Isuzu NMR vs Toyota HiAce

What's the difference?

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?

Fact: almost one in every two mid-sized (2.5-3.5-tonne GVM) commercial vans sold in Australia is a Toyota HiAce. And if you take note of the diverse range of businesses that rely on this ubiquitous workhorse, as we did recently, you can appreciate its widespread appeal.

Apart from countless couriers and tradies, the HiAce is favoured by a vast range of businesses from locksmiths and pool maintenance specialists to window cleaners and mobile coffee baristas.

To ensure the HiAce maintains its broad business appeal, Toyota has recently released an upgraded range with enhanced active and passive safety features, improved instrumentation, electric power steering and other refinements. We recently spent a week at work with the latest offering to determine if its market dominance is justified.