MERCEDES-BENZ
Page 23
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• ith only a few weeks to go to the test date, it became apparent that Mercedes would not be able to provide a contender. Undeterred, the resourceful test organiser, Frank Zeitzen, pulled a few strings and sourced an Actros 1848 IS MegaSpace with delivery mileage from a friendly local leasing company. Normally test vehicles have been well run in—but needs must, and Zeitzen's team managed to put 6,000km on the truck in the week before the test. In order to make the test as fair as passible, the Actros was treated to the best possible lubricants and was thoroughly checked to ensure it was as suitable for testing as it could be in the circumstances.
Although we would concede that the lack of mileage put the Actros at a disadvantage in the economy and performance stakes, it did in fact sneak past the lower-powered MAN on performance, although fuel consumption was more in keeping with our lowered expectations.
More disappointing was the bottom line in the cab section. The Actros is undoubtedly a fine contender in the market for fleetorientated vehicles, but as a continent-crunching home-fromhome its abilities were displayed in a less than flattering light in this company. In particular, the amount and efficiency of stowage space compares badly with the newer, more angular MAN.
It's not all bad news, however, as the Actros excels in some vital areas. The braking system is impressive—it gains maximum points for specification and tops the score for perfor mance. The powerful and controllable multi-stage engine brake also won friends. The cruise control failed the intuition test, forcing recourse to the handbook, but once understood it worked well enough.
Another touch we liked was the permanent relationship between the seat and the gear quadrant, which move together in perfect harmony. The operation of this control for the Telligent pre-selector transmission was not so good, though. The controls for whole and split changes work in opposing directions, and if the box has the merest suspicion of a rushed change it refuses to play, merely rattling its relays in an Irritated (and irritating) tantrum. Still on the downside, the front suspension was rather firm, giving a lively ride too often; and an atypical and, we hope, easily corrected wind noise from the top front corner of the cab blotted the Merc's copybook still further.
The Actros' party piece was Lane Assistance, which is already available in Germany and the UK at a cost of about 21,000. Simple in operation, Lane Assistance uses windscreenmounted video camera to monitor the position of the white lines on either side of your traffic lane. If you gently cross either line, the system over-rides the radio to produce a noise like driving over a rumble strip loudly enough to stir you from your slumbers. Only gradual drifting over the line triggers the system: more deliberate movements are ignored, as are those made when the indicators are operating. As tested, the system Is provided with an over-ride switch, which seems to defeat the object.
Like all the best ideas, Lame Assist is simple and does just what it claims to. Who would bet against it becoming compulsory in a few years once the men in Brussels cotton on