Pompey's midibuses
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The buses are powered by Leyland 402 engines coupled to a fully automatic Allison AT545 four-speed gearbox. Wadham Stringer Vanguard bodies are fitted to the 8.4 metre (27ft 6in) long buses. Two of the vehicles are fitted with 35 bus seats and one 33 high back coach seats. The buses have luggage boot and tachographs fitted to allow their use on private hire as well as stage carriage operations.
The Portsmouth buses are fitted with leaf spring suspension, though the chassis is available with air suspension as an option. The mid-engined Lancet is available with a number of engine and gearbox options and is equally suitable for midi or full size single-deck bus or coach application.
A brief test drive of the Portsmouth vehicle showed the partially laden midi bus to be easy to drive and impressively lively. The partially laden bus seemed a little bumpy at the rear, but Hestair Dennis are confident that this will be improved by the fitting of softer rear springs, Large S-cam brakes and power steering give the midibus a "big vehicle" feel that should make the Portsmouth machines popular.