With Massif, the new 4x4, the Italian company breaks into a completely new professional transport segment, harking back to the memory of a glorious ancestor that won Fiat Group a prominent place in the history of off-road vehicles: the Fiat Campagnola

Iveco is one of the few makers worldwide to offer a full range of all-wheel-drive vehicles. With Massif, the new 4x4, the Italian company breaks into a completely new professional transport segment, harking back to the memory of a glorious ancestor that won Fiat Group a prominent place in the history of off-road vehicles: the Fiat Campagnola.

The Massif signals Iveco's first entry into the light off-road vehicle segment, and with two body styles. The spirit of the Massif follows in the tyre tracks of the Fiat Campagnola, the Italian Army standard-issue jeep designed in 1951 that became an icon in Italy in an age when the country still lacked a modern road infrastructure. The Campagnola was an important symbol for postwar Italy and the reconstruction of the 1950s, still fresh in the Italian collective memory. But the Campagnola meant even more than this: in the white livery of the Popemobile, it is inseparably associated with the appearances of John Paul II, a Pope who ushered in a new way of reaching out to the faithful. Still in white, but now bearing the UN insignia, the vehicle contributed to a large number of international peacekeeping missions in every continent of the world. From its ancestor, the Massif has taken the robust versatility and workmanlike appearance of a vehicle designed for demanding tasks, but without losing sight of operating economy.

A Serious Off Road Working Vehicle

The new Iveco Massif is a rugged 4 wheel drive vehicle for serious off-road applications. The vehicle is based on the structure that was used for the first sports off-road vehicles, before they were “urbanised” into sport utility vehicles, mainly for on-road use. It signals a return to the roots of 4x4 utility vehicles, removing the off-road/on-road compromise: this is, in short, a serious, professional, off-road workhorse and it intends to be seen as such. But seen with style, courtesy of Giugiaro.

Massif is a genuine, go-anywhere off-road vehicle with high performance and able to tackle extreme off-road terrain with ease. It boasts a fully-laden gradeability of 100%, an approach angle of 50°, a departure angle of 30° and a ramp angle of 24°. Its fording capability in standard trim is 500 mm and its under-axle ground clearance is 200 mm with standard wheels and tyres. The four-wheel-drive can be disengaged to provide rear wheel drive for optimised on-road fuel economy.

Massif is available in a long wheelbase (2768 mm) version as a 5-door station wagon, pick-up truck and chassis cab, and in a short wheelbase (2452 mm) version as a 3-door station wagon. All versions are available in both right and left hand drive.

Massif is available in a wide range of variants and configurations, offering maximum productivity in every type of mission: 2 engines and 4 versions, with product configurations that can be changed according to the market and the customer. And naturally, to all this is added the maximum versatility in the pick-up and chassis cab configurations for specific transport missions.

Iveco – a full range of all-wheel-drive vehicles

Iveco Massif 4x4 competes in a small but very important niche market of 4x4 work vehicles. Massif is produced jointly with Spanish maker Santana: their original vehicle was completely revised by Iveco experts with support on a massive scale in terms of technologies and solutions derived from the Daily. Massif is actually the true heir to the Daily 4x4 floor plan, well-known for its performance in military and civilian situations in the form of the VM 90, used by the armed forces and civil defence corps of many countries. Massif shares its engageable all-wheel-drive architecture, with the transfer box flanged to the gearbox to lower the vehicle’s profile as far as possible, making it perfectly adapted for long, rapid on-road transfers and demanding off-road missions at the destination. The end result of this extensive re-engineering is a vehicle that’s ready to take on missions that would need an “off-road lorry”. Iveco’s expertise in the 4x4 market spreads right across the commercial vehicle range, from light to heavy – Daily, Eurocargo and Trakker – covering every type of mission and all working conditions. These all wheel drive vehicles are exceedingly rugged, and are ideal for taking personnel and equipment where they are most needed, often in emergency conditions. And the reliability of these vehicles is second to none, whether they are operating under extreme or normal conditions. Even driver comfort is not compromised by the stresses and strains deriving from off-road driving – not always the fun pastime it would seem.

Outstanding power train combination

Massif uses two highly successful FPT engines: the 3.0 HPI rated at 146Cv and 350Nm of torque and the 176CV HPT with 400 Nm of torque, coupled to the ZF 6S400 6-speed transmission. This outstanding power train combination is taken from the Daily product range and is well proven on all counts of reliability, performance and low fuel consumption. Coupled to the power train is the transfer box and, via the transmission shafts, also the front and rear drive axles. The transfer box provides a high-range drive ratio, approximately 1:1, and selection of all wheel drive. The low-range ratio provides all-wheel-drive only. An optionally available freewheel front hub control is available to prevent transmission wind-up when 4-wheel-drive is used on firm ground conditions. The parking brake is mounted on the rear axle output flange of the transfer box, resulting in a more powerful braking torque as it is multiplied by the drive axle ratio. This is an extremely important feature since it means that Massif can be held on the parking brake on all of the incredible gradients it is able to climb.

Maximum cab comfort

The cab interior is perfectly designed to give maximum comfort to the driver and passengers, even in the turbulent off-road driving conditions for which the Massif range is designed. Seat upholstery is in fabric or leather, but for heavy-duty missions a robust synthetic material is available. The rubber floor mats in the cab are easy to clean. The in-cab instrumentation meets the requirements of a serious off-road machine. The gear shift and transfer box controls are floor-mounted and within easy reach of the driver. Air conditioning is optionally available to further improve driver and passenger comfort.

Like the latest Trakker and Daily models, the Iveco Massif is designed to demonstrate Iveco’s fundamental values towards excellence: Commitment, Reliability, Performance, Team Spirit and Power. Values that Massif shares with the New Zealand national rugby team, the All Blacks, who in their history have won more titles than any other team. To confirm this sharing of values, for its launch the Massif is being presented in black livery and tattoos to evoke the unmistakable spirit of the All Blacks.

The values of Massif

Massif was created from sharing the same values that made the All Blacks the most famous rugby team in the world, following in the tyre tracks of the new Stralis, Trakker and Daily 4x4 models. In addition to the four Iveco values – Commitment, Reliability, Performance, and Team Spirit – Massif also inherits the Stralis’s product value, Power, reaffirming one of the strong points that distinguish the excellence of Iveco’s engineering solutions.

Power

For Massif, power means offering the latest generation 3-litre EGR engine with a rated power of 146 Cv and a maximum torque of 350 Nm. An efficient, reliable engine with optimized power and torque delivery over a wide range of engine speeds to ensure maximum power availability even in arduous conditions. Also available is the 176 CV version with Variable Geometry Turbocharger, developing 400 Nm of torque, recognised to be the best engine in its class.

Commitment

Massif Commitment is the sense of responsibility towards the customer’s business but without forgetting the comfort and safety of the people who spend most of their time in the actual vehicle. The close family relationship between Massif and the other vehicles in the Iveco range is clearly evident: highly ergonomic cabins and enhanced driver comfort that is comparable to road vehicles. But Massif customers are also offered a unique design, because respecting the driver also means offering them an aesthetically pleasing vehicle.

Reliability

For Massif, Reliability means keeping promises: product reliability, durability and high safety standards in every situation. Reliability for Massif also means flexibility for body builder intervention supported by a wide range of transmission and transfer box PTOs, easily accessible electric connections for bodywork, and more besides.

Performance

For Massif, Performance is supporting the customer’s business value. It means raising productivity and reducing running costs. Massif’s assets are optimised bodybuilder intervention, servicing downtime, and consumption. Periodic maintenance time is minimised so that the vehicle spends as little time as possible in the workshop. And an always-present, vital consideration is fuel cost: Massif’s Euro 4 engine returns excellent fuel consumption.

Team Spirit

Team Spirit means working alongside the customer for the entire lifetime of the vehicle: during product development, through the work of Iveco’s specialist engineers and R&D centres that involve the customer right from the design stage; during the purchase, with the support of professional dealers and financing solutions to meet all company needs; during the vehicle operation, through a 24/7 call centre and an efficient and wide-reaching service network (more than 3,000 service points in over 100 countries).

MASSIF IN DETAIL

The Massif vehicle and the industry sector in which it competes is new to Iveco. Today Iveco offers customers in this important niche products and services that fill the entire range of their customers’ needs. When commercial vehicles are required to go off road in the most arduous of conditions – both weather and terrain – it is never just to supply equipment: there are people in that vehicle, too. Iveco’s all-wheel-drive products – Trakker, Eurocargo 4x4 and Daily 4x4 – handle this task perfectly. And Massif completes this range, being able to take the crew required to do the work, together with their tools.

Cab and chassis features

All Massif versions are mounted on a separate chassis with axles mounted on parabolic leaf springs. This is a no-compromise solution: a separate chassis ensures the high structural stresses incurred during serious off road applications are not carried into the body structure to the extent that body durability is compromised. The road springs assist axle location and body suspension without the need for extra drive- and braking-force reaction members or axle location links to the vehicle chassis.

Giugiaro style

Massif bears the Iveco family appearance with its radiator grille. Body styles are available in 3 and 5-door station wagons, a pick-up with integrated load carrying area, and a chassis cab only version for third party body mounting. The separate chassis provides for passenger/load compartment body mounting, and driven front and rear drive axle mounting connected to the remote transfer box.

The external body appearance reflects Giugiaro styling in a highly functional manner, reflecting the serious off road mission of Massif. Scuff resistant body parts around the wheel arches, lower door panels and around the rear light units recognise that the vehicle will obviously be used to travel on terrain that will deliver bumps and scrapes aplenty, as you would expect on a serious off-road mission. For customers who would wish to have the vehicle’s capabilities less obvious, the plastic parts and roof are available in the same colour as the body Tinted windows to the rear of the driver’s compartment and aluminium wheels are all available to complete the picture.

Interior enhancements such as cloth or leather seat covering materials are available, as is a leather-covered steering wheel rim. For missions where severe (pressure hose) cleaning of the cab interior is required, there are variants with highly-resistant rubber floor mats and vinyl seat covering.

Radio/CD player and satellite navigation systems are available to order. Seat availability is matched to body type; the chassis cab and pick-up versions are available only with the standard driver and single passenger seat, the 3-door station wagon has a 4-seat (2+2) layout with the simple 2 seating rows option and the 5-door station wagon has a 5-seat (2+3) layout with the simple 2 seating rows option or a 7-seat (2+3+2) option.

State of the art engines

At the heart of Massif is the FPT 3.0 litre HPI engine derived from the Daily range. This 4 cylinder, 16 valve turbocharged Diesel engine with high pressure common rail fuel injection system is very much state of the art, providing excellent fuel economy and performance. A maximum of 350 Nm of torque is available over an engine speed range of 1400 – 2800 revs/min. The maximum power of 146 Cv is provided at engine speeds from 3000 – 3500 revs/min. The engine is certified to the Euro 4 exhaust emissions requirements using exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) to control combustion-generated NOx and an oxidising catalyst to fully oxidise all exhaust gas components. Massif is also available with the 3.0 litre HPT engine, equipped with a variable geometry turbocharger with a rated power of 176 Cv at an engine speed of 3200 - 3500 rev/min and a maximum torque of 400 Nm at 1250 - 3000 rev/min; a power unit unique in its category.

Transmission and transfer Box

The ZF 6S400 overdrive 6-speed transmission is coupled to the remote-mounted Santana transfer box, providing either 4x2 or 4x4 traction. In high range the drive is to the rear wheels only, unless the specific selector is set to 4-wheel-drive. Selecting low range automatically engages 4-wheel-drive. The transfer box is not equipped with a differential facility and so, under 4-wheel-drive conditions, loss of adherence by either the front or rear wheels does not result in loss of traction. In addition an optional rear axle differential lock is available, as is an automatic front hub freewheel facility which reduces transmission wind-up when 4-wheel-drive is used on firm surfaces. The transmission in combination with the transfer box provides for 12 forward gear ratios and 2 reverse gear ratios.

Front and rear driven axles

Beam drive axles are used both front and rear and have a common final drive ratio of 3.909:1. The final drive gearing used on the front axle is helicoidal whereas that on the rear axle is a hypoid gear set in order to provide improved ground clearance for the centrally-mounted drive shaft.

Wheels and tyres

The standard version comes with 235/85R16 all-terrain tyres. Off-road tyres mounted on steel wheel rims are available as an option, as are aluminium wheel rims.

Suspension system

Parabolic leaf springs are used for the front and rear axles, performing the dual role of chassis suspension and drive axle location. This relatively simple suspension layout provides for better drive and braking torque reactions without the need for extra links and bracketry, a definite plus for the serious off-road vehicle. Double action hydraulic dampers are used for the front axle and double action gas dampers are used for the rear, and anti-roll stabiliser bars are fitted front and rear. Maximum front and rear axle plated masses are 1072 kg and  2150 kg respectively; plated vehicle mass is 3050 kg.

Braking system

A double ‘H’ hydraulic circuit with vacuum servo-assistance is used to actuate ventilated disc brakes on the front axle and simple discs on the rear axle. The parking brake is a cable-actuated drum brake mounted on the transmission transfer box and therefore giving the advantage of the park brake torque with a multiplication factor equal to the drive axle ratio. Mechanical brake force distribution is used for all models when the vehicle is under 4-wheel-drive operation, and the optional Antilock Brake System (ABS) provides an electronic brake force distribution under 4x2 driving conditions. The ABS can be deactivated for certain off-road conditions.

Technical specifications

Engine specifications