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Friends of mine had a TV production company in Durban in the nineties. Their production vehicle was what we called a ‘halwe broodjie’ or half loaf, a Suzuki minivan with a 960cc motor, called, I think, a Carry. You could get to 100km/h on a downhill or with a fair tailwind, but not up a hill. Yet they found it very useful.
Suzuki has just released their new ‘halwe broodjie’, now called the Eeco. It is a little bigger, with a much more powerful 1.2L motor and modern safety equipment. For the rest it is still very much nineties style.
If you are a small business owner, entrepreneur or a one -man band, you need a practical, very loyal trustworthy yet affordable way of transport … that is exactly what Suzuki had in mind when they brought out the new Eeco mini panel van.
It is great as a small delivery van, or a little mobile toolshed for a handyman. A florist, or pet grooming service will find the sliding doors on both sides very handy, and the extremely effective aircon and caged space very practical.
These, plus the price are the plus points.
This little van comes with the bare minimum equipment. Sometimes less is more, but in this case it means just the basics, nineties style. The windows wind up with an old fashioned winder and you wrestle with the steering without any power assistance.
There is a lack of a storage space for anything like files, water bottles, sunglasses, pens etc. in the cabin. I am not sure I would survive a longish trip in the two seats but they are comfortable on short trips. The ‘boot’ or cargo box, however, is big with a 615 kg capacity and is 1 620 long, 1 300 wide and 1 070 high with a flat floor.
In spite of the old style equipment the ride in town is fine and acceleration feels almost nippy, especially in third and fourth. The Eeco is okay on the open road and will reach 100 km/h easily, but is better suited to town.
The 32L fuel tank gives it a range of about 500 km per tank at the claimed 5,5L/ 100 km. With 59kW at 6000 rpm and 104 Nm at 3000 performance is adequate rather than lively but I think fit for purpose. I found the combination of the engine and gearbox to really do the job and a pleasure to use around town. The Eeco has the essentials for safety like rear park distance control, two airbags, ABS brakes with EBD and ESP stability assist to help it around corners.
With the withdrawal of the Nissan NP200 there will be no small bakkies on the market except for the Eeco’s sibling, the Super Carry rated to carry 750kg. This gives the Eeco a good niche to fill on its own in the R200k segment. The Fiat Fiorino has about the same cargo capacity as the Eeco but is much more stylish and powerful but at R367k, the bigger Doblo around R410k. Volkswagen offers the Caddy Cargo at R437k, Renault the Triber Express (with 542 kg capacity) at R292k and Peugeot its Partner at R485k but is rated for 1 000 kg and is much bigger and has a top-class cabin, altogether a different kettle of fish.
The only Eeco model is a 1.2L two wheel drive 5-speed manual. The list price is R205 900. It comes with a three-year or 100 000 km warranty.
