The past two years have seen LDV's engineering team successfully complete a £500 million new product development programme to deliver the new Maxus. Initially, LDV had formed an alliance with Daewoo Motors to design and produce this new model line-up two years earlier but the Korean automakers demise led to LDV generating enough venture capital to take on the proejct independently. This involved moving production machinery from the closed Daewoo plant in Poland and re-constructing its own Drews Lane facility to start assembly themselves. Totally new from the ground up, the Maxus poses a striking purposeful appearance with dynamic bodylines. Inside, the central work station dominates with gearshift and speedometer/rev counter dials placed right in the middle just like some of our present day MPVs.

When setting out to redesign the new van for the 21st century, LDV's design team set out three objectives - 1) to design the vehicle around the driver; 2) to ensure Maxus has class-leading LCV attributes and 3) deliver low cost ownership.

Featuring long and short wheelbases and three roof heights in panel van form (standard/high/extra high - with rear doors matching the roof heights to maximise access to the cargo areas), the Maxus is powered by a VM 2.5 litre common rail 16 valve turbo diesel engine. The Italian sourced transversly mounted engine is available in two power outputs (95/120 bhp) at launch, with a third (145 bhp) joining the range in the future.

VM currently power Chrysler products such as the Cherokee and Voyager. Driven from the front wheels, this provides a number of benefits to the operator like lower driveline weight (more payload), lower cargo floor due to the absence of a rear drive axle and extra traction in adverse weather and when unladen.

Test Drives

In LDV's own back-to-back testing, they found that its 95bhp version was more economical than its key competitors. And from our brief test arouond the Sheffield area at the Press launch, this unit powering the 2.8 tonner did not lack in torque up or down the 5-speed box. Likewise, with the nippy 125 bhp block in the 3.5 tonne variant, it is very clear from the start that both LDV and VM made a special effort to reduce noise, vibration and harshness.

LDV's Chief Executive, Allan Amey, was in confident mood at the launch and rightly so. "This complely new product range can, and will, compete head on with the best in the industry for years to come. In addition to the new Maxus, LDV will continue to produce the successful Convoy range of chassis cabs and minibuses."

LDV