OTHER CONTENDERS Foden 4500 MAN 17.502 Mercedes-Benz 1850
Page 32
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
There aren't many drivers who would turn down the chance to drive a toppower truck—mention 500hp within ear-shot of the CM technical desk and the air is filled with the sound of diaries being cleared. Yep, they're fun to drive, but do they make good business sense? Shelling out .C80,000-plus of the bank's money is no guarantee that the phone will ring more often. And there's higher running costs. We've always argued that, at 38-tonnes, more than 400hp is hard to justify on cost alone_ There are exceptions of course. lain Munro hauls limestone on the West Coast of Scotland over hilly A-roads. He has no doubt that his Foden 4500 6x4, fitted with Cummins' 373kW (500hp) C,elect engine is more cost effective than its lower powered predecessors. He runs 50% loaded and does not go near a motorway so the Foden is geared for A-road work. Fully freighted around our Scottish Route it did not give the same results as Munro was used to.
Our other two "500hp" trucks from 1993 also impressed us. Both opt for larger capacity engines than Cummins, but produce slightly less power. The MAN 17502 makes up for this with enough torque to pull a house down from its 18.3-litre vee-10 engine. It had all the virtues we've come to expect from MAN: good ride and handling; good fuel consumption; comfort; and low noise levels. It was our first test of the "Roadhaus" high-roof cab. A driver couldn't ask for much more.
Mercedes' 1850 does not give drivers much to complain about either. Gears can be taken two at a time under most circumstances. Mercedes open-throttle exhaust brake maintained speed and control downhill. We caught a glimpse of future Mercedes cabs last week, but for now even the full-width G-cab doesn't offer the space of many rivals. Although Mercedes has addressed its weight problem with its lower powered artics, the 1850 is still a bit of a scale-turner.
Although both returned good results for their power output, they could not match the productivity of MAN's 17.422.
Our test vehicle belongs to Sheddick International and is fitted with a low-noise package for continental work. It had a more down-to-earth spec than the 17.502 including a standard-height twin-bunk sleeper cab. It may lack the interior space of the Roadhaus, but we still rate the space inside the FB cab. At 38.01it/100km (7.43mpg) overall the MAN is about average for its power rating, and speeds were not significantly down on the 500hp models. We rest our case. The MAN is a worthy Testers' Choice winner.