Canter evolves alongside Fuso’s renewed focus

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Owner/Driver  /  April 7, 2017

Fuso invited Australia’s truck media to road test the updated Canter range, as well as announcing key changes to the brand based around improved after-sales support and improved parts and servicing offering.

Changes to the popular light-duty Canter range that was launched are predominantly cosmetic, centered around improving driver experience following customer feedback.

Among the changes are an updated interior trim, this time black and grey rather than blue, a silver top grille louvre, improved seat padding and more durable bolstering, LED interior lighting, and additional in-cab storage.

The Canter still uses the peppy 3-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine, in both 110kw and 129kw guise, which delivers drive through either a five-speed manual or six-speed twin-clutch Duonic AMT.

A crowd pleaser within the updated Canter range at the launch was the Super Low 515 City Cab model, boasting an impressive 2.01m unladen height.

Fuso’s Super Low is aimed at an urban market, allowing safe movement under 2.1m height restrictions for use in car parks and difficult-to-access urban delivery points.

Mind you, the petite 515 Super Low City Cab still has a GVM of 4500kg and GCM of 8000kg as well as the same 3-litre engine powering the rest of the Canter range.

The upgraded range comes amidst Fuso’s overhaul of their servicing and parts scheme, which has seen them recently announce a complimentary first service, five-year warranty and big cuts to the price of OEM parts.

 "The changes introduced for Canter are in direct response to customer feedback and continue the evolution of our most popular model," said Fuso Senior Manager, Product Management and Engineering, Romesh Rodrigo.

"We are very pleased to introduce a range of product and operational changes that we know will be appreciated by our customers."

Servicing, Warranty & Parts

The introduction of a five-year warranty on all new Fuso truck and Rosa bus models was a clear sign of the manufacturer’s commitment to its customers.

Some models, used for severe applications are subject to shorter warranty periods, but for the most part Fuso offers a class-leading warranty program.

A bonus for customers is a complimentary first scheduled service and with the new Canter range, 30,000km service intervals further sweeten the deal.

Fuso Truck and Bus Director, Justin Whitford, says the class-leading warranty is all about backing the products and giving customers peace of mind.

"This initiative, along with our recent introduction of a complimentary first scheduled service, makes owning a Fuso more attractive than ever," Mr Whitford said.

In-line with an improved warranty program, Fuso has reduced the price of key parts by an average of more than 30 per cent, offering reductions on 10,000 items.

"The significant changes made to our parts price structure will yield our customers even more savings and further reduce whole of life ownership costs," Mr Whitford said.

"The parts price cuts have been applied to more than 10,000 items including the most common consumable parts our customers need. 

"These are substantial savings that make the business case for choosing a Fuso truck or bus even stronger."

How it drives

The first thing you notice in the new Canter is the comfort of the seats, which makes this truck a pleasant place to spend a day, and the padding improvements carry over to the passenger seating as well.

The zippy 3-litre engine is happy to lug along on flat terrain and makes plenty of torque down low, but when needed it’ll get up and go.

The engine seems to enjoy revving, in both the 110kw and 129kw options, preferring to sit higher up in the RPM range.

As a result of its lively nature the little 3-litre got the Canter up to speed swiftly and had no issues with Victoria’s hilly country terrain, fully-loaded of course.

The six-speed Duonic  AMT operates quickly thanks to the dual clutch setup and now features hill hold functionality and cruise control across the range.

The Duonic is sensationally good at keeping the truck in its power band, and with an extra gear over the manual five-speed ‘box, it makes better use of the engine’s power.

In saying that, the five-speed manual gearbox has appropriately spaced ratios and has no issues across a variety of conditions and terrain, however it did require more work to keep the little engine in its happy range.

The engine brake is also surprisingly good for an engine of this size and capacity, however to get the most of it on steep descents you need to manually downshift the AMT.

Visibility is what you'd expect out of a modern light duty truck - similar to that of a car and suited to heavy urban use.

The overall package offered by Fuso in the updated Canter is supremely well-rounded, making it a hard truck to say no to.

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Fuso reveals new upgrades to Canter range

Prime Mover Magazine  /  April 12, 2017

Daimler truck brand, Fuso, has introduced an improved Canter line-up in response to customer feedback.

The Japanese truck manufacturer has said the new Fuso Canter features have been geared towards improving driver experience, as well as upgraded seats and interior trim.

“Canter already had the best-in-class payload, as well as excellent efficiency and performance, but we have introduced several targeted initiatives aimed at further increased efficiency for our customers,” said Fuso Truck and Bus Director, Justin Whitford. “Along with our class-leading warranty backing, these changes make the Canter range an even more cost-effective tool for any job.”

Fuso’s engineering team said the Canter’s exterior styling remains unchanged, except for a silver painted top grille louvre that gives the upgraded model a subtle lift, while the dashboard and door panels are now a mixture of black and grey, while silver-painted highlights have been added to the gearshift lever surround (on Duonic models) and a steering wheel mounted badge. The seat trim has also changed from blue to black, with new hardwearing vinyl side bolstering introduced to eliminate the chance of fabric fraying due to driver ingress and egress or seatbelt abrasion.

“The changes introduced for Canter are in direct response to customer feedback and continue the evolution of our most popular model,” said Romesh Rodrigo, Fuso Senior Manager, Product Management and Engineering. “We are very pleased to introduce a range of product and operational changes that we know will be appreciated by our customers.”

The Canter uses a proven 3.0-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine that can be selected with a five-speed manual transmission or optional six-speed Duonic twin-clutch automated manual, which ensures fast and smooth gearshifts.

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