QUALI
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Al' A PRICE
• When a haulier goes out to buy a commercial vehicle, whether new or secondhand, he will be looking for the right image, proven reliability, low operating costs and acceptable driver comfort.
Scanias certainly have an image oozing with quality; we talked to three operators to find out if that reputation is justified.
In 1991 the company took a 14.3% share of the 15-38-tonne sector. This year it has broken new ground with more fleet business, and owner-driver acquisitions are rising again. Scania has refused to cut its prices to an unprofitable level just to maintain turnover, but there are still deals to be done. The UK has become one of Scania's largest single markets but it does not have a plant here. As well as Sweden it sources trucks in the Netherlands, which it sees as more central to the European marketplace.
In 1967 Scania became one of the first importers to make a serious attack on the UK market. The current style of 17-tonne cab dates back to 1981 when the P82 arrived with five wheelbases from 3.8m to 5.8m. The 7.8litre DS8 engine from the earlier 16.26-tonne LB81 chassis was retained until 1987 when it was superseded by the 8.5-litre DS9 in-line •
While Commercial Motor tests more vehicles in a year than other truck magazines we seem to have neglected Scania at 17 tonnes. We ran a short (3.8m) wheelbase P93230 through its paces in November 1989: anything earlier was at the lower maximum weight of 16.26 tonnes. With skip loader equipment, but excluding the 4.6m3 opentopped skip, the P93 weighed in at 8.06 tonnes but cubed out at 16.16 tonnes gross. Its 8.5-litre turbocharged engine's high power and torque rating of 162kw (21 7hp) and 830Nm (612lbft) went some way towards offsetting the limitations of a five-speed transmission. But to avoid dropping below maximum torque between gears the engine had to be taken to full power at 2,200 in the three lower ratios. Fortunately the top two gears pulled down to about 40km/h so once up to speed not many gear changes were needed. At first glance the overall fuel consumption figures of 23.9lit/100km (11.8mpg) did not look too bad, but despite a low level body and reduced Payload it used between 5% and 9% more fuel than two of its major competitors. Daycabbed 1 7-tonners are becoming the exception rather than the rule: vehicles intended for local operation have no need of anything larger With the exception of the bunk the P93 day cab shares all the good and bad points of the sleeper Access is easy through the wide opening door Its curved fascia with an array of back-lit instruments cannot fail to impress and an electrically heated and air-suspended driving seat is
the ultimate in comfort.
The high engine cowl together with the position of the gear lever and steering wheel makes cross-cab , movement a hard task. Heavily ribbed = mats under foot hold the debris and are easily removed for cleaning Large mirrors add to the good overall visibility; steering and foot controls are light. The stubby gear lever has a short movement but a slightly off-line gate initially hindered smooth \ gear changes.
By current standards 600 of cab tilt is
\ less than excessive but normal daily servicing needs can be satisfied by raising the front grille.