Good buy, Fiat
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OLLOWING in the 1 tyre tracks of the
• Fiat 619, the 170 I26 uses the same 3.8 (842cu in) litre six linder diesel engine -iich develops 176 kW 40bhp) at 2,200rpm.
Coupled to what is. in ect, an eight-speed nchromesh gearbox, a four main gears are cked up by an ctro-pneumatic splitter oviding a higher ratio each lever position. mever, the cab has en changed and now, th a 60 tilt cab, ovides better engine cessibility along with a jher standard of mfort.
Although rated at 40 -Ines (39.4 tons) we ntented ourselves with esser figure of just ider the 32-ton UK jal limit, allowing a
■ wer to weight ratio of 5kW/tonne (7.5bhp/ -1) for the track tests and e two-day test route of _ 83km (735 miles). The !hide used 516.3 litres 13.6 gal) of dery eraging 43.7 litres /100km .47mpg) at an average speed 67km /h (42mph).
IA—consumption
The overall fuel consumption as a little disappointing )cause, up until the last stage )rn Darrington to Hemel ampstead, just over 240km 50 miles) of motorway iving — where we icountered strong headwinds and continuous torrential rain — the returns gave all the indications of a better final figure.
With the introduction of the European requirement for an independent secondary system in 1971, France and the UK opted for a three-line braking system. But now that the French have gone over to two lines, the three-line system is unique to the British in Europe.
An amendment to the Construction and Use
Regulation SI 1976 No.317 allows for mixed twoand three-line drawing vehicles to be coupled together. The DTp conferred with the SMMT before deciding that the correct air line connections for this application would be for the service and emergency lines to be connected through, as normal, leaving the secondary line uncoupled on the trailer.
Two-line system
• The major advantages of the two-line system seem to be only those of cost achieved with the use of fewer components and it can be expected, therefore, to be a natural development for air vehicles to comply with this standard eventually.
In the interim, however, there would appear to be no difficulty in connecting to a three-line trailer.
The sleeper cab is almost identical to the more powerful 170 NT35 and has double bunks with individual courtesy lights. A driver's suspension seat adjusts for reach and back rest position, while the passenger seat is equipped with arm rests and a reclining back rest. Controls and a well laid out comprehensive instrument panel fall -short of the expected standard with the omission of hazard warning lights and self-cancelling direction indicators lever. Access through the large 90' door openings is made easy by the well-placed grab handles on either side of the opening.
Braking
• Showery conditions prevailed before our visit to the MIRA test track, but by the time we came to complete the braking test, the circuit had drained off sufficiently to provide long sections of dry road. Full application at 32km /h (20rriph) resulted in _ the drive axle, alone, locking up and producing partial rotation of the tractive unit.
At 48km /h (30mph), this _condition was accentuated to a point where I considered it unwise to proceed with the stop from 64km /h (40mph). Disregarding the instability, overall braking efficiency is about average for a vehicle in the maximum weight bracket. Acceleration times from rest to 40mph seemed to take an eternity, but, in fact, were only marginally larger than for most other vehicles with a similar power to weight ratio. On the test hills, what appeared to be a long delay in the operation of the park brake, allowed the vehicle to roll back down the hill until, assisted by the kerb, it came to rest. A restart, under such conditions, is made extremely difficult even when using the prescribed method of allowing the engine to run at about 8 50rpm before engaging the clutch.
Motorway use
• On the first day of the road test, heading North on the motorway section, good consumption figures and a high average speed were achieved. The vehicle handled well at speed and, later, on the A road -section to Pathhead, the directional response was noticeably good and required little effort. Noise level was low which made it possible for the radio, fitted as standard equipment, to be heard above the engine, wind and road noise without the volume turned right up.
On the second day, the hilly section before Neville's Cross proved to be a real trial, as it has with all but the most powerful vehicles. First gear was needed on several occasions to combat the steeper gradients. Direct first and second gear positions were a little difficult to engage, — but either by necessity or familiarity — became easier with practice.
The exhaust brake is one of the better installations I have experienced with a well-positioned floor control which could be used with good effect. Its use did, however, lead to one nasty moment.
No power steering
• On reaching the brow of one particular hill, I decided that direct fourth would be the most suitable gear for the impending descent. The usual procedure of moving the pre-select switch into the direct position on the gear stick, then engaging the gear by depressing the clutch, was quickly followed by a dab on the exhaust brake button. This immediately killed the engine leaving me without the benefit of power steering. I had, of course, beaten the selector at the neutral stage, but fortunately was able to restart on the switch without further incident.
On the motorway, the weather worsened and I had a chance to see just how good the triple blade windscreen wipers were. They stayed on the screen under very windy conditions and covered a large swept area of the deep screen. Later, a rock thrown up from the opposite carriageway struck the screen removing a large chunk of glass. It was fortunate that a laminated screen had been fitted, otherwise I would have had a very wet ride home
Summing up
• The 170 NT 26 is an easy vehicle to drive in normal road conditions, but it makes heavy weather of the hilly sections. The brakes do need some attention. Fiat stripped them down on the vehicle's return and found drum ovalit and high spots on the linings This may go some way to explain the apparently bad distribution on the track test, but it does not satisfy me on park brake delay. This is the very situation in which a gool load-sensing system or anti-k brake system would be beneficial.
A paper exercise shows ju! how difficult it is to conform1 the restrictive overall length limit using a 12.2m (40ft) trailer in conjunction with a fi sleeper cab.
The price, £18,525, plus VAT, for the tractive unit only puts this machine among the good buys even with these technical faults, which, I hay( every reason to believe, will t overcome.
• Footnote: The price Fiat gave us for the 179 NT 35 ar which we quoted in the road test report (CM September 11 was incorrect. It should have been £20.935.