Over the past two day’s I’ve driven two, very different IVECO’s.
Today, for my sins, I had a 18t Eurocargo and having never driven one before I was, almost, excited. For the first 10 mins however It wasn’t going well, I’d been left the keys out by the office as I was due to start before everyone else came in.
The key unlocked the door fine, and then turned in the ignition but it wouldn’t start, after a few tries it just wouldn’t turn and for a good 5 minutes I struggled until someone else came in and said “Oh hang on, them are the keys for the little 3.5t van over there, how the hell did they even open it?!”
Which was a good question.
Once the right keys were found she fired up first time and I set off for my first drop a good couple of hours away. For the first 10 miles the gearbox was like trying to stir a bag of rocks and for gears 4 and 5 it needed a good bunch of elbow grease to get it to bang into gear, and it was a bang.
After an hour my legs were aching, my arm was aching and the thing had given me a headache. It was probably the worst truck I’ve ever driven, and it was only 12,000 kms old.
Yesterday, however, I had a 78,000 kms old Stralis, on a 11 plate, which was entirely different. Decent materials used on the interior, no rattles or strange noises, pulled like a train, smooth gear changes. Infact everything that an IVECO normally isn’t. Got another one tomorrow and hoping it’s the same.
How can a manufacturer get one model so right and another one so wrong?
Scarab:
Over the past two day’s I’ve driven two, very different IVECO’s.
Today, for my sins, I had a 18t Eurocargo and having never driven one before I was, almost, excited. For the first 10 mins however It wasn’t going well, I’d been left the keys out by the office as I was due to start before everyone else came in.
The key unlocked the door fine, and then turned in the ignition but it wouldn’t start, after a few tries it just wouldn’t turn and for a good 5 minutes I struggled until someone else came in and said “Oh hang on, them are the keys for the little 3.5t van over there, how the hell did they even open it?!”
Which was a good question.
Once the right keys were found she fired up first time and I set off for my first drop a good couple of hours away. For the first 10 miles the gearbox was like trying to stir a bag of rocks and for gears 4 and 5 it needed a good bunch of elbow grease to get it to bang into gear, and it was a bang. After an hour my legs were aching, my arm was aching and the thing had given me a headache. It was probably the worst truck I’ve ever driven, and it was only 12,000 kms old.
Yesterday, however, I had a 78,000 kms old Stralis, on a 11 plate, which was entirely different. Decent materials used on the interior, no rattles or strange noises, pulled like a train, smooth gear changes. Infact everything that an IVECO normally isn’t. Got another one tomorrow and hoping it’s the same.
How can a manufacturer get one model so right and another one so wrong?
Na mate, sounds like you need to learn how to drive properly - or work on your upper body strength.
Scarab:
Over the past two day’s I’ve driven two, very different IVECO’s.
Today, for my sins, I had a 18t Eurocargo and having never driven one before I was, almost, excited. For the first 10 mins however It wasn’t going well, I’d been left the keys out by the office as I was due to start before everyone else came in.
The key unlocked the door fine, and then turned in the ignition but it wouldn’t start, after a few tries it just wouldn’t turn and for a good 5 minutes I struggled until someone else came in and said “Oh hang on, them are the keys for the little 3.5t van over there, how the hell did they even open it?!”
Which was a good question.
Once the right keys were found she fired up first time and I set off for my first drop a good couple of hours away. For the first 10 miles the gearbox was like trying to stir a bag of rocks and for gears 4 and 5 it needed a good bunch of elbow grease to get it to bang into gear, and it was a bang.
After an hour my legs were aching, my arm was aching and the thing had given me a headache. It was probably the worst truck I’ve ever driven, and it was only 12,000 kms old.
Yesterday, however, I had a 78,000 kms old Stralis, on a 11 plate, which was entirely different. Decent materials used on the interior, no rattles or strange noises, pulled like a train, smooth gear changes. Infact everything that an IVECO normally isn’t. Got another one tomorrow and hoping it’s the same.
How can a manufacturer get one model so right and another one so wrong?
That doesn’t sound like a Stralis you were driving yesterday from that description. Decent materials, no rattles or strange noises, pulling like a train and smooth gear changes■■? That sounds more like a Volvo you had.
Scarab:
Over the past two day’s I’ve driven two, very different IVECO’s.
Today, for my sins, I had a 18t Eurocargo and having never driven one before I was, almost, excited. For the first 10 mins however It wasn’t going well, I’d been left the keys out by the office as I was due to start before everyone else came in.
The key unlocked the door fine, and then turned in the ignition but it wouldn’t start, after a few tries it just wouldn’t turn and for a good 5 minutes I struggled until someone else came in and said “Oh hang on, them are the keys for the little 3.5t van over there, how the hell did they even open it?!”
Which was a good question.
Once the right keys were found she fired up first time and I set off for my first drop a good couple of hours away. For the first 10 miles the gearbox was like trying to stir a bag of rocks and for gears 4 and 5 it needed a good bunch of elbow grease to get it to bang into gear, and it was a bang. After an hour my legs were aching, my arm was aching and the thing had given me a headache. It was probably the worst truck I’ve ever driven, and it was only 12,000 kms old.
Yesterday, however, I had a 78,000 kms old Stralis, on a 11 plate, which was entirely different. Decent materials used on the interior, no rattles or strange noises, pulled like a train, smooth gear changes. Infact everything that an IVECO normally isn’t. Got another one tomorrow and hoping it’s the same.
How can a manufacturer get one model so right and another one so wrong?
Na mate, sounds like you need to learn how to drive properly - or work on your upper body strength.
Either way you sound a bit of a plonker.
Think you need to go and empty your ■■■■ bag old boy, no need for that is there.
I have had similar with IVECOs. I drove a 7.5 tonne on a 61 plate and couldn’t wait to get out of the ■■■■ thing. No drinks holders ffs, what is this, the 1950s? It was an auto box that is so slow to engage it could kill you, just a horrid cheap and nasty truck. I did however drive an 18 Tonner (Eurocargo??) and it was great, manual 6 speed box, drove well, but had been lived in, not sure how old it was because it was on a private plate. They do seem very hit and miss, but the stralis is supposed to be very good. That said, after a fair bit of time driving DAFs I am not a fan of them, too many things going wrong…
BanburyDan:
I have had similar with IVECOs. I drove a 7.5 tonne on a 61 plate and couldn’t wait to get out of the ■■■■ thing. No drinks holders ffs, what is this, the 1950s? It was an auto box that is so slow to engage it could kill you, just a horrid cheap and nasty truck. I did however drive an 18 Tonner (Eurocargo??) and it was great, manual 6 speed box, drove well, but had been lived in, not sure how old it was because it was on a private plate. They do seem very hit and miss, but the stralis is supposed to be very good. That said, after a fair bit of time driving DAFs I am not a fan of them, too many things going wrong…
The Stralis is a good truck. Very under rated IMO. You need a couple of weeks with one to get used to them though. Simple things like the fridge as standard sets them apart from other trucks. I find that if its a regular driver that drives them, then they hardly give any problems. They don’t make for a good fleet truck.
BanburyDan:
I have had similar with IVECOs. I drove a 7.5 tonne on a 61 plate and couldn’t wait to get out of the ■■■■ thing. No drinks holders ffs, what is this, the 1950s? It was an auto box that is so slow to engage it could kill you, just a horrid cheap and nasty truck. I did however drive an 18 Tonner (Eurocargo??) and it was great, manual 6 speed box, drove well, but had been lived in, not sure how old it was because it was on a private plate. They do seem very hit and miss, but the stralis is supposed to be very good. That said, after a fair bit of time driving DAFs I am not a fan of them, too many things going wrong…
The Stralis is a good truck. Very under rated IMO. You need a couple of weeks with one to get used to them though. Simple things like the fridge as standard sets them apart from other trucks. I find that if its a regular driver that drives them, then they hardly give any problems. They don’t make for a good fleet truck.
We have a mixed fleet of Mercs and DAF at my place and I always try and take the Mercs. Much fewer problems, bigger cab as well (all daycabs) I can stretch out in the passenger seat in the Merc, but I’m cramped in a DAF and I’m not even a big bloke. I agree it takes some time to get used to a vehicle, but you know straight away how you will get on with no drinks holders…what an appalling oversight!
I can’t drive artics but wouldn’t mind a go in a stralis one day just to see what they are like.
We have a mixed fleet of Mercs and DAF at my place and I always try and take the Mercs. Much fewer problems, bigger cab as well (all daycabs) I can stretch out in the passenger seat in the Merc, but I’m cramped in a DAF and I’m not even a big bloke. I agree it takes some time to get used to a vehicle, but you know straight away how you will get on with no drinks holders…what an appalling oversight!
I can’t drive artics but wouldn’t mind a go in a stralis one day just to see what they are like.
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Well there isn’t an excuse that i can think of not to have a cup holder of some sort in a modern truck. Thats not been designed with the driver in mind.
I have just handed over my last Stralis, a 10 year old 480 and was extremely sad to do so. In my opinion they are a VERY much maligned truck indeed, although I wouldnt have said so 18 months ago. I suppose the moral is dont knock it til youve tried it.
i now have a 58 plate 500 stralis its only done just over 200000 ive had it nearly 2yrs and has been alot less trouble some than the 500 v8 megaspace actros that i had before ,prob not so much storage as the merc but you only end up filling it with crap ,it pulls better than the merc and get about 2 mpg more over the week than the merc too …carnt fault it
CRAIG-D:
i now have a 58 plate 500 stralis its only done just over 200000 ive had it nearly 2yrs and has been alot less trouble some than the 500 v8 megaspace actros that i had before ,prob not so much storage as the merc but you only end up filling it with crap ,it pulls better than the merc and get about 2 mpg more over the week than the merc too …carnt fault it
I could not agree more about the Stralis ,I have only recently stopped driving the last 6 years were on basic Straliss they were almost bomb proof , they were double shifted , driven by both agency and company drivers at 44 GTW . Prior to the Ivecos the company ran Volvo FM12`s which did not come up to expectations at all .
CRAIG-D:
i now have a 58 plate 500 stralis its only done just over 200000 ive had it nearly 2yrs and has been alot less trouble some than the 500 v8 megaspace actros that i had before ,prob not so much storage as the merc but you only end up filling it with crap ,it pulls better than the merc and get about 2 mpg more over the week than the merc too …carnt fault it
And at least you don’t need a pair of ladders to get into the side locker on a stralis. You had to be at least 6ft tall to even see inside the merc locker!!!
My 1st regular artic unit was a Stralis Active Space3, without the passenger seat.
A lovely place to have a break, lots of room to move about, ideally located fridge, decent cup holder, not the comfiest of seats though and the heated mirrors were pointless (I drove nights over winter, couldn’t see ■■■■ behind me), also it was an 06 so didn’t have the over-windscreen mirror or blindside mirror on drivers side, which I missed quite a bit and the gearbox was a bit jerky to reverse over drains and small kurbs.
Engine was great though and going forwards in semi-auto mode was quick, but drank fuel if you raced around
Seems to be a huge gap between fleet wagons (day cab rigids etc) and the top-spec tractor units. I’m really going off DAFs now due to niggling little faults with them, and again poor design that basically has no features…okay our has a chiller (I refuse to call it aircon) but still nowhere to put a drink…and the door locks keep playing up) Grrr!
