• Despite the dramatic changes that have swept the British
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bus operating industry during the past five years the keys to success remain the provision of reliable, accessible and inexpensive local transport.
The need for vehicles which also give operators the best possible value for money is one that has been emphasised since former Transport Secretary Nicholas Ridley deregulated the industry.
As Britain moves deeper into recession the need increases for "belt and braces" people-movers, Many operators are moving to consolidate and rationalise the minibus services they launched in the early eighties by increasing vehicle sizes to allow a one-person-operated bus to carry a more efficient load.
Until the introduction of the Dennis Dart (CM 6-12 September 1990) the choice facing such operators was between the front-engined midi and the full-size double or single-decker. These have more than enough sophistication and capacity, but are too big for easy operation in the high-density housing areas that were opened up by the midis and minis. They also carry a price tag that is hard to justify in the current market conditions.
In a deregulated market it is a truism that demand creates supply. Huddersfield-I* based chassis manufacturer Alternative Chassis Engineering has moved to bridge the gap between the Dart and its larger rivals by introducing a chassis with all the attributes of a heavyweight and the virtues of a lightweight. The Cougar 5 (for 5m wheelbase) was launched at Expo 90 Bus and Coach last autumn and the first example is already in service with former National Bus Cpmpany subsidiary, People's Provincial of Fareham.
We have taken this vehicle over our arduous trans-London test route. The 10.5m Cougar bus is fitted with a Wadham-Stringer Portsdown body and is certified to carry 59 passengers (41 seated/18 standing). Cougar chassis are also being bodied by Willowbrook of Loughborough.
Like the Dennis Dart, the Cougar is 2.35m wide — but there the similarities end. With its 134kW (180hp) rearmounted Perkins Phaser engine, full air suspension and full-size road wheels, the Cougar seems equally capable of standing in for ageing stocks of 10.5m Leyland Nationals or more recent truck-derived midis. Passenger capacity can be expanded to 80.
By mounting the engine low in the chassis, ACE has achieved a smooth saloon floor which slopes gradually up to the rear. The bus has a wide entrance door with a single step of around 20mm to the saloon floor.
The Wadham body is traditional in construction and user friendly in its appointments. Built to People's Provincial's speci fication, our test bus has a large luggage pen next to the entrance with double inward-facing seats opposite and a double inward-facing seat in the nearside forward part of the saloon. The remainder of the 41 seats are all forward facing.
The body frame comprises 25mm square-section steel tubing welded into a multiple ring structure. Full-length truss panels are welded to the inside of the main body structure. Roof and body side panels are aluminium sheets riveted in place; the steel framework is treated to prevent corrosion and electrolyte reaction between the dissimilar metals. The riveted side panels are easy to replace or repair but do give the body a slightly unfinished appearance. GRP panels are used for the front and rear body sections; side windows are mounted in rubber gaskets.
The interior is pleasing and airy, with brightly coloured DIPTAC-specification stanchions throughout the saloon.
• PERFORMANCE
Our roadtest programme includes specific performance tests on a test track in Surrey, acceleration times confirmed the Perkins-engined bus to be lively and well suited to the rigours of urban operation, with the added benefit of a 96km/h (59mph) top speed to give a dual-purpose inter-urban capability.
A major selling point of the chassis is its heavy duty braking equipment. During our emergency brake tests the Cougar stopped quickly and in a straight line. By using larger than normal brakes ACE hopes for greater lining life that will re duce downtime and operating costs.
The charge-cooled Perkins Phaser engine is willing, powerful, quiet and flexible. The bus was easily able to negotiate the 25% (1-in-4) and 33% (1-in-3) test hills. The park brake also held, and we were able to restart on the 33% gradient. Despite being relatively low slung in the chassis, engine accessibility is good.
The fact that the bus is narrower than most 59-passenger vehicles is not apparent from inside the saloon, which is particularly roomy and airy.
On the toad, however, it is a different story, for it makes all the difference in coping with the plague of illegally parked vehicles which invariably clutter up suburban streets.
The smooth acceleration, combined with those powerful, responsive brakes, makes the Cougar equally well suited to city centre traffic.
Its fuel consumption of 31.31it/100km (9.02mpg) during our urban stopping operation and 18.21it/100km (15.5mpg) for the non-stop run is creditable for a 12tonne GVW bus and not far off the lighter, 8.5m Dennis Dart which returned 261it1 100km (10.73mpg) on a similar urban run.
• DRIVING POSITION
Most modern buses are as easy to drive as a large car: the Cougar is no exception.
The driver's seat is mounted high enough to give a commanding view of the road ahead as well as objects close to the front of the bus. The filly glazed two-leaf powered entrance door allows the fullest possible view of the kerb and waiting passengers. The high driving position ensures eye-to-eye contact with boarding passengers, The instruments and controls are well placed and easy to read. The service brake and accelerator pedal are well angled for driver comfort and the gear selection lever and parking brake valve control are correctly placed.
A multi-function control stalk on the steering column takes care of the horn, headlights, indicators and windscreen washiwipe. The instrumentation includes a rev counter, speedometer and gauges for temperature, air pressure, oil pressure and fuel.
Banks of switches operate the interior and exterior lights and heater and demister fans — a crude but effective slide control regulates the heat.
Like virtually all the buses available in the UK the ACE Cougar uses ZF power steering gear, and we found little to criticise in this department. The lock is good and the 500min diameter steering wheel comfortable. The steering is slightly heavier than some of the Cougar's rivals but offers plenty of feel.
Power is transmitted via an Allison MT643 fully automatic four-speed box which has a twin-disc lock up torque converter. This removes the coasting effect experienced with the lighter MT545 which is fitted to vehicles such as the Dart and the Optare Metrorider and gives a significant engine braking effect.
The gearbox ratios used give changes at 22km/h, 39kin/h and 71krn/h (13, 24 and 44mph). The change is smooth with no jerking or clunking.
The transmission is cooled by a Bowman water-to-oil oil cooler. An integral retarder is available but was not fitted to this vehicle.
Perkins' six-litre Phaser engine is not well known in the UK as a bus engine, but judging by this application that is likely to change. A radiator/charge-cooler mounted at the nearside rear is used to cool the engine and intake air; daily oil and water checks are made from the rear of the vehicle, Batteries are fitted in a slideout tray mounted on the nearside.
• PASSENGER COMFORT
Passenger ride is impressive: soft enough for maximum comfort yet with no noticeable pitch or roll even during harsh braking and cornering.
Elderly and disabled passengers will appreciate the fact that there are only two steps to negotiate. Interior noise levels are low, but this particular vehicle does suffer from its fair share of body rattles. Sources included incorrectly adjusted automatic doors, a rattling heater vent and creaking, loosely fitted, laminated ceiling panels. These could have been sorted out with a little more attention to detail at the bodybuilding stage.
The Portsdown body comes with a sensible full-size destination-indicator aperture and the Provincial vehicle also has a traditional destination blind and a triple route number indicator.
SUMMARY
The market tor 10111 single-deckers is one that has been neglected in the recent past, despite the fact that up until the early sixties most single-deckers sold in Britain fitted into this category.
The ACE Cougar, which comes from Britain's smallest independent chassis manufacturer, has re-opened this market niche and has advantages over stretched midibuses and larger, full-width. singledeckers. Its components and design are the result of experience and its drivetrain is well-proven.
With a price tag of 260,000 the ACE Cougar is still close to the 21,000 per passenger maxim that was generally regarded as a rule of thumb in pricing buses some years ago.
However, the gap which the Cougar aims to fill is not being ignored by other manufacturers — a 10m Optare bus mounted on an MAN chassis and a heavier stablemate to the Dennis Dart are both in the pipeline.
In the Cougar they will face tough opposition. lts 2.35m width is a boon, whether operating in city centres, housing estates or narrow lanes.
It has the passenger capacity of a fullsize bus yet offers lively urban performance with enough speed for inter-urban operation. Passenger access is better than many of its rivals, while its braking and handling will be appreciated by drivers and passengers alike.
During our test the Cougar clearly demonstrated its ability to meet the criteria for successful and profitable bus operation in the nineties and beyond.
D by Noel Millier