Leyland Sets High Standard
Page 67
Page 68
Page 69
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
THOUGH to many people it will still be a Standard. the van which was the subject of this road test is now officially called the Leyland 20, The announcement reorganization of light commercial vehicle marketing Leyland Group which brought about the change of was made while the van was being tested—on nber 12 to be exact—so it started as one Make and as the other. This is literally true, as the name were changed during the test period.
hing else was changed, of course, so the model which esigned and is still built at the Standard works in try remains the same as it was when introduced with cwt. partner at last year's Commercial Motor Show. n-native engines are offered in the Leyland 20, a fourer petrol engine, this being the 2.14-litre unit used in andard Ensign car, whilst the diesel engine fitted in hide on test was the Leyland 0E.138 2.26-litre fourer. unit. The diesel engine was originally known as 'Mud 23CV and on its use in the 20 was modified in "ber of details, In its current form maximum net ; is 50 b.h.p. at 3,000 r.p.m. and maximum net torque lb. ft. at 2,000 r.p.m. Comparable figures for the engine alternative are 65 b.h.p. at 3,900 r.p.m. and ft. at 2,000 r.p.m.
general design the Leyland 20 is the same as the 15 was tested by The Commercial Motor earlier this report appeared in the July 19 issue), except that the I ft. 3.74 in. longer than the 15. The extra length is up of a 5-in, wheelbase extension, a 1.5 in. greater overhang and a 9.25 in. greater rear overhang. tally the two models are distinguishable as the side )anels of the 20 have separate small swagings at their rd ends and removable spats are fitted over the rear
bus components used on the 20 are stronger than on to take care of the extra load; these include the rear
sub-frame pressing which is male from a thicker gauge material and suspension mountings which are stronger, but for the most part the running units of the two models are of the same design. Bigger tyres and wheels-1.5 in. against 13 in.—and wider front and rear springs are fitted in the 20 and the rear axle on this model also has a higher torque capacity.
The gearboxes in the two models are the same except that there are slight differences in the gear ratios: 3.91, 2-33, 1-53 and 1 to 1 with reverse 5-03 to 1 on the 15 compared with 3.85, 2,16, 1.42 and 1 to 1 and 4.95 to 1 reverse on the 20. A different rear axle ratio is also incorporated in the 20-4-625 to 1 compared with 4-55 to 1 for the 15,
Brake sizes on the 20 are 11 in. by 2.25 in. front and 10 in. by 1-75 in. rear as against 9 in. by 2.5 in. front and 9 in. by 1.95 in. rear on the 15, total friction areas being 155 sq. in. and 147 sq. in. respectively.
If anything, the Leyland 20 was found to be more pleasant to drive than the 15 tested in July. Manceuvrability was not impaired
X01by the small increase in length — and turning circles—and suspension and road holding appeared better. There was not the same spongy initial response in the steering that was found on the 15,
but when running unladen the sus pension seemed too hard and there was some body drumming. The main criticism from the driving point of view that I would make of the van tested is that the degree of noise in the cab is excessive. There is some lagging under the engine cover but this appears to be hardly enough, and a great deal of the noise must come through the panel at the rear of the engine which is not lagged in any way. There is also the same criticism that I found on the 15 —that gear selection was at times difficult.
The cab layout, seating position and so on are identical on the 20 and the 15, so the remarks on these aspects in the test of the 15 will apply to the larger capacity model. Briefly, these are excellent forward visibility, very good driving position and a comfortable seat. When the diesel engine is fitted an additional fitting is a small red light on the facia panel which is illuminated when the contents of the petrol tank are down to 2 gallons. This is an excellent idea as it is often difficult to find a garage that stocks derv, particularly in built-up areas. But whilst the light lets you know when you should be looking for a garage, I did not get the impression that it was very accurate. Even when there was at least 6 gallons in the tank the light flashed on occasionally and it did not come on permanently until the petrol gauge was reading empty. 1 would not have been optimistic about doing 2 gallons' worth of mileage from this position. In spite of these criticisms, which are relatively minor, enjoyed driving the van and would put it high in its class on this score.
As loaded for the tests the van scaled just over 2-5 tons, almost exactly 10 cwt. more than the 15 cwt. model tested, although the ratio of the load over the front and rear wheels was similar-54/46 compared with 52/48. These loadings were obtained with the test weights placed to give the effect of even distribution over the body floor. Surprisingly good results were obtained on the fuel consumption tests which were carried out on A6 between Barton and Clophill (south of Bedford). I say surprisingly because the general performance of the van had felt so good that I thought that fuel consumption must suffer. The figures are, in fact, about the average for diesel-engined 15-cwt. vans tested previously, and it is interesting that such good figures were obtained from an engine bigger than is usually fitted in vehicles of this capacity.
High speed consumption runs were carried out on M1 motorway, a return run from the A505 to the A4147 junctions being made. The figures obtained include a short distance travelled getting on and off the motorway at both ends and whilst on the motorway the van was driven at its maximum speed of 55 m.p.h. for almost the whole distance. Some idea of the standard of performance is given by the fact that the average speed for the journey was a40 51.8 m.p.h. in spite of the fairly sharp inclines on this stretch of Ml. The fuel consumption of almost 30 m.p.g. returned is most commendable.
The motorway was used to check the maximum speeds in the lower gears, which were found to be 15, 25 and 38 m.p.h. These take into account a speedometer inaccuracy of 2 per cent at 30 m.p.h. and 4 per cent at 50 m.p.h.
Braking tests were marred by rain. This persisted the whole day, so it was not possible to obtain figures on a dry road, but considering the conditions the figures of 20.5 ft. from 20 m.p.h. and 45.5 ft. from 30 m.p.h. were reasonably good. The general feel of the brakes during normal driving was excellent and the pedal fairly light, and I would expect that stopping distances of around 18 ft. from 20 m.p.h. and 40 ft. from 30 m.p.h. could be obtained in ideal conditions. On all the stops the van was perfectly stable and pulled up in a straight line.
Acceleration tests confirmed the general feel of a morethan-adequate performance, the figures obtained being well above average for a vehicle grossing over 2.5 tons. They were better than the figures obtained with the 15-cwt. model and comparable with those obtained on 10and l5-cwt. vans with petrol or diesel engines tested previously by The Commercial Motor. On the direct-drive acceleration runs there was a smooth pull away from 10 m.p.h. and this again was as expected for top gear could be used in traffic at lower speeds than other vehicles of this type.
Bison Hill, near Dunstable and Whipsnade Zoo, was used to assess hill-climbing performance of the Leyland 20. General gradient of the 0-75-mile-long hill is 1 in 10.5 and a maximum-power ascent was made in 2 min. 15 see. Second gear was the lowest used during the climb, this being engaged for 40 sec., and the minimum speed was 17 m.p.h. Again, this was an extremely good performance, fractionally worse than the 15 and better than most vehicles of the type. During the climb the engine-coolant temperatures rose from 63°C (145.4°F) to 72°C (1616F), the ambient • temperature at the time of the test being 16°C (60.8sF).
Brake-fade characteristics were assessed on a run down the hill, made in neutral with the brakes applied to keep the speed at 20 m.p.h., and on the final stretch where the gradient flattens out top gear was engaged and full throttle applied with the brakes still on to maintain this speed. A full-pressure stop at the bottom from 20 m.p.h. produced a Tapley-meter reading of 77 per cent. On the brake tests from this speed earlier in the day a Tapley-meter reading of 79 per cent was the best obtained, which showed that as with the 15 the brakes were virtually fade free. Total time for the descent had been 2 min. 44 sec. with 46 sec. spent in top gear on the final portion of the hill.
The steepest section of Bison has a gradient of 1 in 6-5 and here stop and restart tests were made. No trouble was ;ed in starting off in first when facing up the hill rse when facing down the hill, and in both posihandbrake held the van with notches to spare. west gear used on the maximum-power climb had >nd, an attempt to start in this gear was made, but ie just failed to get the vehicle moving.
d accessibility to the engine is very good. In parhe fuel pump, injectors and fuel filter are within !h when the engine cover and the nearside detachd. next to it are removed. The battery is positioned e body floor on the 20, not behind the driver's n the 15, and access to it is through a trap in the .cept in the case of the engine and battery, routine nce tasks on the 20 will be no different in degree of difficulty or expenditure of time from the 15 or the original Standard Atlas. No maintenance tests were made on the 20, but a complete series was completed on the Atlas and the results were summarized in the Standard 15 test.
As tested, the diesel-engined Leyland 20 has a basic price of £775, £90 more than the petrol-engined version. A side-loading door can be incorporated for an extra £12. Pick-up and chassis-cab versions arc available, and with the diesel engine are priced at £765 and £725 respectively. Specification of the petrol engine reduces these prices by £90 also. The chassis-cab option can be had without a back panel, in which case the price is reduced by £10. Extras fitted in the test van included a passenger seat which costs £6 and a fresh-air heater which is priced at £13.