Motoring
P-P-PICK UP A PICK-UP
Thirty years ago, I became a White Van Man, buying an old Ford Transit for £440 when moving house.
I intended to keep it for a week but it was six months before I could bring myself to sell it (for £450). Few carlovers realise how comfortable such vans are: good visibility, high driving position, large upright seats, bags of room – and people make way for you. Mind you, a restored Transit of that era would now be a collector’s piece. Vans are designed for hard, high-mileage use before being discarded after a few years and usually have less rust-proofing than cars.
I learned to drive in my father’s 1950s Bedford CA, a wide, snub-nosed van with sliding doors and a three-speed column gear change. It had spent its youth delivering the London Evening News. I was tempted by a restored one this summer but was once again seized by cramp in the wallet hand. Not that I need a van – but yearnings rarely have anything to do with need.
Recently, however, my promiscuous automotive eye has strayed towards pick-ups – you know, those big, chunky, four-wheel-drive things farmers and builders use, with double cabs and flatbed rears. Toyota’s Hilux is perhaps the best known, along with Ford’s Ranger, Mitsubishi’s L200, Nissan’s Navara and various offerings from VW, Fiat and even Mercedes. Relatively cheap, tough, modern and reliable, they destroyed the ageing Land Rover Defender’s Third World market. Top Gear famously pushed a Hilux over a cliff, then drove away in it along the beach. News footage from Syria shows them grossly overloaded with men, heavy machineguns and missiles – and still going.
But they make sense in Chelmsford or Chester, too. They have four doors, two rows of seats, aircon, cruise control etc, plus the ability to transport a tonne (literally). If you don’t want an open back, you can have a fitted cover or hardtop with windows. They’ll tow 3.5 tonnes and take the family, pets and all the camping gear. Why pay from £55,685 for a high-end SUV such as the Mercedes GLE, £49,645 for the VW Touareg or £51,575 for the Volvo XC90, when you could pay from £27,040 plus VAT for the Hilux, £21,850 plus VAT for the Navara, £21,515 plus VAT for the Mitsubishi or £22,914 plus VAT for the Ford Ranger? These will do everything your SUV will do and rather more robustly when it comes to heavy towing or the off-road, rough stuff. And, if you run a business, their classification as light commercial vehicles means you claim the VAT as well as taking advantage of favourable company-car tax rates. You may even find they have rather more street cred than a smart SUV. A considerable 53,613 were sold in Britain in 2018 – by no means all to builders or farmers.
All right, there are disadvantages. They’re ruthlessly functional and not at all beautiful – unless, like me, you find beauty in the perfect marriage of function and form. They’re not as comfortable as SUVS. The back seats particularly tend to be firm and upright, with little legroom for a tall adult. They’re a firmer ride because the suspension needs to be stiff to take those loads and, on motorways, you may notice more noise. Your sound system may be a touch less sophisticated. Any pets in the back are unable to interact with you in the cab (though that could be an advantage).
But they’re solid and stable. You can see over hedges and other vehicles while enjoying the go-anywhere feeling. You don’t have to prove anything in these trucks. I think I’ve almost talked myself into one.