Triton brings the challenge to competitors
The bakkie war has intensified with the local launch of Mitsubishi’s next-generation Triton, an evolution in the iconic bakkie’s 46-year legacy.
- Product News
- 21 November 2024
Motus Toyota CapeGate was chosen for the final servicing destination of a very special Hilux-bakkie that had just completed 48 018 kilometres of non-stop driving.
The Hilux drove all the way from Falkirk in Scotland to Durbanville in the Western Cape. En route, it stopped at various countries in Europe, including some towns and cities in Scandinavia near the North Pole.
“We were honoured to give the 2013 Double Cab 3.0D-4D 4x4 its normal service after completing the gruelling trip through Europe and then south through Africa to eventually reach us,” says Henri Roux, Dealer Principal at Motus Toyota CapeGate.
And like the rest of the trip, which included an extended lockdown-stay in Kenya, the Hilux ran like a good Swiss clock, not missing a beat. The couple, Ken (a Scot) and Lorraine (a South African) McLuckie, are now settling in South-Africa.
According to them, the only “repairs” were a as a precautionary replacement of the front discs (Vila Real, Portugal), a new tyre valve (Lalibela, Ethiopia), two new OME rear shock absorbers (Rundu, Tanzania) and an extra leaf inserted in rear springs to help with the trailer they towed (Nairobi, Kenya).
The couple also replaced the vehicle’s main and auxiliary battery in Venice, Italy after the original battery died. And Ken finally agreed to do the wheel alignment after the rough roads in Etosha National Park in Tsumeb in Namibia truly put the wheels out of alignment.
Astonishingly, the couple had no technical troubles and not even a single breakdown.
Ken and Lorraine did do some repairs on their off-road trailer that made the trip with them. In Gizycko, Poland, the trailer fell off its high-lift jack and bent the towing section, necessitating a quick bit of panel beating.
According to the couple’s well-worn logbook, the Hilux had 98 176 kilometres on the odometer when they left Scotland. It had its first major service in Vila Real in Portugal at 114 588 and then arrived for its next service in Ethiopia with 128 800 kilometres on the clock.
Interestingly, the Toyota Service Centre in Addis Ababa in Ethiopia describes itself as the third largest service centre on the continent. According to Ken and Lorraine, the service area is as large as a football field with 80 workstations.
After leaving Ethiopia and travelling through several countries, the couple checked in to Mbeya, Tanzania for an oil service at 137 198 km and then, with 146 194 kilometres travelled, ended the trip at Motus Toyota CapeGate.
Some cool statistics about the McLuckie trip in their Toyota Hilux 3.0 D-4D bakkie:
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Unlike in the past, when dealerships primarily waited for customers to come to them, we now take a more proactive approach, bringing our vehicles directly to places where people gather, allowing them to experience the product first-hand, including offering test drives,” says Gerrie van der Kaay, Dealer Principal at Supergroup Dealerships Jetour Midrand.
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