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| Men who drive small bakkies ain't trying to compensate for anything... |
Having in 2007 predicted on national radio that we must get used to paying R10 per liter by 2010, I was told I should be more appreciative of small engines that sip, as opposed to guzzle, fuel.
Well, first, I must admit I was wrong on my fuel prophecy. The R10 per liter happened briefly in 2008 and now seems a grim reality only in 2011, a year late, and so far only in the further reaches of SA. (At least I was right on it being politics, not shortages, that drives the price.)
Second, having just suffered the exquisite pain of the Supercharged Range Rover Sport V8, I do like small engines. A lot. But only over short distances.
For much as I like the big, fat, farty burble of a big V8 engine, I hate the girly whine of a small one.
I have driven both the Daihatsu Gran Max and Chana Maxistar long distance. These are cab-over-engines vehicles, which means you sit right on top of their efficient little powermills. Which means the engine don't just whine in your ears, but that whine literally gets up your butt, and does so ALL THE WAY there.
So, for the record, I am all for small engines. I just like them to be up front, instead of making my bum numb.
Which brings me neatly to the Fiat Strada. In the same blog that gave me flak, I did say the Strada is a best kept secret because of the fewer Fiat dealers. The Strada was designed by Italians and are built by people who speak Portuguese and survive in Brazil, the only place tougher than SA. So it has a lot of pedigree(s).
I drove the 1.2 Strada far on the Highveld, unfortunately unloaded. I can report however, that driven with care and an empty load box, this wee bakkie sometimes forgets to combust petrol.
Serijas.
Four hours down the road doing a steady 80 km/h, the fuel gauge of the Strada 1.2 I had only dipped a nano-millimetre. It seemed to drive on thin air. But don't take my word it. Hearken rather to Howard Hutton, who delivers fine coffees for Avante Coffee in KwaZulu-Natal.
His little 1.2 Strada gives him, on average, 17 km for each liter of fuel - with that canopy on top - while speeding up and down the valleys of KZN's thousand hills.
That is no typo. Read it slowly: Seventeen. Kilometres. Per. Liter. With a load. Under a canopy. Doing hill climbs. Jislaaikit, I've had motorbikes that used more just idling!
Of course, it is not all rosy. As Howard wryly explains, "I don't want to slow down and then try passing a truck uphill.
"But the fantastic consumption makes up for it," he adds.
And with fuel again close to R10 a litre, this may be why his is seen here looking so smug.
Then again, that confident little grin may be because - as all experienced ladies will tell you - men who drive small bakkies are not trying to compensate for anything...
Bear that in mind, next time you shop for wheels that can like to work for cheap.
