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 
Professionals have their say: who makes the best home from home?
Page 16
Page 17
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Geoffrey Forknell is an owner-driver ised in Brugge. For the past three years has been working between Belgium id Scandinavia. Formerly an Eddie (tart driver, he has been behind the heel far 14 years. He drives a Scania 10 P124 4x2 tractor and needs a truck at can cope with a -30'C environment. ERDIOT: "I was impressed with the ace on the Stralis and with the two )wer points on the dash and back wall. s good for equipment—ft would go some way to ftting the bill. The paperwork and stuff is done from the driver's seat—with a table it is ideal to get out of the everyday driving space.
'With the Volvo R-I12 initially I thought ooh!'. But once I got in I thought 'oh'. was impressed by the dash and table, but you can't swing a cat in here. The Stralis looks bigger; you'd have to shoehorn things into the Volvo. The dash looks very nice. It has used every bit of space available but is it too much? I expected more space. The Stralis blows the Volvo away or space.
"The seats at the back of the Renault Magnum beat sitting in its driver's seat for comfort. The table is not something you expect to see in a truck. I'm impressed
with the office space and comfort here. Overall the Volvo looks good; Renault doesn't seem to have such a good finish, but it beats the Volvo and !yew for space. I would place the Magnum in front, but only just.For its cab space the Volvo is pitiful."
• Nick Keitley has worked for CPG Logistics in Fareham, Hampshire, for the past five years and drives to Germany on a rotation system pulling a fridge.
VERDICT: "The Renault Magnum has always had plenty of space. I would leave the table out and use the top bunk. I'm quite impressed with the Stralis—it's an improvement on the previous model. The curtain/blind is a bit of a let-down; I would prefer a wrap-around curtain.
There's good access from the driver's seat to central area. The height is a bit deceptive. It doesn't look like a high cab. The Volvo bolt safe is a godsend but there's nowhere to put the telly. The top bunk is a little awkward but I imagine it will be OK when you got used to it.
There's plenty of storage but the Volvo has less room than the Nem although I guess build quality would be better. Personally I would like two seats.
'Overall for room, I would choose the Magnum because of the flat floor and the versatility of its passenger seat, which swivels, but I would be happy with any of them. A bolt safe in the Magnum would swing my decision."
• Hugh Morris, an owner-driver from the South-East, runs fridges into and out of eastern Germany in an MAN 4x2 F2000 18 414. He spends two to three weeks away at a time, VERDICT: 'The Stralis is more spacious than I could possibly have imagined. I drove EuroStars for several years and the difference is amazing. The Volvo would be better with a little more headroom—my forehead is the exact same height as the lockers at the front! The table is smart though and, despite the bunk taking a little working, it is comfortable. I have never liked the look of the Magnum but its internal space is impressive. I could live in here very happily, especially with the swivelling passenger chair. The sliding table is good and the storage is excellent. There are no obstacles to getting from the driver's seat to the seat made from the bottom bunk. The swivel chair is smart but I would probably take that out If it was offered in the UK in RHD I might have a look, but getting LHD doesn't really appeal as I only really spend two out of the four days in Europe."
Conclusions
• The Volvo FH12 Globetrotter excited the drivers but they found that interior space was limited. The Stralis was initially treated with Indifference but once inside they were very impressed with Active Space Cab. The Renault Magi has been around for a while and, aitlu the interior space is excellent, drii still appear to prefer more conventi looking trucks. Overall the Magnum is professionals' favourite with the Sti just edging out the Globetrotter witl extra internal space.