This bakkie is built with dirt under its fingernails...

There are at least two bakkie manufacturers in the Eastern Cape that might dispute this but Isuzu is king of Frontier Country.

- Jim Freeman

Isuzus are ubiquitous and, like most of the many farmers I've met from that province, unpretentious and dependable.

Consider the competition; Volkswagen Amarok is superb but too expensive to risk on the province's abyssmal roads while Ford Ranger seemingly exists only to get poseur owners from points A to B at reckless speed.

Isuzu bakkies, on the other hand, are as honest as the Eastern Cape day is long. They're built with dirt under their fingernails and manure between their toes... even supposedly fancy ones (those that come in any colour other than white).

Locally, the Yokohama-based company is on a drive to market its flagship 4x4 D-MAX V-Cross 3.0-litre turbodiesel double cab. As such, it is probably going head-to-head with Ford's V6 Wildtrak (the Isuzu has four cylinders), so comparisons must be made.