KEVIN SWALLOW
Page 38
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IVECO STRALIS AT450
Engine: Cursor 10, 444hp, 2,100N E 3etective catalytic reduction, overhead camshaft, charge-cooled turbo-diesel Transmission: Automated ZF Eurotronic 12-speed direct top GVW: 44,000kg Body/paytoad: 28,705kg Tested: 27 August A lack of test vehicles means the only used truck test was thrown in with the three new product tests.
Not exactly a case of comparing oranges with apples, more a case of tangerines with satsumas. The four vehicles were split evenly between functional and desirable.
The lveco 6x2 Stralis Active Time Cursor 10 with high-roof cab targets the volume market and scored well on its specification and fuel economy.
Sceptics prefer bigger engines, but they will be surprised by the amount of grunt and performance the 10.3-litre straight-six can deliver. It returned 8.11mpg, with 4.7% AdBlue use, which equates to £38.99/100km, or 63p/mile.
Volvo offered a direct comparison in the shopping trolley market with its FM11.430 6x2 tractor with Globetrotter cab. The Globetrotter cab offers an edge over the Italians in terms of panache and has a Renault-built 10.8-litre engine that offers 424hp, which is less than the Cursor 10.
What's more, its fuel returns didn't stack up, delivering 7.89mpg with 5.2% AdBlue consumption, producing an overall running cost of £40.19p/100km, or 65p/mile.
The Swedes will have been happier with the performance of their towering FH16.700 Globetrotter, complete with tag axle. We had to check, but we can confirm the 691hp behemoth did change gear several times on the two-day test route, although primarily only because of traffic lights and roundabouts.
Once on the open road, it rarely dipped below its required speeds. An impressive 7.81mpg for its overall fuel economy, with 5.7% AdBlue consumption, provides some evidence that frugal returns can be had. Based on these figures, it would cost a haulier £40.60p to travel 100km, which is about the same as the 10-8-litre FM11.430.
The odd-one-out was the used test completed by Scania, with the Euro-3 6x2 V8 R500 Topline. Registered in November 2006, it provided the ideal fillip to all three Euro5 contenders, and the test coincided with the 40th anniversary celebrations of the V8.
Around the used test route, the V8 produced 7.76mpg, of which 10.25mpg was returned on the motorway. Perhaps the most important factor is its residual value, the truck is bucking the recessionary trend and holding its value, despite the downturn.
When all is said and done, choosing a winner from these four trucks was easy. The lveco eclipsed its 2009 competitors in every department, perhaps with the exception of desirability. It was, after all, up against a FH16 and a Scania V8.
The Italian marque has made huge strides, and put light years between the Stralis and EuroStar it used to peddle.
The real battle, though, was for the position of 'highly commended'. The tipping point was the fact that Volvo's FH16.700 leads the power race and produced a fuel figure that will not bust the bank... sorry, budget.
The contenders: 'veep Stralis 450; Scana R500 (used); Volvo FH16.700; Volvo FM11.430