Delivery Issue 46

AUSTRALIA’S GUIDE TO UTES, VANS, LIGHT TRUCKS & PEOPLE MOVERS

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ISSUE 46 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2013 RRP: $7.95

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PLUS THE LATEST IN VANS, UTES & LIGHT TRUCKS

FEATURE

THE FOTON FLOP 18

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THE FOTON FLOP

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n paper, the specifications all look most acceptable. The Foton Tunland, a Chinesebuilt ute that was to follow the Great Wall product into the Australian market, seemed to have all the right credentials. But, as time has marched on since the initial statement that it was on the way, all progress seems to have stalled.

Foton Motor Company is headquartered in Changping District in Beijing. The State-owned, Shanghai Stock Exchange listed company, Beiqi Foton Motor Co., Ltd. (Foton) was founded on 28 August 1996, and has since grown to employ 29,000 staff globally and manufacture and export a range of motor vehicles and associated products to over 125 countries. Foton’s brand value exceeds 35.5 billion yuan, with average sales exceeding 650,000 units per year in recent years.

Back in November 2012, the importers, calling themselves Foton Ute Australia, were issuing self-congratulatory statements that its products were easily capable of tackling the most difficult terrain that Australia has on offer.

At that time, the company proudly proclaimed that three 4x4 dual-cab Luxury 2.8-litre, turbo diesel powered, manual transmission Tunlands set off from Broadbeach on the Gold Coast to traverse the Scenic Rim’s popular unsealed road, Duck Creek Road.

Visitors to the official company website in January of this year did in fact find a different story, being offered Tunland ex-demonstrator stock at a knock down, drive-away price of $34,990 for low kilometre 4x4 dual-cab Luxury models with 2012 compliance-plated vehicles.

Notwithstanding that attempts to contact the importer in Queensland proved fruitless, with calls directed to voicemail, a check with industry statisticians VFacts, which records vehicle registrations for 2012, doesn’t indicate that any Foton utes have actually been registered, either by the company or through any dealerships.

For the benefit of our readers, Delivery has seen the Tunland in the flesh at Chinese auto shows, and, to be ultimately fair to the brand, the product seems to be quite acceptable in terms of how it looks and its choice of components.

The basic specification does boast some excellent heritage from component suppliers. The power comes from the Cummins ISF engine, a unit built in China at the Cummins Foton joint venture manufacturing centre. This plant is an equal to any in North America or Europe and also supplies similar engines to JAC for its light truck products already on sale in the Australian market.

The remaining driveline is equally impressive as this uses a GETRAG manual transmission, Borg Warner transfer case, DANA axles and Bosch electrical systems.

According to a company spokesperson, the vehicles started from the Kerry Valley (near Beaudesert) entrance and finished at Lamington National Park Road, having effortlessly negotiated steep and rocky terrain.

The Tunland features CAN bus network, limited slip differential (LSD), anti-lock brake system (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), and dual front supplemental restraint system (SRS) airbags as standard across the range.

In an attempt to go one better, the spokesperson also then suggested that the Tunland was designed for the Western market and is built to cater for Australian work and recreational transport demands.

Standard features also include front door electric and rear door power windows, electric AC with manual setting, AM/FM radio and CD player with audio input (AUX + USB) and four speakers.

“Notably, the Tunland also successfully tackled Lesotho’s tortuous Bobbejaans Pass in South Africa earlier this year,” the spokesperson said.

The unusual aspect of these testimonials was that rather than being issued by an independent third party, the congratulatory statements were issued by one of the company’s own employees.

At an overall length of 5310 mm, a width of 1880 mm and a height of 1870 mm, the tub size is 1520 mm x 1580 mm x 440 mm (LxWxH) when matched to the dual-cab, five-seater body.

Models available on the Australian market are supposed to include the 4x2 and 4x4 Quality and Luxury turbo diesel, manual

In an effort to form some sort of judgment on the ability of the Foton Tunland, Delivery, last year, repeatedly requested access to a vehicle for evaluation, only to be told that no actual vehicles were available.

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TESTED

hen we discuss ute purchase with our readers, the question of fuel economy is one that always surfaces during the early stages of conversation. The expectation of frugal fuel economy of some makes and models remains just an expectation, as the vehicle never achieves fuel figures that were suggested by salesmen at the time of purchase. This is particularly true of the smaller capacity engines that are working harder, especially when towing a laden trailer or caravan.

The current crop of Japanese styled, but Thailand manufactured, utes all vary tremendously when it comes to how much fuel is sipped from the bowser. There are of course exceptions, with the Isuzu D-Max and its 3.0-litre, four-cylinder diesel showing very good economy figures, even when towing maximum weights.

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Another exception is the Volkswagen Amarok. That’s where our test in this issue takes us, as we load up with a full tonne to see just what we can expect this European designed, but Argentinian built, ute on offer.

In this example, we are investigating the credibility of one of the worlds largest vehicle manufacturers, and evaluating how its engine design competes against the more traditional engines of the Japanese suppliers. It’s an engine range that features in vans and people movers as well as cars in a variety of capacities.

With a cubic capacity of 2.0 litres, this four-cylinder engine immediately looks undersized for the job ahead. But this is where technology makes the difference.

SWINGING SINGLES The Volkswagen 2.0-litre diesel used in Amarok Single Cab is turbocharged and available as either 2WD or 4WD in three different power and torque options. The only transmission available is a six-speed manual.

The TS1300 2WD uses a direct-injection petrol engine, and starts off the clan with a single turbine to produce maximum power of 118 kW at 3,750 rpm and peak torque of 300 Nm rated at 1,600 through to 3,750 rpm.

When it comes to fuel efficiency, the TD1340 comes in first place with a claimed combined figure of 7.3 l/100 km. This beats the 9.5 l/100 km of the petrol-engined TS1300 and comes a close second to the TD1400 of 7.8 l/100 km. Emissions ability is also better for the TD1340 with 192 g/km of CO2 versus the 226 g/km of the petrol engine, and 206 g/km of the higher output TD1400.

The dimensions across the three ute versions are identical with a length of 5,181 mm and a width of 1,944 mm. There’s a slight difference in height, varying from 1,820 mm to 1,834 mm for the 4Motion version, but the wheelbase is identical at 3,095 mm.

There’s also a cab chassis version available for fitment with a locally built tray.

The TD1340 has a different bore and stroke dimension and switches to diesel fuel as it moves the emissions rating from Euro IV to Euro V with the addition of a diesel particulate filter.

This engine again uses a single turbocharger, but benefits from commonFrom choice, we The spacious single cab provides enough room behind the seats for rail direct injection. would go for a single something the size of a 20 litre Jerrycan.

Maximum power is 90 kW cab/chassis version produced at 3,750 rpm, with a tray back and with peak torque of 340 Nm rated from 1,750 rpm through 4Motion driveline with the delightful eight-speed ZF automatic to 2,250 rpm. transmission. Unfortunately, though, VW hasn’t seen fit to release that spec’ yet, staying with the single cab ute and Sharing the same bore and stroke dimensions as the cab-chassis version with the six-speed manual gearbox.

TD1340, the TD1400 adds a second turbine to its dieselfuelled, common-rail, direct-injected, four-cylinder diesel.

The model we tested was the TD1400 ute-bodied single Power output increases to 120 kW produced at 4,000 rpm, cab, and, with 4Motion all-wheel-drive, it presents a formidably and peak torque rises to 400 Nm rated good package. at 1,500-2,250 rpm. This is the largest Our first task was to pack in a load of output version of the engine available 50 x 20 kg bags of cement, giving us a in the single cab offering, and it adds full 1,000 kg of payload. Unlike many all-wheel-drive using the 4Motion Japanese-style utes, which Volkswagen system to the driveline.

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FEATURED

No, it’s not Australia.

When it comes to who makes the one of the world’s best utes, look no further than Thailand.

Chris Mullett gives the background story to the success of Isuzu’s Thaibuilt ute.

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ongratulate the parents. That’s the usual accolade when something superior to expectations occurs with offspring. But just how does one stand out from a crowd when the subject under scrutiny is a ute?

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While not condoned by the manufacturer, ute makers such as Isuzu recognise that a percentage of their customers are indeed going to push their purchases to the limit. Consequently, they design their products to deliver rather more than expected, in terms of durability and strength.

The ute market is highly competitive, globally, but nowhere is the competition hotter than in Thailand, where utes form the most predominant form of cargo carrier. There’s a reason for this. Medium and large trucks are not allowed in the city centre, leaving the transportation of just about everything, cargo and people, to a multitude of utes.

Delivery Magazine started our observations into Thai-style ute operation at 5:00 a.m. in the fruit markets in central Bangkok. There were plenty of examples of severe overloading, with utes piled high with fruit boxes reaching up to four metres in the air.

Load stabilisation was achieved by throwing a tarp over the top of the load and, wherever necessary, adding another rope to keep everything under control.

It has to be said that, although we are used to utes carrying a payload of around one tonne within Australia, in Thailand, such is the nature of overloading, that it’s more usual to see payloads of anything up to three tonnes per vehicle.

Lower to the ground level, and a quick look under the rear end of some of these hard done-by workhorses displayed extra leaf packs added to the original semi-elliptical rear leaf springs. And when we say extra leaves, here we are talking about up to ten additional leaves, strapped underneath the original equipment.

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THE CLEVER COUNTRY

Gross overloading takes its toll on tyres, and, in this application, the almost unanimous choice of rubber belongs to Michelin. The familiar fat man is obviously appreciated, often seen adorning windscreens and mirror brackets, albeit with a Thai twist, his hands are held forwards, palms together, to replicate the traditional Thai greeting.

As we wandered the markets inspecting what was basically a health hazard to road users from a weight perspective, it also pays to consider that overloading is not the only problem affecting the Thai transport industry. The fact that many drivers in Thailand do not have something as mundane as a driver’s licence might just be a contributing factor to an accident rate that sees a fatality rate of 11,408 in 2009 (latest figures available), with 113,048 serious injuries. This is out of a population of 61.5 million and compares to Australian figures of 1,507 fatalities the same year for a population of 22 million.

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FEATURE

AT YOUR SERVICE

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Fitting the right bodywork can make your day much easier he service-body business has grown from backyard fit-outs to professionally engineered, purpose-designed units that suit all popular cab/chassis and light truck vocations.

Through the past month, Technical Editor Allan Whiting has been checking out a representative sample of service body builders to bring Delivery readers up to date on what’s typically available.

accommodate the necessary power, tools and equipment for a particular vocation, all safely secured. The products listed below are typical of what’s available today.

Because of the plethora of companies and one-man businesses producing service bodies, it isn’t practical to conduct a national survey of suppliers. Also, with companies named Bott, Boss and Bosston it’s easy to become confused about who makes what!

The transport division of the Boss Engineering Group specialises in modifying vehicles and designing bodywork for utes, cab/chassis and light trucks.

A service body can be a simple toolbox attachment to an existing tray-top or ute body.

At the base level you can pick from a range of massproduced toolboxes at your local Bunnings store. However, most people envisage a service body as a purpose-designed, slide-on or integrated structure that can

Boss Transport In addition to its range of steel tray bodies, the company produces specialised service bodies for the agricultural, construction and mining industries.

The powder-coated, steel tray bodies feature internal tie downs as well as rope rails; a track mounting system for under-tray toolboxes and water tanks; anti-rattle, adjustable sideboard latches; and sideboards with RHS stiffening top and bottom. Floors can be steel, aluminium or hardwood.

Options include channel-section stainless sideboard capping that protects paintwork and a sealed rollout tool drawer.

Boss Transport can produce ready-for-work service vehicles, with bars, racks, long-range fuel tanks, FRP canopies, driving lights, inverters and dual-battery systems.

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AT YOUR SERVICE

BOSS This Bosston model is an Integrated Canopy on a Ford Ranger and is intended for electrical and data installation and servicing for government departments.

Bosston Bosston Auto Bodies is an Australian-owned company with facilities in Cunderdin WA and Goulburn NSW. Central to the Trade Mobile range is a curved-side aluminium canopy that can be fixed or lift-off and features full-height swing-up doors.

Some models have rear doors as well.

The build includes a roller drawer, a bi-fold door, underbody boxes, rear folding steps, door alarms and central locking, a dual-battery system, safety grab handles, a tow bar and roof racks. Internals include work lights, a drawer/shelf unit, a fold-down workbench and mesh divider, a cargo restraint rail and venting.

The Lift-off Universal Series consists of a range of ‘off the shelf’ white-finish units that are all 950 mm high and 1750 mm wide and available in lengths from toolbox size, at 750 mm, through 1000 mm, 1200 mm, 1600 mm up to 2300 mm in length. Optional roof racking is available.

The company also produces custom service bodies for the mining industry and makes a catering van and dual-purpose, working/camping versions of its aluminium canopies.

This Bosston Integrated Half Canopy is fitted to a Nissan Patrol, for mechanical servicing in the mining industry.

The build includes a roller drawer, underbody boxes, rear folding steps, door alarms and central locking, mine-spec’ lighting, grab rails, tow bars and roof racks. The canopy is ROPS certified.

Internals include a Bosstrut divider, a sealed compartment, shelves, a fridge slide, interior lights, drawers, a heavy-duty vice and power sockets.

This Bosston model is an Integrated Half Canopy body on a Holden Colorado, intended for plumbing and reticulation work.

The build includes a bi-fold door, commercial bar, pipe rack, underbody box, reversing camera, door alarms and central locking. Internals include a shelving bay, trays and storage bins, pull out drawers, a heavy-duty vice and interior lights.

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NEW RELEASE

f there was ever a segment in the market that was ripe for attention it’s that of the light commercials. The opportunities for advancement are certainly available, but with what appears to be an almost total lack of appreciation or understanding on the part of most importers, this segment is almost a lost cause in terms of marketing expertise.

General Motors Holden no longer bothers to even compete in the van market, despite a plethora of good product that could be available from Europe. Nissan matches Holden for its lack of interest. For Opel it’s early days yet as the brand has just started marketing its cars here and then there’s Citroen and Fiat.

With new distributors the Fiat Chrysler Group has managed to achieve what many thought was not possible by attaching even less interest to its commercial vehicle range than the previous importers. Peugeot has a small and medium duty van but patently doesn’t know what to do with them.

Over at Ford and the Transit has been the ongoing success story of the light commercial market since 1965. Note the phrase “has been” as that is exactly the correct description for Transit in the Australian market. Today, with absolutely no marketing emphasis on the light commercial products at all, Ford has watched its market share dwindle and decline. No prizes for guessing why.

The Japanese manufacturers are actually no more enthusiastic than the Europeans. Mitsubishi sells the Express, which should have been pensioned off over a decade ago. Meanwhile, Toyota persists with the HiAce, one of the most uninspiring and unimpressive vans on the market, but one that continues to sell, purely as the result of the persistence of the Toyota dealer group.

Fortunately there are bright spots in light commercial marketing and the spotlight here belongs to German van makers MercedesBenz and Volkswagen, Korean vehicle maker Hyundai and Italian manufacturer Iveco.

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Mercedes-Benz is very focused on gaining market share and its Vito and Sprinter range will soon be joined by the Citan small van.

For Volkswagen the Transporter and Crafter fill the same niches but this manufacturer already has the runs on the board by pioneering interest in small vans, turning Caddy into a best seller.

Iveco doesn’t compete in the small vans segment but with its availability restricted to truck dealerships its strength here is that the people selling vans actually understand the need to fit the right specification to the customer.

Hyundai has achieved remarkable success with its iLoad products, showing the Toyota brand that a good SBV (semibonneted van) can outsell a cab over engine one tonner on every occasion. The iLoad is not full of high tech innovation, it’s just well priced with a sensible spec and it’s pleasant to drive. Both Mitsubishi and Toyota had their own SBV products but removed from the market years ago.

THE VAN MAN

Consequently their products now lag way behind on appeal.

Now there’s a wind of change about to blow through the light commercial market and its coming off the water from China.

WMC Industries, the importers of Higer Buses and JAC light trucks is increasing its range of vehicles with the release of the LDV van range. The LDV nameplate recognizes the heritage of the design which dates back to Leyland DAF Vehicles in the UK. We previewed the LDV product in Delivery Magazine back in June 2012, and, during a trip to inspect the manufacturing facilities, we were able to provide an early indication of how important these vans could be to the Australian van buyer.

On the Chinese market the LDV name is replaced by that of Maxus, but existing trademarks and registered company names in Australia resulted in a rebranding to that of LDV.

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bonneted 4WD ute or the semibonneted Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4WD van and cab/ chassis. These alternatives have better comfort than the Canter or NPS light trucks, but a 6x6 conversion is very expensive and the Sprinter’s basic 4WD system without proper low-range gearing, no diff locks and limited ground clearance makes it marginal for serious off-road work.

movement at the station as the word has got around that now there’s a way to carry twice the load capacity of a conventional ute in a 4x4 that has the potential to go almost anywhere off-road. Following several months of testing and ADR homologation, the Iveco Daily 4x4 range is offering brilliant off-road credentials, and Delivery has the story.

Iveco’s 2013 Daily 4x4 is an entirely different kettle of fish and much better than the company’s previous Daily 4WD effort.

There are plenty of people who want more payload than a 4WD ute offers, but don’t want a forward control truck, such as a Fuso Canter, Isuzu NLS or NPS 4x4. Alternatives until now have been limited to a 6x6 conversion on an existing

IVECO’s off-roader sets a new standard for all-terrain load carriers – Allan Whiting heads bush for some real-time Italian action 58

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DAILY DELIGHT Based on the new, award-winning Daily light truck and van range, the 4WD version is built around a turbo-diesel engine, six-speed main transmission, ladder-frame chassis, taper-leaf springs and front and rear live axles fitted with across-axle diff locks. There’s an additional diff lock in the transfer case.

For serious off-road work the vehicle can be operated in deep-reduction low range, but must be stopped before the low-range lever is moved. As with high range, the transmission can operate in under-drive or direct in low range, and the reduction ratios are 1:3.87 and 1:3.12, respectively. In low-low the overall reduction is a class-leading 100:1! Typical 4WD ute low-range reduction is in the 40:1 to 70:1 region.

Back in the olden days, a truck would be given deepreduction gearing to mask a lack of torque, but not in the case of the Iveco Daily 4x4. Power comes from an award-winning, 3.0-litre diesel four, with two turbochargers operating in series and helping the engine punch out 125 kW (170 hp) at 3000-35000 rpm, with peak torque of 400 Nm in the most-used 1250-3000 rpm band.

The 4WD system is a full-time design, with a torqueproportioning transfer case that splits drive 32-percent to the front axle and 68-percent to the rear. It can be mechanically locked by the driver, preventing ‘spin-out’ of the front propshaft when the vehicle is climbing steeply.

The main transmission operates in either direct-drive (1.0:1.0) or under-drive, via a lever that selects a 1:1.24 reduction. When driving with the transfer case in high range, the truck can operate with highway gearing that drops cruising revs at 110 km/h to a shade over 2500 rpm. In this mode, fuel consumption worked out around 11.5-13.5 l/100 km. In under-drive the transmission is set up for dirt-road and track driving, with a lower-speed gearset. For example, in under-drive, the road speed at 2500 rpm is only 90 km/h. The under-drive-direct shift can be done with the vehicle moving.

With series turbocharging, this engine obviously could produce more than 400 Nm, but the torque curve has been tailored to deliver peak torque across a very wide rev band – ideal for an off-road machine, where the driver doesn’t want a sudden, traction-busting wallop of torque as the engine revs change.

Another, mechanical, reason for limiting the peak torque is the Daily 4x4’s considerable gearing reduction. With more engine torque, the driveline and axles would have to be made larger – heavier – and that’s not in the interests of keeping tare weight to minimum.

Speaking of weights, the Daily 4x4 single-cab/chassis model tips the scales at 2.5 tonnes – about the same weight as a LandCruiser 200 Series station wagon!

The Iveco Daily 4x4 has been released with a two- or three-seat short-cab and a six- or seven-seat crew-cab, and all seating positions have lap-sash seat belts. The standard driver’s seat in both models is an ISRI air-suspended chair, and the standard passenger seat is a two-place bench.

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FEATURE

icles? h e v e f a s s s e l in s e e y emplo r u o y t u p o t d r o f f a u Can yo esponsibility is a double-edged sword, but, when it comes to your employees, there’s a definite requirement for the employer to be responsible for the safety of the employee.

Already, mining giant BHP has stated that its future buying policy will be limited to five-star crash safety rating vehicles, and its very likely that other companies will soon follow suit.

The ANCAP test programme has already identified many of the better performing vehicles available in our market, and manufacturers are now recognising that safety sells, making their vehicles correspondingly better than those of previous years.

ANCAP awards a star rating from one to five for each vehicle following independent crash tests by independent specialist laboratories.

New vehicles are awarded or deducted points based on a combination of test categories and scientific criteria. All vehicles are assessed under identical testings standards and conditions.

In all tests, dummies are used to measure the various forces on the occupants in a crash. The data gathered is then assessed, using internationally recognised protocols, and star-ratings are determined for each crash test.

Observations are also made on the displacement of dummies during the crash, as well as the structural impact on the vehicle’s occupant compartment.

Points are awarded if the vehicle is fitted with safety features such as Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), and seat belt reminders.

To achieve an ANCAP five-star rating, a vehicle must achieve the highest international recognised standards in all test categories.To see how some of the light commercials perform in the Australian market, Delivery has reviewed just which products make the grade in the van and ute market.

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5 STANRG RATI

SAFETY FIRST

The latest Holden Colorado comes in with two ratings.

For its single and space-cab variants it’s a four-star rating, while its dual-cab versions get the full five stars. This is a significant leap upwards from the previous model that scored just three stars.

Although basically identical, apart from driveline alternatives, the Isuzu D-Max dual-cab versions come in with a four-star rating. The differences here supposedly relate to the front seats of the Isuzu featuring single-stage pre-tensioners rather than the two-stage pre-tensioners used by Holden. Inside sources also suggest that GM made slight modifications to the chassis rails of the shared frame design and that Isuzu engineers are currently evaluating these differences in order to effect an upgrade to five-star ratings.

Nissan Navara D40 dual-cab utes come in with a four-star rating, but, for the real star performers in the ute segment, you have to look to Mazda, Ford and Volkswagen.

The VW Amarok for the Australian market comes in with a five-star rating for its dual-cab 4x4, while certain models for the NZ market lose one star, as they cross over the Tasman, to land with a four-star rating.

The Mazda BT50 scores a full-five star rating for single and dual-cab versions, matching the performance of Ford with all versions of the Ranger that include side curtain airbags. The 4x2 single-cab/chassis Ranger drops back to four stars.

5 ST RATINAGR

The progress made by Ford and Holden in passenger car safety obviously shows through in the Falcon ute, which itself scores five stars for the Styleside Box FG MkII ute. The Commodore VE Omega ute also scores five stars.

Indian manufacturer, Mahindra, has impressed Delivery with its Pik-Up ute, which in dual-cab form provides good interior space and a fuel-efficient diesel. Unfortunately, crash safety for Indian domestic market doesn’t figure too highly on the scale of one to five, with the Pik-Up scoring just three stars for post 2012 models. Pre-2012 models score a worse rating of two stars.

India is not the only country to produce low ratings for utes. Japanese utes, such as the Toyota Landcruiser 70 Series cab/chassis models, also suffer from having a relatively old design, coming in with a three star rating. The Nissan Patrol cab/chassis suffers from the same malaise of being an old design, attracting a three-star rating.

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here’s something rather special about being invited to have the first drive of a product that’s totally new to Australia, months before it actually goes on sale. That was the scenario for Delivery Magazine as we sampled the first LDV van registered in the Australian market and, in a nutshell, we came away very impressed.

Without doubt, the LDV is the best Chinese-sourced vehicle we, or our counterparts at sister magazine ECOcar, have yet driven.

Of course, there are some compelling reasons why the expectation of the LDV was anticipated to be impressive, and that relates to its origins of design being based outside China.

With the history of the company and its development well covered in our feature in this issue (Page 54), we are able to concentrate here on how the van feels, sounds, performs and functions when driven for the first time on Australian roads.

First impressions of driving the long wheelbase, high roof V80 van are that LDV is very rapidly going to win support from customers that would have been looking to purchase a VW Crafter, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Iveco Daily, Ford Transit or Toyota HiAce. Highly comparable with all the vehicles mentioned so far, the van comes into our market with a high roof and interior dimensions of

VAN AP

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VAN APPEAL

3,290 mm x 1,800 mm 1,400 mm (length x width x height).

Access to the cargo area is by sliding side load door on either side or by the rear outer-hinged barn doors.

Wheel positioning is pretty much on the lines of a wheel near each corner of the body, and this solves the problem of excessive overhang where there are difficulties in loading a cargo between the wheelbase. No such problems exist here with the V80. Access is good, and with a GVM of 3,500 kg the estimated maximum payload is 1,430 kg.

Although pricing was not available so early prior to the vehicle launch, it’s anticipated that the cost will be very competitive in relation to other products in the same segment.

Some are already suggesting that rather than hundreds of dollars, the savings available by choosing LDV would leave several thousand dollars in the purchaser’s pocket.

Don’t be misled, though, in thinking that the buyer will be getting a cut-price purchase. The specification of the LDV is high, the interior finish good and the list of inclusions, all of which appear to be standard, is impressive.

From a safety perspective, the LDV embraces ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake Force Distribution) and Emergency Brake Assist (BAS), and comes with disc brakes all round. LED lights are a first on a van in our market, and also included is cruise control, power windows and mirrors, air conditioning, front fog lights, an AM/FM radio that links to an iPod, and a driver’s seat that adjusts eight different ways. Even alloy wheels are standard, and the driver and passenger are both protected

by SRS airbags. The inclusion of rear parking sensors is also to be applauded.

Our first introduction to the LDV V80 long wheelbase with high roof started with the remote key door unlocking and quickly moved into a settling-in period as we adjusted seats and mirrors for comfort and vision. The powered external mirrors are big, vibration free and give an excellent rear-vision spread of view. Beneath the main mirrors are smaller convex spotter mirrors. These are adjusted manually, but when set correctly they give an excellent field of additional vision.

You realise just how good these mirrors are when on the freeway. This is where, with some vehicles, you can lose a passing vehicle in another lane. The LDV’s main mirror and spotter mirror give such a broad coverage that it’s going to be a very slack driver that doesn’t see an approaching vehicle. There is no vibration evident in any of the mirror lenses.

Massive interior space with a strong engine and driveline provide the potential for LDV to make a significant mark on the Australian van segment.

The seat is certainly comfortable for a day spent in the cab, and all controls are very easy to reach. The gear lever sprouts from the dashboard and controls a five-speed manual transmission that has a set of ratios well matched to the performance of the 2.5-litre VM diesel.

We found that in freeway driving the 110 km/h mark was accomplished and maintained at a respectably low 2,250 rpm.

This is good for fuel economy and also results in low interior cabin noise. In fact, there was little road noise transfer from the tyres through to the interior.

Our test V80 was carrying approximately 500 kg as a part load, and this enabled us to get a good idea of the performance and torque available from this four-cylinder engine, driving the front wheels.

The only quirky point of difference from many other vans is the positioning of the dials for speed, engine rpm, engine temperature and fuel gauge in a central binnacle on the dashboard rather than in front of the driver.

At first, the positioning is a bit of a surprise, but within minutes the driver becomes easily used to checking for details centrally rather than through the steering wheel. In case it’s something that might cause you concern, just ponder on the fact that Mini has used this positioning now for over 50 years, and it seems to work all right there. If there is any room for improvement, it’s that the dials are a little difficult to see when wearing sunglasses. A change of colour for the display could easily fix this.

Our first drive of the LDV van shows a strong potential for sales success. Words by Chris Mullett.

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angkok in Thailand plays host each year to two motor shows. The first is the standard international style event with exhibits from the majority of the world’s global players. The second is more of a local Thai-focused expo, covering the domestic market and suppliers of accessories.

If you’ve got a boring Mum-bus version of a people mover, there’s a plethora of choice with aero kits, side skirts, interior dress-up kits, customised seating and further extras that can turn your practical person shifter into the tackiest vehicle in your street.

Some conversions just go way over the top, illustrated by one that we travelled in where the owner had added Police sirens and flashing red and blue strobe lights. When faced with trying to switch lanes for a right turn in heavy traffic, the driver actuated the lights and two tones until the traffic moved sufficiently for him to edge over to the offside to make the turn. We don’t suggest that’s something for the Australian market, as it might take a bit of explaining.

Hostesses wearing any combination of shiny, shimmering, fluffy mini-dresses were just about everywhere on every stand. All looked stunning (if you like that sort of style), but we have to admit that the dress designers in some areas had obviously been given a totally free choice in how far they went with their creations.

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Back to the vehicle exhibits, and the two big stands belonged to Isuzu and Toyota.

Back to the vehicle exhibits, and the two big stands belonged to Isuzu and Toyota. The battle lines are drawn for which of the two companies ranks first or second in the market. Currently the leader in sales, with 40 percent of market share is Toyota with the HiLux. Isuzu comes in second place with a market share of 32 percent.

What’s left after that is divided up between the utes of Nissan and Mitsubishi.

CNG is gaining popularity in the Thai automotive arena, with many medium to heavy-weight trucks plying the highways out of town displaying racks of CNG storage cylinders mounted behind the truck cabin. Taxis are also commonly operating on CNG. The DEVA Hercules may not be a truck name well known to Australian readers, but, on closer examination, it becomes obvious this light truck range is actually that of JAC trucks and built in China. Fitted with a factory-built dropside tray, or with a pantech’ body, the Hercules leads buyers from the light-truck segment into the medium sector where it offers a higher GVM model called the Mercury.

Indian truck maker, TATA, was also exhibiting at the Expo, and its range of single and space cab utes were available.

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