Iveco launches new Eurocargo medium-weight truck

With the launch of its new Eurocargo medium-weight truck, Iveco has thrown down two challenges.

One is to DAF, which dominates not only the UK truck market but more particularly the 7.5-tonne segment once led by Eurocargo’s predecessor; and the other is to the various local government bodies keen to impose restrictions on trucks operating within their city limits.

Branded as ‘The Truck the City Likes’, the Eurocargo has not only a clever restyling to present an acceptable face of transport to the urban dweller, but also embodies sufficient technical innovations to stave off anti-truck policies for a few years yet.

This is not the first Euro 6 rendition of the Eurocargo, but Iveco has turned the problem of installing the hardware required for the mandatory-from-this-November automatic emergency braking system (AEBS) and lane departure warning system (LDWS) into an opportunity to clean the truck’s aerodynamics, present a friendlier face to the world and reduce fuel consumption.

The various features and modifications, including a two-speed electro-magnetic cooling fan, and Ecoroll and Ecoswitch options on some transmissions, can combine to produce urban fuel savings of up to eight per cent compared to the previous model.

There is also an acceptance that many major cities are determined to ban or surcharge the use of diesel vehicles by adding an improved gas-power option to the production line-up.

Even in cities where diesel is still tolerated, Iveco hopes that its SCR-only engines, the only such available in this market segment, will give it an edge over the competition. It points out that the absence of an EGR system saves a nominal 100 kg which can be used as payload, and there is considerable advantage in urban conditions in having a particulate filter which never requires active regeneration. Actual unladen weight is claimed to be unchanged from the previous Euro 6 version.

SCR-only NOx control gives more efficient combustion, albeit at the price of higher AdBlue consumption when compared to competitors.

Other fuel-efficiency boosting changes include the use of new low-viscosity oils co-developed in Italy with Petronas in engine and drive axle.

Beneath the new smiley front, the tinware of the cab remains pretty much unchanged: Londoners will be pleased to note that the kerb-view window is still an option.

Cab interior sound is reduced over previous models, and more has been done to integrate various navigation and telematics systems into the vehicle’s architecture. There’s a driver’s airbag and the option of a high-spec heated and ventilated seat. The 2.1 metre-wide cab is available with seating for two or three, with an optional ‘office pack’ to take the place of the centre seat. Day and sleeper options with high and standard roofs are available, together with a four-door crew cab.

There have been changes to the powertrain too. New injectors and turbos, together with high-compression pistons, have enabled the introduction of two new power-ratings for the four-cylinder 4.5-litre tector 5 engine with their respective peak horsepowers of 160 and 190 hp now being achieved at 2200 rpm instead of 2500, and torque output over 1200 rpm being increased by about eight per cent.

The top four-pot engine still produces its 210 hp at 2500 rpm. The six-cylinder, 6.7-litre Tector 7 engine is available at four ratings ranging from 220 to 320 hp.

Performance of the SCR system has been enhanced by the automatic partial deployment of the exhaust brake on start-up, which gets the system up to working temperature quicker.

The Natural Power version of the Eurocargo is fuelled by compressed natural gas, with the gas cylinders slung on the chassis rails so full loadspace is retained.

Range is 400 km, and noise and pollution levels are much reduced even compared to Euro 6 diesel, allowing the truck to operate in even the most regulated environmentally-sensitive areas. Fuel cost could be reduced by as much as 25 per cent compared to diesel too.

Iveco has been offering a CNG option on various models since 1995, and said it has already sold 13,000 such vehicles across Europe.

Eurocargo Natural Power is available at gross weights from 11 to 16 tonnes, all with a spark-ignition tector 7 engine producing 750 Nm torque and 204 hp, mated to either a nine-speed manual or an Allison automatic gearbox. Sadly, the total UK market for trucks in this weight bracket is rather limited.

There’s also an impressive-looking 4×4 diesel option at 11.5 and 15 tonnes GVW for specialist applications requiring genuine off-road ability.

In the UK, the bulk of sales will be of the 7.5-tonner. It will be offered with the ZF automated EuroTronic transmission as standard (manual gearboxes and an Allison auto will be options).

Iveco’s DriveAway body programme, operated in conjunction with JC Payne (box and curtainside) and Brit-Tipp (tipper), will continue, and prices for these will start from under £37,000 for trucks ordered prior to the end of the year.

Other UK variants include urban artic tractors at GCWs from 18 to 35 tonnes, and the addition of a single-wheel steered and lifting third axle option allowing GVWs of up to 22 tonnes on a 6×2 rigid chassis.