Hyundai Iload vs Isuzu NLR

What's the difference?

The current generation iLoad was launched in 2008. With only minor upgrades during its first decade on sale, it was recently given its first facelift with a new grille design plus new comfort and convenience features.

These updates don't change the fact that the iLoad is now stretching beyond the usual 10-year generational lifespan for LCV models, yet it continues to generate strong sales in a softening market.

It currently commands more than 23 per cent of the mid-size (2.5 to 3.5 tonne) commercial van segment, topped only by Toyota's dominant HiAce with a 33 per cent market share. The closest competitor behind the iLoad is Ford's Transit Custom with only 11 per cent.

We recently spent a week with the iLoad, to find out why this venerable Korean workhorse maintains its popularity in a mid-size van market packed with hungry competitors.

The dual-cab ute market and light truck market are potentially two very different landscapes.

While the dual-cab continues to storm the sales charts in Australia, there’s also a growing awareness among hardcore users of these vehicles, that a light truck might often be a better solution.

Better payloads and higher Gross Combination Mass ratings in an age of increasing legal and insurance concerns over overloaded vehicles, were once the light truck’s strong suit. But these days, vehicles like the full-sized US-made pick-ups and even the muscled-up Ford Ranger Super Duty have bridged or even exceeded that gap.

At which point, the light-truck’s benefits become the ease with which it can take on heavier jobs and the sheer size of the cargo and cabin area, not to mention those truck-specific qualities born of generations of refining a concept.

In Australia, it’s Isuzu that absolutely brains the opposition in sales terms. And part of the reason for that has been a realisation that not all would-be buyers want the hassle of the traditional truck-buying process of purchasing a bare chassis and then equipping it so suit their needs.

Which is where Isuzu’s RTW (ready To Work) concept comes in. You simply choose the truck you want, choose a tray, van or service body and then let Isuzu deal with it and phone you when it’s ready to collect.

It's so simple, it’s a wonder not everybody is doing it.

The other news is that Isuzu has finally updated its popular N Series fleet after about 16 years. A new cabin, extensive chassis changes, uprated engines, and all-new transmission, improved suspension and a new focus on safety are all headlines. But 16 years is a long time between drinks, so do the improvements make enough of a difference to keep the concept relevant in a changing market?