The Chinese manufacturers still have to work hard to convince us about the reliability of their products, as until now everyone had doubts about them. Only time would tell, whether Foton is a trusted manufacture or not, but the alliances with Daimler and Cummins are worth to be took into consideration and could represent a strong base for a bright future.
The OLN is the smallest truck in Foton’s lineup and was engineered as a versatile light commercial vehicle destined to deal with urban transportation and heavy traffic. The truck features a pretty spacious interior and is available in two cab versions – single cab and crew cab. Power comes from two 4 cylinder diesel engines which develop 120 hp and 140 hp.
The Foton Auman is the biggest truck built by the Chinese manufacturer. The truck’s main advantages are that it uses Mercedes-Benz technology for its chassis and is powered by a range of Cummins engines.
While the Chinese trucks are still seen with doubtful eyes by the truckers from all over the world, the Foton Auman could prove to be of a different breed thanks to its American engines and the German technology used for the chassis.
The Auman is offered with a wide choice of wheel base lengths which range from 3400 to 6000mm and has a gross combination mass of up to 45 tonnes. In order to meet a wide range of operational needs, the Foton Auman is offered in various models including tractor, platform, dump and other.
Toyota has already proven its value when it comes to capable SUVs and off road vehicles. One of the off road icons of all times is the Land Cruiser which even since its inception had proved to be suited for a very wide range of arduous applications.
The Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series chassis cab is around for some time now, but despite its old age the vehicle still keeps up with the times and remains one of the most capable and reliable all road vehicles in its class.
The truck is sold mostly on the Australian market and is powered by Toyota’s intercooled V8 turbo diesel which is combined with a strong all wheel drive system.
The Volkswagen Worker is sold solely on the South American market together with the bigger Constellation model.
The truck was designed as a basic mechanical work horse which is able to do a wide range of jobs with minimum costs and maximum productivity.
The Volkswagen Worker range is offered with numerous wheelbases including 2,850, 3,300, 3,900 and 4,300 mm lengths with various GVWs (gross vehicle weights) that range between 8 tonne to 31 Tonne. Thanks to its long list of options and body versions the Volkswagen Worker is among the most versatile vehicles built by the German manufacturer.
Foton is a Chinese manufacturer of light and medium duty trucks that integrates technologies from Cummins and Daimler in the construction of its vehicles.
Globally, the company sells three trucks and all have a cab over engine configuration with the Aumark occupying the middle position in the weight class. The truck has a versatile character and is available with a wide range of body options, being suitable for a various commercial applications.
The truck is powered by a range of Cummins engines which develop between 108 and 180 hp and is available in four versions with GVW (gross vehicle weights) of up to 14660 kg.
The Scania G Series is the perfect compromise between the bigger R Series and the smaller P Series. The truck is as versatile as its other two siblings and features the same fluid design that is so appreciated by truckers from all over the world.
Under the hood, the Scania G-Series is powered by either a 13-liter inline 6-cylinder or a 9 liter engine. Thanks to its versatile character the truck is offered in four pre-configured specifications for a variety of applications. The Scania G Series is also available in 4x2, 6x2, 6x4 or 8x4 configurations with Day, Sleeper or Highline cabs.
JAC is a Chinese manufacturer that made a joint venture with Navistar International Corporation in 2010 to develop together new products and to share technologies.
The JAC light duty trucks are sold globally in three versions, being able to cope with a various range of applications thanks to their flexible character. The trucks are offered with GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) ratings ranging from 4.5 tonnes to 7.5 tonnes and there are five different wheel bases available which comprise of 2490 mm, 2800 mm, 3000 mm, 3308 mm and 3360 mm with single, one and a half and double seats.
The trucks feature a pretty rudimentary design, but they have capable towing abilities as they come with wide range of Cummins engines.
Mercedes is well known for its nice luxury cars that can move you in full comfort from point A to point B. Everyone likes these cars, as they are like small oases of luxury and make you feel relaxed and safe wherever you are.
The German manufacturer however, has also a darker side. This time the intelligence of its engineers was put to work with the main purpose of constructing the ultimate heavy duty work truck. The result was the Zetros which is the toughest truck built by the company. The vehicle has a bullet proof build quality and it’s so tough, that even if you’ll drive it in the middle of a war zone it will feel just like a walk in the park.
The Mercedes Zetros is available in all-wheel drive, two-axle models with a gross vehicle weight of 16.5 or 18.0 tonnes, as well as three-axle vehicles with a maximum of 25.0 or 27.0 tonnes. The payload for the two-axle models is almost ten tonnes, while for the three-axle models it is 16 tonnes (excluding body weight).
UD’s trucks were never among the most technologically advanced models in their class, but they had a pretty flexible character and thanks to their rugged, robust and unpretentious configuration they’ve always had their place in the transport industry.
However, now we are leaving new times and the pretentions of the transport industry are bigger than ever. UD had do come up with a few improvements if it wanted to survive in this highly competitive segment and the main change was to introduce a host of new automatic transmissions.
The engines were also improved and now are meeting the Euro 5 emission norms. The 13 liter turbo diesel develops from 390 hp to 470 hp. The UD Quon range includes 4 models including the CW 26 400 rigid, and GK 17 400, GW 26 400 and GW 26 470 prime movers with GCM (gross combination mass) ratings between 40.000 and 70.000 kg.
Up until recently UD was a bit behind its rivals as its trucks had dated cabins with poor ergonomy and the engines and transmissions were part of the old generation.
In 2011 however, the Volvo owned company decided that it’s time for a major upgrade in its lineup of medium duty trucks. As a result, it came up with a totally redesigned cab, upgraded engines and even Allison automatic transmissions.
The trucks kept their work horse character and come with GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) ratings between 15.000 kg- 32.000 kg.
