Iveco Daily E6 2021 review: Van load test

This rear-wheel drive van features rugged body-on-ladder-frame construction, torsion bar front suspension, leaf-spring live rear axle (with optional air-bag suspension and diff lock) and four-wheel disc brakes. It’s 2752mm tall and 2010mm wide and with an overall length exceeding 7.0 metres (7274mm) on a 4100mm wheelbase, it has a conspicuously long 2126mm rear overhang which drivers need to be aware of when turning sharply in restricted spaces. Turning circle is 14.6 metres.

This rear-wheel drive van features rugged body-on-ladder-frame construction.

The body is protected by a barrier of black plastic panelling which wraps around the entire vehicle up to wheel arch height, where most bumps and scrapes tend to occur. Wide door openings allow easy access to the cabin and given that you have to step-up into it, there’s a sturdy grab handle on the base of the A pillar to help you climb aboard.

The relatively small 380mm diameter flat-bottom steering wheel allows room between it and the driver’s seat for unimpeded entry and exit and the car-like dashboard makes good use of space, is well laid-out and easy to use. Eyelines to the door mirrors with their lower wide-angle lenses are excellent.

The driver’s seat (and our optional single passenger seat) with its own suspension system provides a pleasant cushioned ride that’s independent of the vehicle’s chassis movement. It has a large dial on the front which can be turned to match the stiffness of the seat’s suspension with the driver’s weight, to ensure optimum comfort. It also has a fold-down inboard armrest, to reduce neck and shoulder strain during long shifts behind the wheel.

The driver’s seat provides a pleasant cushioned ride.

The cabin is sealed off from the cargo bay by a steel bulkhead, which includes a central window with protective mesh to allow visually checking of loads. The only thing missing is a large left footrest, just like the one in the passenger footwell which of course is the driver’s footwell in LHD models. Unfortunately, it can’t migrate to the right for Aussie drivers, who only get what can best be described as a toe ramp.

We covered just under 300km on a mix of city, suburban and regional roads, which included about one third of that distance with more than 1.5 tonnes strapped in the cargo bay. Our average combined figure, crunched from tripmeter and fuel bowser readings, was 11.7L/100km which while not class-leading is still good economy for a vehicle weighing almost 2.7 tonnes unladen. Based on our real-world figures, you could expect a driving range of around 850km from its big 100-litre fuel tank.

Its 2689kg kerb weight and 4495kg GVM (the highest you can go without a truck licence) results in a hefty 1806kg payload rating.  It’s also rated to tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer and with its 7995kg GCM (or how much you can legally carry and tow at the same time) it can haul its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight. And if these figures aren’t high enough, Iveco offers optional 5200kg GVM and 8700kg GCM upgrades.

The symmetrical twin rear barn-doors open to 270 degrees and the sliding side door has a generous 1260mm opening width.

The cavernous unglazed and unlined cargo bay, with 16 cubic metres of load volume, has internal dimensions of 4680mm length, 1740mm width and 1900mm height. However, with only 1032mm between the rear wheel housings, loading of either 1165mm-square Aussie pallets or 1200 x 800mm Euro pallets would have to be either ahead of or behind these structures.

The symmetrical twin rear barn-doors open to 270 degrees and the sliding side door has a generous 1260mm opening width. The load floor has 14 evenly-spaced load anchorage points and there’s a small cave above the cabin area for storing ropes, straps, load-padding and other equipment. Steps, grab handles and overhead lighting are provided at both doorways.

The driver’s cab offers large and small-bottle holders and three tiers of storage in each front door plus small-bottle/cup holders on each side of the dash. The top of the dash-pad has three storage compartments, with two USB ports and an audio jack in the open central compartment and clamshell-type lids on the two outer ones.

The driver’s cab offers large and small-bottle holders.

On the passenger side of the dash there’s a large open storage shelf below the glovebox, with another small glovebox-like compartment at the base of the central dash for smaller items. Overhead is a full-width map shelf and there’s also storage space beneath the passenger seat, so it makes excellent use of space.

Our only criticism relates to the limited cargo bay lighting. Given the van’s dark blue colour as opposed to the usual fridge white of commercial vans, the cargo bay can be quite dark in low light conditions, even during daylight hours. Larger and brighter LED-type lighting would be welcome here.

We forklifted 1540kg of weight blocks into the cargo bay, which looked lost in such an enormous enclosure. With driver onboard, our 1640kg total payload was still 266kg under its 1806kg peak rating and, as expected, the Daily barely noticed it was there. If anything, it felt more planted on the road with a smoother ride.

We forklifted 1540kg of weight blocks into the cargo bay.

Engine noise was low at highway speeds, with the most noticeable intrusions coming from mild wind-buffeting around the door mirrors (which is common with truck-sized mirrors) and sometimes rear tyre roar from the cargo bay, depending on the road surface.

The Daily’s competent drivetrain made light work of our 13 per cent gradient, 2.0km set-climb with this payload, which we tackled firstly with sequential-manual selection and then in Eco-auto mode. On both runs it reached the summit with consummate ease and displayed good engine-braking most of the way down, in a manual-selected second gear.

However, it did override our gear selection and shift up to third when the engine reached 4250rpm on overrun (4500rpm redline) which we were ready for, as this self-defence mechanism is becoming increasingly common in vans and utes to avoid potential engine damage. Overall, this is a versatile and capable worker.

Three years/200,000km/2500 hours warranty, whichever occurs first. Extended warranties available at extra cost up to five years/300,000km/6000 hours. Iveco offers a wide range of service plans to allow owners to choose one that is best suited to their needs.