Geoff Middleton•16 Aug 2016

REVIEW

2016 Iveco Daily 4x4: Launch Review

Name: 2016 Iveco Daily 4x4: Launch Review
Brand: Iveco

The Iveco Daily 4x4 has come in for a makeover making it more car-like, but what about its near legendary off-road capabilities?

Iveco launched its latest incarnation of the Daily 4x4 at a purpose-designed off-road facility near Melbourne on August 12.

The new Daily features a lightly revised exterior and new interior which makes it a little more comfortable and a little less truck-like for the growing Australian recreational market.

According to Iveco’s Marco Quaranta, The Australian market is being recognised more by the R&D specialists at Head Office: “Our voice in R&D here is Australia is becoming more important,” he said at the launch. “The Daily now has the heart of an off-road truck with the comfort of a car,” Quaranta added.

However, while the new Daily is more comfortable and car-like, it is no less capable. It still retains the same 3.0-litre four-cylinder direct-injection turbo-diesel engine and six-speed manual transmission with double-reduction transfer case giving it final reduction in first low of up to 1:101.

The Daily is available in both single-cab and dual-cab variants with prices starting at $88,000 for the single and $94,000 for the dual cab

The Daily is rated to 4495kg GVM which means it can be driven on a car licence, but there is an optional 5500kg GVM available for those who want to carry a bit more.

According to Iveco Australia’s product spokesman Joel Read, it’s this combination of carrying capacity and off-road performance that saw the previous generation Daily 4x4 start to penetrate the fleets of emergency service providers across the country.

“For firefighting and emergency support appliances, the Daily 4x4 in dual-cab guise and at its higher 5500kg GVM rating can accommodate the water carrying capacity and equipment required to support a fully operational crew to combat the task,” Mr Read said.

“The vehicle’s more compact dimensions and off-road ability with its triple differential locks and ultra-low gearing, sees it well suited to remote work particularly over rough and narrow tracks as well as for crew transportation duties.

“There’s an expectation that the latest generation Daily 4x4 will continue to make strong inroads with emergency service and utility support customers in the months ahead.”

Another key market for the new Daily 4x4 is as an expedition touring vehicle.

The model is already being noticed by adventurers seeking a capable vehicle with the benefits of additional space compared to traditional four-wheel drives, and the added comfort of a conventional cab configuration compared to other cab-over light trucks.

There are several Australian expedition bodybuilders who specialise in developing touring bodies on the Daily 4x4 platform. As well as building customised bodies, they supply a range of aftermarket accessories including bull bars, snorkels, long-range fuel tanks, roof racks, wheels and more.

Iveco Australia works with these companies providing them with vehicle CAD diagrams and 3D modelling, to assist them to better develop their aftermarket product ranges.

Mr Read says that customers engaged in long-distance touring would enjoy the benefits of the Daily 4x4’s all-new cabin.

“Owners spending months on the road are set to really reap the benefits of the new cabin,” he said.

“It’s an all-new cabin that’s been critically acclaimed in Daily 4x2 variants for its car-like ergonomics, comfort, storage solutions and overall innovative design.

“Compared to the previous generation Daily 4x4, the latest cabin benefits from greatly improved noise suppression performance, while ingress of dust has virtually been eliminated – this is great news for those touring the Outback with its sandy and dusty conditions.

“The cabin’s integration with the chassis has also been optimised resulting in greater and smoother steering feedback and providing a more comfortable driving environment as a whole.”

Other revisions to the Daily include the change to Euro 6 emissions, which means that the new Daily gets an AdBlue tank. Iveco said at the launch that the Daily uses around three litres of AdBlue per 100 litres of diesel so the 25-litre tank shouldn’t need to be filled too often – but it is something else to remember.

The change to Euro 6 has not affected the power output which remains at 170hp as does the torque figure of 400Nm.

The new model also features electronic brakeforce distribution and the latest European 'ESP9' stability control standard. Also at the launch we were told that driver and passenger air bags would become standard in March 2017.

TESTING TIMES

Preparation for the Australian launch of the Daily 4x4 began back in February this year, with vehicles undergoing homologation, braking and endurance testing.

Despite the Daily 4x4’s introduction into other markets before the Australian launch, Iveco Australia Engineering and Product teams wanted to ensure the new truck’s suitability for the local market and our conditions.

Along with meeting standard homologation requirements, local testing – including brake testing with 37-inch tyres (a dealer option on the latest model) – was undertaken. The trials revealed that the model’s new braking system, incorporating ‘ESP9’ safety program, was well equipped to safely pull up the heavily laden test vehicle.

A truck was then assigned to Iveco Australia Product Support Manager, Claus Hoffman, an experienced off-road traveller and trainer, who conducted a 13,000km Outback trek over three weeks operating in temperatures up to 48 degrees.

The vehicle completed the journey at almost full GVM (5500kg), taking in the Strzelecki and Finke Desert Race tracks as well as spending time in the Gulf Country and north-west New South Wales.

Claus said that around 85 per cent of the trip was on rough gravel roads with corrugations and heavy bulldust, and diagnostic equipment recorded data including fuel use, operating temperatures and load cycling information via the truck’s CAN-bus. Oil sampling was also regularly undertaken throughout the journey.

“One thing that really strikes you about the new vehicle, especially in rough terrain, is that the cabin is a much nicer and more comfortable place to be than the previous model,” he said.

“The noise levels are significantly reduced compared to the previous Daily 4x4, while dust suppression is also far superior.”

ON THE TRACK

There is no doubt the new cab is a nice place to be. Climb up into the driver’s suspension seat and you’d be excused for thinking you were in a Japanese four-wheel drive, not a European truck. The wheel feels nice in the hands and is angled toward the driver like in a car. There are controls on the wheel for phone and stereo and there’s a neat stalk on the left of the wheel that controls the cruise control that you can use when off-road like an old-fashioned throttle lock.

The other controls are simple and fall easily to hand, while the HVAC controls are equally easy to read and use.

The main gearshift is dash-mounted and only a hand-span from the wheel. It’s smooth and has a short throw between the six forward gears and reverse accessed using a collar on the stick so you won’t accidentally crunch it when off-roading.

The two transfer shifters are floor mounted with the one on the far left for the ‘on-road’ gears and the one on the right to access the ultra-low off-road gears.

We were told that you can shift between the two on-road gears on the fly and actually use the lower one when towing or load hauling on-road.

Claus told me that the Daily has a theoretic top speed of 135km/h but it’s happier at 100-110km/h. He said that at those speeds you can get around 12-13L/100km. However, driven sedately and with little load, economy figures of 9-10L/100km are achievable.

At the launch, I was fortunate to have Claus along with me on the test drive over some pretty rough terrain where we got to test all of the off-road features of the Daily.

We had a variety of tyres on the test vehicles ranging from the highway-oriented rubber to a mud tyre right through to the optional 37-inch tyres. What we found was that even with the road tyres, the Daily is an off-road tour de force.

At one stage I was swapping cogs in the transfer case while Claus was playing the dash-mounted diff-lock switches like a rockstar on a keyboard as we climbed a near-impossible hill and slithered down the near-vertical other side while hanging in our seatbelts! It was at once terrifying and terrific fun.

The approach angle of 48 degrees and departure angle of 39 degrees mean that you never seem to be stopped by hitting the front bumper or dragging the rear. And with a final reduction in low-range first of something like 100:1, it makes for a very impressive combination.

Descending in low first is fantastic at slower than walking pace, but you do need to have the centre diff lock on which disables the traction control and ABS while still allowing the excellent hill-holding function to remain active.

While we didn’t get to drive the Daily on the bitumen, we can say that with the upgrades to the new cabin and to the Euro 6 emissions specifications, the Daily has lost nothing in its off-road capability where it still stands as the most impressive light truck that we’ve driven.

2016 Iveco Daily 4x4: Launch Review

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