Chinese vehicle manufacturer Jiangling Motors (JMC) has launched its Vigus 5 bakkie – essentially a major upgrade of the current Vigus – locally. The updated pickup, known as the Yuhu in China, is endowed with the stormtrooper fascia treatment and inverted trapezoid grille first seen on the 2017 JMC Teshun.
Interestingly, this model has already been replaced by the Chinese market only Yuhu 7 – built on the same Jiangling platform – in 2017 and was last year withdrawn from the Australian market as it was considered “too old”. In local trim, the Vigus 5 will be available in single- and double cab configuration but with diesel power only. Its Ford-developed Puma 2,4-litre TDCi turbodiesel engine delivers 103 kW and 310 Nm of torque, compared to the 88 kW and 290 Nm of the current Vigus.
Available in 4×2 and 4×4 variants the engine of the Vigus is mated to a five-speed Getrag manual transmission and a Borg-Warner four-wheel drive system (in 4×4 configuration) and comes standard with ABS and EBD, dual airbags, four-wheel disc brakes, TPMS, and a wide-angle rear-view camera. Inside, the beige trim of the current Vigus is replaced with black and grey interior trim and leather seats, power steering, and aircon is also standard.
Pricing has not yet been announced, but in top-line trim, the Vigus 5 should retail for around R400,000 (including a five-year/100,000 km warranty and five-year/60,000km service plan) if the R379 880 price tag of the current Vigus SLX serves as a benchmark.
