Less-than-truckload work punishes the wrong truck faster than almost any other job in haulage. You are running a schedule that does not care whether your box was the right length, your drivers are stopping twenty or thirty times a day, and your revenue per trip depends on how many cubic metres you can fill before the axles say stop. So when a listing offers you twelve variants of the same 4x2 platform, the real question is not "which is best" but "which one matches my average day". The Foton Auman ETX 4X2 Cargo Box Truck is exactly that kind of listing: three engines, four body forms, three box lengths and a price spread of more than five thousand dollars between the cheapest and dearest entry.

What you are actually choosing between

Every variant in this listing sits on a 5000 mm wheelbase with a 4x2 drive form and a flat-roof cab seating three. Where they diverge is engine, body and rated load. Total mass is either 15.6 or 16 tonnes depending on variant, and rated load runs from 7.69 tonnes to 9.57 tonnes. Manufacturer suggested retail prices are listed between $17,700 and $23,000, which is a wide enough spread that you should be choosing on specification rather than shopping on price alone.

One thing worth noting before you go further: the shorter 6.5 m boxes return the highest rated loads, up to 9.57 tonnes, simply because the body itself weighs less. If you are tempted by the longest 7.55 m van, understand that you are trading payload for volume. In LTL that is usually the right trade, but you should make it with your eyes open rather than discovering it at a weighbridge.

"In less-than-truckload work you will cube out long before you weigh out. Buy the box length first, then the engine."

Engine choice: 160, 170 or 190 hp

There are three engines across the range, and the torque figures are published, which makes this an unusually easy decision. The 160 hp Lovol Power IE4D160-e4EP is a 3.99-litre four-cylinder producing 118 kW and 600 N·m across 1300–1700 rpm. The 170 hp Dongfeng Cummins ISB170 40 is a 5.9-litre six-cylinder producing 125 kW and 630 N·m at 1500 rpm. The 190 hp Lovol Power IE6D190-e4ES is a 5.98-litre six-cylinder producing 140 kW and 700 N·m across 1300–1700 rpm. All three are diesel and all are rated at 2500 rpm.

Choose on your average load rather than your peak. The 160 hp four-cylinder is adequate for light, bulky parcel and agricultural work and is the cheapest to buy. The 170 hp Cummins is the balanced choice for regular LTL runs up to the 16-tonne limit, and the breadth of the Cummins parts network is worth something in itself. The 190 hp six-cylinder with 700 N·m earns its premium if you routinely run at eight to nine and a half tonnes or work hilly secondary roads, because that wider 1300–1700 rpm plateau means fewer downshifts on a long pull.

Body form: van, flatbed, cage or wing

This is the decision that decides what work you can accept. The van bodies have a 2.5 m internal height and come in 6.75 m or 7.55 m lengths at 2.42 m wide, and they suit parcel, express and general merchandise that has to stay dry and secure — the most common LTL choice by a distance. Flatbeds with 0.55 m sides are for building materials and pallets loaded by crane or from the side. The cage version adds containment for loose agricultural produce. The wing-open variant opens along the full side for fast multi-drop unloading, which on a dense urban round pays for itself in minutes saved per stop.

Rated load varies by body between 7.69 and 9.57 tonnes, so check the exact figure for the variant you are quoted rather than assuming the headline number. The listing's own market segments back this up: express delivery, cold chain, daily industrial goods and less-than-truckload transport on the van variants, building materials and agricultural products on the flatbed and cage variants, and agricultural products and green-channel work on the cage version.

Payload, axles and the weighing mistake

Front axle capacity is 6,000 kg and the rear axle is an 8-tonne unit rated at 10,000 kg, which totals more than the 16-tonne gross — normal, and deliberate, but it does not mean you can load to the sum. In LTL the real risk is not gross overload, it is single-axle overload from concentrated pallet loads. A two-pallet block placed hard against the headboard can put the front axle over 6,000 kg while the total is still legal. Ask your loading teams to weigh per axle, not just per vehicle, and specify load distribution in your driver handbook.

Suspension is 10/10+8 leaf springs, tyres are 9.00R20 steel on six wheels, and the frame is either 232 mm or 250 mm deep depending on variant. Rear axle ratio is 4.875 across the range, which is a low, torque-multiplying number — exactly what you want for stop-start multi-drop work, and the reason the 160 hp engine is genuinely viable here rather than merely cheap. Top speed is 90 km/h.

Gearbox, cab and daily drivability

Transmission is a Fast 8-speed manual, with the Fast 8JS85E named on some variants. Forward gears are eight; reverse gear count is listed as one on some variants and two on others, so confirm which you are getting. Shifting is manual throughout — there is no automated option in this listing, which is worth knowing if you recruit from a pool that increasingly expects one. Eight ratios with 600–700 N·m available from 1300 rpm means your drivers will not be working the lever hard on urban rounds, provided the 4.875 ratio is what you want.

The cab is flat roof, seats three, and is arranged half-row. The product copy mentions a hydraulic seat and an ergonomic cabin; the hard specification table does not itemise seat type, so verify it on the truck. Approach angle is 18 degrees and departure 10 degrees, and the driver's licence categories listed are A1, A2 and B2. Overall body lengths run from 9 m to 9.99 m with widths between 2.482 m and 2.54 m — check the 9.99 m figure against your depot ramps before ordering, because that is a long 4x2.

"A 4.875 rear axle ratio is the reason the smallest engine in this range is a real option rather than a false economy."

Price, and the questions the sheet does not answer

Listed prices run from $17,700 to $23,000, and the cheapest entries are the 160 hp flatbeds and cages on the 6.5 m box. Before you compare that against a European or Japanese equivalent, ask what the number includes — body, taxes, registration, shipping and homologation are rarely inside a manufacturer suggested retail price. Also confirm the emission standard: the specification table lists displacement, cylinders and torque for all three engines but does not publish an emission level, and if your market or your customer's tender requires a particular standard, that is a deal-breaker you must settle in writing.

• Parcel and express rounds: the 6.75 m or 7.55 m van with the 170 hp Cummins — dry, secure, and the best balance of the three engines.
• Building materials: the flatbed with 0.55 m sides, 160 hp if loads are light, 190 hp if you run at nine tonnes.
• Agricultural and green-channel work: the cage body, where containment matters more than weather protection.
• Dense urban multi-drop: the wing-open variant, which opens along the full side and cuts minutes from every stop.

If you are importing, settle shipping method, homologation for your market and left- or right-hand drive availability for the exact model code you are quoted. None of these appear in the specification, and all three can move the landed cost significantly.

Questions buyers ask before signing

160, 170 or 190 hp for less-than-truckload work?

It depends on your average load rather than your peak. The 160 hp Lovol four-cylinder, 3.99 litres and 600 N·m from 1300 rpm, is adequate for light, bulky parcel and agricultural work and is the cheapest to buy. The 170 hp Dongfeng Cummins ISB, 5.9 litres and 630 N·m, is the balanced choice for regular LTL runs up to the 16-tonne limit. The 190 hp Lovol six with 700 N·m earns its premium if you routinely run at eight to nine and a half tonnes or work hilly secondary roads.

Van, flatbed, cage or wing body — which?

The van bodies, 2.5 m internal height and 6.75 or 7.55 m long, suit parcel, express and general merchandise that must stay dry and secure, and are the most common LTL choice. Flatbeds with 0.55 m sides are for building materials and pallets loaded by crane or from the side, and the cage version adds containment for loose agricultural produce. The wing-open variant opens along the full side for fast multi-drop unloading. Rated load ranges from 7.69 to 9.57 tonnes by body, so check the exact figure.

Will the 16-tonne gross cover a full LTL load?

Total mass is 15.6 or 16 tonnes depending on variant, with rated load between 7.69 and 9.57 tonnes. In LTL you will usually run out of cubic capacity before reaching the weight limit, so box size matters more: 6.5 m, 6.75 m or 7.55 m long by about 2.4 m wide. The shorter 6.5 m boxes return the highest rated load, up to 9.57 tonnes, simply because the body weighs less. Watch the 10-tonne rear axle and 6-tonne front axle ratings — concentrated pallet loads can overload one axle even when the total is legal.

What is missing from the specification that I should ask about?

Three things. The emission standard is not published for any of the three engines, and you may need it for tender work or registration. Seat specification is described only in the product copy, not the table. And service intervals are not listed at all — ask what the recommended oil and filter interval is in kilometres for the engine you order, because that number drives your workshop schedule more than any other line on the sheet.