IVII-BENZ 2543LS
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IPRICE AS TESTED: £61,077 (ex-VAT)* ENGINE: 11.95 litres, 422hp (315kW). GVW: itt000kg. PAYLOAD: 25,600kg. FUEL CONSUMPTION: 7.53mpg (37.511000km) *Includes £54.530 for basic 25431S 6x2; sliding fifth wheel. £1,129; alloy wheels, £1.882; air suspension passenger's seat, £376; air conditioning, £1,129; roof and side air deflectors, 11,195; upper hunk, £440; electric cab tilt, 1396 (see text).
Mercedes' Actros range hardly proved an instant hit with UK hauliers when it was first introduced. Potential buyers mistrusted its electronic systems and anticipated poor fuel economy—although CM's test of the original Euro-2 Actros 1835 in December 1997 produced fine results. Now M-B has refined the
Actros, it should be a capable, modern tractive unit. We took a wellspecced Euro-3 model for a run round Scotland at 41 tonnes—and were pleasantly surprised.
PRODUCT PROFILE
Mercedes splits its Actros tractor range into four distinct cab models: Distribution, Fleet, Long Distance and Executive. These have, respectively, a day cab, a standard sleeper, a high-roof sleeper and the massive MegaSpace cab (at an equally massive £5,670 more than an equivalent Long Distance model, albeit with quite a few extra features). The Long Distance model is available in two or threeaxle versions, with the 12-litre V6 0M5orLA engine rated at a nominal 350, 400 or 4.3ohp, or the r6-litre V8 OM 5o2LA rated at 480 or 53ohp—the most powerful 57ohp V8 engine is limited to the 4x2 Executive model.
The Actros we tested was a mid-lift 6x2 chassis fitted with the 43ohp (actually 422hp) V6 in Euro-3 form, and the standard r6-speed synchromesh gearbox with Telligent preselector gearshift. The fully-automatic Autotrans gearshift is a £1,686 option on but Executive models, but if you're Ludc enough to want a perfectly conventional a regular gear lever (with an hydraulic mec nism) is a no-cost option. The direct-dr gearbox is matched to a tall 2.93:1 fi drive—and this time it's a single-reduct: axle rather than the less efficient hub-red tion unit fitted to the earliest Actroses.
Another innovation when the Actros launched was its braking system: disc bra] all round, with Telligent (again) elect° control to optimise brake force distributi, set trailer braking levels and minimise brt wear. The Telligent system is a delete opti on Distribution and Fleet versions (savi £668), but can't be deleted from Lc Distance or MegaSpace models.
Our test vehicle had a few other optic including a second bunk and air conditioni but the most unusual feature was Mei Electric Cab Tilt system: an electrohydrat pump weighing around 5kg that replaces manual pump. The pump is controlled by t switches: first you have to "arm" it with a ci trol set on the dashboard, then a lever bes the pump itself controls the raising and lov, ing of the cab. We timed the operation at seconds to raise the cab, 51 seconds to lowei But all this is academic at the moment as I £396 option has been "withdrawn for tech cal reasons" according to Mercedes-Be: with no satisfactory explanation.
PRODUCTIVITY
As one of the first mainstream Euro-3 tract units to go through our hands, we were ea' to see just what the Actros could do. The he. line figures aren't amazing, but it did pre well in terms of fuel consumption, stayi within a couple of percent of the best of ,,als overall, and matching them on the ughest sections. Productivity was better an for the earlier (smaller-cabbed) Actros .35 too, the drop in fuel consumption being ore than made up by better average speeds id, of course, the increased payload from ierating at 41 tonnes. The conclusion here is to be that Euro-3 need not cost as much as 'me operators have feared.
Payload has always been a thorny issue with e Actros, and the 2543 Long Distance eighed a couple of hundred kilograms more an the competition. But this is a red herring almost 200kg is due to a larger fuel load cause the Actros comes with twin tanks as andard, which total a whopping 780 litres. nd full marks to Mercedes for being scrupuusly honest: the tractor hit the weighbridge precisely the weight stated on its spec sheet. Take a look at the "How It Measures Up" Ian on page 29, starting at the bottom: see wthing interesting? That's right, the price— .e Merc's list price is dramatically lower than Luch of the competition. Even with all the tions the price looks good. Although the list Tice is worth little to a canny buyer, it shows early that Mercedes is not expecting a preLium for its name. The news gets better hen you look at some of the other costs: the arranty now covers a full three years and o,000k.m, while the contract maintenance )st is far and away the lowest of the bunch. Mercedes' spares and servicing costs are also lower than four years ago. Intriguingly, our 1997 test of the Actros 1835 mentioned that a set of brake pads would cost you f465, which Mercedes justified because they had a longer
life than drum brake shoes. Now there is no need for excuses: a full set of pads costs just £195—and that's for three axles, of course.
ON THE ROAD
Unfortunately the Telligent gearshift tends to dominates first impressions of the Actros. The "paddle-and-flipper" control takes some getting used to, and we just could not resist looking at the gear indicator before and after every shift, until the third day of the test and the tough A68 section of the route, that is.
Here you simply cannot afford to take your eyes off the road, so you have to trust the system to engage the right gear—and it does, pretty much every time. Coming into a roundabout, for instance, you just slow down to the speed you want to keep round the bend, then pull the lever back. Dip the clutch (this is a three-pedal system, unlike some) and drive on—the system will have almost certainly picked the coned gear. Gain a little speed, give it a push forward, flip the paddle down and you're ready to change up a gear and a half.
The shift inspires confidence, but is not lightning-quick, so some anticipation is needed on the steepest hills, and the Actros' standing-start acceleration times were a few seconds worse than the less powerful ERF tested a couple of weeks ago. However, look at the hill-climb times and the situation is reversed, indicating that in the real world the Actros has performance to spare.
Once you've got past the gear system you can appreciate the engine, and this unitinjected Euro-3 is remarkably flexible. It is happy to rev to the 2,500rpm red line, and also to lug down to the bottom of the green band at 800rpm in a way that suggests the Merc has more than six cylinders. In fact, Mercedes is confident enough to state that the engine pulls from 7 oorpm in the truck's Driver's Guide, The 90 degree V formation gives the engine quite a different character from the normal run of in-line sixes, and it should appeal to individualist owner-drivers. The torque curve is not quite as ruler-flat as some rivals, dropping off a little above the torque peak at i,o8orpm, but this is good as it
gives the impression there is something in reserve (more than 1,6 ooNm of torque is available all the way to the r,800rpm peak).
The Actros has a uniquely sophisticated rev counter with a moving green band. While the MAN TG-A has a similar system, the Merc's is rather more effective. If it reckons that you are in the wrong gear, it flashes green LED lights in the appropriate section of the revcounter, covering a span of 2-30orpm or so; this is meant to encourage you to change to the appropriate gear. And it works, although it can be a bit irritating when you see a change of gradient coming up and you want to stay in gear Mercedes' cruise control also works well, remaining engaged even when you change gear and if you give it a bit of extra throttle on the approach to a hill.
If the engine is impressive, the Telligent brakes are something else—there is simply no delay in their operation, and until you get used to them the initial action feels like an onoff switch. The immediacy is startling, and a careless driver could find himself in close contact with the windscreen (like our tester almost did during the track tests). Though we didn't want to risk a shifting load on the track, the brakes worked exceptionally well on the road, being powerful and free from fade.
The constant-throttle exhaust brake works well as long as you keep it above about 1,900rpm, which is no hardship with the smooth engine. Incidentally, Mercedes makes both Voith hydraulic and Telma electric retarders available on qy2 models, but no retarder option is offered for the 6x2.
In all other respects the big Merc handles well, steering precisely without the benefit of a second steer axle. Ride quality was excellent over the toughest bits of the A68, with minimal roll and very well-controlled pitch (foreand-aft movement), which is often a weak point of large cabs such as this.
CAB COMFORT
Mercedes has certainly listened to its customers in one important respect: the Actros's upholstery no longer looks like an accident at a day-gin paint factory. Apart from this welcome relief, the cab is much the same as before. The Long Distance model lacks the completely flat floor of the Megaspace, but this isn't a problem, as the engine cover is still nice and low, and neither of the footwells feels cramped. The seats are a couple of Mr Isringhausen's finest, with electric everything—even fore-and-aft adjustment. In this case, the passenger also benefits from the optional air-suspension seat.
In general, cab stowage is good, though a drinks-bottle holder in each door would be useful. Of course, the heavy smoker is well catered for, with a couple of outsized pop-out ashtrays on either side of the pop-out radio/cassette—just be careful where you stub out your cigarette!
A rather clever touch is t power socket that's built into moulding above each side wi clow. One of these has a flexib necked reading light plugged in it, so you can swap it from one si to the other. There are goc deeply-lipped shelves above windscreen, plus a half-wid locker, and there's another det cated 12V socket on the passe ger's side of the dashboard. I mouldings are all good quali though they still lack that e3 hint of solidity you'll find in Scania's cab.
The (optional) upper bunk h an intricate but robust-bolting g strut mechanism for easy stowa once folded, and the cab feels hg and airy. Both bunks pull out f extra width, but many drivers vk, favour the upper one as the low one is made up of three cushior although they are pretty suppo ive. Merc has fitted its ust plethora of straps and meshes catch a careless sleeper, but ti elastic cord for hanging your to from the upper bunk is a nice touch.
Mercedes has opted for sunblinds acro the windscreen, which are easy to pull dov and retract. The side blind flips down a] slides forward and back. The curtains a comprehensive but rather thin—no ERF-st) cinema curtains here.
The DIN-style tachograph, made by TVI, mounted above the windscreen and perforn a little diagnostic "light show" and a grindii of gears before it releases your disc—then tl front drops down with a sickening lurch.
SUMMARY
Mercedes is to be congratulated on makinE silk purse out of—well, what was actually n too bad a truck in the beginning. The Loi Distance Actros may still not shout out fle appeal, but it represents a logical buy at a ve attractive price. Get over the guff] gearchange—whatever they say, it's not ti easiest shift to master and you'll rewarded with a refined, comfortable, effo. free drive. And there's the excellent warran and low maintenance costs to keep you goin Fuel consumption is not remarkable, but sets a significant benchmark for mainstrea Euro-3 trucks, while performance is mu than adequate. Importantly, the weight/pt formance compromise is well struck in tl 2543—go for Merc's more powerful V8 ar you'll sacrifice around 28okg of payload.
So the Actros turns out to be a real co tender in this highly competitive light-heaN weight class, making the choice even mu difficult than before. And to stretch the boxii analogy further—it seems you can nev count Mercedes out.
• by Toby Clark