T he problem with the relentless march of technological progress is
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that you come to expect everything, there should be a product to suit your particular needs, no matter how unusual those needs might be. Daihatsu's revised Fourtrak Fieldman is designed to meet the motoring needs of almost everyone as a go-anywhere off-roader and civilised transport for two people as well as a road-going load carrier.
Whether the Daihatsu can hit all these targets remains to be seen; even if it does, will the scattergun approach be forceful enough?
Of all the areas of the light commercial vehicle market, the off-road sector must be one of the most niche-ridden: all-wheel-drive commercials range from the likes of the Lada Niva to the 6x6 Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer, via all points in between. Falling somewhere between the Suzuki SJ pickup and the Isuzu Trooper Commercial, the Fourtrak Fieldman is—like them—a conversion of a "recreational" 4x4 passenger vehicle.
The Fourtrak Independent, as the latest model is known, has had its suspension completely redesigned to counter criticisms of poor ride and handling aimed at the previous leaf-sprung model. Torsion bars act on wishbones at the front; the rear live axle gets fivelink coil suspension. The new model also has a substantially wider track (up from 1,300mm to 1,430mm at the front and 1,530mm at the rear) to improve stability. There are massive wheelarch extensions to accommodate the increase in width, but the basic bodyshell is little changed.
Interior trim is new, as are the seats, while the engine has new injectors; power is unchanged at 75kW (101hp). Peak torque remains 245Nm (1811bft), delivered at a usefully low 1,900rpm.
The Fieldman has three variants, all fitted with versions of the same 2.8-litre four-cylinder diesel. The cheapest model is the naturally aspirated, short-wheelbase 2.8DS at £10,750 (ex-VAT); the most expensive is the £12,495 charge-cooled 2,530mm-wheelbase 2.8TDL. Here we test the short-wheelbase 2.8TDS, at a base price of £11,650.
The stubby Fieldman TDS belongs to the Lego school of van design—a block here, a block there, and a few wheels underneath. The rear seats of the three-door passenger version have been sacrificed for load space and unfortunately the Fieldman shows the signs of this conversion all too readily: while there is no grab handle above the driver's door, there are two in the load compartment, and in response to the daft VAT laws the rear side windows are blanked out with panels (apparently cut out with tin snips) and braced with a tubular steel strut that looks like an afterthought.
The mounting of the rear lights in the bumper must make them rather vulnerable in off-road use, and looks particularly peculiar when you see the obvious blanking panels on the rear corners.
Off-road commercials rarely promise anything special in the way of payload, but you should think carefully before loading up the short-wheelbase Fourtrak. Its quoted payload is a mediocre 570kg (30kg less than the nonturbo DS), but at this weight there is no axle tolerance and with the load space perched over the rear axle it is all but impossible to make use of the full GVW. With a driver and passenger on board and the rest of the quoted payload evenly distributed over the load floor the rear axle would be overloaded by around 100kg.
The long-wheelbase model should be more useable, although it offers less total payload (490kg, at the same GVW of 2,2351(g).