Opel launches facelifted Crossland in SA
The new, facelifted Opel Crossland has arrived in SA.
Opel enthusiasts will notice that the ‘X’ suffix has fallen away, and looking at the Crossland, can see the crossover now dons the Rüsselsheimbased firm’s latest family face.
The three-model range runs on a 1.2-litre engine which is naturallyaspirated in the base model and makes 61kW and 118Nm, while the turbo-charged version in the other two Crosslands delivers 81kW and 205Nm.
The latter are also fitted with sixspeed auto boxes, instead of the base model’s six-notch manual transmission.
Opel says the Crossland features an updated 7-inch colour touch screen infotainment system that has Apple CarPlay/Android Auto connectivity, as well as Bluetooth and USB connectivity.
Safety features are comprehensive, with forward collision alert with auto braking and pedestrian detection, lane departure, driver drowsiness, front/rear park assist, cruise control with speed limiter, as well as the usual acronyms of AB, EBFD and Hill Start.
Pricing starts at R324 900 for the base and tops out at R399 900 for the bells-and-whistles version.
After an impressive local sales run of 18 years, Nissan SA has confirmed it will retire the aged NP300 bakkie later this year and replace it with the D23 generation Navara.
This news was conveyed to online publication Moneyweb by Nissan SA Marketing Director, Stefan Haasbroek.
The NP300, or Hardbody as it was also known, was launched in SA in 2002, but by that time it had already been on sale for five years in some other markets across the globe.
It saw a number of minor facelifts and special editions over the years and, despite its ripe age, still racks up decent sales numbers for Nissan in SA.
Currently, you can still buy the NP300 for as little as
R269 000 for the single-cab workhorse, with the price escalating to R445 900 for the turbo-diesel double-cab 4x4 version.
The NP300 went by many names; the Frontier in the USA, the Fiera in Peru, Terrano in Chile, the Winner in parts of Australasia, the Skystar in the Middle East and the Xciter in Thailand.
Nissan also sold the NP300 Hardbody to other vehicle makers who re-branded it.
Suzuki sold it as the Equator, Chinese car maker Dongfeng named it the Rich, while Sudanese state-owned car manufacturer/copier, Giad sold the NP300 as the Giad Pickup.
In some parts of Africa it was even running around with a Peugeot badge on the grill, so it’s fair to say the NP300 Hardbody really had a long, interesting journey.