RF's ECX range was unveiled last July, little more than
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five months after MAN announced it was taking over the British manufacturer. The marriage has already seen an exchange of gifts, with a long list of German-sourced components winging their way over to Middlewich for use in both the ECX and ECS.
Yet for all that the ECX remains very much an ERF. The home-built chassis uses Ayrshire Metals' frame rails; the trademark SMC "plastic" cab continues as before (albeit with a reworked steel subframe and new stylish exterior panels); and inner steel door panels are now bonded to the outside SMC skin.
Revised rear cab mounts, moved some 500mm aft to the back of the cab, ensure the old EC's "sit-up-and beg" attitude is a thing of the past. They also improve the ride immeasurably, and the four-point air suspension system is auto levelling. The ECX's cab is mounted rromm higher than its predecessor, providing a flatter floor inside and leaving plenty of air space to help cool the mighty 15-litre Cummins Signature, when ERF eventually fits it.
PRODUCT PROFILE
But if you want to see the family connection, take a look at the ECX's axles. They're all from Munich (the standard, four-bag drive axle has MAN stamped on the hub boss) and come with the same air-operated Mentor D'Elsa discs as the TG-A—though minus the latter's electronic control. Even the Hendrickson-supplied mid-lift axle on the 63(2 tractor has the same MAN axle ends and identical callipers and discs, so braking commonality is ensured, not least for servicing.
Underneath the new cab beats the familiar Cummins ISM Celect straight six. It's currently in Euro-2 guise but will soon be tweaked to meet Euro-3, gaining new ratings en route. Our ECX's ISM started life as a 44o but a pre-test run around our test route convinced ERF's engineers that a 405 rating would use less fuel (it does) so they "rechipped" the ISM down by 35hp.
In any case, the 4.4o rating will be droppe for Euro-3 (see CM 5-1I April for full detail of the new ISM line-up) so there was littl sense in testing it so close to the Octobe deadline. For the record, the ISM 405 retains an impressive 2,000Nm of torque u its sleeve. Among the electronic spin-off available on the ISM is its Road Relay diaE nostics and driver display, which lives in th centre of the dash.
Behind the io.8-litre Cummins sits Spicer twin-plate dutch with ceramic facing and an Eaton r6-speed S-Series synchro bo) However, as Eaton has rung the death knel on the S-Series, ERF will soon be switching t, ZF's Ecosplit, complete with Servoshift a standard. The 3.71:1 back axle sits right in th, middle of five ratio options and is we] matched to the S-Series' overdrive top cog.
Apart from that there's not much els, externally to talk about, other than to say tha our test ECX came with rear air collars (till right-hand-one folds out to allow easy acces o the catwalk) and a 450-litre alloy tank. The nid-lift axle is raised manually but drops iutomatically when the load on the drive axle eaches ro tonnes.
From an owner-driver's perspective it's the :ab interior that counts. The top-of-the range )1ympic Sovereign is the ultimate ECX trimmckage (yours for a cool 0,75o) and includes
TV, microwave, air-con, built-in :ooler/fridge underneath the sprung-mattress .aised bunk, a pull-down wardrobe, two-posiion raising table and radio/CD player. That ;aid, the "standard" high-roof sleeper and ilain Olympic trims are nothing to sneer at, )oasting heated windscreens, central locking, gectric windows and mirrors.
But has all that frippery made a real differmce to ERF's core values? CM'S Scottish :oute beckoned.
PRODUCTIVITY
When it comes to payload the ECX 6x2 is a gold medal con:ender. For 41-tonne running, 3ur fully fuelled and manned Dlympic Sovereign tipped the scales at 8,120kg, equating to ) 25.88-tonne load with a triaxle curtainsider. As our comparison charts show, its near
est are the Seddon T7 2.3.4o5M StratoCruiser with a virtually identical driveline (but a smaller fuel tank) and the Iveco EuroStar with its Lighter 43ohp Cursor ro.
However, neither had anywhere near the same level of goodies inside.
On outright economy the ECX was unusual on two counts. First, it's overall 7,79mpg result (enough to put it joint top with the EuroStar) was achieved in the face of pretty awful weather throughout our three-day run. And for the record ERF didn't ask for a rerun—other manufacturers please note!
Second. and more significantly, its ISM had just under 7,000lcm on the clock. For such a new engine to be so economical, returning over 9.6mpg over our A-road section, and to feel so "loose" is, frankly, amazing.
But if you really want to gauge the strength of the ECX/Cummins combination, look at the "severe gradients" section of our route— AKA the A68. Unless anyone knows any different we reckon the ERF's 5.mpg is a new record for both 40 and 41 tonnes.
Finally, on outright acceleration from 08okm/h it stopped the clock at 5o.8sec. That's quicker than the Cursor ro EuroStar and Seddon StratoCruiser; it's quicker too than the more-powerful Volvo FF112.46o. In short, the ECX is a bit of a goer.
ON THE ROAD
Let's start with the good points. Unlike those manufacturers who insist on making their steering far too light ERF has built in some real resistance to the wheel. The net result is that it's precise, very direct and perfectly weighted. There's none of that constant see sawing back and forth, particularly in the dead-ahead position, that you find on some other trucks.
The ECX's revised cab suspension delivers a superb ride—one of the best we've encountered on a 6x2. It's also very stable round corners, especially for such a tall cab. Overall we'd give ERE 9.5 out of ro for ride and handling.
They may not have full EBS but there's nothing wrong with the ECX's discs brakes. During our panic stops at MIRA they delivered impressive stopping distances with high peak "Gs", and all without any manic cab rebound.
The view from the driver's seat is well above average, helped by well placed mirrors and an impressively thin A-post.
And so to a 7,000km motor that felt more like it had 7 o,000km under its belt (we did ask if it was "genuine" mileage and were assured it was). You don't often find a 400hp il-litre engine that can drag 41 tonnes over the A68 without recourse to low range: our ERF dipped into it just once.
With peak torque delivered at 1,200rpm the ISM405E has plenty of bottom-end grunt. On tough gradients it dug in at 1,300rpm and stayed there (or where we thought 1,300 was—but more of that later). More importantly, when the revs do drop below peak torque you don't go off a cliff. On most surfaces you can pull away happily in second,
block shift to four, then take a gear at a time before thinking about splitting above sixth.
And the not-so-good points? The S-Series is a box you can't hurry and it became something of an effort over the tough hill section. Roll on Ecosplit and Servoshift. Things weren't helped by the fact that the ECX's clutch was slightly out of adjustment (confirmed by ERF after our run). This tended to accentuate the rather "grabby" nature of the ceramic plates, not least when block shifting.
At times it was necessary to brace our left foot on the floor to ensure a smooth takeoff, even with the Cummins' "idle away" feature (subsequent adjustment had cured this problem by the time our colleagues on Truck tested the ECX).
The ERF's pedals also need reworking. We'd prefer a treadle-type accelerator to the top-hung drive-by-wire unit whose pad is too small for fine control.
Finally, at times, the ECX's mid-lift axle can "tramp" a bit over man-hole covers and bumps as if the damping is a bit too fierce, and if the driver's seat is locked down you can feel it. To be fair, with the seat fully suspended it's not an issue.
CAB COMFORT
Getting into the ECX is easy and moving around inside is no problem either thanks to its high ceiling. The blue-and-grey trim is easy on the eye and looks durable; the rubber mat on the engine hump will keep the carpet free from muddy footprints. The single bunk is mounted high enough to be used as a sofa. Maybe it's the Olympic Sovereign interior; maybe it's because the cab sits further away from the engine; maybe it's the sound-deadening SMC cab material: whatever the reason, it's very quiet inside.
If it's storage you want, storage space is what you get with cavernous overhead lockers, complete with interior shelves, a pull-down "wardrobe" locker on the back wall, space under the bunk and that fridge/cool box.
To paraphrase a famous landscape gardener, the Olympic Sovereign has "Great Capabilities". Unfortunately those capabilities need to be fully realised. The doors and hinges on the lockers and wardrobe flex a bit too much our liking, the lids need to be thicker and around the bottom header rail it could do with a more rigid subframe (ironically the two-position table sits on an over-engineered gas strut that looks like the periscope mount from a submarine).
What the Olympic Sovereign really needs is the TG-A treatment. Everyone uses plastic these days, but MAN uses it better than most. We're not talking about creating a Munich clone—the ECX should have its own identity, but with better fit and finish and more attention to detail. The cup/can holder is a case in point. On the ERF it's easily buried under odds and ends in the central tray; in the TG-A it pops out of the dash when needed.
The same goes for the door pockets, which need a moulding capable of holding a twolitre bottle. Not exactly rocket science. The rather old-fashioned single-function stalk also has to go. And the cooler/fridge should slide out from under the bunk and needs a top lid so it's easier to get in to.
If ERF is targeting the owner-driver the design team ought to pamper him a bit more too, with armrests on the seat, a bit more leather and mock walnut, and to hell with economic probity. Built-in TVs and microwaves are very welcome, but in this sector first impressions are all important. It's not all negative, of course. The basi controls and switches are well placed and th handbrake and electronic tacho are wher they should be—in the dash. However, th main instrument duster is rather disappoint ing. The "one-size-fits-all" rev counter markei out in coloured blocks but without no gradua tions is a waste of space as an instrument Although the engine revs are shown on th: central Road Relay display it's like looking at. one-armed bandit reel when the figures ar: moving up and down.
Road Relay's useful average and "real-time fuel consumption readings certainly encoux age economical driving, but the majority o engine data will be of more value to the flee manager. A driver probably doesn't need to hi told he's getting "negative" fuel econom: while lugging up Shap.
SUMMARY
If we've spent a disproportionate time dis cussing the ERF ECX Olympic Sovereign': interior it's probably because all its othe: "core" values, including outstanding ride anc handling and keen pricing, can be taker as read.
Once again in a CM test, a Cummins-pow erect. ERF has proved itself to be light, fuel-effi cient and very productive. Come rain or shim (in our case mostly rain) the ECX/ISM combi nation will deliver the goods.
What we can't understand is why such z strong economic proposition doesn't attrac more owner-drivers. The truth is many stil buy on image and the men from Middlewid need to put more work into the ECX's interim if they're to woo those fickle one-man-bands But not that much.
Based on our test we reckon the Olympic Sovereign is ultimately capable of stealing the opposition's crown. It's just a matter of realis. ing those already strong capabilities and turn. ing silver into gold.
And as for the gaffer? He's got nothing tc worry about: the ECX is still an ERF.
• by Brian Weatherley