ROADTEST
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44 substantial pack of inverted leaf springs for the rear bogie, with massive underslung stabilisers—anti-roll bars, if you prefer—which appear to limit ultimate ground clearance, though they do not affect approach angles.
This particular truck was not fitted with a retarder, though a Voith unit is available, while the standard box can be fitted with ZF's Intarder. The Eaton/Voith option costs £4,730.
Fleet engineers will be pleased to see that automatic chassis lubrication is a standard fitting. Whether they'll like the front disc brakes is another matter, but as MAN is not the only manufacturer confident enough to fit them across a range, fleets will just have to get used to them_
Amid all this no-nonsense gear it comes as a small surprise that the front bumper is plastic rather than the optional (though heavier) steel version. Still, it leaves the neat lines of the F2000 cab unaffected. This is the "N" day cab, available on chassis with a wheelbase of 5.025m (tested here) or 5.825m. The "F" sleeper cab (not the wider "FB") is available on the longer-wheelbase version: it reduces the useful chassis length by 450mm, is 100min taller than the day cab and weighs 80kg more, a total of 150kg more than this short-wheelbase model.
Our test vehicle was fitted with Thompson's brutally-named "Muckmaster" body, a no-nonsense high-tensile steel construction with Edbm front-end tipping gear.
The 15m3 body has a two-year warranty and is, according to Thompson, "suitable for the more arduous side of tipping". so it's hardly surprising that weight is not its strong point: the whole lot conies in at three tonnes. But Croydon-based Thompson has no trouble selling hundreds of these bodies each year: the price is a reasonable £7,775 so you get a lot of cubic capacity for your money.
• PRODUCTIVITY Overall fuel consumption is the first thing that many potential buyers look at, and most would be surprised by the 8.49mpg that CM obtained over our Midlands tipper route. This figure is more than respectable, because the
MAN sustained a good speed despite worsethan-average traffic and some baulking on the motorway section. And of course, it's Euro-2.
The fuel consumption was especially good on our demanding A-road section, thanks to the engine's flexibility and the limited number of gearchanges necessary.
You certainly wouldn't choose the MAN purely on the strength of its payload: a body/payload allowance of 22.34 tonnes with a full fuel tank is pretty poor; more than 800kg less than the Leyland Daf 85.330. Mind you, a fair bit of that discrepancy can be explained by the MAN's monumental chassis members, lOmm thick and a clear attempt to make this lorry last for ever. Book your places for the 2096 London-Brighton Run.
• ON THE ROAD This really is the lazy man's truck: getting into the cab is straightforward, all the controls are light and the whole thing simply responds to minimal effort.
The engine is the most important feature: despite having such a lot of power, it's not at all exciting. The flat torque curve took away the excitement (and the uncertainty) of exploring the rev range, while the sheer power allowed us to trickle along in 811 quite happily most of the time. On the speedo 40mph corresponds to around 1,150rprn in top gear—comfortably in the band of peak torque, and offering enough grunt to tackle many obsta
44 cies. In fact, at one point we took four successive A-road roundabouts in 8H! (7L is the preferred choice.)
Though the green band is only marked down to 1,100rpm (it goes up to 1,900rpm) and specific fuel consumption bottoms out at around 1,300rpm, we were assured that we could treat 1,000rpm as part of the green. And sure enough the engine feels happy there, lugging down to 80Orpm if necessary. But that's not the whole story, as the engine feels equally happy to rev if necessary: the MAN's startling 32-64km/h time of 19.2 seconds (over 10 seconds faster than the 360hp Scanial) was accomplished in one gear, taking it from peak torque to peak power and doubling the speed in the process. The other acceleration times were also at or near the best in the 8x4 class.
Taking off from a standing start was best done in 3L, block-shifting through to 5L, 7L then finally 81-i—using just a quarter of the speeds in the box. But even if you insist on shifiting gear for the hell of it, you'll find that the light change of the Eaton box, with its apparently foolproof synchromesh, combined with the light clutch action, makes changes very quick indeed.
But we still have our reservations about the Eaton box's twin-II shift pattern, with just the single button for I ugh/Low splits: the change is so light that it's possible to switch in and back out of low range without realising. Ironically that's not what prevented our getting a meaningful time for the Edge Hill climb: after a clean range-change down, we attempted to split a half-gear UP because there was so much power, and did so too quickly. Operator error, we're afraid...
Motorway running was made even less of an effort with the cruise control, a delightfully straightforward device mounted on the righthand stalk.
The MAN's test hill performance was predictably impressive, as it ascended the 1-in-3 at barely more than tickover. The parking brakes, too, were reassuring.
We missed the convenience of a retarder, particularly as the exhaust brake was not especially efficient; but worse was the position of the exhaust brake button, far too close to the seat base and very difficult for a shortlegged test driver to keep pressed down. We'd much rather see the toggle switch at the base the steering column or operated by hand.
The retrofitted air horns, too, were operated by a foot switch that was practically impossible to reach. Fortunately we didn't need them—the brakes are too good for that.
We at CM have perpetuated the received wisdom that disc brakes have less feel than drums, and we stand by it. There's little doubt that discs lack sonic initial "bite", and this can lead to over-compensation. But you get used to it, and our test stop from 40mpli was quite without drama—every wheel locked, hut did so evenly and the truck felt completely stable. Unfortunately our test meter chose to pack up at that moment, so you'll have to take our word for it that the MAN brakes well.
first. While one tends to notice niggles and annoyances even when getting into a truck cab, they weren't apparent in the MAN. It's certainly not an inspiring design, but all the usual features are there and it has just as much storage space as other day-cab tippers.
The seat is comfortable, though the ride was a bit "jiggly" on poor roads and it felt more secure to drive with the seat suspension locked out. Otherwise the handling was smooth and the ZF power steering as precise as ever. The N cab is certainly not as quiet as the more massive P cab, but sound readings were generally good and the turbocharger's note was informative rather than intrusive.
Another niggle: the nearside mirror cluster is a little too massive-it gives an excellent view of behind but obscures much of the front three-quarter vision that's so important at junctions Beef isn't very fashionable at the moment, but this big MAN is beefy in pretty much every
respect: it's got beefy suspension, beefy 1.r.-akes, a beefy engine and a rather beefy list of standard features-as well as the beefiest engine in The business. But all that beef hasn't gone to its head: the controls are light and the truck is easy to drive, an excellent recipe for fatigue-free driving. Combine this with a high average speed and reasonably good fuel consumption (despite, or perhaps because of, Euro-2) and you have a truck that can deliver a lot of work.
We've got a few niggles, of course: it's not a cheap truck, it's certainly not a light truck, and then there's the lousy positioning of the exhaust brake. And some stick-in-the-muds won't like the idea of disc brakes, though we were converted in the end.
But perhaps this is the shape of thi come, a big, relaxed truck with more than you'll ever need, but which mu nasty, arduous job that bit more bearab So you don't have to downshift with I MAN-in fact, you hardly have to shi: thing at all. Except the muck!
CI by Toby Clark