Pickups and SUVs are huge –both in size and popularity. Many four-wheel-drive vehicles are now larger than ever, reaching dimensions of nearly six meters in length, over two meters wide and nearly as high. Weights can reach a whopping 6,000 pounds with occupants. Despite their mammoth size – or maybe because of it – trucks and SUVs are extremely popular, . from business use to family vehicles, especially in the USA, due to their almost endless versatility and long range.
Such a "heavyweight" is currently on ZF’s test tracks in Germany and the US. Recently a group of ZF developers gathered at the site near Vienna to test the truck’s maneuverability on a small, demanding parkour. The course incorporates sharpturns and curves between pylons, as well as parking in a standard commercial size parking space. “You’ll never get that vehicle in there in one try,” you think. Well, think again. Agile as a go-kart, the off-road titan maneuvers into the open space – in one move, without readjustment.