CONCLUSION
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Transport managers and MDs have to make decisions based on merit and if this group test is anything to go by, there is a lot to assess. The first will be the nature of the work; CM took in a sizable motorway section, as well as plenty of A-roads and B-roads with two town centres.
Then it’s specification. What do drivers need to make their jobs easier, what do companies need to do their jobs properly, and what can they afford?
It terms of specification the sleeper cabs of MAN TGM and Scania P230 easily out-shone the Renault Midlum, because they were higher, wider and longer.
Midlum scored well, along with the TGM, when it came to urban journeys, while the Scania proved quickest around the entire route. MAN’s transmission was a clear winner. All three drivers picked TGM as the least stressful truck to drive, while the Scania, with its eight speeds, is tried and tested technology most drivers understand.
Scania, according to the CAP Red Book, was the cheapest chassis cab to buy upfront with by far the best residuals three years down the line.
Taking each individual part on merit delivered a mixed bag, but neither MAN nor Scania proved to be the sum of its parts when it came to including fuel economy and productivity.
Here, the Renault Midlum came to the fore compared with the TGM and the P230, despite the misgivings regarding the cab and transmission. Midlum delivered the most payload, and proved the most frugal over the entire journey, as well as being the most fuel efficient over the A-road and motorway sections.
For its fuel efficiency and productivity on this group test, the Midlum emerges as the overall winner.