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By
ALISTAIR KENNEDY
30 January 2006
Leading heavy vehicle manufacturer Iveco has added an automated manual
transmission to its Daily range of light commercial vehicles.
The Daily is Iveco’s entrant in the light
truck and van market. It was released in Australia in 1995 as the
Turbo Daily with the present Daily model coming here in March
2002. In 2005 Iveco Daily had an Australian market share of around
eight per cent, well adrift of the dominant Isuzu N Series. Isuzu
introduced an automated manual gearbox to the N Series late in
2005 so Iveco needed to match this technology in order to remain
in touch. It anticipates a market share in excess of 10 per cent
by the end of 2006.
An automated manual transmission is much the
same as a conventional manual gearbox, except that the clutch
action and gearshifts are controlled electronically through a
transmission control unit. It does allow the vehicle to be driven
like a conventional automatic transmission.
The automated system adds between $2500 and
$3500 to the price of the vehicle. A big advantage is that fuel
economy is similar to that of a full manual gearbox as there's no
torque converter to sap the engine’s output. There will be less
wear and tear on the clutch if an inexperienced driver is using
the vehicle.
Although a number of Iveco trucks are built the
company’s Dandenong plant, the Daily is built in Europe. It
comes with a choice of van and cab-chassis bodies with wheelbase
lengths ranging from 3000mm to 4750mm. Models with the automated
manual transmission are sold under the name Daily Agile. The
manual models remain simply as the Iveco Daily.
There are three engine options, all common-rail
turbo-diesels, an engine design first tested by Iveco in 1985.
Unusually, there are both 2.3-litre and 3.0-litre engines with the
same, 100kW, output as well as another 3.0-litre which generates
122kW. More importantly there’s good torque of 320Nm from the
100kW engines and 340Nm from the 122kW. Both the 2.3-litre and
100kW 3.0-litre engines are offered in van mode, the cab-chassis
only comes with the 3.0-litre units.
We tested the Iveco Daily Agile in peak hour
traffic in and around the Melbourne CBD. It proved easy to drive.
The Agile’s transmission responded quickly and reliably to the
conditions and shift quality was generally good. The Daily Agile
can also be driven as a pedal-free manual where required.
Unlike an automatic transmission a vehicle with
an automated manual system will roll backwards on an upslope.
Although a hill-hold function is available on the Daily Agile it
is only as a package with ESP stability control, this is not
currently available in Australian models.
The majority of Daily models have a gross
vehicle mass under the 4500kg cut-off point which allows them to
be driven with a standard car licence.
The Daily van comes with three different roof
heights, from 1545mm to 2100mm. Load capacities range from 8.3 to
17.2 cubic metres.
All Daily models come with disc brakes on all
four wheels, cruise control, power windows and mirrors, remote
central locking and climate-control air conditioning. ABS brakes
are standard on some models and a package option with either
driver or dual front airbags on others. Airbags are optional on
all models.
Iveco Daily cab chassis prices range from
$38,072 for a 45C single cab short wheelbase model with a manual
gearbox through to $57,715 for a 65C Agile dual cab long
wheelbase. Vans are priced from $41,854 for a 2.3-litre
short-wheelbase manual to $63,956 for a 3.0-litre 122kW
long-wheelbase Agile.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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