Van with star potential
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VAUXHALL MOTORS' dieselpowered Astra van looks set fair to take its well-deserved place high on the list of commercial light vans. Based on the popular Astra saloon car and equipped with the newly developed 1.6 litre General Motor's engine, it makes a handsome addition to the Bedford van range.
Since its inception in June and its introduction at this year's Motor Show, over 1,200 Astra vans have been sold. Eighty per cent of these have had petrol engines, but recent sales trends have indicated a 15 per cent in crease in the number of diesel engine orders.
Sales next year are expected to reach the 9,000 mark, which should give Bedford 12 per cent of a light van market still very much dominated by Ford.
Bedford has known for some time that there is a substantial market for car-derived vans with a high degree of driver and pas Right: For a commercial light van the Astra model offers a very high standard of trim and comfort. its front wheel drive arrangement allows sufficient leg room to avoid the cramps on a long journey, while the short sturdy gear lever tucks in neatly by the driver's left leg and allows very positive gear changing. senger comfort. Its decision, therefore, to offer the diesel engine option with its well-appointed Astra model must enhance its appeal to local traders and fleet hire operators alike.
The driving compartment is every bit as comfortable as its saloon counterpart with fully carpeted floor and very comfortable tweed-covered reclining seats. Its contoured upholstery gives firm spinal support, and the heating and ventilation system is excellent.
Many people feel that diesel engines are noisy, but the vehicle tested was reasonably quiet especially when cruising. At 64km/h (40mph), for example, the sound level hovered between 68 and 70dB (A), while at 112km/h (70mph) it was 77dB (A). General Motors' new diesel unit, which has been developed from its 1.6 litre cross-flow overhead camshaft petrol engine, is well suited for light commercial vehicle applications.
Many features of this new unit are designed to extend the life of the engine and give a quieter smoother operation. Chromiumplated valve stems, bi-metal exhaust valves and rotating valve caps all help to minimise wear and reduce carbon deposits, while the balanced crankshaft,
belt-driven camshaft and draulic tappets are among fez. tures which help to reduce er gine noise.
Bedford has chosen to fit gear driven rotory vane vacuur pump to supply the Astra' brake servo cylinder. The pum is mounted on the end of th camshaft, where the distributc is fitted on the petrol-driven ye, sion.
Running out of fuel does n( require the system to be bled ( air because its Bosch injectio system is designed to be sel ventilating by cranking over th engine after filling the tank. 4„ One of the recognised char& teristics of an automotive dies( engine is its reluctance to start i. extreme temperatures and dui ing the period in which th vehicle was under test it was ot ligeci to start up in freezin! weather.
By observing the five to si; second wait for the glow plug: to pre-heat the combustioi chamber, and by operating th, cold start control knob, the en gine sprang to life immediately.
Indeed, the only difficulty wal in getting to grips with the enc of this knob which is tuckec away to the left of the steerini column. It resembles a conven tional "choke" control but, re grettably has no warning light.
• The cold start control is basi cally an excess fuel device ich enriches the injected fuel 180 per cent of the full load lume and also simultaneously vances the injection timing by e degrees. It should be pressed gradually as soon as e engine has started.
n orange-coloured warning ht is illuminated when the preat device is operating and tinguishes to inform the driver :0 start the engine,
verything depends on the ttery condition and the high pacity 12 volt, 66 ampere hour ttery supported by the heavy ty 1.7kW (2.2hp) starter motor more than capable of starting engine in the worst condins.
ccording to Bedford, the ene develops its near maximum que anywhere between 1,400 d 3,800rpm which affords ecomical motoring at lower en e speeds.
uring acceleration testing at RA its smooth response proced quite acceptable times ough the gears, achieving km/h (30mph) in 6.6 seconds d 80km/h (50mph) in 15.7.
uel consumption over our t route, which was particua ly busy in spite of a fairly avy blanket of fog early on, s a very respectable 7.2 lis/100km (39.16mpg) while on unladen journey it achieved 6.26 litres/100km (45.10mpg).
Our test van had its 545kg (0.54 ton) payload well distributed, which brought the front end of the van up slightly and effectively lightened the steering.
Despite this, the van handled very well during the entire test with the light positive rack and pinion steering making manoeuvring in the built-up areas an easy matter.
The front wheel drive gave an extra degree of road holding and stability when driving hard around the twisting part of the circuit.
When the van was unladen the brakes tended to be very sharp indeed, so great care had to be exercised to avoid grabbing. With a full load it was a very different matter with no hint of fierceness.
On a number of occasions, hard braking was required and the effectiveness of the Astra servo-assisted braking power instilled great confidence.
Its park brake was especially effective and it was no surprise that it held on the one in three slope at MIRA. It came as no shock either when it failed to take off up the same slope as the gradient was just too steep for the front wheel drive to retainany traction at all.
The wide rear-body opening has a low entry platform of 500mm (19in) which is unrestricted by the high-lift rear door. Ease of loading or unloading is fine for a driver of short stature but a six-footer would soon feel a twinge or two.
The tail gate locking post does protrude slightly and could snag a carton or bagged load but that apart, its swaged floor is free of obstruction. The small wheel arches intrude slightly but still permit 1,143mm (45in) usable width. Should a pay load consist of large cases or packages, the forward sloping tail gate and the rear-inclined bulkhead reduced the usable floor length to 1,575mm (62in).
A full width metal bulkhead behind the front seats gives some measure of driver protection during heavy braking and helps to stabilise a load. It also allows the seats room for adjustment and conceals a fair amount of space behind them, sufficient for a brief case or small hold-all.
Vauxhall Motors makes good use of the under-body space by fitting its spare wheel, jack and rear window-washer bottle beneath the floor at the rear so that ease of unloading becomes equally important when a puncture occurs.
When this vehicle's spare was checked, at least a pint of water had collected, obviously from when the body floor had last been washed out. Four evenly spaced plugged holes in the bottom of the recess are there for drainage, but beneath the hole at three o'clock, some of the water was trapped on what appeared to be the fuel tank below it. Inaccessibility prevented me from clarifying the point.
Although the van body restricts side vision, the sturdy, door-mounted side mirrors are very useful. The Astra van's very wide tail gate window, which offers excellent vision to the rear, is fitted with a wiper motor and window-washer jet. The controls for these are on the screen wash, wipe stalk and are fitted as standard along with the heated rear window.
The use of the diesel option does present one or two problems especially when searching in the outlying regions for a fuel station serving diesel. Only a few filling stations do, and signs are not always prominent.
When you find one, it will undoubtedly be one which has the fast-fill feature for the commercial heavyweights which have large, straight filler tubes on their long-range tanks.
Consequently, when filling the Astra van's tank the curved filler tube restricts the flow and can cause a back surge. Few filling stations have protective gloves handy so if you are wearing good clothes, beware.
Diesel fuel can be transferred from one's shoes to the brake and clutch pedals. This makes the rubber pads very slippery so I look forward to the day when manufacturers fit pedals which have a coarse non-slip, covering.
The Astra vans' low ground clearance of 210mm {8.271n) is quite acceptable but the engine sump is not much above this and does look vulnerable from the front. It would not add much to the overall cost to attach a protective shield.
Bedford has aimed this high specification vehicle towards the top end of the light van market for the discerning small businessman or owner driver. It has combined the high level of trim found in the Astra saloon car with a very generous load carrying capacity, and has undoubtedly set high standards in its class for comfort and practicality.