Bella Italia!

Until recently, Matt has found it hard to put a gloss on the Iveco brand – but a spell in Australia’s Simpson Desert with a Eurocargo 4x4 has prompted a rethink

- Matt Wood

I’ve never had much love for Iveco. I should really; the company still manufactures trucks here in Oz. The bonneted Powerstar and the Stralis eight-wheeler are screwed together in the Australian plant.

I’m not sure if it’s a legacy of the first Cursor engines (they had a tendency to explode), or the sloppy cab suspension of the Stralis (which makes you seasick on Aussie roads) or the Legoland interior. But Iveco and I have never really gelled.

But I’ve maintained an interest in the company’s off-road line-up. I even had the keys to a Daily 4x4 for a bit and it proved quite the off-road weapon. It didn’t, however, do on-road that well; it was probably the roughest light truck I’ve ever driven. But at least I looked macho and outdoorsy while having the crap belted out of my kidneys.

Iconic outback trip

I had cause recently to have a rethink on the Iveco front. I took a Eurocargo 4x4 on one of Australia’s iconic outback journeys; I drove it across the world’s largest parallel dune sea, the Simpson Desert.