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suzu Truck (UK) entered the domestic market with the 3.5-tonne
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NKR and 6.2-tonne NPR in 1997, before overwhelming operator demand forced the Japanese to introduce its bigger brother, the NQR 7.5-tonne chassis cab. Its arrival the following year created aterest in niche markets, like car transportaon. But the NQR's impressive payload and nv loading height compared with Westernuilt 7.5-tonne trucks, meant operators from onstruction, express deliveries, chilled and cozen foods soon cottoned on, calling for tiper and flatbed, box and fridge bodies.
The NQR, like its lighter stablernates, is tell suited to urban delivery, which means lenty of stop-start driving. The manufacturer .iscussed the UK spec of the NQR with ■ ritish operators, a process repeated from ;hen it launched the 3.5 and 6.2-tonne ers ions.
When Isuzu Truck (UK) launched the first rucks here they were built at the Leyland facDry, before operations moved to the ERF ■ lant. Following the MAN takeover in 2001, Toduction was shifted to Vendas Novas, near isbon in Portugal, where they were already onstructing left-hand-drive Isuzu trucks.
For details on maintaining the Isuzu NQR ee Tech Tips (CM 25 Apr-i May 2002).
°duct low-down
lie NQR day-cab chassis is available in four itheelbases, stretching from the 7oL with .36m wheelbase, through the 7oP (3.8tin) nd 7o R (4.17m), with the 7oT (4.47m) wheellase as the longest option. Unladen day-cab hassis weight starts at 2,730kg for our examde (the 7oL), and rises by sokg for the longest theelbase.
Under the engine cover sits the 4.8-litre -iaro-2 charged-cooled four-pot diesel engine. :he 4HEI-XS delivers 143hp peak power at L,800rpm with 446Nm of torque on tap at ,800rpm.
Turning the power into actual motion is the ix-speed transmission, which has constant nesh for first and reverse, with the remaining lye gears synchromesh—top is overdrive. It's lighly geared and the rear axle comes with a tandard 43:1 final drive.
Helping the driver to slow down is a butterly exhaust-brake system which is operated by L stalk switch on the steering column. It's a imple and effective device that needs fairly Ugh revs. It cuts out if you depress the clutch ir accelerator pedals.
T93 AFX was registered on 14 June 1999 Lnd went into service with construction cornany Harry J Palmer (Broadstone), based in )oole. As a tipper, its life was spent in local ravel, ferrying material to sites from local iuilders' merchants and taking away waste Ind rubble.
It clocked up more than loo,000km in hree years before being sold to local bulk laulier and plant hire company Robert Froud, Or LI2,0oo (ex-VAT). Ian Flay, boss at dealer Ferndown Commercials, happily reported that the service history was clean, but the dealership had nonetheless replaced the clutch on the truck's return after three years. "The clutch was threequarters of the way up so we replaced it to save the new customer coming back after nine months to get the job done," he says.
Bottom line
Suggesting fuel runs and roadtests in the winter time to manufacturers and dealers normally means you are stared at more than a talking dog. But cold weather, accompanied by the slight south-westerly that arrived after the snow and hard frosts but before the rain, proved ideal conditions to run around the Commercial Motorused-truck test route.
Even the traffic on the A5 around Cannock's fast-developing toll road was moving at a fair rate of knots. On the tough A-road section, T93 A FX clocked an impressive 2o.2mpg as it made good time around West Midlands, Shropshire, and through the Welsh Marches.
The fuel figure suffered a little on the motorway section as the high rpm kicked in at 70mph, but 14.9mpg is still pretty handy. Overall this pro
duced I8.ompg, with an average speed of 43.5mph. Body/payload allowance for T93 AOC with the 7oL cab is 4,770kg. Its original owner fitted a steel tipper body and F.dBro hydraulic tipping gear which eats up more weight than a steel/aluminium body. But for the purposes of the new owner, it is ideal.
On the road
One of the biggest worries in these situations is taking a vehicle out on a long journey after it's been raised on a diet of local stop/start work. The potential for the odd niggle under the surface to rise up and create havoc is severely increased.
If you're snapping up a used truck it's worth taking it on a long haul first to see what potential problems there might be—it was clear after a continuous three-hour trek on day one that these early fears were groundless. Once up to optimum temperature, the engine was happy to do anything we asked of it with no adverse reactions.
Through the tough A-road section, the Isuzu was in its element, tackling most gradients without difficulty. Like all engines, if you let them lug down too far on a longer climb, it will affect performance and time, as well as burning more fuel as you go nowhere slowly, so dropping a cog slightly early to get the best from the four-pot proved fruitful.
It tackled Dolfor Hill without drawing breath, taking under six minutes for the climb, and just to prove its strength, it
climbed the short sharp Dinmore Hill from a near standing start in just 95 seconds—very impressive.
As the fuel figure suggests, local work is its bread and butter. Out on the motorway though, the diesel does slip through the pipes from the tank much more readily. Although keeping up the 70mph was not a problem—and there were moments when it was wanting to crack on a bit quicker—the needle on the too-lit tank does drop quickly.
From a standing start in first, it won't keep pace with smaller CVs and cars but once up and running, acceleration is pretty responsive. There is always the temptation in six-speed transmissions, where first gear is dog-legged from second, to ignore the lowest ratio.
Unless you are rolling downhill and let it build up a little first, you will feel—and possibly hear—the clutch complain before setting off; even empty starting in second will wear it out long before it should.
Besides, starting in first means that once you are up and running, the reps and boy racers who were drilling the accelerator next to you at the lights will be waiting at the next set as you arrive with composure. This means you save the clutch, don't waste fuel by stopping and you've still caught them up—trust us on this. Isuzu built these models with no ABS, but with a brake booster with load sell: ing and the rear on drums, you don't real] miss it. The latest Euro-3 model has ABS a standard.
Cab quality
We'd be lying if we said the cab hasn't su: fered a little from having a driver leap in an out five days a week for three years. As result, either the new owner or Ferndow Commercials have covered a pretty worn-ot driver's chair with an ERF seat cover. Apai from that, the overall condition of the cab i pretty good.
The footwell and steering wheel have brown hue from incessant use by mudd boots and equally muddy hands. As it is bein used for local work, internal storage is not really an issue—both passenger seats drop down and there are side pockets and a centre console tray for just about everything the driver is likely to need travel ling around Bournemouth and
torage is not problem, as Poole. There is an external locker for tools and here are side pockets, a equipment. Three-up might prove a little tight entre console and both though.
assenger seats drop down. After two days and nearly 1, 000km added
to the clock, internal comfort for the longerlegged driver begins to thin. The overall position is not bad, but we had the seat pushed back as far as it will go and the back partangled to give a little more room to manoeuvre.
The low height of the cab means the driver is more likely to feel as though they are driving a 3.5-tonne chassis-cab van rather than a vehicle that requires a tachograph. Only the excellent minors angled up at the top of the stem offer a little more awareness of the fact it is a 7.5-tonner. And more importantly, they are not a visual barrier when the driver is looking to the right when approaching roundabouts and junctions.
CMverdict
The Isuzu NQR has quietly cut out a role in the UK market for operators looking for classleading payload potential, and reliability combined with a decent driveline. That consideration extends to the cheaper price tag compared with many Western-built competitors of a similar age and condition. If T93 AFX is anything to go by, the decision by operators to extend its warranty an extra iz months is justified. It has worked hard but the components are still in good nick.
It returned a very impressive A-road fuel consumption, and its overall fuel figure is pretty handy too. This model has already found a home but if you are looking for a 7.5tonne truck then you ignore the NQR at your peril.
Eby Kevin Swallow