"Cup of Redbush tea, sir, madam?" The cabin attendant repeats the query as she pushes her trolley down the aisle of the South African Airways flight from JFK. I hold my cup out for a final refill as the plane descends to Cape Town.

After whisking through baggage and customs, I am handed the keys to my 4x4 --a crisp, white, chunky-looking Toyota Fortuner 3.0-liter D-4D. After my camera assistant Heather finds a gear she likes, makes a couple of bronco lurches, and a lively but un-intended salutation of the windscreen wipers, we take to the open road.

The Fortuner is rather fabulous, with all the whistles and bells required by any petrol head. The only thing we need though, it does not have: a GPS. Fortunately, Heather's husband had carefully noted down the exact route we needed to follow, which we dutifully ignore and get ourselves lost.

Trying to find someone to direct us, we approach a village that overflows with hawkers selling rough-hewn stools and chairs and women grilling maize cobs on smoky braziers. The sharp-sweet smell of the maize instantly brings back childhood memories, as it speaks much of life on the African roadside. I approach a vendor for directions and lunch. Following an exchange of coins and a few words, she looks over my shoulder at the shiny Fortuner and its blued-out windows.

"I am very sad today," she announces. "My van, she is an old one. She has been my friend for many years--right from the time we first came to the Cape. And now she is like an old cow standing under a tree waiting for the end to come." Her eyes moisten around the edges, as those of one who has looked too long into the smoke of a wood fire. Her husband appears brightly from somewhere, cutting her off. He raises a finger and points at the Fortuner, as if pointing to the source of his inspiration.

"This car is what we will buy Beauty," he says, turning to his distraught wife. "This car, she is good. I have read what the newspapers they say of her." While the engine ticks itself cool, he tells me of Toyota's history in South Africa, explaining that it is as much part of the country's culture as rugby, BBQs, and sunny skies.

The Fortuner is Toyota's cheapest SUV. Its frame is based on that of a pickup, but the styling is soft, with no 4x4 toughness showing through. It has true off-road ability, thanks to four-wheel drive with low-range gearing. It has loads of legroom and space for five adults and two kids. As such, its value-packed price has attracted families rather than off-road junkies.

This unit produces 163 b.h.p., but more importantly 35 k.g.m. of torque, since it has to shift the Fortuner's