page_title: Ford Bantam
section_title: Second generation (1990-2001)
hierarchical_section_title: Ford Bantam / Background / Second generation (1990-2001)
caption_attribution_description: English: 1996 Ford Bantam 1600 Leisure utility (South African specification), photographed in New Zealand. These are essentially a Ford Laser utility, only sold in South Africa where this was imported from. According to CarJam, this one was imported from South Africa in 1999. The Bantam with this front continued until 2002, by which time the basic design was 17 years old.
context_page_description: The Ford Bantam is a coupé utility/pickup produced in South Africa. Production of the Bantam spanned three generations, with the vehicle produced in South Africa for sale within the South African market.
context_section_description: In 1990, the Escort-derived Bantam was replaced with a Mazda 323-derived model. To save on research and development costs, the new Bantam used a slightly modified version of the existing load box from the previous Bantam. Re-styling and finishing of the new vehicle were undertaken by Samcor's in-house design studio. The new Bantam was the first South African-produced vehicle to be subjected to computer-modelled finite-element stress analysis, and also benefitted from accelerated durability testing conducted by the University of Pretoria. As before, the vehicle was also available as a Mazda Rustler.
  323-derived Bantams and Rustlers were available in various trim levels, and with a choice of three different petrol engines: a 1 323 cc carburettor-fed Mazda B3 engine producing 50 kW, a 1 597 cc carburettor-fed Mazda B6 engine producing 60 kW, and a 1 597 cc fuel-injected variant of the B6 engine that produced 77 kW.
  Luxury-specification 60 kW versions featuring cloth-covered bucket seats, a sports steering wheel and bodywork decals were also available. The Ford variant was badged the Explorer, while the Mazda variant was badged the Drifter.
caption: Ford Bantam (second generation)
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