Monsters of the road

These pick-ups (bakkies) and cars always catch attention. Some I would like to own, others would just not be worth the effort of finding parking (and paying the fuel bill). Let’s start with the Ford F250. It is definitely of the biggest pick-ups I’ve seen. Ever. It is very American, but I like it. Its impressively big.

It has a 4,2litre turbo diesel 6 cylinder engine which has a 144 litre tank and gives 132 kW @ 3800 rpm and 500 NM @ 1600 rpm. Its biiiiig! I had a look at the cab and there is enough space for you, your family and your mother-in-law with her poochie as well.

Next is the Hummer or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle. It is also American, but jeepers!... It is even more impressive than the F250! On my way home from work, I drive past one ever so often and it grabs my attention every time. It’s a black one and it’s the colour I would go for if I had the bucks to buy one. It has such presence on the road. One drove past me the other day on the freeway and I tell you, the other cars just made way for it. The H3 has a 3,5 litre engine with an 85 litre tank. It outputs 164 kW @ 5,600 rpm and 305 Nm @ 2,800 rpm. So it has a smaller tank than the F250, with less torque. Hmm, interesting… One would think that the Hummer would have more torque for such a big body. And the tank is not much bigger than a Toyota Hilux.

Talking about Toyota, they actually have an alternative to the Hummer. Well, it looks more like the H1, but still, it’s a Toyota. Its called the Mega Cruiser, and its pictured above. It’s a 4,1 litre engine that kicks out 111 kw of power @ 3400 rpm and 380 nm @ 1800 rpm. I’m a big Toyota fan, but the fact is, its not as powerful as the F250 or the Hummer. The fuel tank is 108 litres, which is what you expect from this sort of vehicle. It has more torque than the Hummer, which earns it Brownie points. I don’t think its as luxurious though. I’ve heard about a similar Russian car called the GAZ, but I can’t find enough information on it.

The last one is a real monster. It is just ridiculous. It’s a product of the same company that manufactures International trucks, those big 18 wheelers. One day, their R&D department had nothing to do, so they came up with this idea: Why not make a pick-up out of a truck! The monster is called the International XT and has about 4 or 5 models in its stable. I’ll tell you a bit about the CXT. Its 6,5 m long, 2,7m tall and weighs 6,5 tons! It has a 265 litre tank, which you apparently have to fill up every 5 kilometres or so. The engine is just as monstrous: a 6 litre which puts out 220kw of power and 1160Nm of torque!!! And the cab is as big as my living room and very luxurious. Let’s put it this way, no-one will come in your way on the roads and parking is a non-issue!

If this is your sort of thing then you will probably also go for one of those monster trucks with the humongous wheels that crush cars on a Saturday night.

Sadly, I will soon get into my 1998 Toyota Corolla and drive home while looking up at the pickup truck drivers in their air-conditioned cabs while I struggle along behind them. One can only dream….