Power to the pedal!
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• The Atego 815 impresses. It impressed us when we first roadtested it as a new vehicle (CM 17-30 Dec 1998) and it impressed the operators we spoke to earlier this year who live and work with it (CM 25-31 Jan). CM's roadtest concluded that it was "about as easy to drive as a 7.5-tonner gets". So where does that leave the more powerful 817?
We got our chance to find out recently when MercedesBenz operator Mobile Promotions of Thrapston, near Kettering, Lent us an Atego 817 4x2 for a run round a 150km route that took in motorways, A-roads, rural roads and a jaunt through Peterborough's city centre.
Like the 815, the 817 is fitted with Merc's own 0M904LA 4.25litre, four-pot DI Euro-2 turbodiesel; in this application it is rated at 170hp (125kW) at 2,300rpm with peak torque of 660Nm (487Ibft) on tap at 1,2001,50Orpm. Optimum fuel economy is promised from 1,2001,80Orpm. There was certainly more than enough power for our lightly laden box body, whether zipping up and down hills on rural roads or accelerating smoothly in top gear on the motorway
One of the biggest differences to the 815 is the replacement of the ZF five-speed gearbox with Merc's own six-speed 060-6 box. We'd been disap
pointed with the very short first gear on the 815 and, the 817's first gear is even shorter (see table). The good news is that you can start easily enough from second and reach 23km/h before changing up—mach better than the 16km/h achievable in the 815's first gear.
Overall, we prefer Merc's inhouse transmission. The gearstick position suited us and changes were smooth and easy; the only minor irritant was an occasional gearstick buzz. In town we got by on second and fourth, dropping into sixth when we left the congestion behind— from just 37km/h it lugged down and took us to the motorway limit without too much complaint.
Handling is equally impressive—the steering felt precise and easy and the chassis felt stable at all times. The suspension was a bit too firm for our liking, but you'd probably feel a lot less of the road surface with a bit more weight on board. And the brakes (discs all round) felt The extra power of the 170hp engine and convenience of the six-speed box made driving the Atego 817 a pleasure. We would have appreciated an exhaust brake and cruise control—perhaps even a little more onboard intelligence of the kind now offered in Oaf's latest LF.
But if you can live without these luxuries (and unless you're going to drive it yourself, we suspect you can), the Atego 817 is a class-leading performer.
• See next week's issue for a Used Truck Test on the Atego 815.