VANS ON TEST
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BEDWAS PV600 Price as tested: £22,971.
Engine: 2.5 litres turbocharged, 72kW (96hp).
GVW: 3,500kg. Payload: 1,240kg. Fuel Consumption (laden): 13.2 lit/100km (21.3mpg).
Ever driven out of a garage and taken the garage with you? That's how it feels to drive the PV600, Bedwas' cavernous parcel van.
Bedwas is well known for its high-volume conversions on proprietary chassis, and CM has previously tested its Transitbased PV400. The PV600 uses the 3.5-tonne Leyland-Daf 400 design, with a 3.6m wheelbase and a 2.5-litre PSA turbodiesel, and provides a formidable 16.8m3 (180ft3) of load volume. It is aimed at parcels delivery firms, laundries and other multi-drop operators.
The PV600 is not only a parcel van: its alloy shell forms the basis of a custodial vehicle with six individual "cells", while happier uses include a number of PCV conversions – Crystal, for example, produces a 20-seater at a GVW of 4.1 tonnes.
The basic PV600 body adds £5,214 to the £15,808 of the turbodiesel 400 chassis-cowl, but the doors, finish and air-suspension of our test vehicle bring the total cost to £22,971. A wide variety of optional doors, roller shutters, bulkheads and fittings is available, so prices vary widely.
We tested the PV600 in pretty basic trim – no passenger seat, a half-width bulkhead and twin hinged rear doors.
Productivity The front doors slide and lock open, and it takes no effort to walk into the cab and through to the load space, although the mesh bulkhead gives minimal protection against shifting loads. Accessibility marks the difference between a parcel van and a Luton body, and the PV600 is clearly meant to make delivery jobs easy.
The load space is impressive— acres of floor and almost two metres of headroom—and the translucent roof section admits plenty of light. The 2x4m floor is flat, so it is completely useable. Tie-down points are not standard, but items can be attached to the load wall& To avoid intrusion from the wheelarches, Bedwas has sacrificed a low load floor; load height is 750mm. But there is a substantial full-width step, and a tail-lift is available.
However, many parcel-van users will not carry particularly heavy items – and with a payload of just 1,240kg, they may not be able to.
Damage to the GRP side skirts is repairable – which is just as well, as they overhang the wheels considerably and scrape any moderately high kerb.
Fuel economy over our demanding Kent test route was 132 lit/100km (21.3mpg) laden, a respectable figure given the average speed of 59.5 km/h (37.0mph) and the Bedwas' enormous frontal area. The van could prove more economical cruising.
On the road The Leyland-Daf's engine is quite vigorous – unladen there is a temptation to put your foot down just to feel the turbo come into play – but the Bedwas is no GTI: its steering and handling are distinctly old-fashioned, and the turbodiesel becomes pretty docile when it has to deal with a full payload.
The gearbox has a gap – fifth is very much a motorway gear, while third and fourth are more useful in town – but the engine's flexibility is such that the soup-stirrer gearstick needn't be used too much.
The size of the Bedwas can be disconcerting in town, so its driver will need anticipation to maintain decent journey times. This is where the limitations of our test vehicle became prominent: it was not fitted with power steering (a £440 option), and visibility could have been better. The steering is OK at speed, but in town it becomes arm-wrenchingly heavy; a spot of throttle helps around corners, and manoeuvring at parking speeds soon builds up a sweat. This comes from the effort required (it is almost impossible to turn the wheel at rest) and the uncertainty of having a limited field of view.
The high-mounted mirrors give a decent view foiovertaking, but the colossal width of the van and the lack of rear windows make parallel-parking or approaching a loading-bay tricky. The seat is too far inboard to lean out of the window, and setting-off from junctions is a gamble without a wide-angle mirror.
Another feature that distinguishes the PV600 from a Luton van is the imposing windscreen; a deep, wrap-around affair which gives the enormous frontal area of the Bedwas quite acceptable proportions. It makes the cab light in winter, but might be too bright in summer. Unfortunately the windscreen wipers miss a substantial corner of the screen, again reducing visibility.
Controls are standard LeylandDaf, clear and conventional. The seat is comfortable and there is a fair amount of storage space – nothing lockable, though, and the interior light is up so high that the driver has to unbelt and stand up to switch it on.
With the optional rear air suspension, the PV600's ride is surprisingly smooth laden or u n - laden.
Another nice surprise is its stability at speed: motorway driving is not interspersed with sickening lurches as trucks go past or side-wind gusts.
The brakes on our vehicle were disappointing: they certainly worked, but felt wooden and did not inspire confidence.
In--cab noise was our major criticism of the PV400, but is much less of a problem for the larger vehicle. At 70mph the measurement is 84.5dB(A), above average but probably quiet enough to hear the radio (there was no radio to test this theory).
Summaty High-volume conversions such as the Bedwas face increasing competition from chassis manufacturers as panel vans become taller and bigger—the 17m3 Iveco Daily HiCube (tested in November), for instance. Cheaper front-wheel-drive rivals might have a lower load height and give little away in terms of space or ease of access – but some operators will need a true parcel van body.
The PV600 offers all the load space and accessibility they will want, with acceptable economy for trtmking operations, but it needs better visibility and should be easier to drive for urban use. El by Toby Clark