MAHINDRA PIK UP 2,2 CRDE DC 4x4 S10

ONE of the biggest recent inclinations in Cape Town has been buying water tanks. Not a day goes by that you don’t see big canisters being transported to their new homes to wait patiently for the skies to release that most precious of gifts: rain. The Pik Up has done much more than its fair share for this noble cause. I have lost count, but at least eight tanks have been delivered to the homes of friends and colleagues, and to my own house.

The trick is to buy only up to 2 500-litre tanks, as these fit quite easily into the load bay. Any bigger would not work. Also, these tanks are light and manoeuvrable enough to be loaded by just two people. I even transported an open 1 000-litre tank to the farm to be used as a splash pool for the children. This I jokingly dubbed a “Bakkuzzi”, albeit an obviously

empty one. I have some more backbreaking deliveries to organise including a dining room table and chairs, yet another bookcase and … a piano. This is not going to be easy and I can see trailer hire will be required despite the Mahindra’s generous load bay.

With a bakkie always popular with colleagues needing the space, what I was warned might happen eventually did. The roofmounted antenna is inflexible and, coupled with the Pik Up’s tall profile, means reversing in a covered parking lot is not advisable. While I did my best to watch out for this, I did not pass on sufficient warning to others on the team and it is now an ex-antenna. Surprisingly, the FM band still works just fine. It doesn’t help to completely flatten the antenna to just above the roof as turbulence causes it to knock the metal.