JcY iVi" ] O perators of 4x4 trucks don't choose vehicles for their
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fuel consumption or, within reason, for their price: they buy them to do a difficult job in arduous conditions. So, to help us evaluate the latest bunch of 4x4s on offer, we invited a cross-section of typical 4x4 buyers to try them out.
They were asked to disregard the bodies fitted to our contenders as they ----tnight_nnt be suited to the work under taken by themselves. The judges were able to drive each fully laden vehicle over one of two rough-road routes; CM'S technical team also took the vehicles for a spin to see how they compared from the driver's seat.
The line-up included entries from Bedford, Foden, Iveco Ford, MAN, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo.
In the main they fell into two groups: 17-tonners and those up to 13.5 tonnes. Some of the 17-tonners had gritter bodies with high centres of gravity: these were taken round the rough-road route at the Bagshot test track. Lighter vehicles tackled the alpine course, complete with its 1-in-3 ups and downs.
From Bedford came the MT17-21 4x4. This is basically the military model !which can be specified with 111.
twin rear wheels and normal tyres for use on (or off) civvy street. As no body was fitted to this vehicle, test weights were strapped to the chassis to take the vehicle to GVW Foden entered its permanent all-wheeldrive 17-tonne snow plough/gritter which was first shown at this year's IRTE show. For many of our judges this was their first sight of the vehicle—and they liked what they saw— although some would have preferred the higher powered (210hp/1571X) engine option.
Iveco Ford's 4x4 Cargo also comes with permanent 4WD but with a 33/67°0 torque split in favour of the rear wheels. Its GVW is 13.5 tonnes and the version tested had the more powerful (224hp/176kW) engine and the longest wheelbase option. With its dropside body and crane this vehicle is defiantly aimed at the go-anywhere end of the market.
MAN's entry was a full-blown 17-tonner, the M90 17.192FAK 4x4 tipper/gritter. We had hoped to see a lighter L2000 4x4 too, but this vehicle remained trapped in Germany. Fitted with a gritter body (but not the plough) the M90 had the longer of two wheelbase options and a six-pot 188hp (140kW) engine.
Having taken heed of our judges' comments MAN has changed the front springs and reengineered the rear suspension to reduce the chassis height by 110mm, to 990mm, beating the 1820AK which was Mercedes-Benz's entry in the 17-tonne category. At the lower weight M-13 also entered the 2150L/38 Unimog.
The AK has become a firm favourite with 4x4 buyers since the demise of the original Bedford and many will take a lot of convincing to look elsewhere. As our example was a gritter (rather than the 4x2 1820K tipper) it had the lower (16,870kg) GVW and the slower (5.144:1) of two axle ratios. In gritting form it is only available with a single (3.6m) wheelbase; the 4x2 tipper has the option of 3.9m.
The U2150L/38 Unimog is the heaviest in the Unimog range with a GVW of 12 tonnes. Our vehicle was only fitted with a single eight-speed box (two extra gearboxes can be specified, giving up to 24 speeds). Being the vehicle it is there are as many speeds in reverse as forward. It came with the longest wheelbase option and most powerful (120hp/157kW) version of the six-pot engine.
Volvo's Highlander completed the line-up. Based on the FL6 with a high-mounted cab and all-Volvo driveline, this model fulfils many operators' desire for a one-stop 4x4. Fitted with 315/80R tyres it grosses at 13.5 tonnes, dropping to 12 tonnes for off-road use. It is only available on a 4.0m wheelbase and with the 177hp (132kW) six-cylinder engine.
by Colin Sowman, John Kendall and Danny Coughlan