ROAD TESTS AND APPRAISALS
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III Freight Rover Sherpa 250HL petrol van Price as tested: £6,409 excluding VAT (price includes £5,886 basic van, £290 for HL option with two-litre engine, £167 for side-loading door and £66 for tailgate).
Revisions to the range mean that this vehicle measures up well against any one-tonne van on the market. The FR's two-litre petrol engine is not the most economical one around, but there can be no doubting its power and ability to maintain high average speeds (motorways: 94.4km/h, 58.7mph urban. 51.3km/h; 31.9mph). Its average fuel consumption while laden was 13.2 litres/100km (21.37mpg).
How long can FR continue with the current 200-Series body? According to the company, it will remain competitive with sufficient updates until the 1990s. That must depend on how much further the basic shell can be improved. Commercial Motor, March 15.
III Toyota LiteAce van
Price as tested: £5,026 excluding VAT The likeable LiteAce may appeal to those who would otherwise choose a car-derived van, one-tonne panel van or even more micro vans, despite a price premium around £2,000. But a fifth-gear option would be useful in the UK. It has a 1.5-litre pushrod overhead valve petrol engine and its average fuel consumption laden was 10.3 1it/100km (27.3mpg) and average speed laden 70.3km/h (43.7mph).
The LiteAces's main rival must be the equally new Nissan Vanette, which does have a five-speed box (and two-litre engine option) and costs £170 more. Commercial Motor, March 22.
MRMA Amphi-Ranger 2800 SR The Amphi-Ranger is a Ford 2.8-litre engine powered four-wheel-drive six-seater designed to be as much at home on the motorway as on cross-country going, and an amphibian into the bargain. The Arnphi-Ranger RMA, of Ost-strasse 17, Kehl-Rhein D 7640, West Germany, is seeking a British agent has a top speed of 120km/h (75mph) on land and nine knots afloat Motor, April 5.
EVolvo FL616 4x2 rigid
Price as tested: £27,750 excluding VAT (price includes £5,500 for box body, tail-lift and side-shutter, and £250 for occasional bunk).
This vehicle should strengthen Volvo's position in the 16-tonne sector, and probably take a slice of the 12 and 14-tonne sector, too. Its overall fuel consumption laden was 25.50 lit/100km (11.06mpg) and average speed 63.8 llcm/h (39.7mph). A roof deflector and well run-in engine would have improved fuel consumption.
It offers a wide range of specifications with six wheelbases, three final drives, six or eight-speed manual or automatic transmissions, and steel or air suspension. The engine is a 6.7-litre four-stroke turbocharged, chargecooled dieselCommercial Motor, April 5. Mercedes-Benz Unimog 111200 Although the load-carrying capacity of the Unimog has been increased (GTV 20 tonnes or 24 if licensed as an agricultural tractor), it is still more of an agricultural tractor than a commercial vehicle. It is an endearing machine with prodigious off-road ability, now matched by surprisingly good on-road refinement and a reasonable performance Commercial Motor, March 22.
IlLeyland Tiger coach
It is a year since our long-term test vehicle Leyland Tiger entered service with London Country on its Jetlink 747 service and it has covered 230,000km (143,750 miles). It shows little sign of wear despite two minor accidents. The coach has a Berkhof Everest body; 180kW (245hp) engine; and semi-automatic Hydracyclic gearbox.
The coach was off the road for 52 days 12 of these on rota services and preventive maintenance. Fourteen days resulted from accident damage; 14 from gearbox failure; and five as a result of other incidents Commercial Motor, April 5.
111Group test
4x4 pickups tested Bedford KBD 41 (£7.605); Dacia Duster (£4,650); Toyota Hi-Lux (£6,489; and VW Transporter Syncro (£9,725) -prices as tested.
Sales of 4x2s grew 6.2 per cent last year to 13,500 vehicles. In a group test, CM's testers found the Bedford the best all-rounder; said the Dacia's strongest point was good ride on and off-road; credited the Toyota with plenty of ground clearance for rough terrain; and the expensive VW for sophistication but at the bottom of the list off-road Commercial Motor, April 5 EVolvo FIA Although it is plated at only 7.5 tonnes, Volvo's latest truck has all the refinements of its bigger brothers; its UK launch is due late next year. A new 3.6-litre direct-injection and turbocharged diesel engine powers the FL4; a preproduction model was appraised by Commercial Motor, March 22, in Sweden.