Va 35ns
The Transit AWD showing the transmission below.
the same speed. So not only does the system dramatically improve the Transit’s off-road ability, it does so without any driver input or compromising its on-road fuel economy. Most Transit vans and chassis cab configurations can be specified with all All Wheel Drive which adds only 50kg to the unladen weight – on the front axle – although it comes with a heftier £4,000 on-cost. All Wheel Drive Transits have found favour with
the likes of National Grid, British Gas and even mountain rescue teams. But for landscapers there may be a drawback as for the system to engage there has to be a difference between the speeds of the rear and front driveshafts. This means one or both of the rear wheels have to be spinning before the drive to the front wheels is engaged and this will inevitably cause some ground damage. Whether this is acceptable to landscapers or not will be an indi- vidual choice depending on their work profile and needs to be made following an off-road test drive. However there is no need to spin wheels (or
grapple with seemingly unmoveable gear levers) in Mercedes Benz’s 4x4 Sprinters as drive to the front
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wheels is engaged and disengaged using a rocker switch on the dashboard. On the road drive is usually to the rear wheels
only to preserve fuel economy and only when the going starts getting tough does the driver need to engage drive to the front wheels. And although 4x4 Sprinters don’t come with limited slip differentials, the smart use of the electronic safety systems provides automatic braking of any spinning wheels to divert the available torque to the wheels in firm contact with the ground. In doing so it also minimises ground damage.
AUTOMATICALLY DISENGAGE Once back on hard ground if the driver forgets to disengage the front wheels (despite the warning light on the dashboard), the system will automatically disengage when the ignition is turned off. Standard fitment on 4x4 Sprinters are Mud &
Snow tyres and a selectable low ratio gear set that drops the overall gearing by more than 40% to enhance hill climbing capabilities. 4x4 Sprinters also sit taller than their road-going counterparts
(110mm higher at the front and 80mm at the rear) to increase the attack and departure angles by 10° and 5° respectively – although the clearance beneath the axle remains unchanged. While the 4x4 Sprinter is not intended to replace a Unimog or a Land Rover Defender, its off-road capabilities are easily enough able to cope with any situation normally encountered by most landscaping professionals. Long and short wheelbase Sprinter panel vans, crew busses and double cab pick-ups in both 3.5t and 5t GVW variants can all be specified with the 4x4 driveline. Mercedes has kept 4x4’s weight penalty to 150kg and there is a marginal loss of on-road fuel economy because of slightly lower overall gearing. The price premium is quite hefty, around £5,400, but with so many options available and payloads up to 2.5t, one 4x4 Sprinter could carry more materials and people than two or more pickups. So the next time you need to replace your road
vehicle, remember the choice is not limited to pickups and full blown 4x4s.
Colin Sowman Volume1 | Issue2 | October 2011 |
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