DRIVERS' VERDICTS To get a second opinion on the Foden
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we dropped in on a demonstration day at Anglo Hargreaves' depot within Rugeley power station and asked some professional drivers to take our 4325 eight-legger for a spin...
First in the cab was Steve Shotton who drives a seven-year-old ERF E10.250 eight-legger for Anglo Hargreaves. His regular work includes moving ash from the power station, muckaway and general haulage. He found entry to the 4000 cab easy and praised the amount of seat and steering wheel adjustment. He was impressed by the visibility compared with his El 0 and thought that if drivers wanted to, they could keep the interior clean. Without the need for a lot of wet weather gear, he felt the storage was adequate. Moving off Shotton took a short time to get used to the 13 speeds against his vehicle's eight. Having done so he found gear selection smooth if a little tight, which he put down to the Foden's low mileage. After a short drive he felt that the Foden fully met his expectations in terms of performance: "It's like driving a car," he said. Taking the vehicle over the tip, he was particularly impressed with the air-suspended seat. One concern he did have was the positioning of the cold-start pilot, by the driver's left knee. "I wouldn't like to have a front end shunt with it there," he commented. Alan Wheeler has driven just about everything in his 35 years behind the wheel. He was also impressed by the cab's entry and exit. "I normally jump down from my Cargo," he said. "This is too high but the grab handles make it easy. I'm quite short and can find seat adjustment a difficulty, but this one is fine," he added. He
Steve Shotton: "Like driving a car."
did highlight the positioning of the tipping gear lever, at the base of the seat between the driver's legs. His face was almost on the steering wheel when he operated it. "I couldn't do this while reversing to drop tarmac into the hopper," he said. Having taken the Foden for a spin he was very impressed. "Everything falls to hand, there's no blind spots, it pulls well and has good
mirrors—it's a lovely job", he said. He also
complimented the vehicle's general ride and said the air suspended seat was excellent over the tip.
One point that he particularly liked was the Jake brake. "As soon as you take your foot off the accelerator it starts slowing you down," he said.
While the gearchange was very different to the straight-six box in the Cargo he found the engine's power could overcome any minor difficulties he encountered.