A big name in the truck world, Iveco is lining up for an attack on the 4×4 market with a revamped version of the Santana. Nick Fone tries out Spain’s answer to the Land Rover Defender

Aside from its aggressive ladder-rack grill, the Massif adopts that familiar Solihull silhouette. It’s when you peel back its plastic-and-steel skin that the marked differences begin to appear.

For starters, Santana’s engineers have stuck with parabolic leaf springs al round rather than opting for Defender-esque coils. In our brief off-road trial this gave the Spaniard bags of axle oscillation and surprisingly good on-road handling thanks to a clever combination of hydraulic dampers up front, gas units at the rear and anti-roll bars top and tail.

In much the same way that Land Rover steals the new Defender’s powertrain from the Ford Transit parts bin, the Massif’s engine and gearbox are borrowed from Iveco’s Daily vans, a slick six-shifter with a willing four-pot partner pumping out an impressive 146hp (with a 176hp option). That’s compared with the Defender’s more modest 122hp.

Another big difference comes in the driveline. The Massif has selectable two- and four-wheel drive through a 2-H, 4-H and 4-L transfer box. There’s an optional limited slip differential for the rear and old-school manual-locking front free-wheeling hubs.

The Iveco-modified driveline is claimed to reduce drag and drop fuel consumption by up to 10% compared with the previous Santana.

So when can we get hold of one? It’s not good news right-hand-drive versions won’t be available until early 2009 and it is hoped that a commercial version with 3.5t GVW and towing capacity will have been developed by then.

Who will sell the Massif? It will initially be launched through the existing Iveco truck network, but there is potential for other outlets to pick up the baton. Other brands also owned by Fiat, such as Case IH and New Holland, could prove useful sales agents for farming.