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A slice of Turkey?
Page 60
Page 61
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Turkey is potentially the next new member of the European Union, which would make it the first predominantly Asian and predominantly Muslim EU state. Before that happens, however, there is the not insignificant (some would say unsolvable) issue of the partitioning of Cyprus to overcome. Nevertheless, our Axor journey presented a not-to-be-missed opportunity to see the real Turkey that lies beyond cosmopolitan Istanbul.
When Britain was busy selling railways to the rest of the world, its relations with Turkey consisted of the Crimean War. This single fact is largely responsible for the shape of the Turkish transport infrastructure today. With a virtually non-existent rail network, road transport provides the only means of transport for most people, although a growing number of the better-heeled are using air for long-distance passenger travel.
Every significant location has a relatively well organised bus station with services heading in all directions.
The road scene can be quite repetitive, although out in the country it seems quite normal for the natives to pop down to the local garage shop in their combine harvesters. The most common vehicles are Renault 12s, Tof as-branded Fiat saloons or, if newer, the Turkish-built Fiat Dobla and Ford Transit Connect.
The full-sized Transit is very popular, but there are still many British Leyland Sherpa derivatives in active service. The home-brewed BMC Megastar, theoretically destined for the UK market, appears to be struggling in its home market if the three examples we saw in as many days are anything to go by.
The Mitsubishi Fuso Canter and Isuzu N-Series seem to have the middleweight ground secured between them, often carrying loads their designers probably never imagined. There's also a fair sprinkling of Dodge Fargo and De Soto models, leftovers of a pre-Daimler joint venture between Chrysler and Askam, which also advertises MAN-based trucks and the Fargo Fora -or LDV Maxus to you and me.
Higher up the weight scale, the current BMC range as imported to the UK dominates the view, matched closely by the Ford Otosan Cargo, a sophisticatedlooking vehicle that shares the Renault Premium's smile when seen from the front.
Older versions of both vehicles look familiar to British eyes. with the Leyland Redline and Ford 0-Series cabs much in evidence. The most popular configuration is 6x2, although some make a token nod towards axle loadings with a third rear axle. What nearly all have in common, though, is power by Cummins.
As you might expect from our hosts' local operation, the modern market for full-sized tractors is dominated by the Mercedes Benz Axor, but there's a wide selection of other familiar faces. Scania seems to have a good representation, and we were surprised to find a dealership giving Oaf and Tirsan equal billing in a town that offers a good view of the back of beyond.
Turkish driving standards are generally rather low. Even after two weeks of this international driving exercise, our German M-B co-driver would occasionally shake his head in despair muttering 'Turkish!". Mind you, this same German had us worried by warning of the hygiene at the many roadside kitchens. His ominous words about them cooking mice turned out to be no more than a misunderstanding of 'maisi, the German word for sweetcorn.
Vintage tractors, towing trailers containing anything from the whole family to the family's livestock inventory, suffer from the vagueness of direction that can only come with a combination of 60-year-old track rod ends and the boredom of a 12mph top speed. If motorcyclists have crash helmets they carry them on the luggage rack. Many roads are of the three-lane suicide variety, but car drivers will overtake on the nearside if that's easier.
In fairness, however, most of the truck drivers we encountered demonstrated a high level of professionalism by local standards; certainly no worse than the Italian truck journalists we shared the convoy with.
The lack of railways has another influence on local road transport: Turkish truck buyers don't tend to go for long bodies. They don't need to as with hardly any low bridges, the sky is literally the limit when it comes to stacking the load.
We saw plenty of hair-raising incidents; probably the scariest sight was the 26-tonner loaded high with hay bales and travelling down a bumpy road at around 50mph with one of the crew sitting atop the load. reverse changes, hill hold for between five an seven seconds and a rocking mode.
Out on the road. Powershift immediately earned its keep by allowing us to concentrate on the unfamiliar roads and the even less familiar driving standards.The actual gear changes were admirably fast and smooth.
Although the Axor doesn't have the Performance mode fitted to the Actros, the pedal kickdown gives an extra 200rpin for tougher going.The only real criticism of the transmission dynamics is that a demand for motion involves a noticeable delay before being translated into action. Even a few seconds delay is disconcerting when there's an 18ft tall six-wheeler bearing down.The other Actros refinement not included is the adjustable downhill cruise control, Ecoroll.
The 430 coped well hauling 40 tonnes up the mountains, but equally impressive was the way the Voith retarder held it down the other side. Fully integrated into the cruise control function, and operated from the same stalk, it coped admirably in ambient temperatures which at times neared 40"C without bothering the cooling lan.While the service brakes didn't have the firmest feel they were very effective, and didn't disconnect the cruise control when checking overspeeding.
The steering felt strangely vague at times, but this may just have been the camber and ruts of the awful roads.The poor surfaces didn't make their presence known in the cab, however, with only the very worst of a wide range of surface defects affecting the ride quality It's not just the transmission that is moving upmarket.A new range of options packs for Axor tractors includes the Safety Pack, with lane assist, stability control and driver's airbag; and an Economy Pack.
A new Turbobrake exhaust brake is available as an option, giving up to 450kW of retardation without the extra weight of a retarder. Active Cruise Control will be available from September.
At a premium of £1,500. Mercedes is already building up an order book for 4x2 Axor Powershift tractors in the UK, with blue-chip buyers including Castle Cement, Sainsburys and Marks and Spencer.The 6x2 version is due to follow early next year. •