TESTERS' CHOICE
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it all depends on what you want...
LAST YEAR'S TESTS threw up quite a few vehicles that defied categorisation, including a couple of waste vehicles which couldn't even be compared with each other (an MANbased recycling vehicle from Trio and a Seddon Atkinson/Jack Allen Pacer RCV). The subtleties of chassis, body and driveline specifications demonstrate that the waste management business is exceptionally complex—and not short of a bob or two. The FAME Minimax is a colossal 6x2 box van based on the front-wheel-drive Citroen Relay, which manages to combine a 3.5-tonne gross weight with a load volume of 34m3— and still delivers a payload of over a tonne. The Volumaker (on a Mercedes Sprinter chassis) is less remarkable, but it's a nicely finished 18m3 box van with a matching trailer; an attractive combination.
At the lighter end, a new hatchback-derived van appeared; the Fiat Punta has a 1.7-litre diesel and the usual virtues and vices of the class. It's comfortable and well made, and delivers well over forty miles to the gallon. There's nothing wrong with it, but the Punto lacks the edge to make it a class leader. A real surprise arrived in the form of Skoda's Felicia: this petrol-engined pickup costs only 25,999 on the road, but it beats the bargain-basement competition hollow when it comes to build quality and refinement. The bodywork and engine are all Skoda's own work, but the Czech firm has evidently learned a great deal about manufacturing from its new owner, Volkswagen. The best endorsement is that VW is selling the pickup bodged as its own. We're looking Forward to testing the WV-powered diesel version too.
Another new player turned up in the commercial market: lsuzu Truck (UK} is the distributor for the biggest truck maker in the world in terms of sales volume. Around 300,000 of Isuzu's N-series are sold every year, but this was our first official chance to sample the NPR 6.2-tonner. The truck itself is pretty conservative, but marketing features such as fixed pricing, factory-fitted bodywork and fleet management services make it more intriguing.
Just a little way up the weight range is the Volvo FLC; this new 7.5-tonner is the spiritual successor to the long-dead FL4, matching the FL6 cab to a Perkins Phaser engine, ZF gearbox and Eaton drive axle. We were convinced by the idea of the FLC, it's well built and the no-haggle price is very attractive, but we couldn't ignore its lacklustre fuel consumption. Please have another go, Volvo. Sorry, but we haven't picked a particular winner From this group—how could we?