L JIJJ ROADTEST: IVECO CARGO 75E14S
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has a bit more meat on it than the 11.7in (297mm) or The hack axle comes with a 3.31:1 standard spiral-bevel differential which, with the directdrive (1:1) top gear of either box, gives a cruising speed of up to 69mph (110km/h). There are four other final drives to choose from; ours had the slightly faster 3.15:1 diff which needs reining back at the motorway limit, 1veco Ford was one of the first manufacturers to fit disc brakes on both axles at this weight and although they were not without their teething troubles, particularly at the back, discs are now standard with air-overhydraulic actuation on all Cargoes up to 10 tonnes gross. Beyond that mark full air is used with discs up front and drums behind.
Apart from dedicated tipper versions which have multi-leaf spring packs, !woo fits longleaf parabolics front and rear with dampers and anti-roll bars. The 7.5-tonne 75E14S is plated at 5.2 tonnes over the rear axle and 2.9 tonnes at the front which gives a useful 600kg of loading tolerance.
• PRODUCTIVITY Driverless, but with a full 120-litre tank rather than Iveco's listed 20 litres, our 4.2in daycabbed 75E14S weighs a shade under three tonnes. A 19.2ft (5.85m) Ecotek body and slippery panels adds a further 1.03 tonnes to leave a payload potential of 3.59 tonnes. That's a third of a tonne better than Volvo's Perkinsengined FLC and only a co-driver's weight behind the Leyland Daf 45-150 (CM 1-7
August 1991). Many light delivery trucks carry more fresh air than parcels—ours met its moment of truth fully freighted with concrete test weights. In fact it proved to be fast and extremely frugal (helped by that lowheight slippery body) with an overall return of 18.4mpg (15.3 lit/100km) which put it way ahead of the three Eurol and Euro-2 rivals in our comparison chart.
Leyland Daf's 45-150 is fastest in our comparison group with an overall average speed of 763km/h, compared with the 75E14S's 74.4km/h, but that is more than matched by the Cargos 8.2("-, superiority in fuel consumption. The lveco also delivered outstanding economy over the twisting A-road section of our test route, clocking 19.6mpg (14.4 lit/100km). But despite good weather and reasonable traffic flows its average speed of 61.8km/h was only moderate,
lveco recommends servicing the 75E14S at 30,000km intervals which is about on a par with the competition. So too is its „E2,340 annual contract maintenance charge, which is part of the usual five-year calculation. MAN wants 4;2,326 a year and Leyland Daf 1:2,184.
The other listed rival, Volvo, says it is currently reviewing its charges. It claims that the end result will be "competitive".
• ON THE ROAD When we roadtested an early Cargo five years ago we called it a well rounded package, and so it remains. Apart from an unforgiving, unsprung driving seat our well-run-in demon strator handled a real treat. Its ergonomics are pretty good with nicely weighted controls The chassis' parabolic springing gives it a really firm ride so our overall impression was favourable. With its near encapsulated engine, noise levels are reasonable at all speeds.
It may not be as quick out of the gate as the 145hp LD 45-series or the recently tested MAN 8.163F hut it does show pace in traffic, mainly due to a lively but high revving motor and well spaced ratios.
With the engine churning out 13411p at 2,700min and some :3001U (410Nm) of torque at 1,400rpm there's not much pep left once it reaches the 70mph limit, which is useful because the relevant numbers are obscured by the tacho clock.
With the 315:1 differential the 75E14 feels quite vigorous, pulling easily around town and cruising nicely on faster roads too, quickly reaching and holding the higher speed limits. Should you happen across a bunch of heavies straddling two lanes of a motorway the Cargo 75E14S can even nip in and out of the fast lane legally so there's potential for good journey times.
However, the box-bodied Cargo does have a real truck-like feel to it which can unnerve drivers more used to cars. Legally it can travel at 60 and 70mph on dual carriageways and motorways respectively.
More skill and concentration is needed when bowling along twisting country lanes where the limit may be 50mph, but light, precise steering and very effective, if slightly soft