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People power
Page 14
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This week's CV Show has seen the debut of three new vehicles.
While their manufacturers might be positive about their future, what do potential buyers think?
Emma Penny finds out.
This time last year we were promised a new LDV, but when it came to the show we were sorely disappointed by a display that seemed to be all smoke and mirrors. Fortunately it's a different story this year, with LDV's new Maxus taking centre stage on its stand.
Everything about this van is new, apart from the tyre and it's a radical change for Birmingham-based LDV but it's certainly priced to sell, especially the larger models.
The range includes four van bodies with two drivelines; there are chassis-cab and minibus variants in the pipeline. The Maxus is powered by an Italian VM 2.5-litre turbo-diesel, currently available rated at 94 or 118hp, although a more powerful engine is promised.
When we drove the Maxus at its launch we found it was smooth and quiet; a huge step up from the Convoy it replaces. And its handling was pretty good too. But what do potential buyers think?
Melvin McCutcheon, who runs Rhinsmach Distribution in Stranraer, already has three LDV Convoy vans in his courier fleet. They've been reliable members of the team, so a Maxus demonstrator has already been booked. "The Maxus is very nice -and long overdue," says McCutcheon, "The build quality seems better but it isn't icing enoughit needs to bean a par with the Mere and lye= which are both longer than four metres. It needs to be that size as a lot of people will buy on length."
Victoria Jones and Andrew Myers work in fleet sales for Pendragon. They reckon the Maxus is a big step forward for LDV. Jones says: It has a really good spec including electric windows and a CD player as standard, which the Transit and Vivaro haven't."
LDVs currently account for less than 10% of Pendragon's sales but Jones reckons the Maxus will boost the marque's popularity.
Fleets running vans as 'mobile toolboxes' remain to be convinced of LDV's progress. John Romankiw, BT's fleet's vehicle development manager, says BT needs tough vans which can withstand running almost fully laden: "I do have some concerns about LDV build quality But we will be looking at our 3.5tonne fleet contract at the end of this year, and this may be a runner"