Change the badge on your car and a whole lot could change about the way people think about the brand. So one day you’re driving an Opel Corsa, next day the same car is also a Chev – thanks to a new badge on the grille and tailgate, a different label on the tappet cover and steering wheel and a little bowtie on the centre of the alloy wheels instead of a lightning flash.
Did you want it: a brand that inspired a million local sing-alongs way back then, but now has a faint whiff of stir-fry? Too late bud, because SA’s favourite small bakkie (launched here in 2004, sold 121000 units to date) has traded places. You could harp on the links with the Br-ute, the Aussie-sourced Lumina, tenuous as they are. You know, they call it a Chevy Montana in Brazil, where SA’s CKD kits come from, and in Mexico it’s a Chevy Tornado. So ja, what’s in a name, when everything else, and I mean everything else that made the Opel so brilliant, is all exactly the same.
What a neat little package too. It looks better than all the half-tonners somehow. Not overly heavy in the front, almost Mercedes-like on the ‘pontoon’ elements that mark the rear wheelarches. In all, stylish without being over the top. Neat proportions are just the start though. The loadbox is huge (1690mm long, 1350mm wide, 520mm high, with a carry capacity of 680kg). The cab space is highly generous, with two separate seats that fold down at the pull of a tab, giving access to plenty of room behind each to stow a satchel or toolbox. The dash is simple, functional and appealing. The gearchange, using a short-throw lever, is positive and crisp, the clutch light, steering perfectly weighted for ease of use in town and there’s enough stiction between 185/65 HR14 tyres and road to make the little bakkie easy to get up to speed. Handling is slightly bumpy as befits an unloaded load carrier, but it’s not overly jouncy on the rougher bits.
There are some great touches too, like the solid aluminium cab protector with its integrated brake light, the axe handle alloys, and those neat steps cut into the side of the loadbin which act as both signature design and help out when it comes to tying stuff down on the canopy (once that’s fitted). Want more bling? It’s easy enough to bolt on bullbars, side steps and trendier alloys, but the standard package is excellent: function with form.
We had the mid-spec 1.4-litre Sport on test, and what a pleasure it is. Simple things like wind-down windows, steering that’s not over-assisted, grippy seats and roadholding that is just as you would expect – without all the myriad nannies to keep things on track. You drive this car, not the other way round.
It takes a surprisingly large load, is willing and able through the gears, which are equally spaced without the usual gaps between 3 and 4/5, though it could do with a sixth to make things less busy at freeway speeds, as it’s pulling over 3500rpm at 120kph.
Here then is the ideal everyday carrier. Great for dogs and garden refuse, loading sports toys, and perfect for the small business. Workmanlike, but not rough, it just seems to tick the right boxes for this sector. It may not exactly make the association with the Lumina, but I’d like to dub it the B-ute, ’cause it really is.