Allan Whiting•25 Jun 2021

REVIEW

Light truck guide Part 2: 4x4

Name: Light truck guide Part 2: 4x4
Brand: Fuso

As popular-brand 4x4 ute prices soar and their tare weights go up, the resulting RRP vs payload calculations don’t look too flash. A light 4WD truck with car-licence 4495kg GVM offers up to twice the payload for the same, or not much more, money

A four-wheel drive light truck doesn’t have the modern ute’s ‘cool’ factor, but can still be a tradie’s weekend off-road tourer as well as a work vehicle during the week. The bonus is much roomier crew cab accommodation, better payload and a more versatile vehicle.

One downside of the Japanese models is their poor ride quality on rough surfaces, but after-market suspension bits can mitigate that to a large extent. The European and US models ride much better, but offer far less parts and service support in the bush.

You pays your money and you makes your choice…

Fuso

The Canter started the whole Japanese light 4x4 business, back when it was branded Mitsubishi. The Canter 4x4 model has a special chassis, shaped as a shallow 'S' that raises the front section over the drive axle, yet provides a low load height at the back.

Its purpose-designed chassis and small-capacity engine combine to keep weight down, giving the Canter the best payload rating of Japanese light 4x4 trucks that have two-speed transfer cases.

The Canter is well equipped and safety is top shelf with twin SRS airbags, Hill Start Assist, ABS/EBD drum brakes, conventional multi-leaf springs but no cruise control.

The Canter comes with a Thornton-type limited-slip rear differential that has positive wet-clutch locking ability.

Ride quality is not so great on rough surfaces.

Quick specs
Engine: Three-litre, four-cylinder DOHC diesel, Euro 5
Performance: 110kW at 2850-3500rpm; 370Nm at 1350-2840rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Transfer case: Two-speed with 1.987:1 low range ratio
Wheelbase(s): 2815mm; 3415mm (single cab); 3415mm (crew cab)
Payload at 4495kg GVM (including body weight): 1935kg (single cab); 1670kg (crew cab)

The Fuso Canter is well equipped and comes in single and dual-cab variants.

Hino

Hino’s 4495kg GVM model is the 300 Series 817 and it’s the best equipped of the Japanese offerings. Standard equipment includes Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) – a first for a Japanese-built truck in this category – four-wheel disc brakes, driver and passenger SRS airbags, cruise control, air compressor and reversing camera.

Overall gear reduction in first-low is 65:1 and an Eaton No-Spin self-locking rear diff centre is optional.

Hino has adopted a different chassis construction from the others in this segment, with duplicate chassis rails at the rear, bolted beneath the standard rails. The upper rails mount the engine and cab, with space underneath for the front drive axle, while the lower chassis at the rear mounts the back axle and suspension. It works, but the design adds to tare weight, giving away around 300kg to the Isuzu NPS.

The Hino 817 also gets the transfer case from the much higher-rated GT truck – strong, but heavy.

Ride quality is slightly better than the Fuso Canter and Isuzu NPS, but not good.

Quick specs
Engine: Four-litre, four-cylinder OHV diesel, Euro 5
Performance: 121kW at 2500rpm; 464Nm at 1400rpm
Transmission: Six-speed manual (After-market Allison Auto available)
Transfer case: Two-speed with 2.224:1 low range ratio
Wheelbase(s): 3500mm (single and crew cab)
Payload at 4495kg GVM (including body weight): 1335kg (single cab); 1090kg (crew cab)

The Hino 817 has good off-road ability and was recently updated.

Isuzu NLS

Isuzu has two entrants in this light truck class: the low-ground clearance NLS and the high-clearance, low-range-geared NPS.

The NLS is a 4WD derivative of the NLR range, retaining its independent, torsion-bar front suspension, taper-leaf rear suspension and chassis height. It’s by far the best-riding and handling of all the Japanese 4x4 light trucks and shares its engine hardware with the Isuzu Ute range.

NLS models feature ABS and ASR traction control, limited-slip rear diff, Hill Start Aid, driver and passenger airbags and ECE-R29 cab strength compliance. Options include TPMS, satnav, up to four cameras and an aluminium bull bar.

Overall gearing in first gear is limited by an on-demand, single-speed transfer case, to 26:1.

Driver and passenger comfort is aided by integrated air conditioning, a contoured, adjustable driver’s seat, central locking, cornering lamps, electric windows and mirrors and an updated multimedia system.

Ready to work, bodied NLS trucks are a tipper and a service pack.

Quick specs
Engine: Three-litre, four-cylinder DOHC diesel, Euro 5
Performance: 110kW at 2800rpm; 375Nm at 1600-2800rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual
Transfer case: Single-speed with viscous coupling
Wheelbase(s): 2740mm (single cab); 3360mm (crew cab)
Payload at 4495kg GVM (including body weight): 2200kg (single cab); 2065kg (crew cab)

The NLS rides well and is pretty good off-road.

Isuzu NPS

Isuzu’s NPS 45/155 is the market-leading 4WD light truck and Isuzu has kept its proved specification quite basic: ‘lazy’ five-litre engine; drum brakes; limited-slip rear diff and conventional multi-leaf springs.

A plus for serious off-road use is that the engine complies with Euro V emissions requirements without the need for a diesel particulate filter (DPF). It’s the only compliant diesel in the 4x4 light truck market to do this.

The concessions to modernity are twin SRS airbags, ABS, Hill Start Assist, cruise control, powered mirrors and an optional automated manual transmission (AMT). The AMT is Isuzu’s third generation design and it works very well, on and off road, as a two-pedal box.

Ride quality is poor on rough surfaces.

Overall gearing in first-low is 54.5:1.

The ready-to-work NPS is a bodied service truck.

Quick specs
Engine: 5.2-litre, four-cylinder SOHC diesel, Euro 5
Performance: 114kW at 2600rpm; 419Nm at 1600-2600rpm
Transmission: Five-speed manual and optional five-speed AMT
Transfer case: Two-speed with 1.842:1 low range ratio
Wheelbase(s): 3395mm (single cab and crew cab)
Payload at 4495kg GVM (including body weight): 1545kg (single cab); 1305kg (crew cab)

The Isuzu NPS has a two-speed transfer case and great low-range gearing.

VW Crafter

Like the other European brands the VW Crafter is most commonly bought as a front-wheel-drive or rear-wheel-drive van, but 4Motion four-wheel-drive cab/chassis up to four tonnes GVM are available. 4Motion models are based on the front-wheel-drive chassis, with a propshaft driving the rear axle.

Ride and handling are vastly superior to Japanese light 4WD trucks, but ground clearance is only 195mm.

All Crafter 4Motion variants are single-tyred and hill descent control and a rear diff lock are optional.

Safety and equipment levels are passenger-car like and include six airbags, daylight running lights, ABS with EDL and emergency city braking and hill start assist. Four-wheel discs, traction control and ESP are standard, as is adaptive cruise control and regenerative braking. Mirrors are powered and heated.

A factory-fitted aluminium drop-side tray body is optional.

Quick specs
Engines: Two-litre diesel, with single or twin-turbo, Euro 6
Performance: 103kW at 3500rpm and 340Nm at 2000rpm; 130kW at 3600rpm and 410Nm at 2000rpm
Transmissions: Six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic
Transfer case: Single speed, on demand 4x4
Wheelbases: 4490mm (single and crew cabs)
Payload: at 4495kg GVM (including body weight): 1930kg (single cab); 18701kg (crew cab)

The European light trucks have superior ride and handling characteristics.

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter

The Sprinter 4WD is due for significant changes from September 2021, including new engines, transmissions and all-wheel drive system, according to a bulletin being circulated among Mercedes-Benz dealerships in late 2020. Dealers are already taking orders for the post-September 2021 Sprinter, but we don’t have the final specifications yet.

The existing four-cylinder OM651 and six-cylinder OM642 engines will be replaced by a single four-cylinder, two-litre OM654 engine that complies with Euro VI emissions standards. This new engine has aluminium block and head, plus Nanoslide, iron-carbon cylinder wall coating.

AWD models come only with the top-shelf 140kW/450Nm engine, with twin turbochargers, coupled to a new 9G-Tronic nine-speed auto.

Where the current Sprinter 4x4 uses components fitted by Oberaigner in Austria, a former Mercedes-Benz partner company, the 2021 Sprinter’s transfer case and front differential are from Magna Steyr, who developed the 4Matic system for Mercedes-Benz car models.

The 4Matic system is integrated with ESP and 4ETS traction control to aid driving dynamics.

Mercedes-Benz stated that the ride height of the 2021 Sprinter AWD models is increased over the clearance with the current 4x4 system.

We’ll have more detailed information and a specs panel for the 2021 Sprinter models nearer to the launch date.

Mercedes-Benz is due to update the Sprinter later this year.

Iveco Daily

We were in two minds about including the Daily 4WD truck in this guide, because there’s stock in the country and more than a few have been sold into mining companies since late-2020, so it’s theoretically available, yet it isn’t…

The Daily 4WD that was launched in Australia in 2013 featured live beam axles front and rear. It was an immediate success and was subsequently upgraded in 2017 and 2018. In service issues were premature wear in the transfer case bushes and braking imbalance – both of which were addressed.

At the Brisbane Truck Show in 2019, Iveco previewed its replacement that featured a return to independent torsion-bar front suspension that early Daily 4WDs had in the 1990s. This model also had a new two-speed transfer case, replacing the previous three-speed unit.

The scheduled release for the new Daily 4WD was mid-2021, but Trucksales understands that pre-production vehicles have suffered from transfer case noise and vibration at speeds over about 80km/h, so the official launch has been delayed. Hence, there’s no specs panel yet for this truck.

An absolute weapon off-road, the Iveco Daily 4x4 has been beset by problems that have delayed its release.

Ute conversions

Other buying choices for a desired GVM of 4495kg are the RHD-converted 3500-series light 4x4 trucks from RAM, Ford and Chevrolet, out of the USA. Pricing is steep, from around 150 grand and ute tubs are the only available bodywork, but a Yank Ute makes a bold business statement!

Want to make a statement? Try one of the big US imports.

Yet another route is to extend the chassis of a 4WD ute and add a third axle. This addition can be done as a full 6WD conversion, or as a 6x4, with a ‘dead’ trailing axle. Both conversions retain the existing rear-drive axle and propshaft, but the 6x4 doesn’t involve the cost of an additional drive axle, inter-axle diff and jackshaft, so it’s obviously cheaper than a full 6x6 job.

The most professional conversion companies have second manufacturer stats, so a brand new cab/chassis can be converted before first ego and the upgraded GVM and specs are granted national compliance approval. A typical Ranger-sized, 6x4 converted and compliant, brand-new vehicle, compete with new, longer tray is around the $90-100,000 mark.

For most light-truck purposes, a 6x4 is adequate and the chances of getting bogged by having only the front driving axle and the non-driving third axle with traction are slim. In the case of Six Wheeler Conversions’ refit the rear drive axle retains around 60 per cent of imposed load in most circumstances and the rear axle travel is around 300mm, making it unlikely to be ‘hung up’ on rough sites.