Daily 4x4 fills gap in market
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While many 4x4s have become fashion accessories and rarely see mud, the TurboDaily is a serious player off road and there are few no-go areas for this van.
by Oliver Dixon • Once the preserve of farmers and specialist contractors, the four-wheel-drive vehicle is now a fashion item, and a prime cause of traffic congestion on the King's Road. Despite this change in emphasis the original four-wheel-drive user is alive and well. The advent of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) means that the market for vehicles capable of adapting to a number of different uses has increased dramatically, especially within the utility fleets.
The 4x4 version of the recently revised Iveco Ford TurboDaily is pitched straight at this market, and CM has put one through its paces around one of the harshest off-road courses in the country.
Chassis-cab
Badging this vehicle as a TurboDaily might lead to confusion. Although it's available in van-bodied or chassis-cab form, any similarities to other TurboDaily models exist only from the floor pan upwards. The running gear is derived from vehicles used by the Italian military, refined to incorporate some of the features of the latest Daily models.
The cab is identical to that found in the TurboDaily Classic range, offering easy access, good all-round visibility, and, importantly, ample room for a driver and two passengers.
The only obvious differences between the 4x4 and its mainstream cousins are the increased ground clearance (228mm as opposed to 175mm) and the shortened wheelbase. Four-wheel drive now accounts for an increasing percentage of vehicles sold within the UK. Most fall into the car class, so they tend to be viewed in terms of the private motorist. Not the 4x4 TurboDaily, however—its specification owes much to the heavy end of the vehicle market.
The suspension configuration is certainly heavyweight, with front torsion bars and rear elliptical leaf springs. Fully-floating single hub-reduction axles are fitted front and rear, each with a ratio of 5.22:1.
A standard manual diff-lock is fitted to the rear axle; the front axle is equipped with a system which allows electronic locking via a dashboard button. This is designed to operate in the same way as the air dump on a third tractor axle—the button has to be depressed to maintain the lock. Another front-axle feature which will please operators who need to spend a lot of time onroad is the free-wheel device: a key allows the hub to be switched between two and four-wheel drive.
Transfer box Should four-wheel drive be selected on the hub, a simple transfer box with controls mounted between the seats allows for easy switching of modes. In addition to the 4x2 rear-wheel-drive mode, with a ratio of 1:1, two four-wheeldrive options are available, with ratios of 1:1 and 1:2.74 respectively. Operations which require static power from the engine are catered for by a full neutral mode.
Iveco may not come to mind immediately as a pace-setter in the four-wheel-drive market but the 4x4 TurboDaily could change that; it is an impressive vehicle. Approach and departure angles of 32 and 27° respectively coupled with a minimum ground clearance of 228mm ensured that the 4x4 TurboDaily rarely encounters no-go areas.
Add to this the inclusion of 7.50R16 10PR tyres, and you have a vehicle capable of seeking out the back of beyond and driving over it; matched against a Land Rover 90, the TurboDaily climbed bigger hills and forded deeper ruts. With low-range four-wheel drive selected we did our best to get stuck, but to no avail.
Visibility—a perennial problem with panel vans—is similarly impressive. The TurboDaily has a not quite forward-control driving position, which is reassuring on steep ascents but not intrusive enough to prevent clear forward vision. The high driving position makes for good lateral visibility, and the mirrors can be set to record the vehicle's wake.
This is an all-round on/offroad machine. With two-wheel drive engaged it handles tarmac quite reasonably although it's not a machine for going fast in, and those chunky tyres cause a fair amount of road noise. That aside, for short distances it's more than acceptable, and the short wheelbase helps make it incredibly manoeuvrable.
Price tag
With a price tag of £40,000 the 4x4 TurboDaily doesn't come cheap but you do get a lot for your money. Designating this as a four-wheel-drive van and comparing it to a Daihatsu, for example, would be a mistake. In fact the 4x4 TurboDaily fills the large gap between the biggest Land Rover and the smallest Unimog. its few competitors include van conversions such as those from Dangel and County. It fills it well, and operators who are in this market would be advised to take a very close look.