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Stocked and loaded
Anne-Maree Brown
General Manager of Content
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Tradies in their utes, piled high with tools and supplies. It’s a commonplace sight across Australian streets, worksites and hardware store carparks. Sometimes there’s not enough room for the esky and the dog. What about when your workloads grow, payload demands increase, and businesses seek greater productivity and return from their transport solutions?
This puts in place the question – is there a smarter alternative to improve productivity? And could Isuzu’s all-new MY25 Isuzu N Series Ready-to-Work (RTW) range be a better solution?
Instead of just compiling the statistics, Isuzu invited us to Lang Lang Proving Ground in Victoria, the iconic 877-hectare automotive testing facility originally established in the mid-1950s by General Motors Holden (GMH) to simulate real-world driving conditions across 44km of test tracks.
Made for everyone, really
Let me be the first to admit: testing out trucks is not normally part of my professional proficiency. But it turns out that was in fact no roadblock at all. Many variants of Isuzu’s RTW range can be driven on a standard car licence, opening the door for businesses wanting greater flexibility.
So, let’s assess the outlook before the engine was engaged. You're sitting up nice and high off the road, with a huge range of visibility. The front windscreen is expansive and the mirrors deliberately oversized. The amount of confidence this provides was the first bonus. Add to this LED lighting, suspension seat for the driver, digital radio, SATNAV, wired connectivity, a 10.1-inch info screen, cruise control, climate control airconditioning, and heated and powered exterior mirrors. This truck is clearly more than just a workhorse.
Isuzu has put a bit of effort into including hiding the radar units for driver assistance inside the headlight assembly. Bull bars have been redesigned to avoid blocking the radar's view ahead. Even the keyless start involves a clockwise click of the wrist to the right – an instinctive muscle memory motion for those used to keys.
When driving, the trucks are smooth and quiet and the suspension seats add to the low-bounce sensation.
Mass and manoeuvrability
So, how does this stack up as a practical alternative to traditional utes in terms of movability?
Let’s go to the fear factors first. Inner-city deliveries, difficult weather, access limitations, fragile ground, wary neighbours, heavy bespoke materials (sandstone blocks anyone?) and challenging local infrastructure. These have been addressed. The turning circles are effortless – compared to the dual-cab ute versions we were exposed to, I almost felt I was driving a hatchback on stilts with better visibility. It makes sense that, ever since it was pioneered back in the early 2000s, the Isuzu Ready-to-Work (RTW) range has become a construction favourite.
Let’s talk about mass – there are multiple tray sizes available with as much as 1500 kilos of payload. You might find that's sufficient to move what you need most of the time, which means you don't even need to tow a trailer. Trailers, as you may know, add to awkward vehicle adjustability, which I experienced in testing. Yes, some witches’ hats fell foul of my attempts at navigation in a ute with a trailer. At no point did the trucks feel cumbersome to navigate.
There are three cabin sizes in the Isuzu N Series Ready-to-Work range, and several options for wheelbases, capacities and payloads.
In Ready-to-Work guise, the range spans several key N Series model line-ups, including:
- NKR (Short, narrow cab, 4500kg or 6500kg GVM)
- NLR (Narrow cab, 4500kg)
- NMR (Narrow cab, 4500kg or 6500kg)
- NNR (Wide cab, single or crew, 4500kg
- NPR (Wide cab, 4500kg or 6500kg)
- NQR (Wide cab, single or crew, 8800kg GVM)
These vehicles sit within the light-duty segment, covering Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) ratings from 4.5 tonnes through to 8.8 tonnes, making them ideally suited to a wide variety of trade, service and delivery applications.
The payload picture – in numbers
Australia’s road freight network continues to rely heavily on commercial vehicles, and yes, the price of diesel is on the radar right now. New transport data highlights the significant operational advantage of purpose-built trucks over smaller freight and trade vehicles such as utilities and vans. While passenger vehicles accounted for the largest share of kilometres travelled on Australian roads at 162,983 million kilometres , commercial vehicles continue to carry the overwhelming majority of the nation’s freight task.
Isuzu Australia Limited’s (IAL) Head of Sales, Craig White, who I met on the test track, says the N Series Ready-to-Work range continues to strike the perfect balance between convenience and capability. ‘Across Australia we’re seeing more operators reassess what they need from their work vehicles. A dual-cab ute certainly has its place, but once businesses begin to grow, payload limitations and storage space can quickly become challenges. The N Series Ready-to-Work range bridges that gap perfectly,’ he says.
‘You’re getting the payload and worksite practicality of a truck, but in a compact and highly manoeuvrable platform that’s easy to drive and incredibly efficient to operate.’
Packing the punch
Rather than purchasing a cab-chassis and then navigating the time-consuming and costly process of fitting an aftermarket body, Isuzu Ready-to-Work models arrive fully equipped with professionally engineered, fit-for-purpose trade bodies already installed.
For operators transitioning from a ute, the Traypack has all the advantages of a truck-based work platform, offering significantly more tray and overhead space as well as payload and towing capacity. The Traypack delivers a durable and highly practical tray body designed for general trade and materials transport. Constructed using a heavy-duty tray deck with reinforced deck planks, the tray body is engineered to handle the daily rigours of worksites across construction, landscaping and maintenance industries.
Traypack models are powered by the Isuzu 4JZ1-TCS engine, a four-cylinder unit producing 110 kW (150 PS) at 2800 rpm and delivering 375 Nm of torque between 1280 and 2800 rpm.
The Tradepack configuration has been designed specifically with tradespeople in mind and builds upon the practicality of the Traypack by incorporating a host of integrated features tailored to real-world job requirements. It offers generous tray dimensions designed to accommodate standard pallet sizes and a wide range of materials. Tradepack variants are available with either the Isuzu 4JZ1-TCH or the Isuzu 4HK1-TCC engine, both four-cylinder units, producing 129 kW at 2860 rpm with 430 Nm of torque between 1450 and 2860 rpm, or 140 kW at 2600 rpm respectively.
For operators requiring secure tool storage and mobile servicing capability, the Servicepack provides a more specialised solution. Available on platforms including the NMR and NPR, the Servicepack features a hybrid steel and aluminium service body designed to maximise storage capacity while maintaining durability. Under the skin, NPR Servicepack variants are powered by the Isuzu 4JZ1-TCH. This four-cylinder engine produces 129 kW at 2860 rpm and delivers 430 Nm of torque between 1450 and 2860 rpm. Isuzu’s Servicepack X 4x2 NMR and all-wheel drive NMS variants sport the Isuzu 4JZ1-TCS engine, producing 110 kW (150 PS) at 2800 rpm and delivering 375 Nm of torque between 1280 and 2800 rpm
Purpose built – in summary
Isuzu have developed a range purpose-built trucks for Australian businesses – the N Series Ready-to-Work line-up offers a compelling alternative the traditional ute. Their agenda of more payload, more space, more capability and a purpose-built body ready to hit the road from day one makes sense.
The range is pre-bodied at the factory in Australia, (Japan for tipper models), and is available through Isuzu’s national dealer network.
According to Craig, the philosophy remains simple. ‘We wanted to take the proven reliability and capability of the Isuzu N Series light-truck platform and match it with purpose-built work bodies designed to maximise productivity.’
The result is a range of vehicles that deliver the capability of a truck with the accessibility and ease-of-use many operators expect from their everyday drive. And in today’s competitive business environment, that extra capability can make all the difference.
For more information, visit Isuzu or visit your nearest dealer to try one for yourself.
Disclaimer: This article was compiled with contributions from Isuzu.