Take the Foton Tunland bull by the horns
During the weekend of August 8, I drove the Foton Tunland double cab and again realised just how capable it is. It was never, since its launch, punted as a cheap Chinese derivative. It was marketed as a competitor to the established brands like Ford and Toyota. “This is a Chinese bakkie for the International market,” said Foton’s Motor Group vice-president, Robin Wu.
It was and still is a confident intention considering that Foton partnered with among others, Bosch and Cummins during the whole development process. The results which rendered 87 new patents.
The Tunland is a really large bakkie – masculine at the front and powerful from the rear. I said it before – it is a modern, “big boys” bakkie but uneventful from a design point of view. The interior is open and welcoming – ergonomics is a practical no-frills, no-fuss affair and even driving on dirt roads, the chassis did not feed strange noises or for that matter, dust into the cabin.
The biggest drawcard on the Tunland, in my mind, is of course its Cummins power plant. The 2,8-litre diesel produces 120kw and 360Nm thus offering brisk acceleration and, on the slow 4×4 side, enough torque to overcome whatever you throw at it. Fuel consumption, during my drive, indexed at 8,7L/100 cruising at 110km/h. And yes, when you do force-feed it, this increase significantly.
With Foton being the largest commercial vehicle manufacturer in the world one should not judge their products lightly. Johan Grobler of EventsXtreme and one of the highest qualified 4×4 instructors in Africa, had this to say after his introduction to the Tunland: “Bobbejaanspas in Lesotho is een van die strafste en gevaarlikste 4×4 roetes in suider Afrika en die Tunland het dié toets met vlieënde vaandels geslaag. Hy beskik oor al die veiligheids-en geriefeienskappe en hy sleep my twee-ton “off-road”-karavaan sonder ‘n gesukkel.”
The bakkie market is, as they say in the financial markets, a bullish place with immense competition between Toyota and Ford.
Perhaps you should test drive the Tunland to establish your take on the bullishness of the market.
