Ford Bantam 1.3i (Gen 4 Fiesta Facelift+)
 

Hi all, this is my little runabout.

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/m...tam%20Aero.jpg

I bought it at the prodding of a friend after my Jetta got squished by a drunk driver (see: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...rby-14425.html)

It has a 1.3i 8v engine that was developed in Brazil for mixed fuel use I believe. The Bantam differs a little from the Brazillian Courier based on the same Fiesta.

I bought it at 217 000 km (late August 2011) and it now has 275 000. Its lifetime average is 6.24L/100 and I completed 2014 with an average of 5.98L/100. My best trip was 560 odd km journey in which I netted a 5.2L/100 (Elevation 1,339 m (4,393 ft) - 596 m (1,955 ft) ).

I started coasting in neutral only half way through 2013, when I noticed that in-gear coasting doesn't seem to switch off the injector completely, leading to a massive ball of smoke when pulling away at a stop after coasting down in gear. CIN probably netted me a savings of between 0.2 - 0.3L since then. Tire pressures run 2.4 bar and up (3.0 is a bit hard for a daily with leaf-springs at the back).

I have a lower grille block, albeit only the bits that let air through to the engine compartment past the radiator. The radiator is largely free to get air.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Zetec_engine , see the section: Zetec Rocam (duratec 8v)

It really is a torquey motor. You can drive it like a diesel, but still rev it hard to 5500RPM, not that the engine really likes being hurried. Most of my travel is highway and between 100-110km/h. According to the local specs below, I calculated that I am 40% above EPA.

Local Specs:
Fuel Capacity 54
Fuel Consumpsion - Highway 6.32
Fuel Consumpsion - Urban 10.87
Consumption Annual Average 8.78
Fuel Supply bosch sequential efi
Acceleration 0-100 Final 12.9
Top Speed Final 158
Power Output 55kw@5500
Torque 110nm@3000
Towing Capacity (KG) 700
Load 630
Gross Laden Mass 1655
Licencing Mass 1020

Very nice Bantum!

Sorry about the Jetta.

nice to see some fellow countrymen in here. those bantams are nice and light! you should maybe just pump the front tyres to max there is not alot of weight on the back so you wont loose out too much running them at a lower pressure. i would browse gumtree to try find a tonneau cover. apparently that helps a lot! My granddad has this car and he always complains about the poor economy he averages 9L / 100km all be it with a big boxy canopy so you are doing pretty good.

Hard cover
 

I do have one. Forgot to mention it in the original post. It is a hard cover by Rigidek I actually have their first prototype cover. It did seem to help a fair bit. I just don't have any new photos.

That's a sweet little truck. That would suffice for 95% of all my trucking needs - and for that last 5%, I can make two trips or rent something bigger.

There is entirely too little info about the Bantam that I can easily find in English. That displeases me. I want one.

Unfortunately, small trucks aren't considered manly enough for American buyers, who apparently aren't manly enough unless their manhood is propped up by, well, a prop.

Too bad.

Imagine how well that truck can squeeze a gallon of fuel if you add further aeromods and an aerolid. That would be the business.

@elhigh, you should look into the Volkswagen Saveiro. They make them in Brazil, hence it would be left-hand drive like you need. The Bantam is only RHD, but the Montana (Brazillian adaptation of the Fiesta) should be left too.

I can only shake my head at the lack of info regarding local adaptations of cars in RSA, since we've actually had a varied and interesting amount over the years from many brands.

You might get this in the US?
Chevrolet Montana: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Montana

I don't know if it's hard or even cheap to import one into the USA.

What is sad is that in RSA Ford Global basically just told Ford RSA that they can now only produce the Ford Ranger and not the Bantam any longer - this after Ford RSA have been making them for 3 generations and over 30 years.

I like the Ranger, Amarok etc, they're quality products, but the moment you try drive one, even its 'small-by-American-standards' size becomes very evident and like you said, 95% of the time you just don't need the size at all. Oh and I cannot afford them.

We would really like the Saveiro here in RSA, but no amount of begging has made a right hand drive happened yet.

We also get the Nissan NP200 (Based on a Dacia) Nissan NP200 | Nissan South Africa,

We used to get the Fiat Strada too as well as Proton Arena.

Good luck. Tiny trucks rock!

the States get ZERO utes. Ford or VW.
elhigh is right, go big or go home.
import would be difficult since testing has not been performed by NHTSA. so we have to make our own:
smythcars
https://www.google.com/search?q=jett...w=1600&bih=742

I still have my 1987 Toyota Pickup (Hilux throughout the rest of the world, marketed simply as "Truck" in the States), carbureted and absolutely bottom-spec everything except 5-speed. It didn't even come with a radio.

It is vanishingly small against even current "compact" trucks, though it is more than sufficient for everything I do. And I haven been able to hypermile it to nearly 40mpg on occasion, so though it isn't as thrifty as I might ask for, it's pretty good.

That said, it can't last forever and something like the Bantam or the suggested Montana (AKA Tornado), neither of which are available in the States, would do me very well. I was watching the proposed entry of Mahindra into the US market with their Ranger-sized offering with interest, but that fell through.

I've also seen converted Jeep Wranglers with modest pickup beds. That, with the AMC 150 engine, would make for a nice ersatz Comanche replacement, though it would doubtlessly deliver lousy fuel mileage.

The Courier, Brazilian equivalent to the Bantam, was phased out a few years ago, IIRC it was at the same time of the Bantam's phaseout. Regarding the American market, maybe with the introduction of the Fiat Strada in the Mexican market as RAM 750 there could eventually be developed an U.S.-spec version.