I t's nice to be a market leader, and ifs nicer
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still to have a monopoly: is there really any substitute for a Rolls-Royce? There's certainly no alternative to a Jumbo let, so Boeing can charge $150m for a 747. Equally secure product niches can be found in humbler markets—think of Worcestershire Sauce—hut while Lea & Perrins is expected to keep its product the same for decades, motor manufacturers can rarely afford such luxuries.
Nissan's Cabstar has held its position for years as the favourite purpose-built dropside pickup on the British market. Other manufacturers have tried to muscle in —Leyland Daf offers an Ingimex-bodied, factory-assembled dropside at 2.8-tonnes—but the Cabstar remains the builder's favourite, mainly for its low purchase price.
Light commercials are becoming ever easier to drive and to work with, so the Cabstar's dominance is sure to be challenged before long; forestalling this, Nissan has updated its running gear and designed an all-new cab, while leaving the Cabstar's basic layout and low price well alone.
• PRODUCT PROFILE
The Cabstar's GV lias gone up by 30kg to a round 3,400kg, the engine has been bored out to give it an extra 200cc and 3.5kW p); the steering has acquired power assistance and the price has gone up by 1420, But the base price of £9,900 for the diesel pickup—the petrol variant has been dropped —is still substantially lower than any alternative, and almost competitive with lightweights such as Nissan's own D2I one-tonne pickup.
While Nissan also offers a chassis-cab version at £9,160, the dropside will remain popular in part because it is very easy to convert to a tipper. We tested one offered by Tipmaster, the best-known name in the small tipper held. It costs £1,095 (ex-VAT) which includes installation by Tipmaster itself. The sub
frame, electrohydmulic pump and scissor ram add about I 25kg to the vehicle's weight. Nissan has yet to sanction an official conversion, but Tipmaster's is as well-proven as any.
It's always good to see a manufacturer take CM's suggestions to heart, and Nissan has done just that: following comments in our last Cabstar test, it is now available not only in white and blue, but also in red?
• PRODUCTIVITY
The most obvious change to the Cabstar's productivity is in its payload: while the gross weight has gone up slightly, the increased kerbweight means that the quoted payload (with 75kg driver but without tipping gear) is reduced by 65kg to 1,645kg. It is hard to see why Nissan hasn't rated the new model at 3,500kg; its increased axle weights would allow this with 120kg to spare.
Nissan's reluctance to increase GVW may be due to the potential for worse economy: we were surprised to find that fuel consumption around the Kent route was worse than the previous model's laden 10.8lit/100km (26.2mpg), at a slightly lower average speed, despite the streamlined appearance of the new cab. Traffic conditions on this run were appaling and roadworks made it difficult to assess a typical average speed. The Cabstar's no rocket-ship, but it climbed our A20 test hill only a couple of seconds adrift of the much lighter VW Transporter tipper we tested last year.
The dropside body looks neat and is easy to use: its design has been cleaned up a little and the fittings look a little stronger than of yore. It could do with a more durable load bed, however, as its paintwork transferred itself to the load with the alacrity of engineer's blue. Another slight irritation: the footholds each side behind the cab are covered up when the dropsides are lowered-just when you need to use them. The tailgate is bottom-hung, which might not appeal to tippermen, but the versatility of a ciropside makes up for this.
We were not entirely impressed by the tipping conversion: the mechanism itself worked without any problems but its controls were basic and lacked any form of safety interlock. A small toggle switch on the side of the dash controls up and down motion of the tipper, which stops at the sprung centre position. But operation is hot linked to the ignition or any other electrios so the tipper can be raised or lowered by anylxxly with access to the cabanybody who smashes the offside window, for example.
Lowering the body is a little alarming too: the unladen body takes 12 seconds to raise, but drops in just nine seconds. If it is still partly loaded the body shoots down much faster, hitting the chassis with an almighty clang. The toggle ,witch isn't sensitive enough to make the mo4ion gradual, and we suspect that a few dozen 4pplications of this (admittedly untypical) tratment would leave even the CabstarS sturdy chassis in poor shape. Tipmaster insists that it has had lems with the hundreds of similar Lions already in use, but we would Ii an interlocked switch and a more n return valve in the hydraulic circuit.
Another criticism, this one down t concerns the exposed and vulner pump and tank fittings which could easily damaged or vandalised.
Access to the engine (via a flap bei dual passenger seat) is reasonable, coolant tank is more easily topped behind the offside of the cab. Service are are no less frequent than before oil change still demanded every (3,000 miles). The chassis of the new Cabstar is little changed from that of the previous model, but the few modifications that have been made appear to have been worthwhile. The brochure states that the new model's front independent torsion-bar suspension has double wishbones, but in fact the system is unchanged: the top link is a true wishbone, but the lower link is a transverse radius arm (connected to the torsion bar and a telescopic damper) with a fore-and-aft control rod.
Ride quality is good both laden and unladen, while fatter tyres have increased grip and reduced the tendency to oversteer when laden. But the Cabstar lacks the fail-safe feel of a front-wheel-drive van, and mid-corner changes of direction should be avoided.
Braking is generally sound and undramatic, but our example pulled to the left during emergency braking tests from dOmph. This problem did not arise at lower speeds.
The most obvious change is to the steering. Power assistance is now standard and it's a good system: not too twitchy for motorway work, it makes low-speed work much easier, and the excellent visibility from the redesigned cab means that urban manoeuvres couldn't be simpler.
The gearchange has been revised, the pud
ding-stirrer has been replaced by a short, carlike g-earstick. The change had the vague, rubbery feel typical of a cable-operated box, and was disliked intensely by some users, but with a little practice it proved light and fast.
The handbrake has changed, too; but it's no improvement. The new gearstick means the conventional handbrake lever has had to be replaced by the odious umbrella-handle control endemic to Japanese pickups.
While Japanese manufacturers are renowned for meticulous engineering, there have been complaints that their vehicles lack character. Mazda has gone all-out for diversity and Californian design, but Nissan takes a more low-key approach.
Somewhere in its giant organisation is a tiny design office devoted to giving vehicles a little personality. And how is this done? In the manner of a Persian rug-knotter, they feel that a deliberate mistake is necessary—so they put the horn push where the driver cannot fail to sound it with a straying elbow when leaving the cab. This afflicts the Sunny van, the D21 pickup and now the Cabstar; it's surely more than coincidence, and this really isn't funny late at night.
Nissan's Personality Department has been working overtime on the Cabstar and they've come up with a novelty dubbed "overhead air ventilation". This amounts to no more than a flap in the roof, and while Nissan's brochure makes much of the feature we can't bring ourselves to get excited about it. Rear-hinged, it threatens to scoop rain in, but at least it adds little to noise levels in the cab.
These are no more than niggles—in other respects the new cab is a winner. Nissan has succeeded in making it remarkably quiet and pleasant to work in. Noise levels are noticeably and measurably down on the previous model, while trim and fittings have been greatly modernised.
Access to the cab is a little tricky (as per usual with a forward-control vehicle) and it's all too easy to slide over the wheelarches when exiting.
Once in it's generally comfortable, with decent seats and a tilting, telescopic steering column, but it may not have been built with European proportions in mind: occupants have to be very friendly to sit three abreast, while those over six feet tall tend to knock their knees on the dash and -find it difficult to drive.
Thankfully the control stalks are more European, with indicators to the left.
The dashboard design has been cleaned up a great deal, adopting the "organic" curves favoured by Nissan these days, and the instruments are admirably clear except for an odd arrangement of graphics that confuses at first.
This turns out to be a chart showing per
missible speeds in each gear, which serves no useful purpose except space-filling.
The heater works as well as we expect from a Japanese vehicle but, like every other Japanese pickup, the Cabstar fails CM'S "clipboard and Coke can" test-it cannot accommodate these items so that they are secure but easily accessible on the move: a vital requirement for the road-tester or delivery driver. There is a pen-holder beside the steeringwheel, but it suits only the weediest writing implements. Meanwhile, the "spacious glove box" certainly lives up to its name: there's about enough room for a spacious glove. It shuts in a half-hearted manner and it isn't lockable.
The tour de force from Nissan's Personality Department (or should that be coup de grace?) is the inclusion of a separate radio and cassette player. These items look like refugees from a 1976 Datsun Cherry but at least the radio offers FM, unlike the crystal set fitted to the previous model.
Thts test seems to have come up with quite a few niggles against the new Cabstar, but real
ly they are no more than that-just niggles. The Nissan remains unchallenged in its market sector, offering substantial
ntial load capacity and ease of driving at a rockbottom price. Combine this with Nissan's three-year/60,000-mile warranty and it is obvious that the Cabstar will remain the builder's mate for years to come.
We have more reservations about the Tipmaster conversion: it is well-engineered and reasonably priced, but its controls could do with being less abrupt and less prone to abuse. A ha'p'orth of tar ought to do the job.
The new cab's design and build quality should make the chassis-cab variant very attractive to bodybuilders-a chassis-cowl version might get motor-caravan a drooling. But rather than resorting t pletely new recipe Nissan has adde more spice, ensuring that the Cabstair the Lea & Perrins of its class.