New Isuzu F Series Revealed

Isuzu Australia has lifted the curtain giving a first look at the new range of medium duty trucks bringing an upgrade with new drivelines, high tech connectivity and a general model improvements

The F Series covers a broad spectrum of power, weight and axle configurations putting this genus of truck to work in applications in every vocational niche from carting a wheel barrow and shovel in a landscaper's business to containerised haulage and tipper/dog work at the heavy end of transport.

And everything in between.

The hard punching middleweight, the F Series, is an example of Isuzu's ability to exploit the great diversity of needs in the ecology of the transport landscape, maintaining Isuzu's off-the-hook, ready-to-work trucks at a competitive price – with a name for hard working longevity.

With such a continually evolving diversity of modern trucks doing a good job, it's hard to see the need for an upgrade. However, that is exactly what has happened with Isuzu's first big announcement for 2016.

The medium-duty market sector of trucks is the fastest growing in Australia with a five per cent increase since 2010.

The new F Series models fill the changing needs in this market: more efficiency, hi-tech management systems, meeting current and future emission standards and two-pedal automated transmissions for an increased diversity in driver skills.

New Drivelines

Other than an audio visual and sat-nav console coming as standard, an Idle Stop System (ISS) and a bucket load of trim and minor upgrades, the big change in the new F Series comes in the drivelines.

Two new engines power the changes to the F Series: a 5.2 litre four-cylinder and a 7.8 litre six-cylinder engine.

The 4HK1 four-litre block matches power and torque of the previous six-cylinder options in the F Series.

Two power options of this block are on offer, one pushing out 210hp with torque peaking at 726Nm at 1000rpm. The second option is rated at 240hp with torque of 765Nm.

The low-capacity four-cylinder powers trucks up to 14 tonnes GVM, finding the grunt through a two-stage turbo system and an increased capacity intercooler.

The bigger 6HK1 DOC six-cylinder block generates 260hp and 761Nm of torque, with injection through a common-rail high-pressure fuel system.

New transmission choices increase the choice options with the Isuzu's own torque converter equipped automated transmission (TC-AMT) suitable for matching to the 4HK1 engine and Allison's LCT2500 and MD3000 suited to heavier work using the 6HK1 donk.

Manual transmission choices are still available with the Isuzu MZW6 or the ZF nine-speed manual.

Emissions in the six cylinder engine are managed by a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst (DOC).

Isuzu Australia's chief engineer, Simon Humphries, says better than Euro 5 emission standards have been reached by a simplified combination of a standard EGR system combined with a chassis-mounted DOC.

"It is a very simple system compared to other methods of complying with Euro 5. Isuzu has cleaned up a lot of emissions inside the engine so that the oxidation catalyst completes the job," Simon Humphries says.

The DOC is combined with the exhaust and can be mounted horizontally or vertically and complies with Euro 5 and the next standards level (July 2016) in Japan.

Isuzu hopes it will meet the Australian ADR equivalent of Euro 6, not expected by Isuzu until after 2020.

The Isuzu 'freshening' of the F Series lineup of medium duty trucks brings much more than a cosmetic hit of Botox.

The technological advances and new engines take this broad range of trucks into what Isuzu sees as a connected future of logistic management.

Within this system of interconnected oversight, the F Series offers horses for just about all courses in this market sector.

The UD Connection

We will see an incremental increase in Isuzu manufactured product running on Australian roads with news from Japan that UD trucks will cease manufacture of medium-duty product, instead selling Isuzu trucks with UD badging.

This news comes out of Japan at the time of the Australian launch of Isuzu's new range of medium duty F Series trucks in Melbourne.

According to news reports coming from Japan, Volvo-owned UD trucks will stop the manufacture of the company's medium duty trucks at the Ageo plant in Japan and there is a possibility that UD-badged F Series could be on Australian roads by 2017.

The Japanese Government emission standards coming into force mid 2016 are thought to be one of the drivers behind UD's decision to develop an OEM deal with Isuzu.

UD's heavy duty models will still be built at the Ageo plant.

New Isuzu F Series Revealed

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