ALMOST a year after bringing its G10 one-tonne van to Australia in petrol guise, LDV expanded the range to include both automatic and manual versions of a 1.9-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder variant.

The diesel was a welcome addition to the range due to the extra torque, fuel efficiency and load-carrying capability that come with oil-burning engines, and especially given the only other manual option used an ancient Mitsubishi-derived 105kW/200Nm 2.4-litre normally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine.

With vans mostly pitched at small businesses and fleet buyers, value is always important, and few models offer a better value for money equation than LDV G10.

But the question, as is often the case with Chinese-built vehicles, is whether the build quality can justify the bargain basement price. Despite its shortcomings, the G10 should be considered by any business owner on a budget.

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