They say time flies when you're in a coma - or, conversely, having fun! - but I find it hard to believe Ford's perky little Bantam bakkie first appeared on our roads a quarter-century ago.
Yikes! I mean, my buddies and I were all skinny and reckless, Hillbrow was an amazing place in which to jol (remember those Fontana chickens at midnight?), you could fly to Europe for about R750 on Luxair...and you could buy a Bantam for something like R6500 - brand new!
So fast-forward wind to today and this particular 1.4 XLT TDCI diesel will set you back a rather heftier R171 570. Granted, it's a whole lot better and beefier, with loads more style and panache. And this price applies to the diesel model. The petrol version is cheaper.
There's no doubt the latest upgraded model is very attractive or that it's now available with a diesel engine is an even bigger enticement, I reckon.
The bakkie is pretty sprightly, offering a robust and almost surprising 160Nm of torque from only 2000rpm. In fact,it was quite exhilarating blasting up hills and along the straights in this fast little machine.
Although it's quite spacious inside, it's very strictly a two-seater, moms: there's no way you can squeeze an extra sprog in front, which was bad news for my lift club.
We liked the curved dash in front of the passenger seat, though, which allowed lots of legroom or schoolbag room for my daughter, and there's a nifty little ledge behind the seats and below the sliding window which we found quite handy for diaries and stuff.
You can also fit in a six-pack carrier bag on the floor behind each seat.
The advantage of small vehicles such as this is everything is easily reachable inside and, naturally, they're brilliant when it comes to parking in even the tightest space. The load space in the back, under the tonneau cover, turned out to be surprisingly deep, and the kids enjoyed the little rear bumper step.
The sound system is good, as is the heater/aircon, and it's also got electric windows. But sadly, no crash bags - which I think is a bit of a disadvantage. Why not, Ford?
Apart from that, it's a great little workhorse and a fun vehicle for singletons or a man and his dog.
Nice colours, too!