TRUCKS ON TEST
THE OTHER MEDIUM DUTY FROM
JAPAN
UD Trucks are mounting a comeback in the Australian medium duty truck market with a new model, the Croner, leading the charge. Tim Giles takes one out on the roads of Brisbane to assess its potential.
T
he medium duty truck market in Australia is dominated by the Japanese truck brands, which consistently represent around 90 per cent of truck sales between eight and 16 tonnes GCM. In the last couple of years, UD has reduced sales of trucks in this segment as there was a gap between the last of the Condor models delivered into Australia and the arrival, this year, of the new Croner. This new model sees the UD brand move away from the lower end of the medium duty sector and push a little further into the lighter end of the heavy duty market. Where the Condor came in with an MK, PK and PD configuration, Croner is simply PK and PD. Both of these models are, essentially, the same truck. One is configured as a 4x2 and the other as a 6x2. These models’ introduction means that UD Trucks now has a range in Australia which can compete from the 15 tonne GVM Croner four wheeler through the 24 tonne GVM Croner and then on up through the weight scale to include the Quon with 8-litre engine 6x2 and 6x4, the 11-litre engine powered 8x4 rigid and 6x4 rigid and prime mover. UD seem to have decided to leave the lower GVM end of the medium duty market to the white-hot competition between Isuzu, Hino and Fuso. The company is looking to its traditional core market as a fleet truck in metro and intrastate distribution, plus giving itself the ability to successfully tender for the lucrative and long running Australia Post 4x2 and 6x2 market. The truck on test for Diesel this time around is the 4x2 Croner with a driveline which is the same throughout
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DIESEL September-October 2020
the Croner offering, the 280hp (206kW) at 2200rpm 7.7-litre GH8E, which puts out 1,050Nm (774 ft lb) of torque. This proved to be a strong performer in the heavier Quon models tested by Diesel, so it makes easy work of sitting in a 4x2 chassis. Sitting behind this engine is another proven performer: The Allison 3000 Series six speed fully automatic transmission. If any truck wants to compete in this segment of the market, this has become close to a standard option. In fact, on the Croner, it’s the only option. With 5.57:1 rear axle ratio, this equates to 1800rpm at 100km/h. Out on the road, the performance of the engine, especially when coupled with the Allison box, makes life so easy for the driver. The pedals are simply stop and go buttons and the driveline just does the rest. When approaching red traffic lights, the driver simply takes the foot off the gas and pulls on the exhaust brake. The transmission does the rest, pushing up the revs to use the retardation. This kind of set-up is ideal for the kind of work this truck will be asked to do all of its life, racing from traffic light to traffic light to keep up with a busy delivery schedule. The driver can concentrate on all of the other things they need to be aware of and not be changing gears to keep momentum up. Even the worst drivers end up driving this smoothly.
FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT The basic controls for the driver seem well laid out and pretty simple. There is little clutter of unnecessary switches around the driver. The information
