DRIVERS' VERDICTS
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As usual, after our full roadtest we handed our test truck over to three regular drivers who we met at the BP South Mimms truckstop.
Simon Leadbeater from South Wales runs five trucks. We met him at BP's South Mimms truck stop in his Volvo FH12 340. He jumped up into the EuroTech's cab and, as he adjusted the seat and steering wheel, said: "The three steps make it handy to get in easily. The door is nice and big but it opens a bit too wide for me to reach out and close it." As he looked around inside he told us: "It's nice and big; a bit plasticky but the colour scheme is OK. The
overhead shelves would be better boxed off. If ,eadbeater. "Good vision of the instru
anything dropped down it could easily end up under the pedals. We double-shift so the driver might not always know what's up there. It's all about safety. The steering is heavy compared to the Volvo," he added as he negotiated his way through the truck park and out onto a clear road where he accelerated up to speed. "My 340 would leave this standing but the steering is better now we're on the move. I've got good vision of the instruments and visibility is quite good all round. The nearside mirror adjusts electrically; that's good but the window switch should be on the door. I don't like the radio up high. You lose sight of the road ahead just switching it on. It's got a nice bit of torque low down," he added as we climbed a steep bank. As we descended the other side he commented: "You can throw this exhaust brake away. I've got an engine brake on the Volvo and I wouldn't be without it. It saves a lot of brake wear— they should be made compulsory. I've handled the gear lever better than I thought I would. It's not a bad change. The ride is comfortable, it's a nice quiet cab and it doesn't roll as much as my Volvo. The direction indicator bleeper could be a bit more driver-friendly, though." Terry Woolner drives a Volvo FL10 320 for Task Force out of Witham, Essex. "Is it fully loaded?" he asked. "It pulls very well. The ride is smooth and it's a lot quieter than mine. The pedals are nice and light and set at a comfortable height. The gearbox is nice and easy. The engine seems sturdy enough but the exhaust brake is like mine; it doesn't do anything until you drop down a couple of cogs. The service brake is nice and reactive though. It's got a bigger steering wheel than the Volvo but it's nice and light. The bleeper would start to annoy me after a while. It's very high pitched." Out on the motorway, as the limiter cut in, he asked: "Is the accelerator pedal supposed to drop away like that? It feels very strange. I thought that the linkage had broken. Has it got cruise control?" Not on this model we told him. As we pulled back into the truck stop he added: "The clutch is good and light. Just right for heavy traffic conditions in town. It's comfortable to drive. You seem to be on top of everything except for the switch to adjust the mirrors—it's only just in reach. The cab is really massive compared with the FL."
Garry Flight also drives for Task Force but he was in a new Scania P124 360. "It's got a lot more room than I expected," he said. "I like the extra bunk for stowage, and it's nice to be able to stand up. The dash layout is nice but it might be made to curve around a bit more. The windscreen seems to be a lot closer than in the Scania and these mirrors are a lot smaller; they're only about as big as my kerb mirrors. But I would like to position them a bit lower down. The screen could be a problem on hot days," he added. "I've got used to a three-position gate but this gearbox is not causing me any problems. The brakes are a bit sharp, though." On the return leg of our short trial Flight told us: "I can really feel the difference in power from my 360. This truck is a lot slower in getting up to speed. My P cab is mounted lower so it would be easier to move around in here: I have to get out to get to the passenger side in mine. The space on top of the engine hump would be a good place to keep a map. Has it got air conditioning?" Not on this model, we said. "I like the space," he concluded. "It's not a bad truck".