Rosslyn - When Nissan introduced the NP200 half-ton bakkie to replace the legendary 1400, it knew the new pickup would have very big tyre-tracks to fill.
But it did so, and now Nissan SA has announced a locally developed and built special edition - limited to just 300 examples - with a raft of special kit.
The NP200 Loaded is based on the 64kW 1.6-litre petrol-engined Nissan NP200 with air conditioning and safety package (ABS brakes and dual airbags). It's a hardworking engine, with peak torque of 128Nm at just 3000rpm and short ratios for the first three gears to enhance its load-lugging ability.
But this is not a workhorse.
The special-edition Loaded is available only in white, with special branding featuring silver and red accents in the decals, carpets and seats. It comes with stainless-steel nudge and sports bars, black roof rails, a black tonneau cover and special alloy rims.
Inside, full leather upholstery, a front-loading CD/MP3/WMA/radio/USB/aux and Bluetooth-enabled audio system, special black carpets and remote central locking complete the sporty look.
All the accessories have been specifically developed and approved for this model so they don't affect its six-year or 150 000km warranty.
According to Nissan, it would cost you about R25 000 to take a standard NP200 and add all this kit, so the limited edition's R166 500 price-tag - R17 250 over the base vehicle's R149 250 - doesn't seem all that outrageous.