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• We expected the Truck of the Year 2001 to offer a peaceful night's sleep dreaming of huge wages, empty motorways and green traffic lights. Had the night heater kicked in as it should we are sure paradise would have been found. But, despite much coaxing and swearing, the night heater would not work for more than five minutes before switching itself off and the temperature never rose above 8°C during the night. There was no manual in the glove compartment to check it out and it was too late to call anyone out.
Despite this minor hiccup we did get our good night's sleep. The bunk is a centimetre shy of two metres long and 11cm thick, giving the driver plenty of comfort. Once bedded down for the night there's a good array of lights for reading, playing the Gameboy or checking your driver's hours tally.
The LX cab, only slightly over-specified, has a slightly raised floor of 26cm that make the 1.93m standing room slightly awkward. Despite this, moving a 16-stone frame around and across cab is fairly easy.
The trim is aesthetically pleasing and does not dominate the cab environment but this could depend on how you feel about fake wood.
The bottom bunk is easy to lift up but there is no dedicated storage area
beneath it; just access to the outside locker, a first aid kit and a lantern. Still there's room for a soft bag, or your dirty washing.
The curtains seem to be slightly translucent and we do wonder what impression the red light will give to your truckstop neighbours.
If you've just bought a McCoffee you'll be pleased to hear that the cup holders are impressive but have a tendency to hold onto spills; they're really awkward to clean out. If you take your own milk, tea bags and other perishables when working away you'll find that the pull-out fridge under the bunk gives more than enough room to store
the basics. One drawback is the t decoy to knock the lid with your I, when getting out of the bottom bunk.