Last weekend I had a 2 week old 54 plate Mercedes Actros 2544 LS 435bhp V6 with clutch operated telligent shift. High roof. mid lift axle.
Although this is by no means a full report, here are a few observations:
There were just under 5,000kms on the clock when I took it over.
Outside:
There are clear lensed headlamps which give a good bright spread of light. I’m fairly sure (there was a mention in the hand book) xenon bulbs are used. I haven’t yet worked out how the beam pattern is created with these clear lenses. On main beam the dipped lamps stay on aswell. On an unlit rural road, although this can be seen as generally putting more light out, I find it distracts from the distance vision.
I found it disappointing that a tool is still required to access any headlight, front sidelight or indicator bulb and I’m aware that some of our drivers run their unit into the Mercedes agents to get a bulb replaced!
The rear work light is mounted at the same level as the connection/stowage of the air lines and susies. This means that when dropping a trailer and looking to stow the lines, you can’t see where to put them as the light is blinding you as the stowage is almost on the same vertical plane as the lamp, if not behind it. Many manufacturers are guilty of this, personally I think it better if the light is mounted lower down near the walkway, this position can give more light for engaging the safety clip.
The steps to climb up onto the walkway are the type with foot holds set into the secondary alloy fuel tank.
I find this type of step useless when getting down………especially as the grab handle is placed rather low and tend to jump down, which should not be necessary and goes against H and S policy.
The air management wing swings forwards for easier access to the walk way when under deep pin trailers.
Starting and Driving:
You cannot just turn the key and start the engine. Firstly you have turn it to the ignition position and then wait for the engine management computer to run through all its checks, the buzzer will sound whilst this happens. Initially, I thought you had to wait until the central dash display had run through all its checks also, but found it was a long wait to restart after talking to weigh bridge operatives etc.
I later found that as soon as the buzzer ceases the engine will start.
The right stalk control which operates the cruise control and 2 stage exhaust brake can be pulled up to increase the idle speed when warming up in a morning.
Engine is quiet and pulls well. Noticeable fewer down changes to negotiate a steep climb on a regular route whilst heavily freighted.
According to the onboard Trip Computer, average fuel consumption appeared to be in the region of 9.25 mpg, though most of my work over the weekend was relatively light and there was more solo running than usual.
Said trip computer has many functions, I didn’t have time to get to grips with them all. Smiled to see it was personalised as some information is displayed under “Driver 1” 
There is no temperature gauge on the dash, but it can be called up (and kept displayed if you desire) on the central display. Also, only one air pressure guage with a warning light to say whether it is displaying tank 1 or tank 2. Under normal running, displaying tank 2. Again, this info can be called up on the central display. As can the hours you have driven since starting work (auto resets if stationary for more than 4 hours), breaks over 15 mins, hours worked from start of shift and much more. All service information is available as well as fuel consumption, tank contents, range at present average consumption etc.
The oil level can be checked with the engine running.
The steering wheel rim could be a little thicker for a more comfortable grip (like a DAF XL). There are control buttons on the wheel for the trip computer, night heater timer/temperature,radio & telephone. (Yet the new phone, in the new truck, hasn’t been wired via them 
). The buttons are placed close to the rim of the wheel & I find I am constantly catching them unintentionally & either changing what I have displayed on the computer or, more often, suddenly & unexpectedly turning the radio up to full blast. Now that makes you jump the 1st few times you do it!
Usefully there is a resetable trip recorder odometer, although ofcourse most modern tachos are capable of displaying this information. The tacho was mounted overhead, a casette style.
The park brake lever is now on the dash, supposedly conveniently located just ahead of the gear selector on the arm rest, but my hand kept automatically reaching for it in the old position behind the gear selector. I think the new location is actually a better place and was particularly pleased that I could actually see it was on, just by opening a door if doing a double check before attaching the air lines to a trailer. Previously I had to climb on the steps to be able to see it.
This one was also fitted with a “Hill Hold” dash switch, which when operated prevents rolling back when stopping on a hill and auto releases when moving off.
A superb idea (that I had thought of years ago, but never had the time to pursue) is that if you open the door without the park brake applied, or release it with the door not closed, the buzzer will sound and a warning is displayed in the central display. However I still think a warning light to show that the brake is applied, located on the rear wall of the cab, would be a good idea.
Operated by the right stalk control are 3 helplfull driving aids: cruise control, settable speed limiter, and 2 stage exhaust brake.
The setting of the cruise control and speed limiter are slightly different to the older model and not as easy to use. Pressing the button on the end appears to alternate whether you are about to set the cruise speed or limited speed. It is necessary to watch which icon is displayed on the dash to know, pressing it again will change it. You then pull the stalk upwards to set the speed.
I found on several occasions the cruise control had (a little alarmingly) unwantedly cut back in again at a lower speed after I thought I’d cancelled it. For instance when going from the lights at the end of a motorway slip to a nearby round-a-bout. I never worked out why it did this.
The settable speed limiter has been around on the Actros for a number of years now and is a truly excellent bit of kit, I think every vehicle on the road should have to have one of these by law.
Suppose you have left the motorway and are coming into a town and a 30 mph limit. You get the truck to 30, then set the limited speed, it will then not exceed 30 no matter what you do, even after stopping. It only resets manually or after the engine has been stopped. You can set it at any speed you like. With a lot to concentrate on; road layout, direction signs, pedestrians, other drivers, AND looking for your directions, its one less thing to worry about.
The 1st stage of the 2 stage exhaust brake is not of much help if loaded (ok unit only). The second stage works quite well without being too noisy inside the cab, providing you get the revs well up the yellow band on the rev counter. The exhaust brake also cuts in automatically if the lorry starts to exceed the set cruise control speed by more than a couple of kph. and it operates the brake lights.
Gearbox: 8 speed, splittable. Electro Pneumatic Selection. The selector does fall easily to hand located at the front end of the purpose built left arm rest. (There are also 2 proper arm rests on the seat which fold down, the left one coming above this one).
However I did not find the box anything like as easy to use and to manage as on the previous model.
On numerous occasions it just completely ignored a request for a gear change (usually when pulling onto a busy round-a-bout) or instead of going to the expected gear, picked an inappropriate one.
My personal opinion is that it should more accurately be described as UNIN-telligent rather than IN-telligent.
When a gear engages, rather than the selector making a reassuring “click” as before, there is no noise at all other than an artificially generated “clonk” which is transmitted through a central speaker.
Through this speaker is also relayed the “click” of the indicator unit. If the radio is on at anything more than whisper quiet, its impossible to hear these advices.
Inside:
The seat is as comfortable as any German vehicle, be it car or lorry, I always find their seats a bit on the hard on hard side.
There are 3 large and sensibly, illuminated, overhead lockers. However I got a shock when a large and heavy file fell down from the central shelf beneath the locker. I was very pleased to see that the side lockers, accessible from either outside or in via lifting the bunk, now have lights within. A restraint net or similar within the locker door aperture would be a good idea as things tend to fall out at you when you open a door.
Interior lighting is much improved, in some of the earlier models it just was not bright enough to read in comfort. However the switches to operate it are mounted up near the tacho and I think rather too high and inconvenient. I could only just reach them without lifting my backside off the seat, so a driver of less than 5’9” would struggle to reach.
At last there is a fixed reading light in the bunk, (rather than having to plug a wander light into a socket) I didn’t check the top bunk, but would guess it has similar. Along with controls for the radio, roof vent, night heater and an alarm clock. These are at the nearside end, which is fine by me, though I know some drivers prefer them in the centre as it not always possible to park on level ground and sleeping with your feet higher than your head is not conducive to a good nights sleep.
The night heater now delivers its warm air through the heater outlets which helps to demist the windows but is MUCH slower to warm the cab and indeed mentions this fact in the operation manual.
I used to find that switching on a conventional night heater 10 minutes before you wanted to get out of bed warmed the cab to a comfortable level. This will need around twice as long, though it can ofcourse be programmed (from the driving position) to switch on automatically or indeed to stay on all night at a regulated settable temperature. Personally I don’t like the heater going on and off in the night as it keeps me awake.
The interior rear wall of the cab curves inwards higher up, so the top bunk is mounted further forwards than the lower bunk. This means it is not possible to drive with it down. I know many drivers working alone in a twin bunked cab keep all their gear on the top bunk and sleep on the lower. This is not so easily done with this arrangement. Would mean keeping your gear on the lower bunk and sleeping on the top one, having to put it up and down and every morning and night. It is VERY heavy (It’s a proper bed, not just a cushioned piece of ply!) with no gas strut assistance as in the previous model. It is held in the up position by engaging 2 seat belt like buckles whilst holding the weight of the bunk and anything on it up. Almost a 2 man job.
I consider the previous models’ gas assisted and “lock in” type, up position stowage much easier to use.
Conclusion:
A strongly built truck giving a pleasant relaxed drive which will no doubt retain its value well.
However it remains to be seen how these modern trucks (not just Mercedes) with all their associated electronics, will stand the test of time, mileage and age.
Update: had the same motor again last weekend. The gearbox appears to have settled down somewhat & seemed easier to manage (now approx 8,000kms). On a 300km almost all motorway run, on Sunday morning with light traffic & unusually being able to maintain an almost constant 89 kph with a mid-weight laden tri-axle box trailer, according to the trip computer, it returned 10.5 mpg!
. Having said that, they’ll probably give me the ERF with the twin splitters they’ve got hiding in the corner of the yard 
but not happy with the heater control behind it. Probably being silly, but wonder if my cuff could catch the hanbrake lever when turning the heating up or down.