Ice-cold Magnum: workin in a winter wonderland
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An opportunity to drive a new truck is generally grabbed with both hands at CM. But faced with driving a semiautomatic Renault from the Arctic Circle to Stockholm over solid ice, we grabbed for the insulated gloves.
• by Kevin Swallow With -40°C antifreeze fluids running through the truck's veins and the office woolly hat pulled well down over his ears, CM's man set off on a 700-mile trip to see if a pre-production Euro-3 Renault Magnum E-Tech could beat the big freeze.
The Renault Magnum is celebrating its 11th year on the road; production of the Euro-3 version is due to start in the second quarter. Our test vehicle was a 440hp 4x2 complete with AS-Tronic. Operators in the UK already have AS-Tronic available as an option on the current Euro-2 Magnum ETech, which keeps its clutch pedal.
The Euro-3 version comes with only two pedals: stop and go. The ZF AS-Tronic 16-speed direct-drive sequential box is Operated with an air-assisted hydraulic actuator complete with automatic adjustment; It will also be an option on the Premium.
Changing gears, even on a delicate and accident-prone surface like solid ice, was as smooth as...ice. Changing up a whole gear is best done at 1,500-1,700mm with the split taken just below 1,500rpm. Shifting more than one complete gear at a time can cause the wheels to lose traction. With 40 tonnes on board and grip from the Goodyear mud and snow tyres at a premium, everything has to be kept as smooth as possible.
Gear selection
Gear selection is via a simple nudge forward up the box and a nudge back to drop a gear. On the left of the stick is the splitter button, which is held in when changing gear for a split. Neutral is found by pushing the stick 'down and away from the driver's seat. Similarly 2L (its preferred option for starting) is selected by knocking the gearstick back towards you.
When you grind (or slide) to a halt the gearbox can be left to its own devices; once the truck stops it takes a second or so before selecting 2L. Sweden has no Carter Bars to call its own so lugging down to 1,000rpm was no problem on its gentle rises and slopes before changing down.
The acceleration on ice is smooth. Slam your foot down and the "go faster/guzzle gas" pedal gear-change intervention is Quiet and effective without any cab nodding, which is impressive, considering the vehicle height.
As you'd expect, when running on sheet ice even the engine brake has to be treated with respect. Braking must be done on the straight before touching the wheel but it responded well in the treacherous conditions.
Renault has revamped the interior with a walnut-finish dashboard and new dials with a green band running from 1000150Orprn.
Storage includes two headheight lockers, one side locker above the passenger's door and a wardrobe, giving a total of 800 litres.
Insulated gloves
Climbing into and out of a Magnum cab has always been easier than it looks, but when you're grabbing metal handrails at -20°C make sure you're wearing well insulated gloves!