MAN 18.343 This is a proper fleet cab: a lowroof
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single-bunk job with few bells and whistles and low-key trim. But it scored well with our resident sleeper and with Rover's expert, displaying sensible features and good build quality. Ride quality fell down a little (with the caveat that this was a new vehicle) but few could fault the MAN's competent, if conservative, design.
Sleeper's comments The MAN cab is one that vertically unchallenged drivers may want to forget if they feel that the small things in life—such as sleep—need to be taken seriously.
Luckily for our tester, thoughts of winning Olympic high-jump gold dissolved years back so a good night's sleep on a comfortable mat tress was achieved. However, our tester's delight was tempered by the realisation that the larger driver might find the bunk and access to it too cramped, and the mattress too short and too narrow.
The switches for the lights by the side of the bed were convenient but surely there's enough space there to have similar switches to control heating and central locking?
The radio controls can be reached without leaving the comfort of your bed, but only with a good stretch. Again, why not install a small radio by the side of the bed? Statistics prove that a Ralph McTell song is played somewhere in the world every three minutes on radio. At times like these vital seconds can save lives!
The heater was very efficient and quickly warmed the cab up on a cool Midlands evening within 15 to 20 minutes, but it is noisy.
The curtains go across the bunk and front windscreen but, annoyingly, not the whole of the cab. A plus is that they are extreme ly lightproof. The storage box for the windscreen curtains is also a nice touch.
• David Craik Expert's comments: What a difference! The main impression is that MAN is a close neighbour of BMW's— which it is. Even the ashtrays are damped— how Munich is that? The dash is much more "of a piece" than some others, though the light-grey trim is unusual. Fixings are well concealed and there are fewer of them.
Heater controls are easy to use and logical; there are six vents on the dashboard and integrated demist vents in the doors. There's a door bin only on the passenger side, probably because of the narrow footwell and the manual window winder.
Fabric covers a large area of the doors, which helps with "feel" but the fabric is a little "flat" in design terms and does not do much to lift the interior. Floor coverings are also a touch uninspired, but the fabric on the mattress seems well fitted and neatly trimmed.
The seat looks likely to give good support, but the cushions are trimmed poorly, and were beginning to "bag" after only 393km. It looks like the design makes it inherently difficult to avoid bagginess.
Ride comments The MAN performed slightly worse over rough concrete than the ERF, and its longitudinal backrest figures (BX) were the worst of the group in both tests. It's possible that the suspension needs to be run-in (there was less than 400km on the clock) to improve the "stiction" (static/low speed friction) that is characteristic of moving parts.