RENAULT T3S LANDER

French connection
By Bryce Baird Now were the first to admit that Frenchman Sebastian Loeb is quite handy behind the wheel drivers of his calibre are only thrown up once every few decades, or, maybe in his case, once in a century. as for the rest of the French, well lets just say they dont seem to attract good press down this way. it was bad enough that they stole the rugby World cup off us in 2007, although we eventually rectified that, but worst of all, they messed with Mack and some things cant be forgiven. So it is hardly surprising that many of us have a tainted opinion of anything that comes out of France. case in point: when someone puts a renault truck on the road, hell get flak and plenty of it. But emotions aside, you really have to wonder why. after all, the citroen that Loeb drives is one angry little car that has proved the French know how to put together a wild package. it would be a stretch to describe renaults Premium 460.26 6X4 LaN T3S Lander as wild however, or even French as it turns out ... 20 NZ TruckiNg
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NORDIC
We dont know if its the 24 hours of dark in the winter months or the 24 hours of sun in the summer in Scandinavias northerly latitudes that gives Nordic truck engineers more thinking and working time, but the two Nordic truck manufacturing giants really deliver the goods. When you are literally sitting near the top of the world, as near to it as practical anyway, everywhere else is a long The Nordic truck manufacturers give their designers a simple brief build us big, comfortable, grunty trucks that will gobble up the miles like starving wolves at a reindeer carcass. We might not have anything to compare to the Trondheim to Constantinople run, or even Darwin to Melbourne for that matter, but that doesnt mean that the high horsepower, big comfort trucks dont have a place in New Zealand. Quite the contrary, there are plenty of operators who put that muscle to good use. Those involved in time-critical freight movements for one.

NOUS
T
he last time we looked, most of us have become used to, if not dependant on, the instant gratification principle. If we want something, we want it now, or next day at the latest. Many businesses now operate on the Just-intime principle for their supply chain, and this has added to the burden of the courier and postal fleets that are expected to meet the demands of an impatient public. Its hard to believe that it was only three decades ago that we managed to live with a stroppy rail system that measured delivery times in weeks, and then delivery was dependent on the goods not attracting the attention of light fingered staff. Its become apparent that European trucks, and those of a Nordic persuasion in particular, seem to be the default choice for many of those seasoned operators involved in this industry. Before anybody starts their letter to the editor, we know that there are plenty of American, and even a smattering of Japanese, rigs involved with this road transport niche market however, the time critical runs seem to be inordinately Nordic heavy, and the perception is that a large portion of the national courier or postal contracted fleets revolve around a primarily Scandinavian core of big hitters. And rarely do they change camps. Its the Ford/Holden, Toyota Landcruiser/Nissan Patrol thing writ large, and the competition between Volvo and Scania has become the stuff of legends and an on going arm wrestle between who can produce the most horsepower. If this is true or just a by-product of two of the best truck manufacturers at the top of their game constantly improving their product, we will probably never know, but it sure makes for good headlines. At the moment Scania owns the crown with its new R730 boasting 456kW (730hp) and 3500Nm (2581lb/ft) of torque, however the latest FH16 isnt far from that mark itself. The FH16 700 can produce 700hp and 3150Nm of torque, only 350Nm less than the R730. Thats only about a cheap Chinese utes worth of extra pulling power, which at these stratospheric numbers is barely detectable wed suggest. However, that slim margin does give the Scaniaphiles boasting rights, at least for the time being. If one thing is certain, that crown will change hands again, and in fact MAN had it for while not that long ago as well, so its not just a two way contest. But Courier Post contractor Craig Johnson
March 2012

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