All Blacks Stralis Raises the Bar
Iveco’s Stralis AS440 Active Space 3 is the latest player to join the scrum of trucks that have ‘tried’ our Scottish test route. Our very own prop forward, John Henderson reports back with some winning results… OK – No more rugby puns I promise, just an honest and fair appraisal of this much anticipated newcomer on our regular tramp of central Scotland’s main roads. Last October saw a veritable traffic jam of trucks queuing to circumnavigate our challenging route and during one particular week I was behind the wheel for three days out of five. There’s nothing wrong with that, however as it gives me a much fresher mind when it comes to direct comparisons, as all of the tests bar one, were run in that month’s similar and settled weather conditions. The Iveco Stralis was bang smack in the middle of these contenders and was the newest vehicle tried with the least amount of miles on the clock. Having just been launched at the CV show six months earlier, I wondered if its fuel consumption would be up to scratch, as all the manufacturers quite rightly like to bed in their respective vehicles and have a decent amount of figures on the odometer before letting us journalists get a hold of them! However I must nod my hat to Iveco who obviously have heaps of faith in their new Stralis and I certainly appreciated getting a full evaluation of a virtually new motor so promptly. The ‘All Black’, Active Space 3 (AS3) cab with its Maori logos provided a good contrast to the clear blue skies of the test morning. The new Euro 5 Stralis 6x2 tractor coupled to its fully loaded trailer, complete with aerodynamic wheel skits looked very much the part in its eye-catching livery. Three well placed steps bring you easily onboard the high roofed cab and the first impressions gained are of plenty of light and space. The combinations of blacks and subtle greys adorning the interior trim are cleverly applied and although I for one liked the cheery colours of its predecessor, it has to be said that this new soft feel finish is possibly more calming. There’s plenty of room to stand up straight on the low centre engine cover and the twin beds are particularly worthy of further comment. The top bunk at 784x1,940mm is undoubtedly one of the biggest and most comfortable upper units I’ve ever seen and despite this, folds flat through 90° against the rear cab wall! A superb touch and other manufacturers please take note, it can be done! The bottom unit can be specified as a single mattress unit as in our steed, or the three piece type which folds up to form an office, café or whatever you need! I tested the previous Stralis model back in February 2007 and raved then about its Ferrari style seats. Thankfully Iveco have kept this brilliant design and enhanced it further with some extra supports and refinements. This particular model had the optional swivelling passenger seat which looks a good bet for the single manned driver who is away for a few nights and wants to stretch out in a comfy armchair with the feet up! I’ll cover the driving controls later, but firstly let’s sum up on the Stralis interior, which also includes plenty of sensible storage (15% more than the previous model) inside and out. This new AS3 cab is undoubtedly one of the best I’ve worked in to date, offering three levels of finish and enough options to tailor it perfectly for a single user or double manned crew. It’s a class leading design which can give any of the other big range topping, long distance cabs on the market a run for their money. Right, so after being dazzled and distracted for much longer than usual by the new ‘Stralis office’ it was ‘round to the Abington diesel pumps for a top up, as we always carry out a physical tank to tank check, to back up the efforts of the good old fuel flow meter. Down to business on the northbound M74 and the first thing that was apparent is just how quiet the Cursor 10 engine seems when working away below. This turbocharged motor is punchy too and its eager performance initially had me wondering if Iveco had sneaked the big brother 480 unit in without saying! I was assured that this was not the case and left to marvel at the effectiveness of the 450 unit’s 2,100nm of torque that peaks at 1,050rpm. With motorways and dual carriageways it’s best under most situations to leave the Eurotronic gearbox in full auto, as the system keeps the revs cleanly within the 1,100-1,500 green zone on the counter. On hillier and A class road sections, I ran with manual (or semi auto as the dash displays) selected, as this six cylinder unit digs in well in the lower part of the aforementioned zone and will often lug away quite happily saving a gear change or two when easier terrain is in sight. The mark of a good power plant is how quickly you gain trust in the unit and after just a handful of miles I was already taking its grunt for granted as we progressed northwards. The rear Meritor MS13-175 axle is well matched to the 12 speed, direct top Eurotronic gearbox and this combination coped easily with any situation encountered throughout the day. Drive, neutral and reverse switches are closely located on the centre angled dash panel and the full auto changes were quick and smooth, keeping momentum at its best particularly on the up slopes. Semi auto operation is selected by pressing the large button on the end of the right hand steering stalk and an easy to see dash warning light confirms its engagement. As per the industry standard today, pulling the stalk towards the wheel moves up one cog with a push away dropping a ratio. Holding this control for longer will initiate a two gear shift and the general operation of this control is excellent, as I never missed a gear all day! TOP MARKS The first sector was generally traffic free, but this was countered by three different sets of speed limited road works and a slow tractor baulked our timed hill climb on Cairnie Brae. Top marks to the Stralis though as it still recorded a bang on schedule 2 hours 3 minutes journey time, backed up with a diesel consumption average of 8.32mpg. At the lunchtime break I began to sense that with further favourable traffic conditions, I may just be able to possibly rewrite some of our best achieved fuel figures with this mighty impressive product, so I set off a determined man on the middle, Kingdom circuit. The A91 between the M90 and the Collessie roundabout is narrow in places and provides an excellent steering and positioning exercise. Visibility from the ever comfy seat was great and at first glance I had concerns about the small guide wires for the front windscreen blind, which run vertically adjacent to the A pillar. Strange as it may seem though with experience, these actually help your lane positioning as sub consciously your eyes and brain set up the observation and width point of reference parameters more easily for the conditions encountered along the way. Side vision is good too, with the sizable rear view mirrors creating a minimum of blind spots. A rear facing micro camera, mounted just in front of the passenger side steps gave a usable perspective in close, slow moving traffic and its colour monitor was fitted in the overhead storage rack in the 10 o’clock sight range. With the sun shining and no reportable wind speeds we cruised on effortlessly along the A92/M90 to the next stop at South Queensferry and as per my suspicions, set a new section test record of 8.89mpg, the most frugal yet of any articulated truck on the Fife sortie. THE MAGIC ‘SEVEN’ I’m not sure if my last sector around and alongside the Pentland Hills is popular amongst the manufacturers, but it is indeed a cracking bit of road to traverse. The A702 should never be taken for granted, but the more I drive it the more detail I see in it and my speed limited journey times and all important diesel figures are slowly creeping up in the right direction. Maybe one day I’ll crack the magical 7mpg figure for this road, which will hopefully result in less concerned looks from the passenger seats! Saying that though, my Iveco minder for the day Paul Taylor was quite happy to admire the rural views as I put the Strails to some proper hard work on the final return leg. The tightest corners on the entire route are in the ten miles after the Fairmilehead junction and the big Iveco handled well through the curves, with its second steer axle enhancing its crisp, trust installing driving experience. Digressing briefly, the fixed second axle trucks sometimes display a slight understeer and require caution on wet, cambered surfaces. Although slightly heavier, in my opinion, the extra hydraulic units or steering linkages seem the much better option when it comes to road holding. Last but not least in the turning mechanisms, the steering wheel itself is perfectly sized and shaped to allow maximum vision of the dashboard and its surrounding groups of controls. I’d used the standard fitment engine brake often to shave off any excess momentum during the day and this combined with the odd jab on the brake pedal kept it all safe and sound. The villages encountered on this last part-route all have downhill approaches and 20mph school time limits, so the slow pedal was well used in a more regularly, deliberate fashion. The electronically controlled units worked well, albeit with a slightly longer pedal travel than I’m used to, but nevertheless the all-round 436mm ventilated discs, which also boast ABS and EBL (electronic brake limitation,) really do install confidence in the driver. SMOOTH Turning my attentions to the suspension, this was another department that had worked away trouble-free, with no sudden lurches, bumps or knocks encountered all day. The tractor’s front parabolic leaf springs and rear pneumatic ECAS (electronically controlled air suspension) units are assisted by the usual anti roll bar and shock absorber fixings and are well up to 44 tonne operation on the UK’s variable quality road surfaces. As is the norm with Iveco products, a detailed look over the chassis frames and their various fitments says a lot in terms of quality and design with the 455 litre aluminium fuel tank being mounted on the offside and the heated 50 litre AdBlue reservoir, catwalk steps and silencer neatly fixed on the kerb side. For regular servicing and maintenance the big cab tilts courtesy of an electrical/hydraulic pump to 60°. With the new M9 link now open, albeit with lane restrictions and a 30mph limit, the Stralis 440 AS3 pulled the cat out of the bag again on the last run recording another best sector fuel consumption figure, beating by 0.05mpg the record set by its 40 ton Euro 4 wee brother back in our April 2007 issue. Talk about a good day’s work! Topping up the urea tank revealed the Iveco had used 1.05 gallons of the blue stuff working out at an also less than expected 4.2% of diesel used. GREAT EXPECTATIONS All things considered I was indeed wowed by this truck and its straight out of the box performance. I had built up great expectations for this test and literally ran the finest of toothcombs over the vehicle as I had to see for myself if it lived up to the positive things I’ve read and heard about it recently. It duly delivered on the day with superb journey times and fuel consumption numbers, from a cab that is world class in terms of design and practicalities. What more could you ask for? The previous model Stralis took perhaps longer than anticipated to break into the fleets, but once there proved itself time and again as the dark horse delivering superb service, reliability and driver acceptance. This new Euro 5 model with its long list of improvements inside and out, moves the Iveco benchmark much further forward and on a good number of fronts, raises the bar for its competitors with standards they’ll now have to at least equal. It all adds up to a premier league performance!