I make the same point every time I drive and review an Iveco Daily – you just can’t beat having the engine up front and not under the cab.
Here again in my recent drive of the 2018 Iveco Daily 50C Cab-Chassis was a reminder of just how much more refined, comfortable and quiet a ‘bonneted’ light truck is to a cab-over truck (or van).
This particular truck was even more enjoyable as it had the optional 205hp/430Nm Euro5 compliant engine fitted underneath that aforementioned bonnet.
On the Road
The Iveco Daily has a car-like driving position and this means you aren’t slumped over the steering wheel (another advantage over cab-over trucks), and the visibility to the front, front 3/4 areas, and the rear are excellent.
This can mostly be put down to the large windows and sizable mirrors.
The ride, not normally a top priority for light-duty truck operators, is actually better than decent and this is helped even more by the ISRI suspension driver’s seat.
I’ve driven heaps of cab-over light-duty trucks and they always seem just a bit underdone in the power and torque stakes – the Daily with the high-out engine though is very enthusiastic.
Peak power comes on from 3100 rpm and you have 430Nm at your disposal at just 1500 rpm.
I had a decent load on the back of my test truck (just under 1,800kg) and you genuinely wouldn’t know it was there.
The more powerful engine was mated to the super smart and super smooth optional eight-speed auto transmission.
Not just able to bring the right assistance to the engine under acceleration, the transmission also excels at stepping down the ratios when decelerating and this makes pulling the Daily up a lot easier.
You’ll find disc brakes all round on the Iveco Daily range, as well as stability control and ABS.
On the Inside
My test vehicle was fitted with optional two standalone seats, rather than the standard fitment of a driver’s seat and bench combo (i.e. capacity for three).
This provides a more comfortable seat should you require capacity for just the one passenger (such as for a camper configuration), but you do miss out on the huge under-seat storage space that you get with the conventional layout – check that out in this Iveco Daily van review.
Despite that, there are still well-sized storage areas in the doors and on top of the dashboard, etc., and room between the seats for a bag or two.
The seats are surprisingly comfortable in the Iveco Daily (regardless of configuration) and you have air-conditioning, a good stereo system, etc. to keep you entertained and comfy.
Sat-nav also features and a reverse camera is available across the range (and is well worth having).
Again, the car-like seating position, quiet cab, and easy-to-drive nature of the Daily make it an enjoyable vehicle to drive on either short hops or longer hauls.
Summary
If you’re in the market for a light-duty truck you really need to head into an Iveco dealership and check out the Daily.
As compared to the Japanese cab-over fraternity the Daily seems generally easier to drive and live with and the ride inside the cab is likely to be quieter and smoother too.
There’s a huge array of different configurations available as well and don’t discount the advantages of going for one of the higher-output engines that are available too.
