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"We confirm there have been nine official safety recalls, ranging
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from 2001-2004. There have then been various product recalls which are merely the subject of our own service information items, mainly for vehicles built before October 2002. This is a routine part of any manufacturer's ongoing product support programme.
As to the door hinge issue, yes, unfortunately that is true for early vehicles. There has been significant improvement in later versions however, and another modification is due in the near future we believe this will be the final requirement in this area.
"On the matter of ECU fault codes, here we feel it's a matter of simple understanding of the codes that come up on the dashboard. Some are merely for information and require action the next time the vehicle is in the workshop; some mean the vehicle can be safely driven to finish work and then seek attention; the most serious mean stop and seek immediate assistance.
"The last two have either an orange or red warning light. Reference should always be made to the drivers handbook if in any doubt. We are unaware of any service dealers who are unable to explain or deal promptly with these issues for our operators and their drivers." and have proved a sound investment, according to transport manager James Waters: "We also run some Actroses and the new Daf XF95s, and considering the age of the TO-As they are performing well.The fleet average for the Actros is 7.25mpg and the TG-As are a little down on that, but only slightly."
Walter Carefoot & Sons Transport switched from Iveco EuroTechs to TG-As with LX cabs in September 2002.All the EuroTechs were equipped with the 430hp Cursor 10 Iveco engine and EuroTronic automatic transmission; they have been replaced by 410hp TG-As with Comfortshift gearboxes. "The Ivecos were very unreliable and gave us endless problems," says MD Colin Carefoot."The TG-As have been much better. On fuel efficiency we've seen a slight improvement, by an average of 0.2mpg across the fleet."
Driver appeal CM 's test team were impressed by the TO-A on first acquaintance, and this view appears to be shared by most of the drivers employed by our operator sample. Some operators questioned the fit and finish of the interior trim panels, particularly on the early models, but for most the impression was very good.
"Driver retention is a very important issue for us." says Cohn Carefoot,"and they do like the TG-A. It's a very modern cab with high levels of comfort."
"I can't get them out of the TG-A," says Les Coatman,MD at Durham City Transport.The company runs 33 trucks on general haulage operations throughout the UK and has been buying MANs since the 1980s.
The fleet now comprises Scanias, Mercs and MANs, with MAN in the ascendancy. "Driver acceptability has to be an important part of any buying decision these days and the TG-A scores," Coatman adds, "But having said that they've still got to perform on fuel economy and reliability if they're going to be any good for us."
Operating factors
We pointed out at the TG-A launch that it had put on a few pounds compared with its predecessor, but this doesn't seem to bother the operators: 'They lost about 400kg of payload when they moved to the TG-A," says David Allen. "But with the weights going up to 44 tonnes it was less of an issue for us provided we could get a 28-tonne load on, which we can. Every kilo helps, though, and for our bulker operation we've just been trying one of the new 430hp common-rail-engined TGAs with the little centre axle. It's very tempting as it reckons to save 400kg.At L53.000 the price is very attractive too."
Another operator who's tried the new D20 engine is Durham City Transport. Les Coatman is certainly impressed:"It's a lot quieter and is very impressive.The potential fuel efficiency improvement is our main attraction and if it lives up to the promise then we'll be having some.There's certainly no reason to put anyone off buyingTG-As."