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14 THE 1 NG

18th October 2007
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Page 60, 18th October 2007 — 14 THE 1 NG
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With the European Road Transport Show fast approaching Andy

Salter reviews the contenders for the

International Truck and Van of the Year awards.

Next week the European commercial vehicle sector converges on Amsterdam for the biennial European Road Transport Show. One of the show's highlights is the announcement of the International Truck and Van of the Year winners for 2008.

Truck and van trophies The InternationalTruck and Van of the Year trophies are awarded each year to the truck and van launched in the previous 12 months that are deemed to have made the greatest contribution to the efficient carriage of goods by road.The jury is made up of commercial vehicle journalists from 20 European countries, with the jury nominating vehicles to add to the shortlist.

The votes are counted by an independent adjudicator at the International Road Transport Union in Switzerland and the handover ceremony forms the centrepiece of the official opening at the end of the press day on 25 October.

The competition is fierce, with a number of strong candidates making up the five-truck shortlist. A new four and five-axle construction truck from Finnish truck builder Ssu completes the line-up of trucks for the 2008 award. The truck was launched at the giant Bauma construction exhibition in Germany last April and, as you can see, the new 0600 relies heavily on Renault for its cab technology although the robust chassis is very much home-grown.

Powered by the 15-litre Caterpillar C15 engine, the 0600 Is on offer with a choice of 520. 550 and 630hp, the latter with a peak torcue of 2782Nm

; With Sisu selling its trucks only in Scandinavia and parts of Russia, it's difficult to see the Finnish truck troubling the scorers.

A late entrant to the shortlist for the International Truck of the Year 2008, the MAN TG Series was only launched in September but by entering series production ahead of the 1 October deadline it qualified for consideration this year. Like the Stralis, the TG Series-consisting of the narrowcabbed TGS and full-width TGX benefits from a host of improvements to the cab inside and out.

Unlike the Stralis, the MAN has also received some attention to the chassis, making the makeover slightly more extensive. However its worth noting the award is given to the vehicle deemed to have made the greatest contribution to transport efficiency, not the one that is the newest or that has received the most comprehensive update.

Head to head with the Stralis for the gold, in our opinion; every vote will count.


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