When global trucking giant Daimler took over the majority ownership of longtime Japanese make FUSO 15 years ago, you could easily have imagined that the longtime brand might soon lose its autonomy….and, thus, its individual identity.

That it could soon become a rebadged Merc, without all the fancy bits….with no trace of FUSO DNA.

But, on the evidence of the latest Shogun to reach our market, that is emphatically not so. 
The 8x4 FS2536 Super Low that’s this month’s Giti Big Test subject bristles with a full suite of the same technology as current Mercedes-Benz models – from its 7.7-litre OM936 Daimler “global” engine and G211-12 automated manual transmission…..

It might not look like much of a truck for one of our Giti Big Tests: There’s no trailer and it’s only got small wheels….but that’s the way this truck is meant to look.

The FUSO Shogun FS2536 8x4 Super Low is set up for metro work – low horsepower, low height, not too many frills….that’s what makes it work. 

And what better example of this model to test than this Carr & Haslam unit – used for NZ product development as it worked around the lower South Island, delivering swap gas bottles. It perfectly shows off the model’s versatility in both open country and metro driving.

I take over the steering wheel for my test drive in Oamaru, to drive to Dunedin. The climb up into the cab is good, with three well-spaced, wide and deep-enough steps – starting low to the ground, as this is a low height spec truck. The climb is assisted by grabhandles running up both sides of the doors.