Giti Tyres Big Test

Giti Tyres Big Test: The Best...of the Rest

So, what do you reckon the single best-selling model of New Zealand's best-selling truck make - Isuzu - is?

The 530-horsepower GIGA maybe - seeing as it's the flagship for the Japanese brand? Or, probably much more likely, one of its ever-popular light-duty N Series range?

Nope. Surprisingly (even Isuzu Trucks NZ general manager Colin Muir raised an eyebrow when he checked the figures) the best of the best turns out to be a bit of a sleeper - the CYZ460 version of the GIGA ra...

Giti Tyres Big Test: A Stand Out Even in a Crowd

Travel Auckland's motorways and you can't miss them: Gleeson & Cox's tippers with their distinctive red, blue and white livery seem to be everywhere.

That's not surprising, given that the fleet totals more than 100 trucks, and that the Wiri-based company is a major carrier of roading metal for motorways and other big infrastructure jobs, plus other bulk loads.

On an electronic display board mounted on the wall of Gleeson & Cox's dispatch office, lights show the l...

Big Test: Arocs an all-rounder

"This is where i really earn my money," comments Rob Hollyer as he lines up the Rooney Earthmoving Mercedes-Benz Arocs and its four-axle trailer: "It's about as tough as it can get, especially with the bin on the offside like it is here."

We're at a Ballance service centre - a bulk fertiliser store servicing a farming region. This one is at Mayfield, not far off the inland route between Geraldine and Methven. The facility has a row of bins down either side facing a central aisle, and was...