1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206 
Tester's impression: Following its revamp a couple of years ago
Page 50
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
the Actros has been going through something of a renaissance. The focus on creature comforts, better build quality and improved driveability have secured Mercedes some favourable sales figures in the tractor sector. But in the construction sector the Actros has always been something of an acquired taste. The rigids (pages 51 and 52) are definite muckaway material and the same is true of the tractors, particularly in the 6x4 configuration tested here. If payload is your main ambition you'll do better installing a wet kit on an Axor to retain your three-pointed star and profitability. But for go-anywhere ruggedness with performance to boot, the Actros could be the motor for you.
Powered by the top-rated 460hp version of the V6 engine, our test Actros was never going to be troubled by any of the obstacles we put in its way. In fact when empty we needed some fairly swift gearchanging to keep up with the power rise of the engine. Sticking 28 tonnes of aggregate in the back settled things down a bit, though the V6 engine still proved extremely willing, flattening Blunsdon hill in a time only one second above a minute and nipping round the route in a double quick time of just under 27 minutes.
The 16-speed manual box was a bit stiff in the shift, although more miles on the clock will address that, and we found the double-H shift pattern simple enough to get round. Even fully laden we were able to skip shift through the gears. Off-road performance with two driven axles was never in doubt either, though we found the ride hard and uncompromising when we ventured off the black stuff.
That said, handling was goad with a welcome absence of understeer, and a nicely progressive braking set-up. Our test truck came with the Mercedes KD engine brake operated by a column stalk —with some judicious downchanging the engine brake alone was able to hold us at 50mph.
With that hefty tractor up front, the full impact of the Stas trailer wasn't immediately apparent as the unladen weight of the combination didn't appear anything to write home about. Split weighing the outfit allowed the lightweight Belgian-built trailer to strut its stuff, tipping the scales at just 9,650kg. Although the sheeting system is manually operated the rear tailgate is, thankfully, air operated via a valve mounted on the side of trailer chassis which kept us away from the danger zone during tipping. Once the PTO is engaged the engine management on the Actros prevented us raising the engine revs and this may have contributed to the painfully slow discharge time: the Eder° ram took over 2min 30sec to reach full extension.
Although the emphasis is on comfort, the materials used are hard wearing, the design is robust and the dark grey colour scheme should ensure it doesn't show the dirt too easily.