Foton Tunland – a pickup conjuring images of home

Not a Beijing debutant, but definitely worth the mention, if only for the novel take on things it presents. Foton, which came up with the Saga SUV some years back, had a pickup called the Tunland on show as part of the overall BAIC display.

Rather quaint name, this. Considering that rolling ‘Foton Saga’ off one’s lips immediately conjures images of a particular sedan, the initial thought must surely be that the pickup’s name is a homage to erm, Proton’s advisor, as well as the tanah air, but it’s probably an amalgamation of tundra and terrain. You think?

Oh, yes, the truck itself. The Foton Tunland comes in single-cab, extra cab and double-cab forms. The latter, seen at the show, has a 2.8 litre Cummins ISF2.8s4161P diesel mill, good for 161 hp at 3,600 rpm and 360 Nm from 1,800 to 3,000 rpm, mated to a Cadillac-derived manual transmission.

Performance figures include a 150 km/h top speed as well as a 0-100 km/h time of less than 13.5 seconds. Safety kit includes ABS and EBD, as well as two airbags, and there’s a 129 hp version of the ISF 2.8 too in the mix.