Giti Tyres Big Test

 
GITI Tyres Big Test
      Kenworth K 220 2.3m COE Sleeper 8x4   Story Colin Smith Photos Gerald Shacklock

GITI Tyres Big Test - Smooth and Chilled

The first chance for most Kiwis to get up close to a new Kenworth K220 came just over two years ago, either at the 2023 Bombay Truck Show or a few months later at the Wheels at Wanaka launch event.

Fast forward into 2025 and the stylish new generation Kenworth cab-over is already a fairly familiar sight at work on Kiwi highways.

New Zealand Truck & Driver has set out to sample a range of the K220 variants – our first Giti Tyres Big Test experience coming in Septemb...

GITI Tyres Big Test
      Western Star 48X 8x4 Day Cab   Story Colin Smith Photos Gerald Shacklock

GITI Tyres Big Test -Rock Solid

Once again New Zealand Truck & Driver has headed east to go west. Towards the East Coast to test a new Western Star that is.

This is the third time since 2018 a Big Test story has started from Napier for the test of a Western Star. But this time the product is all-new – the very first of the new generation X-Series models to go to work in New Zealand.

The 48X in Day Cab 8x4 spec belongs to Napier-based Berkett Earthmovers. It went to work a couple of weeks before Christmas,...

GITI Tyres Big Test
      Hino 700 Series FY 2848 AMT (10x6 conversion)   Story Colin Smith Photos Gerald Shacklock

GITI Tyres Big Test - Lift and Carry

It’s not very often that I get to drive a crane truck on our Big Tests, but here we are with Les Harrison Transport’s unique 10x6 Hino 700.

Yes, that’s right – it’s a six-wheel-drive unit. It came to New Zealand as an 8x4 and has had an extra drive axle fitted to handle some specialised work.

It’s the first time a tri-drive conversion has been done to a Hino 700, hence why we are here to learn more about it.

The Hino 700 Euro 6 is standard if you take away the bi...



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