No matter which one you get GET A TOURNEAU COVER or even better one of those armadillo things.

 

I have a 2018 Ranger XL. It needed a new oil seal on the gearbox and the radio P1$$ES ME OFF. The 2014 got a new gearbox at 60k.

I had the 2014 before. And somehow they made it worse. It doesn't pull as well as the old one. I think in the quest for better numbers in the marketing brochure they boosted the turbo creating a bit of lag. Having said that we did a long road trip in December and the truck (It's not a bakkie) scored a solid 10/10 in all departments.

I had a Tata Xenon before my first ranger. My opinion on the GWM's and those types of truck is that they start to look super tatty quick quickly. I wouldn't. Especially if you can get a Ranger or Isuzu for the same cash.

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2021 by Duane_Bosch

[Long Wheel Base]

6 minutes ago, Duane_Bosch said:

No matter which one you get GET A TOURNEAU COVER or even better one of those armadillo things.

 

I have a 2018 Ranger XL

I had the 2014 before. And somehow they made it worse. It doesn't pull as well as the old one. I think in the quest for better numbers in the marketing brochure they boosted the turbo creating a bit of lag. Having said that we did a long road trip in December and the truck (It's not a bakkie) scored a solid 10/10 in all departments.

I had a Tata Xenon before my first ranger. My opinion on the GWM's and those types of truck is that they start to look super tatty quick quickly. I wouldn't. Especially if you can get a Ranger for the same cash.

 

 

 

 

I have an armadillo on my navara, they have pros and cons. Obviously the big pro is it's lockable BUUUUUUT you restricted to height, for eg, my camping fridge is too high and it doesn't close so it was fine before I had kids and it went on the backseat but now the backseat has kids so I now borrow my Dad's caravelle for holidays. It also takes up a lot of load bin space so if you do need to carry stuff, bear in mind you have this big rolled up door container thing in your loadbin that you can't remove. Otherwise, It's a winner for me everyday.

[Duane_Bosch]

8 minutes ago, Long Wheel Base said:

I have an armadillo on my navara, they have pros and cons. Obviously the big pro is it's lockable BUUUUUUT you restricted to height, for eg, my camping fridge is too high and it doesn't close so it was fine before I had kids and it went on the backseat but now the backseat has kids so I now borrow my Dad's caravelle for holidays. It also takes up a lot of load bin space so if you do need to carry stuff, bear in mind you have this big rolled up door container thing in your loadbin that you can't remove. Otherwise, It's a winner for me everyday.

I've been living with one of those dakine blankies on my double cabs for many years. They are great but I shuttle maybe 6 times a year. The rest of the time that huge load bin is wasted space. I got a tourneau cover in December and it TOTALLY changed the usability of the vehicle.

 

@the op. Ranger or Isuzu. Either is great IMO. There would have to be a very compelling reason for me to get a GWM and more buttons isn't one of those reasons.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Duane_Bosch

[Matthew du preez]

20 hours ago, Mopkop said:

Hi everyone

So I'm in the market for a double cab. Ill get an allowance from work which covers about 50%, depending on how I structure the finance. After the 5 years the vehicle is mine.  Ive narrowed it down to the following:

 

Ford Ranger 2.2 XL(sport pack) manual +-R469k

Isuzu Dmax 250 manual R470k

GWM P series LS R440k

 

I head is saying Ford but my heart is saying GWM purely from a value for money perspective, Isuzu is the dark horse, its a bit dated but its a proper workhorse. Ill probably do about 25000km for work with a 50/50 split between tar and gravel with light offroading/ I curently use a nissan NP300 4x4. I might use the 4x4 1 a month thought BUT a difflock would work fine too

 

What do you guys think?

isuzu all the way... our farm work-horse is an old isuzu.. has around 300000km on the clock and still runs like a dream

Edited July 9, 2021 by Matthew du preez

[Duane_Bosch]

16 hours ago, PhilipV said:

 

The new dmax and the new Mazda bt50 is the same. With Mazda just changing the styling and interior on theirs. Their new bakkie will be in SA soon. With their 7 year unlimited kms warranty this would be a very strong candidate, if it is in budget. 

I had a 2.5 Mazda Drifter in champagne gold. The top of the line one. Can't remember the model name.

 

I traded that in on a....... drumroll please. A Red 2.4 petrol Jeep Cherokee. In a lifetime of bad decisions that ranks as number 1.

 

My best car ever was my Tata. It wasn't pretty but Tata were desperate enough for the sale to get me out of my cherokee. It was also cheap as chips. 220k for a double cab with aircon, power steering, electric windows, a decent radio. I USED that bakkie. many a jump in Tokai owed it's existence to that bakkie.

Edited July 9, 2021 by Duane_Bosch

[Jurgens Smit]

On 7/9/2021 at 1:51 PM, Duane_Bosch said:

I had a 2.5 Mazda Drifter in champagne gold. The top of the line one. Can't remember the model name.

 

I traded that in on a....... drumroll please. A Red 2.4 petrol Jeep Cherokee. In a lifetime of bad decisions that ranks as number 1.

 

My best car ever was my Tata. It wasn't pretty but Tata were desperate enough for the sale to get me out of my cherokee. It was also cheap as chips. 220k for a double cab with aircon, power steering, electric windows, a decent radio. I USED that bakkie. many a jump in Tokai owed it's existence to that bakkie.

Why do you rate the jeep as a bad decision?
Personally I'm a huge fan of them and am planning on buying a wrangler next year if all goes well.