WRAPPING UP THE RANGE
Page 39
Page 42
Page 43
Page 44
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Parcels are carried in everything from CDVs to 38-tonners: for our survey of the parcel van market we have concentrated on panel vans of around 3.5 tonnes GNAW.
• Parcel van is one of those catch-all terms which describes everything yet identifies nothing. A van that carries parcels? Well any van can do that, although only a few models are designed for parcels-only operations. For this guide we have taken a look at kmg-wheelbase, high-roof vans at around 3.5 tonnes GVW and upwards which are bought for their high load volumes, rather than their payloads. Obviously vans above 3.5 tonnes can also handle heavier cargoes, but their prime selling point remains their voluminous bodies.
Along with standard production line models we have included parcel van conversions from Cutstomline, Dormobile, Valle, Bedwas and Robin Hood. These qualify by having an integral body construction.
CITROEN
Citroen's C25D Turbo 1800 van is a classic case of badge engineering. It is built at the SEVEL van plant in Italy with the same front-wheel-drive body shell as the Fiat Ducato and Talbot Express. Citroen, however, is a relative newcomer to the big van market: the C25 only went on sale last year, some four years after the Ducato and the Express, and it has not yet established itself to the same degree as the other SEVEL vans.
The 3.5-tonne C25D Turbo 1800 van is an attractive enough vehicle, powered by a transverse 2.5-litre IDI Citroen diesel which pushes out an impressive 71kW (95hp), Like the other SEVEL vans it has a five-speed gearbox as standard. Its highroof body offers a generous 9.8m3 of cube and, thanks to its front-wheel-drive layout, it offers a lower-than-average load platform height.
FIAT
The Ducato Maxi Turbo D is virtually identical to the Citroen, with the notable exception of its engine. While the C25D has a Citroen-derived engine, the Maxi Turbo D uses the same torquey 68kW (92hp) four-cylinder direct-injection Sofim diesel as the Iveco Ford TurboDaily — an engine which has proved itself to be both fuel-efficient and powerful. Like the C25 and the Express, the Ducato Turbo D has a 9.8m3 capacity body with full-height rear doors and comes with a side loading door as standard.
FORD
No van survey could be complete without Ford's market-leading Transit panel van. Indeed, like Sellotape, Biro and Hoover, the trade name Transit has become a generic term — much to the annoyance of Ford's rivals. Ford markets several parcel vans, not all of its own manufacture.
From the Southampton Transit assembly plant comes the single-rear-wheeled, long-wheelbase 100 van, which is sold specifically as a parcels carrier. It offers 8.44m3 of cube and comes with either the long-serving 57kW (76hp) Dagenham-built Ford two-litre petrol engine, or the newer (and less thirsty) 2.5-litre Di diesel rated at 50kW (67hp).
Ford also offers a GRP extra-high-roof conversion on all its long-wheelbase Transits, which boosts the load volume to 10.1m3. The extra-high-roof Transit is sourced from two manufacturing sites. Those with standard-height rear doors come from the main Southampton plant, but full-height rear-door models are converted for Ford by Wigan-based bodybuilder MP Terberg.
The Transit parcel van story does not stop there, however. Three specialist convertors — Bedwas, Dormobile, and Robin Hood — produce integral parcel vans based on either the short or longwheelbase Transit chassis cab. Dormobile's conversion is sold through Ford dealers as a special vehicle option (SVO). Bedwas 's long-wheelbase PV400 Transit conversion provides 11.6m3 of cube, while its PV300 model, onthe SWB Transit chassis-cab offers 8.7m3.
The stylish GRP and alloy bodies have rear roller shutters and sliding drivers' doors. Dormobile's PDV (parcel delivery van) has an even bigger volume: on the extended long-wheelbase 190 Transit chassis it gives a massive 15.5m3 of load space.
The normal LWB PDV is no slouch either, with a 13.4m3 body.
Like the Bedwas conversion, the Dormobile PDV is of alloy and GRP construction, although as yet the driver's doors are hinged, rather than sliding. The rear doors are nomially asymetric, and a roller shutter can be fitted.
Hampshire-based Robin Hood's Griff parcel van conversion is also available on LWB and ELWB Transit 190 chassis, providing 12.7m3 and 15.5m3 of load space respectively.
The Griff, which has side doors and a rear roller shutter as standard, is the most recent of the three conversions, having been launched in April.
FREIGHT ROVER
Freight Rover's wide-bodied Sherpa (or, to give it its proper name, the 300-Series) is well-liked by municipal and utility buyers like the Post Office, but is less common in the larger private parcelcompany fleets. The 3.5-tonne rearwheel-.drive Sherpa 350 has a useful 11.4m3 of cube with full-height rear doors and a range of various driver, side and rear door options.
Power on the Sherpa 350 comes from either a two-litre petrol engine rated at 73kW (98hp) a low-compression version is offered as an option or the old 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated Land Rover diesel rated at 54kW (72hp). A turbocharged version of the Land Rover engine will probably be fitted to the 300Series before the end of the year, which should help FR retain its sales as it searches for a replacement for the aging Sherpa body shell.
The Sherpa 350 comes with twin rear wheels but a lower-weight 310 model with the same body shell and single rear wheels, is also available.
IVECO FORD
Since the merger between Iveco and Ford in Britain back in 1986, the 3.5-tonne GVW TuboDaily van has been withdrawn. There are, however, UK versions at 4.5 tonnes and five tonnes, badged as the 45.10 and 49.10 respectively. Both are powered by the 68kW DI Sofim turbo diesel.
The rear-wheel-drive TurboDaily body has a 12.3m3 capacity in high-roof form, which comes with sliding side loading doors and hinged rear doors. Higher up the weight range, Iveco Ford remains committed to the big integral van market up to 7.5-tonnes. Its current TurboZeta family is derived from the old Iveco Zrange, which was originally sold in the UK in both van and chassis-cab form TurboZeta vans are offered with only one (3.6m) wheelbase, but the extra-highroof option on all models boosts their standard 17m3 capacity to 18.3m3. The 6.7-tonne GVW 65.12 and the 7.49-tonne 79.12 TurboZeta vans are both powered by an 85kW (114hp) four-cylinder turbocharged engine. The 7.49-tonne 79.14 van has a more powerful =blown six-cylinder unit developing 102kW (13'7hp). All TurboZeta vans have front disc brakes as standard and sliding side loading doors.
MERCEDES-BENZ
When it comes to selling parcel vans in Britain, Mercedes-Benz has arguably more models than it knows what to do with. First, there are the single-rearwheeled 307D/310 "Bremen" Ti 3.5tonne diesel and petrol panel vans with up to 9.6m3 of cube. Then there are the twin-rear-wheeled 407D/410 Bremens, sold at 4.6 tonnes GVW, or down-plated to 3.5 tonnes, with an 11.3m3 body. Finally there is the largest 12 panel van family which extends up to 7.5 tonnes GVW and provides up to 17.4m3.
To complicate matters further, two of the T2 panel vans (the 4.6-tonne 507D and the 5.6-tonne 6091)) can also be down-plated to 15 tonnes.
The T2 vans come with an impressive array of door and engine options, ranging from the 53kW (71hp) of the 507D's 2.4-litre naturally-aspirated diesel to the 85kW (114hp) turbocharged 3.9-litre diesel in the 811D.
Mercedes-Benz is a popular choice with parcels carries and many of the big fleets, including Parceline and Elan are big Bremen buyers.
PEUGEOT TALBOT
The Talbot Express was the first SEVEL van to reach the UK, and has consequently sold in greater numbers than its Fiat and Citroen rivals.
The 3.5-tonne Express's body is the same as the Ducato Maxi Turbo D and the Citroen C25D Turbo 1800. Three engines are available: a two-litre petrol; a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated diesel; and a 2.5-litre turbocharged diesel.
The most interesting feature of the Express line-up, however, is still under development. It is the tri-axle Express Spacevan, based on a conventional frontwheel-drive Express chassis-cab but with a double trailing-axle conversion by ALKO, which also provides the rear axles for the Express Pullman 6x2 minibus.
The Spacevan has a purpose-built body with a 14.7m3 loadspace and a floor height of 560nun.
RENAULT TRUCK INDUSTRIES
Like Mercedes-Benz and Iveco, RTI has stuck to the 3.5-7.5-tonne sector, and its Dodge-derived 50-Series sells fairly well. Within the past, two years, however, the 50-Series has come under increasing pressure — particularly from the Mercedes 12 range — and last year RTI revamped it, adopting the latest Perkins Phaser diesel engines.
Five 50-Series panel van models are currently available, ranging from the 3.5tonne S35 to the 7.5-tonne S75. All are offered with the naturally-aspirated 63kW (84hp) Phaser 90 or the more powerful turbo-charged Phaser 1101 which pushes out 80kW (10'7hp). RTI offers a choice of two wheelbases, giving load volumes of up to 13.2m3. For operators needing more cube the Customline conversion, based on the extended-wheelbase (4.03m) 50Series chassis cowl, provides a massive 20.2m3. It is built of GRP and alloy over a conventional steel subfrarne and can be fitted with a rear roller shutter and side loading doors.
RENAULT UK
Renault UK's front-wheel-drive Master panel van has just about the biggest load volume of any current factory-built 3.5tonner. The long-wheelbase T35 high-roof van, sold with either a two-litre petrol engine or a 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated diesel, has an excellent 12.77m3 cube combined with a low load bed. Unusually, for an FWD van, the Master has an in-line engine. Full-height rear doors and a side loading door are standard.
VOLKSWAGEN
The long-wheelbase LT35E van is probably VW's most obvious contender in the parcel-van sector, at least at 3.5 tonnes. The single-rear-wheel LT35E can be specified with petrol, diesel or turbo-diesel engines (all based on VW's six-cylinder block). Its high-roof body has an 11.6m3 capacity and a side loading door.
Further up the weight range there is the 4.6 tonne turbo-diesel LT45D van which is so far more popular with newspaper distribution companies like Newsflow than general parcels carriers, who are catered for by an LT-based parcel van, produced by Vaile and Co (Dorset). Available on the LT35 and five-tonne LT50 chassis, it features a custom-built GRP body which can give up to 18.5m3 of cube. It comes with an optional sliding side door and full-height, hinged rear doors.
0 by Brian Weatherley