Launched at the 1999 SIMA Show, the nominal 6.0 and 7.0m side-engine Manitou MLT telescopic handler range retains its position as a key revenue earner for the French company. Although the basic chassis and cab have remained pretty much unaltered over the years, detail changes make the differences between early and late machines more marked than outer appearances may, at first, suggest. James de Havilland reports