Overcoming distrust
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This 7.5-tonne van built in Spain is competitively priced but Motor lberica must watch its anti-corrosion treatment. Bryan Jarvis reports
THE SPANISH-BUILT Ebro 7.5tonne gross vehicle weight integral van with a Perkins engine launched on the British market in May last year has not had nearly the impact that was first feared by home manufacturers. Sales of this competitively priced model have reached only 70. The chassis-cab version has fared a little better with 220 sales.
Ebro vehicles are built by Spain's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, Motor lberica, Barcelona, in which Nissan is planning to increase its share now standing at around 70 per cent. This van does give it a toe in the UK market.
When compared with similar integral vans, the Ebro L75.2F's price tag of £10,995 (excluding vat) must look attractive; it takes a four-tonne payload and has a large capacity (17cum) body. Even the L75 chassis-cab version takes on a certain appeal priced at £9,660.
Small own-account operators or traders, particularly in industrially depressed parts of Britain, who are keen to establish their own small transport operation on a non-hgv basis may well see it as a low-budget load carrier that can give a good commercial return.
In terms of performance it does not disappoint with a fairly reasonable 15.33mpg recorded on our Welsh test route.
This compares with 16.99mpg of the box-bodied Bedord TL860 (CM, October 22, 1983) and 17.97mpg from the drop-sided Dodge R1G08 (CM, March 6, 1982). These two vans, however, have smaller payload capacities than the Ebro with 3.63 and 3.74 tonnes respectively. The Dodge R1G08 also has a Perkins engine, albeit the more powerful 86.5kW (116bhp) naturally aspirated six-cylinder 6.354.5, but there the similarity ends.
Motor lberica makes under licence the Perkins engine fitted to the Edbro. It is a turbocharged 3.8-litre 70.9kW (95bhp) T4.236 unit built to a somewhat older design and, according to Perkins, is less-fuel efficent than current UK-made 76.1kW (102bhp) T4 series.
While many components are compatible between the two versions, not all are common. More importantly, the Spanishbuilt engines are covered by the Ebro warranty and not by Perkins UK.
On the early 52.6-mile M4 section of our route it began quite promisingly, but once speeds of around 65mph had been attained the engine began to smoke considerably and this corresponded with a slight drop in power. Between junctions 16 and 18, road speed fell to around 44mph on the gradients.
Nissan Ebro UK pointed out that the vehicle should have been governed to a maximum 60mph and the extra eight miles per hour speed achieved on the test tracks at Mira and on the M4 was because of over-fuelling by the injection pump and probably caused the smoking.
I am inclined to agree with this because while I was driving at the new speed limits for Aroads and dual-carriage ways, the exhaust cleared completely and the vehicle's pulling power came well up to standard. An average speed of nearly 40mph achieved for the 153.9-mile nonmotorway section while fully laden indicates its ability to produce reasonably fast journey times.
A look at comparative hill climbs show that on normal roads the van is fleeter than many others. It was faster by six seconds on the steep one-inseven Wantage climb than the nippier Ford 0609 Cargo tested at 5.69 tonnes (CM, March 10, 1984).
Ebro specifies a direct-top synchromesh Turner gearbox, also manufactured under licence, driving through lberica's own standard 4.38 to one final drive.
While the gearbox selected very smoothly, I felt that there was too large a gap between fourth and fifth gears. Changing up from fourth on anything of a gradient meant taking it over 40mph every time in order to avoid slowing down.
The clutch, which was a little on the heavy side, had very little bite to it, but functioned surprisingly well, allowing take-off from one in four test hill with little slippage.
One aspect which does take some getting used to was the strange parking brake. It is well positioned near the driver's left hand but has to be twisted before it is pushed down to release. A four-second delay before the vacuum-operated rear brakes release is longer than is the case with most other vehicles.
Several laps around Mira's ride and handling section established one impression, which I had begun to form on the drive up from London, and that was that the Ebro's suspension was very efficient.
There was a slight degree of rear-end body roll and understeer, but considering the severity of the Mira course and the van's near two metres of overhang at the rear this was more than aceptable. It handled very well indeed for such a large, heavy body; this was aided by the anti-roll bars and sturdy rear suspension.
The Ebro had a maximum turning circle of 14.5m (47.7ft) between walls, useful when manoeuvring in congested streets; the ZF power-assisted steering came in useful here.
With the engine ticking over, a complete range of locks can be achieved without strain or apparent pull on the engine, while at higher speeds the steering felt light enough yet allowed a good feel of the road.
Its external styling gives the integral van body a distinctly aggressive look and together with the unusually sturdy construction it could almost be mistaken for a bullion van. Its rear doors in particular are extremely heavy and, with the aid of double-folding hinges, can be opened through 270° to secure against the body sides with rubber catches.
Rugged though it appeared, the test vehicle's body had an Achilles heel, one which was warned against early last year (CM, February 5, 1983). That is the poor standard of anti-corrosion treatment as found on our test vehicle.
Rust had formed on the underside of the body sills, subframe and supporting sections on each side from the fuel tank back to the rear axle area. Quite clearly, the grey-coloured underseal had been sprayed on from underneath the vehicle by a hand-held nozzle and the spray angle had left some areas untouched. The untreated metal had corroded and in winters to come will only deteriorate further.
Rust traces were also apparent inside the body under the parallel sections which connect the upright supports.
When informed of this, Ebro said it was aware of the problem which had occurred on a small batch of similar vans. All bar our test vehicle had been recalled and the problem put right. However, poor quality underbody protection on vehicles sold in the UK is hardly likely to inspire sales or maintain resale values.
The Ebro cab is something of a paradox. It is roomy, with good cross-cab access and affords adequate vision to the front and sides, yet single-speed wipers, too-slim convex mirrors, which distort, and the lack of seat belts help give it a Spartan finish.
A full-width bulkhead separates the cab from the load space and with the fabric-covered roof pannelling keeps the noise down to a very low level for this size of van. Cloth-covered driver's and passenger's seats are surprisingly comfortable on a long journey; they give firm back support.
Fitting the brake master cylin der between the steering column and the instrument panel seems like a good idea especially as the fluid reservoir is within reach, but the cowling is much too close to the driver's right shin for comfort.
On the cab floor in front of the central passenger seat, three fluid feed pipes for the powersteering system look susceptible to damage from careless feet. The same can be said about the windscreen washer reservoir and electrics by the passenger door.
Summary The initial suspicion created when the Edbro was quietly dropped into the British market nearly two years ago seems to have subsided. Fitting a Spanish-built Perkins engine has helped Nissan Ebro UK at least to establish a market presence here on which it hopes to capitalise.
At E10,995 a reasonably fuelefficent van capable of carrying four tonnes in its large-capacity body must seem good value to a money-conscious trader or jobber who wants to operate on a non-hgv basis below 7.5 tonnes.
But, as some manufacturers have found out to their cost, the British market is highly competitive and has increasingly stringent quality control standards. Nissan Ebro UK will have to be sure that vehicles arriving from Motor lberica have the same degree of consistency with underbody anti-corrosive treatment as that found on home produced vehicles (or better) if it is to consolidate its presence here.