Inside is not outside

One wonderful change is that designers no longer believe that just because it looks like a bakkie on the outside, it has to be rough and ready on the outside. The cabin is incredibly comfortable, with 300 litres of stowage area behind the seats.

Controls and fascia are smart and smoothly styled. I especially liked the dials with orange highlights and a neat and easy-to-read information display between the rev counter and speedometer.

There's and MP3-compatible sound system, airconditioner and some other basic storage bins.

The cabin makes it feel like a sedan and it certainly drives like one. The rear stays firmly planted, with or without a load of weighty rabbits in the back. Braking is solid and acceleration is brisk enough that this bakkie can hold its own on the highway.

Power to move

All this and only a 1.6-litre engine (16-valve in the case of the test vehicle) and five-speed transmission to drive it along. It easily competes with rivals in its class, and can even tough it in the power and torque stakes with a few models that have 1.8-litre engines.

Fuel consumption is another item that ranks high on its list of specifications. It has a 50-litre tank and Nissan claim combined consumption is 8.1l/100km but the NP200 achieved far better than that. After a week's worth of driving, consumption was about 6l/100km.

No, it's not a super-bakkie. There is only so much you can do with a particular engine and body type before you reach the limits of engineering. What it does offer is very reasonable pricing, superb value for money and a great design.

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