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CANTER GALLOPS
Page 60
Page 61
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HOME TO UK
The Portuguese-built Canter has a chequered history on the UK market Now it's been rebadged and revamped — we've had a sneak preview.
DaimlerChrysler's second European CV brand, Mitsubishi Fuso, launched its late.steinter light trucks at Birmineiam; we'd already had a sneak preview in Stuttgart.
The Mitsubishi truck brand.not to be confused with Mitsubishi pickups which are made and sold by the separate Mitsubishi Car Company. has had a chequered history in the UK. In Japan, Mitsubishi is themarket leading CV manufacturer, with a 23% market share and a full range of trucks and buses up tathe top -weight Super Great (yes, really) tractor. Lost year's production in Japan was just under 115,000 units.
-Although the Canter has been built in Portugal for25 years (by Mitsubishi FusoTruck Europe) it only came to our notice in 1998 when Volvo malketed it in the UK asa complement to its heavy truck range. Hcnuever,just as it was becoming esiablished.DC took a controlling stake in the Japanese business and responsibility for the brandin the UK passed to Milton Keynes. . DCS increasing control of Mitsubishi Fuso Tfuck and Bus Corporation coincided with the revelations of problems with vehicle defects and cover-ups on a massive scale irtJapan. Only now is the situation coming to some kind of resolution after senior executives faced criminal charges and DC has taken the last Mitsubishi (car) Corporation-owned interest in MFTBC as compensation for the massive warranty obligations it inherited.
Fortunately, none of these defect problems were suffered by Portuguese-built European market vehicles.Today, Canter is sold through the Mercedes-Benz UK truck network, with virtually every dealership having at least one dedicated Canter sales specialist. The operation is overseen by Mike Mudie, former dealer principal of the Mud ie-Bond MB dealerships.
The new model comes with the Fuso name on the grille. First seen at last autumn's Hanover Show, this is to establish some clearance between the Mitsubishi truck and car brands. Don't be surprised if over the coming years, the "F" word takes precedence until the old name quietly slips away.
The range
For Europe as a whole, the new Canter range is penned from two cab widths,two cab lengths, three GVWs,six wheelbases and two engines. Cabs are "Standard" and 300mm wider "Comfort", although only the wide one will be seen in the UK. Staying within the all-important two metre width restriction, this has the further choice of regular three-seater or seven-seater double-cab versions.Wheelbases range from 2500 to 4.470mm,with a maximurn body length of 6.527mm possible.
G'VW ratings are at 3.5,5.5.
65 and 7.5 tonnes, although the 55-tonner won't be coming here.A new naming system is in the form "7C14D",where the first number represents the GVW, C is for Comfort,13 or 15 is for the engine rating and D is for double cab where fitted. In the biggest version, Mitsubishi Fuso claims to have the lightest and lowestframed 75-tonner available.
The only significant part of the Canter's specification to be carried over unchanged is the engine I ine-up.The new model arrives with the current pair of four cylinder Euro-3 units.lbe smaller is a 3.0-litre unit with double overhead camshafts and 16 valves rated at 125hp, while the larger is a simpler 3.9-litre with eight overhead valves giving 143hp. For Euro4the current model's rotary pump direct injection will make way for a conunon-rail, cooled EGR system.
The small engine comes with a five-speed transmission,now with a dog-leg first gear, while the big one gets another ratio. Brakes on all models are discs front and rear, with a heavyduty twin-calliper system on the fr ont. All ratings get a standard engine brake, and 6.5 and 75-tonne versions get ABS as standard and Power-ABS, a tandem brake booster and Brake Assist package, as an option. Ride should be improved by longer,parabolic front springs. Twin rear wheels are standard across the range. The new cab may look familiar, but has been completely redesigned behind the sheet metal. A reinforced floor, deformable chassis and side-impact protection are all aimed at improving passive safety in a collision.This type of far-Eastern inspired cab tends to be somewhat cramped, especially in narrow cab versions. For the UK,Fuso has overcome this problem partly by deciding that the appeal, and the dimensions, of the narrow "Standard" cab would be too small to j ustify the effort of producing a right-hand drive version.
The wide "Comfort" cab, to be standard here, is longer and taller than before, with a more vertical windscreen and a reduced tumblehome giving significantly more space in the top.
More space is also realized by the relocation of the gear lever to the dash, a first for this type of cabover desig;ri.The parking brake is now a conventional lever mounted to the left of the driving seat on RHD trucks.The whole cab interior has been redesigned.
Mudie says prices will be up to 10% higher. His target is to double UK Canter sales by 2010, hut its current growth makes this aim look modest The whole cab interior has been redesigned. Standard spec includes an lari suspension driving seat, adjustable steering column,electric windows and radio-CD player.Airbap for the driver and front passengers are optional. 111