The JAC X200 2.8 Diesel Single-Cab Is A Steady Worker

You need a last-mile delivery vehicle; one that can carry a full ton of goods, can squeeze into and out of tight spots but doesn’t have to be fast or fancy. A standard one-ton pickup almost fills the bill. But you want more - a lot more - just not at fancy prices, thank you.

(Cue drum roll and trumpet) JAC Motors’ X200 single-cab, forward control, dropside is priced about the same as entry-level pickups from the Big Three - Ford, Isuzu and Toyota – offers a few more nice-to-haves and has similar shortcomings yet carries a bigger load, 1500 kg, in its almost 4.6 square-metre cargo bin.

Find a JAC X200 for sale now!

What shortcomings? No entry-level, single-cab, pickup on sale in South Africa offers ABS brakes or airbags. This one doesn’t either.

Those from the Big Three don’t have radios, aircon or automatic locking as a standard kit but the single cab JAC X200 for sale does. Those others are all regular pickups so loading and unloading is from the back end only, or grunt-and-lift over the sides. Dropping X200’s tailgate, or side panels, and its loading deck height of only 785 mm, allow quick and easy access to loads. That includes heavier items stacked close to the cab to improve weight distribution.

A further advantage of dropside bodies is that there are no intruding wheel arches, so all the load space is usable. On the other hand, regular pickups’ load bins are deeper, affording greater security.

Suspension is by means of double wishbones in front and two-part leaf springs at the rear. Brakes are disc and drum while steering assistance is old-school hydraulic. Other traditional features are hand-wound windows and DIY mirror adjustment.

There are other choices of dropside pickup – Hyundai’s H100 and Kia's K2700 – they cost about the same, have lower-powered engines, use more fuel (according to their makers) and carry less. Just saying.

Stop right here and just find an X200 model for sale and get on with your work.

This one’s powered by a Chinese clone of Isuzu’s 2771 cc, four-cylinder, 4JB1-T turbodiesel. It’s a simple device; SOHC, eight valves and direct fuel injection from Bosch. Output is rated at 80 kW and 240 Nm, so it’s not the most powerful machine in the toolbox but it gets the job done. That’s helped along by low gearing, rather like early Land Rovers.

Torque peaks between 1800 and 2000 rpm and your ears suggest that you gear up a notch at around 2500, so progress tends to be slow but steady. And that’s all you need if you’re going to be stopping to drop off cargo every few minutes anyway.

Out on the freeway, it cruises happily at around 2250 rpm for 100 km/h in fifth. The national speed limit comes up at 2750 rpm, by which time the mill is beginning to sound busy. The rev. counter redlines at 4000 in intermediate gears but your ears probably wouldn’t want you to do that too often. Top speed is given as 130 km/h.

The two-part front seats can accommodate three if the need arises but they had better be close friends because space is rather tight. And thank the gods of transport for the air conditioner in hot weather. When carrying only a driver and one crew member, the centre seat’s backrest can fold down to reveal a nice big oddments tray and a couple of cup holders. The door bins offer space for small juice bottles and are suitably narrow to accommodate clipboards without flopping about.

Only the driver’s chair offers fore-and-aft adjustment. The passenger seat doesn’t, because it has to be able to lift up to provide access to the engine compartment. Luckily, one can get to basics like coolant and washer top-up bottles via a drop-down panel above the front number plate. Checking the oil level still requires lifting the seat, however.

Summing up, these trucks are made for working; essential frills only, no pretentiousness and no speed records. Just honest hard graft.

.

.

.

.

. Sourced from https://scarletpumpkin.com/