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HEART OF THE MATTE

18th October 2007
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Page 44, 18th October 2007 — HEART OF THE MATTE
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The MAN TGA has been replaced but its engine underpins the new TGX and TGS, so look past the cover of the book and pay attention to the content. It could be worth your while.

We aren't in the habit of running obsolete motors but in this case we've made an exception.We intended to run MAN's Euro-4TGA last year following its winning performance in the Euro-4 1,000-Mile Test (CM 28 September 2006) to give operators a detailed assessment of the EGR vs SCR market.While SCR drivelines have been busy proving their worth at Euro-4 and Euro-5 the EGR camp has been decidedly quiet.The AdBlue/add nothing debate between the manufacturers, with all the urban myths it created, has done no one any favours.

Many operators are locked into three, four, or even five-year deals so there have been few signs of change since Euro-4 was introduced in May 2006. Unless a pot of gold can be promised at the end of the rainbow operators tend to stick with their chosen marques because of dealer service, established relationships, price, workshop facilities or simply out of habit.

But we were keen to get an EGR fuel run under our belts, and MAN duly obliged with its tried, tested and award-winning TGA 26.440.

The TGA with its 11.9-litre D28 engine replaced the F2000 in the UK during September 2000.We even tested a Tipmatic (CM8 November 2001), which pointed to the Germans' development plans.There were some cute touches, such as the thumb shift on the manual gearstick, and 'Trucknology' etched on the tractor and trailer. What was significant from that launch was MAN's engine design philosophy for the Euro-4 and Euro-5 emissions limits (CM 3 August 2000).The D28 featured the Bosch VP44 electronically controlled distributor pump with an internal EGR system.

Recognising the two approaches to reducing particulates and nitrogen oxides (NOx), MAN reduced NOx formation within the combustion chamber, trapping particulates using a secondary filter or continuously regenerating trap (CRT),Ilis technology, it said, was fine for Euro-4,but would produce unacceptable fuel consumption penalties at Euro-5 and beyond.

The second approach minimised particulates inside the engine, relying on catalytic after-treatment to reduce NOx emissions.This is possible using the SINOx urea catalyst system, but Euro-5 limits (from 2009) would need an additional oxidation catalyst to improve the efficiency of the SINOx reaction. And this depended on SCR.The GDK-SINOx system, developed by Siemens, could cut NOx levels by 65% without a large fuel consumption penalty. For Euro-5,MAN said, it was developing a new version of SCR, with a GD-KAT oxidation catalyst positioned upstream of the SINOx unit to increase NOx conversion to 80% or more.

Fast-forward seven years and MAN has stuck to its Euro-emissions game plan. It met Euro-4 comfortably, and produced a Euro-5 SCR truck too but it has been able to improve its EGR offerings, and plans to show a Euro-5 EGR engine at IAA in Frankfurt next year ahead of the Euro-5 deadline. But MAN's engineers reckon Euro-6 will demand a combination of SCR and EGR.

The Euro-4 EGR 10.5-litre D20 engine, which arrived in April 2004 at Euro-3, powers our test vehicle and provided the platform for the D26 that was launched last year; the TGA 26.440 is rated at 434hp/2,100Nm and features the 12-speed Tipmatic transmission.

If you're scouring the used market for a TGA and are weight-sensitive, note that a 16-speed manual box adds 65kg to the kerb weight, but you can boost payload potential with a fixed fifth wheel (saves 49kg); alloy tanks (15kg); and the alloy wheels fitted to our test vehicle (152kg).Those A Icoas add £3,133 to the list price; other extras on our TGA included sunblinds on both doors (f.240); airsuspended passenger seat (t475); and door extensions (£390).

In terms of residuals, a three-year-old TGA is worth more than a comparable Daf CF85, but as five-year-olds their positions are reversed. In both cases Volvo's FH13 480 Globetrotter XL is worth significantly more.

On the road

Automated transmission is a health and safety issue as much as a way of levelling the playing field fir all drivers regardless of standard. It frees up the driver to concentrate on pointing the vehicle in the right direction while reducing abuse on the clutch and transmission. It also slashes the rev count and helps save fuel. Auto is good to a point but it can't read the road ahead. The driver can act as the transmission's eyes by selecting manual from 10th gear and above, allowing him to do the bits auto can't — lugging down to avoid an unnecessary change at the apex of a hill or, when in low revs, stopping the box changing gear when low-level rolling resistance kicks in on gentle gradients.

So, with MANI's blessing, we selected the manual option in just about all situations except the most arduous hill climbs a tactic that served us well on the second day.

The transmission switch is to the left of the driver's seat. It offers D for drive and R for reverse, with DM and RM for close manoeu vring situations, and a neutral. Once D has been selected you are up and running with changes made on the right of steering column. Move the switch up and down for gear changes; do this in auto and it will remain in manual override for 10 seconds. Cruise and speed limiter controls are also housed on the steering wheel.

This isn't a particularly fast climber but it is an economic one. High revs were called for over the A68 and Castleside, but standard procedure was to lug, lug and lug again before thinking about shifting down the box.

For most of the route we used the speed limiter as a safer option than cruise control. Our instinct is that you can lift your right boot off the accelerator quicker than you can turn off the cruise, giving you more control if— and it happens to the best of us — you aren't quite switched on to changing events around you.

Being boxed in is a perfect example of when dropping off is preferable to messing about with buttons deactivating or reactivating cruise.At 85km/h in heavy traffic it certainly felt more comfortable,At 40/50mph you can use kickdown to ease through the speed limiter when starting a climb for a little extra oomph. In that situation in auto the engine will want more revs,so if you have low revs it will change down.

The 434hp handles 44 tonnes well, and despite the pusher axle handling is good although the steering wheel has that outsized feel to it.The perfect-sized wheel is. of course, a matter of opinion but this one takes up a lot of room in front of you, even though its position can be adjusted via a floor button to the right of the driver's seat.The steering wheel and column aren't as packed with controls as their counterparts in the Renault Premium, but it's still pretty crowded.

Productivity

After day one the 15-25mph northerly winds led CM and MAN to reassess the situation. It's something when you get 8.67mpg hauling 44 tonnes up one of the toughest sections of motorway in the UK and arc not still not satistied.At this point Renault's Premium, which had been tested in similar conditions, and the Daf CE85 held an edge.

If day two's weather is the same, we argued. then perhaps it will even itself out. And day two certainly went some way to compensating as favourable conditions helped the TGA return an outstanding 8.65mpg. CM 's database of fuel tests for Euro-4 and Euro-5 now covers both sides of the SCR vs EGR debate. And, as in the 1.000-Mile Euro-4 test, EGR has nudged itself into the lead. With no AdBlue to stick in the tank the TGA has a running cost of E26,73p/100km, which is 94p/100km cheaper than the Daf CF85 460. You can do the maths yourself to calculate the saving for a truck running 120,000km a year.

In our test of the Renault Premium we said "that you can surpass 8mpg at 44 tonnes is credit to the manufacturers" so we have to applaud MAN for the TGA's figure of 8.47mpg.

By the way, using kickdown during our acceleration tests saved 3sec from 0-80km/h but had no benefit from 20-40mph or 30-50mph.

Cab comfort

Cab comfort is a very subjective issue, but let's start with the facts: the LX cab on test has one bunk,is the narrower option (with a high roof distinguishing it from the L option) and its engine tunnel is higher than its wider peers. Choosing the LX over the L imposes a weight penalty of 94kg on the front axle; the XXL cab weighs 169kg more than the L. It could he argued that the LX cab is a gaffer's cab as it's fairly Spartan, but even if you're an ownerdriver it represents a decent deal by putting business interests over personal preferences.

MAN, for the purposes of the 1,000-Mile Test, fitted an Isri air-suspended passenger seat.The LX trim is German 'Panzergrau' grey with the lockers finished in a darker shade of grey. Storage space comprises lockers across two-thirds of the space over the windscreen, with space under the single hunk and externalaccess lockers, This is sufficient for light travellers, but like the Renault Premium it has space to the left above the windscreen. MAN has only fitted netting so there's a little space to stand up and stretch your legs without banging your head. But when it comes to fleet-spec cabs functionality is the name of the game, and on that basis MAN did not disappointed us.

Electronic controls for the mirror, central locking and electronic window control sit on the frame of the driver's door. •

Tags

People: Mile Euro, Mile Test
Locations: Frankfurt

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