Mention the name ASTRA and for most a pint-sized Holden will readily spring to mind, but the ASTRA on test here is in an altogether different league.
The ASTRA of the trucking world is a long-established Italian manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The name stems from Anonima Sarda TRAsporti, and although it's been under the Iveco banner since the mid-'80s, it was founded just after World War II.
As an Iveco brand it falls under the umbrella of the massive CNH Industrial group; ASTRA is distributed here in Australia through the Iveco dealer network.
The HD9 has been around in various configurations for a few years and this particular example – the 88 48 – is the eight-wheel-drive, 480hp model. A 520hp 88 52 is also available here, while the 560hp 88 56 – available in some other markets – isn't.
trucksales.com.au was recently invited to sample the HD9 88 48 courtesy of Melbourne dealer, AdTrans Truck Centre. This shiny new example – a bare cab/chassis ready for custom fit-out – is sitting in the yard with a price tag of $230,500.
I was fortunate enough to take it for a gallop without pulling out the chequebook, gaining a brief taste of the behemoth over a run from Melbourne's western suburbs to the You Yangs mountains near Geelong. While I'm sure the You Yangs' modest peaks would have posed little challenge for the HD9 had I had the opportunity to put its various diff locks and power dividers to the test, sadly any such antics were off the menu for this quick run.
The first challenge is climbing into the thing. At 188cm (6ft 2in) I'm not exactly short, but standing next to the truck the cab's floor is at shoulder height. A three-step ladder helps the ascent as do twin grab rails, but to enhance the brute's already ample ground clearance and approach angle that first step 'is a doozy', as they say in the classics.
The doors open to almost 90 degrees and once you've settled by the wheel the cab is a comfy, if utilitarian, place to be. An Isri air suspension seat offers all the usual adjustment and the wheel is adjustable for tilt by pressing an air switch set in the cab's floor – a smart set-up. While forward and side vision is good the manual adjustment of the mirrors is a bit of a surprise, although the split standard and convex arrangement offers a great view to the rear.
All the controls are big, chunky and easily managed with work gloves, from the various pushbuttons to the twist-dials for the air-operated front, centre and rear diff locks. As two-speed transfer case underlines its off-road intentions, as does the ample ground clearance, suspension travel (look at the gap underneath those mud guards!), and approach and departure angles of 29.8 degrees and 23.4 degrees respectively.
Heavy-duty seals and a ducted cab blow-out system keep the dust in check.
Without any body or load the HD9 offers plenty of go on burying the throttle. It's Iveco's proven 12.9-litre Cursor in-line six doing the work and with 480hp at 1900rpm and 2300Nm of torque from just 1000rpm to 1440rpm, there's plenty on offer to get the job done.
Emissions compliance is handled by Selective Catalytic Reduction, so an AdBlue tank sits forward of the truck's 600-litre fuel tank, just behind the cab.
As an off-roader it's geared short to handle slow going and tricky terrain. In fact, this example is speed limited to 90km/h, but even at that speed the 16-speed ZF transmission sees the donk spinning at an appreciable 1900rpm in top down the Geelong freeway.
It's certainly an attention-getter on the road, with more than a few truckies doing a double-take of the towering HD9 as they pass by.
It's ZF's venerable AS Tronic tranny transmitting the grunt – a two-pedal automated manual that makes life simple and offers full auto or sequential manual models. Standard fitment here in Australia, it also offers a 'slow' mode (essentially a shunting mode) to aid low-speed manoeuvring and everything is accessed by the simple three-button arrangement over the park brake. Allison's 4700 auto is available as an option, for those after an extra edge in instances of super-low traction.
Slowing the show are drum brakes with ABS. Further braking is afforded by an optional multi-stage ZF Intarder, which washes off speed very effectively via a right-hand stalk off the steering column. The stalk also does double duty as the gear selector.
Also on the options list is a rear Multipower PTO.
On the back roads around the You Yangs the ride was harsh but not excessively so for a bare cab/chassis built, even though the suspension is built to handle a considerable load over tough terrain.
It's a parabolic spring arrangement front and rear with the load-sharing front axles also assisted by air-bag damping. The rear parabolic set-up is essentially a heavy-duty version of Iveco's cantilever rear suspension.
The HD9 can handle a GCM of up to 70 tonnes – higher on application – and while the chassis itself has an official GVM of 48 tonnes, fitted with these Pirelli tyres it achieves a GVM of 43.8 tonnes.
The common Iveco/ASTRA heritage is evident in the Iveco cab shell while the dash will be familiar to any drivers of older Powerstar or Stralis models. Some of the diffs, meanwhile, hail from Iveco's off-road Trakker.
With a 6585mm wheelbase the twin-steer requires a generous arc through roundabouts and tighter corners but it doesn't take long to acclimatise. A three-point turn on a gravel road next to the You Yangs, meanwhile, actually takes appreciably less room than I anticipated.
A two-year, 500,000km or 6000-hour warranty is offered on the HD9, although that drops to one year if 10 per cent of is use is off-road (which it invariably will be – otherwise it's the ultimate Toorak tractor!).
It's an interesting bit of kit, that's for sure, but it's certainly a very niche product for Australia's south-east.
"As an eight-wheel-drive it's a very specialist sort of product," says AdTrans Account Manager (New Trucks), Drew Halloran.
"The market for these trucks is drill rigs, support truck for drill rigs, water tanks, and support vehicles for mines."
While logging, railway maintenance and power line work can be added to that list, we certainly won't be seeing ASTRA's HD9 sold here in great numbers.
With the resources boom over that horse has bolted for the HD9, but for remaining sites and specialist applications the lure of this vehicle's sheer off-road ability remains strong.
"It's a very versatile platform; it's a better truck [off-road] than a six-wheel drive," says Halloran.
"You'll get a lot further in than you would with a six-wheel-drive truck, purely because it's got the front axle weights spread over two axles."