1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164 
ken sees red over fleet Snails
Page 14
Page 15
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• by Brian Weatherley Flagship tractors may get the glory— but fleet altos deliver the sales volume, and right now that's exactly Iveco what needs if it's to succeed in the UK heavy truck market. Just over a year ago the Italian truck maker launched its Stralis "Active Space" or AS for premium tractor buyers. This April, it followed that up with the new "Active Time" (sleeper) and "Active Dar fleet tractors and rids.
Last week, CM had the chance to spend some time in them, along with the latest Eurocargo, in Northern Italy.
The quickest way to distinguish a Stralis AT/AD from an AS is to look at it head-on. The latter has a full-width 2.48m cabin ( it replaces the old EuroStar) while the former has a narrower 2,28m cab and takes over from the old EuroTech. Styling-wise the cabs are pretty identical although the lower-mounted AT and AD have a three-slot radiator grille (as opposed to four on the AS) and smaller corner deflectors, The Stralis AT artic will also compete against narrow-cab rivals like the Daf CF85, MAN TG-A LX, Renautt Premium and Mercedes' Axor.
UK tractor buyers get the power choice of a 350hp Cursor 8—primarily
for light distribution/supermarket work—and the Cursor 10 at 400 and 430hp. And in keeping with Iveco's growing confidence in automated transmissions, the 12-speed EuroTronic (ZF) twopedal box is standard on all right-hookers.
Our first drive was in a 400hp 4x2 40tanner equipped with the 'medium" (In reality high) roof sleeper. While you need an extra step to get into the Stralis AT cab compared to a CF85 or Premium, access is easy enough, and on the road it reminded us instantly of CM's recent test of the top-of-the-range Stralis AS 540 (CM12-18 June). The 400hp Cursor 10 sixpot is well matched to the EuroTronic box
which is a breeze to use in full auto. However, there's plenty of opportunity to intervene if you want to—like holding on to a gear in semi-auto when you're climbing a hill. And despite the fact that the more powerful Stralis 540 had the 15speed version we really didn't miss the extra four cogs on the AT.
The AT Stralis's steering is certainly light though probably a touch too light for our tastes—some more resistance wouldn't hurt.
As most Active Time Stralis drivers are likely to be spending at least one night in the cab—or using the bunk to rest— we took a close look (pictured below) at what it has to offer overnighters.
Sharply angled
While the Stralis AS has a sharply angled dash, the AT's is virtually flat-fronted to aid cross cab access. One of the things we praised on the larger Active Space was the way you can rotate the EuroTronic gear selector console through 180° to the rear, thereby allowing you to easily thread your way past it and get into the sleeping area. However, for some reason (that we've yet to discover), the AT's selector console is fixed to the floor, and as there's not that much room between the gear selector and the fascia it's something Iveco should definitely look to carry over on to the AT— and soon.
While the AS cab has a flat floor the AT, being mounted lower, has a more pronounced engine hump. With the medium roof a six-footer can just about stand upright on it. (Interestingly enough, the high-roof Eurocargo sleeper seemed to offer more headroom.) Red isn't a trim colour you'd automatically expect to find in a fleet tractor but in the Stralis Alit works well—indeed A's a welcome change to the dull blues and greys in its rivals. Neva continues to make major progress in terms of fit and finish. The dash and headlining locker area both feel very solid and well put together while the footwells and engine tunnel are covered in a practical rubber finish that will shrug off dirty footprints.
As the bottom bunk is mounted quite high up you can not only sit up on it but you also get plenty of storage space underneath in the three separate lockers. The 120mm thick mattress felt supportive too although we'd be happy to we without a second bunk in order to get even more headroom over the bed.
Nice touches Nice touches include the night heater controls by the driver's head and the slide-out cool box/fridge which is well positioned on a right-hooker next to the driver's left leg. The roof also incorporates neat trays to hold the lateral curtains. Our only gripe is there are no real flat surfaces on the dash for a TV or small cooker (unlike in the P-cab Scania) but we certainly like the abundance of stowage space in the lockers above the driver's head.
To finish off our Stralis AT experience we drove a 430hp version which was well up to the job for 40-tonnes. However, Iveco should note that those 44-tonne operators buying "narrow-but-tall" cab tractors are increasingly asking for more go, and it's significant that Volvo is now offering the FM12 with a 460hp rating. We wonder how long before other manufacturers follow suit and start creeping above the 430hp 'average". While Ivaco would no doubt prefer to sell a powersensitive haulier a Stralis AS 480 it may be forced to look again at top AT ratings. By way of contrast we next tried a number of new Eurocargos starting with the lowest-powered 150 and 170hp 7.5tonners over mountain roads that looked like they were location shots in The Italian Job. Despite its modest displacement the Tector four-pot is a surprisingly gutsy performer as long as you keep it spinning, while its exhaust brake is especially impressive, The rather clunky nature of the six-speed box was probably down to the fact that none of the test rigids had any real mileage under their belts.
Moving up to a 12-tonner the 210hp sixpot proved to be a torquey engine coupled to a nine-speed range-change box. Like the Oaf LF the 7.5-tonne Eurocargo is easy to get into with a low first step and 90° opening doors allowing a one-handed entry. Inside the grey/blue interior is easy on the eye and storage space is generally OK for a day cab rigid. The dash is a "mini" version of its big brother the Stralis, right down to the vehicle status display in the main binnacle.
But far the most impressive Eurocargo for driver comfort and space was the medium (high)-roof sleeper which is positively voluminous inside. It's just a pity the overall good build quality effect was slightly spoiled by the rather flimsy luggage "hammock/rack" across the top of the cab.
Overall our impression of both Eurocargo and Stralis AT is that !veep has two models that can assert themselves within the big fleets—and with the Stalls AT tractor it has a truck with the potential to finally lay to rest the ghost of the old EuroTech.