IVECO Daily 70C 2023 Review

“Now that is a big van,” said the service station attendant, motioning towards the IVECO Daily 70C. The van was casting a shadow over nearly the full length of the servo’s shop. It wasn’t the first time I’d heard the comment, and nor would it be the last. And with the big Daily measuring in at over 3m high and nearly 8m from tip to tail, I could only agree…

The IVECO Daily 70C is in fact the largest van you can buy in Australia. And with a 7000kg GVM, you need a light-rigid truck licence to drive it. However, with that caveat comes a monster payload limit of nearly four tonnes and a massive internal load volume of 19.6 cubic metres.

We recently pressed the IVECO Daily 70C into service as a support vehicle for trucksales’ sister site, bikesales, which required backup for its bikesales Bike of the Year shootout.

As its biggest annual test, this year involving nine motorcycles, 12 people, and six days in Victoria’s High Country, the event demands a practical support vehicle to carry everyone’s gear, plus tools, food, drinks, medical equipment, and potentially a stricken motorcycle. At the outset of the event, little did we know the extent to which we’d later be relying on the Daily’s space…

This is the flagship of the Daily range, which spans myriad van and cab/chassis models at a range of GVMs. One of the benefits of buying a Daily is the confidence that comes with a brand that specialises in commercial vehicles – you’ll find the IVECO name not just on Daily vans, but also on a range of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks, including some incredibly capable off-road heavy vehicles.

But before we head to Victoria’s High Country, let’s take a closer look at what’s under the skin of this particular IVECO Daily 70C.

The IVECO Daily 70C has been around for several years now, but it did come in for a mild update towards the start of 2023. Improvements include revised seating with more supportive memory foam, extra room and adjustment for drivers, electric power steering across the range, and a steering wheel that’s now adjustable for tilt and reach.

There’s also a new City Mode, which reduces steering effort by 70 per cent for easy maneuvering in tight confines, and the option of dynamic lane keeping, further complementing the Daily’s many safety features.

There are bright yellow grab handles by the doors in the load bay, a high-resolution reversing camera display with dynamic guides, plus several aesthetic updates – a new grille design, new taillights, and a revised dash that now sports a more premium, car-like finish, with its mix of textures and tones and the use of matte chrome trim.

Powering our test van is IVECO’s FIC 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel in its most powerful rating: 155kW (210hp) at 3500rpm and 470Nm at 1500rpm. This is a Euro 6 engine that relies on a mix of EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) and SCR (selective catalytic reduction), so it also has a 20-litre AdBlue tank. And the engine has been mated to the optional ZF Hi-Matic eight-speed automatic ($4150 plus GST), which is a true torque-converter auto. A six-speed manual is standard.

While the IVECO Daily 70C comes with a long list of standard inclusions, IVECO also offers several features grouped together into three packs.

The Hi-Business Pack ($1600) comprises a Hi-Connect multimedia system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and integrated satellite navigation, as well as inductive smartphone charging, fog lights, and full LED headlights. The Hi-Comfort Pack ($1200), as fitted to our test vehicle, comprises climate control, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, tyre pressure monitoring, auto wipers and auto headlights. And lastly, there’s the Hi-Technology Pack ($2500 with the auto transmission, or $2400 without), which includes dynamic lane keeping, Traction Plus, City Brake, Hill Descent Control, and auto high beam.

We had the IVECO Daily 70C at our disposal for around three weeks, which allowed us to ferry around bikes before and after the Bike of the Year test, as well as provide support during the week in the High Country. We used the picturesque township of Bright as our base, and the surrounding peaks of Mount Hotham, Tawonga Gap, and Mount Bogong to put the bikes through their paces.

Preparing the big Daily for the main event was a snap: this load bay is seriously well equipped for carrying a major load. With huge doors both on the nearside and at the rear via the 270-degree-folding barn doors, there are solid grabrails at each and lower steps too. This is a good thing because, with a standard load floor height of 840mm, it is quite a step up to get inside – an important aspect for anyone considering regular multi-drop city work.

Helping here is our test van’s optional rear airbag suspension, which can be lowered to 780mm or raised as high as 900mm from its 840mm travel height. The feature allows you to match the load floor height with, say, that of a loading dock, and it’s all done via a few buttons on the dash.

The load bay itself features a tough wood/synthetic floor that is textured for grip, and there are 16 sturdy tie-down anchor points throughout. The internal height is 2100mm, so there’s no need to stoop, and the bulkhead provides excellent protection for cab occupants in the event of an accident or emergency stop.

We loaded up all our gear and strapped it down at the front of the load bay, which was quick and easy. There’s only 1032mm between the Daily 70C’s (dual-wheel) wheel arches, so not enough to fit a standard Australian pallet, but there is enough room to position one at the rear and another up front, via the side door.

Some may find driving a van this big a bit daunting, but it’s really no more difficult than driving a large passenger vehicle. Once you have your head around the extra length, and you’re mindful of the travel height (forget multi-story car parks and Melbourne’s Montague Street Bridge!), the light steering, surprisingly decent turning circle, and perky turbo-diesel really do take the strain out of city running.

Of course, the hunt for an appropriate parking spot may take a little longer, but the excellent vision afforded by the high perch, the clear reversing camera display, and the rear parking sensors are all a big help. Even the turning circle was a pleasant surprise. At over 14.1m kerb to kerb, it’s still appreciable, but it’s better than I anticipated and the steering box is fairly short too, at 3.75 turns lock to lock.

Climbing into and especially out of the cab does take some care – there are excellent A-pillar grab handles for the driver and passenger, but the step is still 510mm off the deck. It’s a fair distance, especially if you’re hopping in and out regularly. Fortunately, I wasn’t.

Once behind the wheel, however, the Daily 70C really is a pleasant place to be. The new seating is excellent; it’s really comfy, and I like the adjustable armrest and seat heating for the driver too.

IVECO says there’s more room now for larger drivers but there still isn’t heaps, especially if you have long legs. At 188cm (6ft 2in), I had adequate room, but anyone taller may struggle. Also, the dead pedal is on the passenger side – a throwback from the Daily’s left- to right-hand-drive conversion – and the transmission tunnel does encroach a little on your left foot.

For similar reasons, the on/off/volume knob for the multimedia display, and the temperature dial for the climate control, are both a bit of a reach away (but they’d be on the correct side in a left-hand-drive vehicle). And the temp display on the dial is small and tricky to read.

Still, these are minor quibbles; on the whole this big van is a beauty on the open road, or even to guide through city traffic. Older Daily models were great workhorses but perhaps a bit agricultural as far as the cabin went. Not so here. The dash looks smart, and the steering wheel wouldn’t be out of place in a high-end passenger car; it’s bristling with buttons and functions to help keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road.

The Hi-Matic shifter is really easy to operate and it takes no time to acclimatise. And we like how the old manual park brake has been tidied up with an electric park brake, with a switch just near the shifter.

On the open road the Daily lopes along at 100km/h with the mill spinning at a lazy 2000rpm. It’s impressively quiet; there’s a little wind and road noise, but the engine noise is nicely muted. Vibration is all but non-existent, and only a light touch is required at the wheel.

Most impressive was how the Daily 70C handled the alpine roads. The engine never struggled on the steep grades, it claws its way strongly out of tight bends from below 1500rpm, and in general the van remained incredibly well composed in the mountains and over some pretty average road surfaces too. This airbag-equipped model was a great thing to pilot through the hills, and we were never far behind whenever the bikes pulled up for a stop.

Fuel economy? We averaged 12.4L/100km over the 2000km duration of this test. That's good going given the steep roads and healthy pace of the six days we spent in the High Country.

The Hi-Matic transmission is brilliant – very refined, and smart too. It seems to pick the right gear for just about any given situation, and I love how it down-shifts readily for more controlled descents, lightening the load on the service brakes. And the four-wheel disc brakes delivered plenty of power and feel, I might add.

Cab storage is excellent, with three dash-top trays (the outboard ones concealed), upper shelving, a large space beneath the twin passenger seat unit, and a couple of small glove compartments. The twin-deck door pockets are huge and have bottle holders, and there are outboard cup holders for both the driver and outboard passenger. Need more? There’s a huge compartment over the cab, accessible via the load bay.

Pairing a phone to the multimedia unit is simple and it’s easy to navigate the central TFT display between the analogue speedo and tacho. The sound quality from the stereo is excellent, and there’s DAB+ digital as well as regular radio. And the climate control worked a treat, aided by the bulkhead as it is.

The objective of a support vehicle in a role like this is ideally to never have to use it for more than carting gear, but unfortunately that wasn’t the case here. A fallen rider resulted in a broken ankle and a bike in the back of the van, and then, towards the end of that same day, a mechanical issue saw another bike relegated to the Daily. Fortunately, the big 70C had ample space to accommodate both bikes, as well as our gear. Job done.

A van this large really has no right to handle and perform as well as this IVECO Daily 70C does. It’s a consummate professional on the road, and a great way to haul major loads with its truck-like capacity but car-like drive and poise. Add in the excellent security afforded to anything in the load bay, and it was a huge asset to us before, during, and after the 2023 bikesales Bike of the Year.

If you need to haul a major load with a minimum of fuss, give the IVECO Daily 70C some careful consideration. I think you’ll be very pleasantly surprised by just what this leviathan of the van world can do.

Model: IVECO Daily 70C
Engine: 3.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Claimed maximum power: 210hp (155kW) at 3500rpm
Claimed maximum torque: 470Nm at 1500rpm
Emissions compliance: Euro 6, with EGR and SCR
Transmission: Optional ZF Hi-Matic eight-speed auto (six-speed manual std)
Fuel economy: 12.4L/100km (as tested)
GVM: 7000kg
GCM: 10,500kg
Towing capacity (braked): 3500kg
Kerb mass: 3076kg
Maximum payload: 3924kg
Wheelbase: 4100mm
Overall length: 7664mm
Overall height (unladen): 3054mm
Turning circle (kerb to kerb): 14,108mm
Steering: Electric power steering
Chassis: C-section longitudinal side members with tubular cross members
Cargo volume: 19.6 cubic metres
Load bay length: 5125mm
Load floor height (unladen): 884mm
Internal height: 2100mm
Internal width: 1740mm
Width between wheel arches: 1032mm
Brakes: Disc brakes all round, ABS equipped
Front suspension: Independent with adjustable steel torsion bar
Rear suspension: Optional ECAS height adjustable airbags (parabolic springs std)
Fuel tank: 100L
AdBlue: 20L
Safety: ESP9 stability control with ABS, traction control, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, hill hold, adaptive load control, trailer sway mitigation, rollover mitigation, four airbags, autonomous braking, reversing camera with dynamic guide, and full bulkhead with window
Price: From $95,801 plus GST and on-road costs ($112,882 plus GST and on-road costs, as tested)