Stralis Sets Standards
Ferrari’s cars may feature their famous prancing horse logo, but after road testing another Italian model from the same group stable on our Scottish route, John Henderson reckons the Iveco Stralis tractor unit should have a dark horse emblazoned on each side of the cab! WE HAD a fair wait to test the Iveco Stralis AT440S45T/P, Euro 4 tractor unit, as the gale force winds and driving rain of this winter continued relentlessly for what seemed like an eternity. However the first day of February dawned with yours truly finally settling into the driving seat of the bright green coloured Italian cab. The dashboard display registered an almost balmy outside temperature of 12°C which, coupled to bright sunlight and a gentle breeze, all made for perfect driving conditions. Ongoing and impending major road works at the east side of Edinburgh have dictated a slight change to our evaluation route and we’ve added an A road loop in central Fife with a stop at The Forth Bridge lorry park on the second section of the run. The final ‘sting in the tail’ section along the A702 to Abington is basically unchanged, apart from the approach to this demanding trunk road which is now accessed down the west side of the capital using the A8000, M8 and city bypass respectively. The Stralis 4x2 tractor unit with its loaded, streamlined triaxle box trailer, all tipped the scales at 39,740kg precisely and the 10.3 litre Cursor engine seemed as keen as me to be off at a pace as we joined the M74 northbound at junction 13 down ramp. Experiencing one of the clearest runs noted for a good while, right up to the M73 slip at Uddingston, the Stralis and I settled into calm but progressive pace, with the truck spending almost all of the time in top gear. My initial concerns about my right foot perhaps being a tad too heavy after the aforementioned lay off, were soon put to rest as the test progressed. The six cylinder power plant delivers its maximum 2,100Nm of torque, right through the green band of 1,050 to 1,500 revs and sometimes felt more like a 520 engine rather than the actual 450hp unit installed. With the cruise control set at 85km/h the Cursor works away contentedly at 1,200rpm and its Holset variable geometry turbocharger smoothly assists with any extra grunt required on slight inclines etc. The Eurotronic AS2330TD 12 speed gearbox can if desired, be operated manually from a stalk on the right hand side of the steering column, which also incorporates the aforementioned cruise control switches. However I decided to leave the motor in full auto shift during the test, which was the right choice, as the speed and smoothness of the gear changes of this intelligent system are quite remarkable. The well matched transmission line-up is completed with a Meritor MS 13-175 single reduction axle ratio’d at 2.85:1, putting the traction down onto the tarmac. Road works on the A9 at Balhaldie reduced us to 30mph on a single carriageway, but despite this the Stralis still equalled the journey time, to the minute, of the Renault Premium 460, which we tested in our January issue. As well as being free revving on the flat, this power plant, which offers an extra 20hp over its Euro 3 variant, relishes the hills too. Our first timed climb on Cairnie Brae saw the gearbox drop down to ninth just before the summit, but we still set a time of just 1 second shy of the 510hp, DAF XF 105! The Iveco well and truly threw down the gauntlet on the next incline; Balmanno on the M90, setting a record 4mins 23 seconds duration at an eyebrow raising 42mph! With the first stop at Kinross services now on the horizon, I was having increasing concerns about my fuel consumption figures after such a dazzling performance, but true to form the Stralis had another ace up its sleeve, delivering a respectable average of 9.02mpg for this brisk initial sector. After a well deserved break I climbed back into the cab with my companion Paul Walker from Iveco, who was spending the day in the passenger seat for a change. My first impressions of the bright red designer roof trim, seat and bunk upholstery were that it was all ‘a bit loud,’ but as the day progressed, I came to appreciate this cheery colour scheme, as it certainly makes a welcome change from acres of dull grey plastic. The interior switches and fitments are chunky and easy to use and the fixture of these is top notch with not a squeak detected inside throughout the day. In addition to having Ferrari type performance, the Stralis’ Isringhausen driver’s seat looks like its come straight off the Maranello production line too and in my opinion it’s one of the best I’ve ever sat in! With sporty shoulder supports, an integral seat belt and head rest, plus all the usual height, weight and rake adjustments etc, the unit is supremely comfortable. It’s just as well they don’t do an office version of this seat on castors, as I would be reluctant to ever leave my desk again! Back in the cab, the Eurotronic drive/reverse switches are well located on the top right corner of the centre dash panel, just next to the parking brake and the layout of all the other required ancillaries is also logical and easily reached. The optional high roof cab offers a full range of sensibly placed cubby holes and the under bunk storage and cool box is well designed. A second, upper bunk can also be specified as an option. Onto the A roads of Fife next, Auchtermuchty’s narrow streets required precision steering and positioning, before negotiating the first of many roundabouts on the A92 route back to the motorway at Halbeath. I don’t know if it’s just my observations, but manufacturers mirror fitments seem to vary widely today and my personal preference is for the larger glass to be below the smaller wide angled unit, allowing quicker general glances and easier reversing. This, thankfully is the set up that Iveco used on our test truck. With the middle lane required on the approach to many of the kingdom’s circular intersections, blind spots were kept to a minimum with the nearside top mirror adjustment angled down slightly, covering the ‘cab’s shadow’ and giving good view of any road users sneaking up that side. There’s also a good gap between the windscreen ‘A’ frame and the mirror head, allowing that essential angled right vision on entering any junction. We crossed the Forth Bridge with my passenger watching the waters closely, as a pod of killer whales has been spotted there just the day before, but despite keeping our eyes open during the second stop at the south side lorry park we rejoined the A8000 having sadly failed to spot any Orcas. The new M90 southern approach to the bridge looks to be taking shape nicely and we’ll soon hopefully incorporate it into our route, shedding no tears at the demise of the existing A8000 route - which must be Scotland’s most worn out link road. But this time around we enjoyed yet another clear run through the Newbridge corridor to the Edinburgh city bypass, where the serious climbing away from sea level begins and continues relentlessly after the turn onto the Biggar road beside the Hillend ski slope. Once again this flexible engine took it all in its stride and although in cab noise levels are low, there’s just the correct amount of background volume from the Cursor 10 unit to advise you of its current progress. This twisting, undulating A702 trunk route is where we put the truck’s driveability to the real test and the Iveco seemed untroubled by everything that was asked from it. The medium sized steering wheel always offered precise positioning and the pendulum brake pedal offers predictable stopping power and unit travel. With a reasonable local knowledge of this road and its corners, I kept the truck moving briskly through the curves as conditions permitted and even taking into account the ballasted load’s low centre of gravity, I found the 3,800mm wheelbase tractor’s handling to be reliable and trust installing. Running this section with the cruise control off allows you to really get ‘the seat of the pants’ measure of the vehicle’s complete set up and examine a range of its road behaviours in a variety of circumstances. The Stralis passed each observed criteria with flying colours. This year sees the launch of a new and further improved Stralis range, and we look forward to appraising these models as soon as possible after their introduction at the CV Show in Birmingham. On returning to Abington we brimmed the diesel tank again to double check the flow meter measured consumption and added just five litres of AdBlue to fill the neighbouring tank, slightly outperforming the manufacturers own brochure consumption estimate by 11 kilometres - the last in the line of pleasant surprises from a really enlightening day! I used the phrase ‘dark horse’ quite deliberately at the introduction to this test, as the Stralis range has, in the past been strangely overlooked by a number of operators. Thankfully the last two years or so has seen this world class truck range establish itself quietly and faultlessly across a large number of fleets, including several highly regarded transport names in my locale of the Lothians & Borders and Northumberland regions. Our test results really do speak for themselves and confirm what these hauliers have enthused to me; that running Iveco products offers many dependable benefits. If you’re looking for a competitive purchase price, good fuel economy, and a hard working, reliable, comfortable truck, this standard-setting Stralis should be on the shopping list.