Can-do with Canter

If there’s one name inextricably linked with the Fuso brand, it is Canter. With the addition of its smallest member, the famous range of medium commercial vehicles is now bigger and better than ever before.

For the past four years, FUSO Trucks Southern Africa has expanded its range by one new model a year. Plugging market gaps is part of the company’s drive for expansion, and 2018 sees another gap filled with the introduction of the Canter FE4-130.

The venerable Canter (the current model was originally launched in 2006) has been facelifted. It’s ready for FUSO’s new era with a new front-end design, and an even more practical, comfortable, modern cab interior.

According to Mpho Matseba, FUSO Trucks South Africa’s marketing manager, the expansion of the FUSO Trucks product portfolio will allow the brand to have a presence in key market segments. Matseba comments, that with the FE4-130, FUSO has created “the most suitable vehicle in the light-duty segment”.

She adds: “Its size makes it perfect for operators that need to utilise it for a variety of applications; such as contractors, dry freight, fleet operations, food services, landscaping, drop-side, public works and transport of refrigerated goods.”

As the smallest vehicle in the Canter range – it has a 4,9-t gross vehicle mass and a 2,9-t payload – what makes the FE4-130 tick? For starters, up to 50 different body variations can be mounted to the pre-drilled chassis.

“This means that the body-mounting process is easy, quick and affordable. In fact, the bodybuilding process is a plug-and-play solution, as the vehicle is also equipped with power and signal plugs so that no cutting of wires is needed,” says Matseba.

Furthermore, the vehicle’s CAN-bus architecture allows capability with the FUSO fleet-management solution, and combines with the Intelligent Instrument Cluster – which, itself, allows for easy programming of service intervals, troubleshooting of error codes and monitoring fuel consumption.

Not that there will be much consumption to monitor … the 3,0-litre, Euro-3 engine with Eco-mode is tuned for efficiency. It produces 96 kW of power and 300 Nm torque, sending power to the 4×2 drivetrain through either a slick, five-speed manual gearbox, or FUSO’s advanced six-speed, Duonic dual-wet-clutch transmission.

The uninterrupted torque, seamless acceleration, smooth shifts and absence of shift shock afforded by Duonic means the load on both engine and driver is eased. Furthermore, this transmission (the only one of its type on a truck) allows for creep, which means smoother starting on hills; and its clutches are maintenance free.

Speaking of maintenance, every Canter boasts a bumper-to-bumper, two-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. With oil-service intervals of up to 25 000 km for the engine and 50 0000 km for the transmission, FUSO has ensured that operating a Canter will be as smooth a process as driving one.