The 510hp OM471 engine puts out 2500Nm of torque, through the Fuso Automated Manual G330-12 (Daimler DT12 AMT) giving you a great performance, when you get the Fuso 510 out on the road. The driveline is one which can be found in the Mercedes Benz and Freightliner models, which Daimler also sell here in Australia.

As part of a global group design this truck also gets all of the latest electronic bells and whistles. This means automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control and a number of other abbreviations, which we have become accustomed to see on all new trucks on the market like AAA, LDWS, ESP, HSS.

Climbing up into the cabin we are greeted by a familiar looking heavy duty Fuso interior. Apart from the two footwells, the cab is one large flat surface at a height of about 200mm above the engine cover in the middle of the cabin. There’s a bunk at the back and the area above the engine has a number of lockers and compartments.

The overall look of this cabin has barely changed in the last 20 years but when you get down to the detail there is a lot more going on. The two information screens, one in the middle of the dash, directly in front of the driver and the other to their left, are a window into the data flow around the truck.

This is a totally modern truck under the skin. The CANbus is used by all of the modern sophisticated safety systems, and the information and data screen can pick up to five camera feeds as well as navigational and entertainment feeds.

This model is aimed squarely at the tipper market where the truck needs enough power to pull a dog trailer. This short wheelbase tipper suits the market segment with the ability to run as a single rigid or with a trailer, that’s the flexibility the market is looking for. Often a tipper like this will pull a piece of equipment, like a backhoe or excavator from job to job and then run as a single to move material.

When a truck is not running in the 50-to-60 tonnes range all of the time, the 510hp rating is going to be enough to handle higher masses when needed and not burn too much fuel most of the time. As a single, this engine is not working hard at all.

This is a Japanese truck working in a segment where the North American trucks dominate. It can outperform them in terms of tare mass, turning circle, fuel economy and ease of use, as well as in terms of visibility, because it’s a cabover. Okay, it does not have the bling potential, but it is a very comfortable truck which is easy to drive, safe and economical.

For many tipper operators buying a Japanese truck for the first time, this will also be their first experience of a warranty period, and all of the other backup which comes with buying a Japanese product. The performance of the AMT will also be a surprise to many tipper buyers, who have been brought up on manual constant mesh gearboxes.

The AMT also has three modes in operation, simple auto for normal driving, economy will be useful when the truck is running empty and then it has a skip shift function to save on time and fuel. Although the maximum torque is stated to be at 1100rpm, providing 2500 Nm to the driveline, the level of torque available to the driveline is close to that maximum figure, all of the way from 900rpm to just under 1500rpm. This gives the driver plenty of flexibility on the road and means the truck will not miss a beat pulling a loaded trailer.