Story Wayne Munro Photos Gerald Shacklock BIG TEST - Isuzu

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Above left: Control of the Allison transmission could scarcely be any easier – just a matter of pushing a button Above right: Anthony Marks didn’t like the auto at first, now says he wouldn’t like to have this truck taken off him NZ Couriers in a Hino 6x4, about the same size as this. He says he “really enjoyed” the linehaul – and would prefer it to around-town work: “It’s fighting the traffic that gets you.” Then again, he adds: “I enjoy this because I’m always face to face with the customers. It’s way more people-oriented than linehaul.” That extends to his regulars phoning him direct for pickups and deliveries. Our run, which started at the Bullet base just after 9am (ie just as the rush-hour usually ends), sees us at 10.15am – now as a truck only – dealing with the second manoeuvring challenge of the day: Anthony does a lap of a crowded carpark in a small industrial estate, negotiating parked cars to get to a signwriting business, which he’s got a roll of vinyl for. Getting in here, he says, is no big deal – particularly in this truck: “I like its manoeuvrability and turning circle – I prefer it to the Hino I was driving.” Besides, there are a lot worse places than this that he has to get in and out of: “You do get a lot of tight little driveways. I do some deliveries to private houses – delivering things like treadmills, stereos.” They’re generally even less truck-friendly. We head off to the next dropoff – a pallet load for a marine repair business: No sooner has Anthony got the Structurflex curtains pulled back than they’re ready to go with a forklift. We’re gone within five minutes. Back behind the wheel, Anthony reckons: “Everything is really well done in this truck. Out of all the trucks I’ve driven this would be the best one.” It has, for instance, “really good vision. The mirrors are really good. The Hinos had small mirrors and you couldn’t get much of a view.” The Bullet Freight <strong>Isuzu</strong> he had immediately before this F Series had “a bit more power” – but he’s quick to insist that this has “got enough power – it does the job it has to do.” The 7.8-litre six-cylinder 6HK1-TCS engine develops 300-horsepower/ 221kW and meets the Euro 4 emissions standard – firstly via optimised combustion, achieved with a high-capacity cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system, variable-geometry turbocharging and electronic common-rail fuel injection. Then it uses what it terms a diesel particulate diffuser (DPD) – a regenerating aftertreatment device that uses a ceramic filter to collect and burn particulate matter. The engine delivers its peak power at 2400rpm, with 200kW-plus from a worthwhile 2100 to 2550 revs. The 981Nm of peak torque is achieved at 1450rpm, with 900Nm or better from 1250 to 2200. With those engine outputs, its 24-tonne GVM and 36t. GCM this FVY1400 is (along with the FVZ 1400) the most biggest and most powerful of the 19-model F Series range. In the extensive lineup offered by NZ’s best-selling truckmaker, it slots in just below the new FX models – which, in turn, fill a gap between the FVs and the heavy-duty Gigas. The new FXR and FXD, in fact, are rated with a lower GVM (16.5t.) than our test truck – and with the same 36t. GCM. But both use a more powerful (243kW/326hp) 9.8-litre engine – the same powerplant used in the FXZ, which has the same 24t. GVM as our test truck, but is rated with a 42.5t. GCM. Our next stop is only a few minutes’ drive away – this one with more challenging access: To get to the stereo and home theatre distributor’s warehouse at the rear of the building, Anthony has to back in off the road, through a crowded carpark….. Then negotiate a 90 left, a 90 right, reverse along the side of the building, then do another 90 right. He comes here twice a day so is used to it and again reckons it’s no biggie – not like the places he’s been where “people do sometimes come out and say they’re amazed at what I can do in this.” He was similarly impressed with another truckie here, after watching him back a semi-trailer in. Here he needs to use the Zepro tail-lift to unload the consignment. But still we’re here for no more than maybe 15 minutes tops…and we’re off again. All of this rapid-fire delivery work means, of course, that access in and out of a truck is very important – as is driver comfort. On the first count, the <strong>Isuzu</strong> is impressive – with doors that open 26 | Truck & Driver MAGAZINE
Even with its rooftop aerofoil the F Series is a very angular, square-edged beast There’s still space for a narrow centre console beside the driver’s seat, carrying the park brake release, electric mirror controls, the RT and the Allison’s simple control panel, with its small digital display (indicating what gear you’re in and what gear you could change to), plus Mode, R, N and D buttons…and another two (one up arrow and one down) for push-buttoning your way up or down the six-speed auto right out to 90 degrees. Two grated alloy steps into the truck (the left side one broken after a hit by a car) provide secure footholds, while a grabhandle by the seat and a grabrail on front edge of door complete the package. By Anthony’s judgment, this is “good” – better than the Hino he had, which had a forward handle placed too high…and didn’t have a hand-hold on the left. Once in, the seat gets a big rap from our 6ft 1inch driver – for wrapping itself around him: It’s an Isri 6860, with pneumatic lumbar support, which he reckons means “you’re tight into it – you’re comfy and you’re not throwing yourself around a lot. It’s very easy to get comfortable in it. “I’m not even getting a sore back. With the Hino and the Mitsi I did. The best thing I like is the seat,” he says, definitively. Getting out of the truck at the end of the day is important to this man who loves his touch rugby – playing and refereeing. The cab that’s his “home” eight hours a day or more feels surprisingly wide (in fact it’s 2.4m) – as it manages to fit in the Isri seat, a comfy enough passenger seat AND a third seat. That’s probably most useful when folded forward, exposing a storage tray that’s handy for a logbook, paperwork and the like. Even then, there’s still space for a narrow centre console beside the driver’s seat, carrying the park brake release, electric mirror controls, the RT and the Allison’s simple control panel, with its small digital display (indicating what gear you’re in and what gear you could change to), plus Mode, R, N and D buttons…and another two (one up arrow and one down) for push-buttoning your way up or down the six-speed auto. Storage-wise there’s a raised area in behind the seats that might loosely be termed a “sleeper bed.” Crammed it would be, comfy it would not be. But for putting a gear bag or two on....it’s perfect. There’s a little bit of other storage space – a glovebox on the Truck & Driver | 29 MAGAZINE
Page 1 and 2: Big Test City slicker Story Wayne M
Page 3 and 4: Back at the cavernous Bullet Freigh
Page 5: moment that are looking pretty tire
Page 9 and 10: The morning’s run comprises five

Story Wayne Munro Photos Gerald Shacklock BIG TEST - Isuzu

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