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MAKE & MODEL MERCEDES-BENZ
Page 34
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Actros 1841 LS
Mercedes-Benz is once again sitting pretty at the top of the tree, although, as mentioned earlier, it had to share it with the men from Munich.
However, while the MAN improved on last time, the Mere pretty much stayed the same.
Our test truck did boast some new foldable seats and truck sat-nay, although nothing innovative enough to give it the edge over MAN.
Its strengths and weaknesses were both familiar. Its shared victory in our test came about mainly because of its fuel consumption where it once again recorded top marks.
But, just like last time, this great fuel economy comes at a price the Mercedes lost in both the driving and the driveline sections. It has the weakest engine, which doesn't make for the most relaxed of drives. This is also not really helped by the gearchanges (which, while not as frequent as those needed in the MAN, are more noticeable).
Roll with it
A further criticism is that the cab rolls a little bit too much, which gave it a few minus points in that area. While it isn't particularly noticeable on the motorway, it does reduce the feel of the road along country lanes.
These are pretty much the only negatives. though. Its cab loses out marginally to the MAN, but still has a good quality feel and offers plenty of storage. With the cab being mounted (relatively) low, the driver doesn't have as much room as in the others the engine hump protrudes quite a bit, making standing up quite hard for anyone nigh-on six-foot. One area where the Merc beats the MAN hands-down is visibility. The lateral vision is significantly better due to its smaller mirror design MAN designers take note.
As with the ongoing discussions over MAN's mirrors, when it comes to the Actros, opinion is divided about the positioning of the gear selector on the armrest. Perhaps it should be called the 'Marmite-Shift'. You either love it...
The V6-powered Actros will certainly be the operators' choice its low fuel consumption and good payload make it a sound investment. Drivers may not see it that way, unfortunately, because it still lacks space and is not the most comfortable of rides. If it had a bit more grunt and a slightly lower engine hump, the Actros could have been the out-and-out leader of the pack.