I see all sorts of reports about M-Benz trucks on the forum most of them good , whats the score ? .
There ok. A workmans tool. I think there cheap to buy compared with most. Not as many problems as there nearest competitor dafs, but not as comfy either.
With manual gearbox an excellent old school working truck choice, with auto box just another vehicle like most of the competition, motorway trucks the autos.
I like the engines, will pull right down to stall revs.
Axor (don’t know about others) with tag axle does have a useful feature, the driver still has control over the tag axle so properly loaded with manual box and a driver at the wheel they will keep going where many others can’t move.
Axor does have old school ride though, it’s no limo.
If i was OD i’d be sorely tempted to an Axor, but i’d want a higher ratio diff in than standard, the 430 engine has plenty of low down grunt and the usual gearing doesn’t take advantage of that.
Drove Actros’s for a few years. Good cab,good engine ,great brakes,good transmissision,good suspension ,crap bed as usual.Bad blind spot N/S.
I’ve long been a fan of Mercedes-Benz trucks until recently. However I’ve been driving Scanias 140’s and Volvo FM’s as well as the occasional 56-58 plate Axor’s.
I’ve just spend a few days driving a 61 plate Axor, so we’re talking just a couple of thousand miles on the clock. They are on hire to the company I work for.
Admittedly they are designed to be fleet trucks, rather than long distance trans continental prime movers, but, in my view, they are incredibly uncomfortable, with the most basic fitments MB could source. I find the mechanical specs very dated given the competition (by which I mean Volvo and Scania) with a non steering lift axle. I’m certain these trucks could have been given a better spec, but that’s not the hire company way is it?
This non steering lift axle means that in slippery conditions and pulling a fully loaded tri-axle trailer, the front steering axle is the only thing allowing you to turn a corner, whilst there are five other axles all trying to encourage your vehicle to go straight on.
Of course, any half way decent driver will make adjustments to his driving style to accommodate this situation, but if 50 gallons of diesel have been spilt on a roundabout catch you unawares, or you’re turning on an unseen bit of iced up tarmac, the consequences could be, in my view, disastrous. If the lift axle steered, it might lessen the danger a little. And as Tesco like to say, every little helps!
The automatic gearbox seems under developed especially as this vehicle is likely to be used to do quite a lot of reversing. In use on UK roads it’s easy to confuse the gearbox, which leaves you with no gears just when you need it to have made a decision for you. Reversing under a trailer and reversing that trailer up to a dock, is quite frankly very jerky and the cause of potential damage as it is really difficult to get just a little power, when the gearbox wants to give you everything the engine’s got. Mercedes Benz really should specify a different gearbox for this class of truck. If they haven’t got one they should buy a Volvo and copy their i-Shift gearbox. (Or even buy it in as Renault have done.)
Looking at the electrics and general fitments to the chassis, it does very much look er,… pretty agricultural and workmanlike. There’s no sophistication to be seen on this truck. And that may not be a bad thing from an operators point of view.
As a driver I think it’s pretty basic and if, when asked if I would buy a Mercedes Benz truck, based on my recent experiences I would have to say no. I’d spend a few thousand more and get a Volvo FH with an i-Shift gearbox.
Marks out of ten for the latest model Axor: 5
Comments to the maker: You need to try harder.
If you’re a buyer. Buy it but only if it’s at really, really cheap, rock bottom, Hino sort of price. If not, you can buy a much better truck, for not a lot more.
If you’re a driver: Avoid it like the plague if you can. Not without good reason do people call it the “Backsore.”
No I don’t buy or sell trucks for a living and no, I don’t have any connections to any truck manufacturers.
The wheelspin in the wet, even at 44t, and traction in these conditions off the mark is dire to say the least, so expect to replace drive axle tyres frequently.
As EAT says, understeer is also a problem. A customer of our agency has a mostly Actros fleet, and one of them is like a yank car, doesn’t like corners preferring to go straight on instead. It’s been back to Merc many times, but they can’t find anything wrong. That’s fine then, we’ll just wait until someone is killed then shall we?
Ken.
But there is a world of difference between an Axor and a Megaspace, the same as there is between an Axor and an FH. The Axor is an uncomfortable motor, as is the CF. A megaspace is (in my eyes) as comfortable as an FH/SSC. People moan about the beds in all trucks as some like a firmer mattress and some dont. I had no trouble dropping off in my old relic! As for CF’s? They must be the biggest pile of ■■■■■ on the roads surely…Great big buttons/dials/switches, crap window/mirror set-up (so yester-year), the full auto is bollox, and the driving position (for me) is seriously uncomfortable. We have just taken delivery of a 61 plate CF…how i chuckled when it went off to the dealers 2 days after being on the road for faults and then had to have the batteries replaced as they were knackered 2 days after that! No wonder it only cost 68k. Oh, and now the weather has turned chilly, the regular driver has stopped using the night heater whilst waiting to be loaded as it’s so noisy…sounds like it’s on it’s last legs and has been compared to an old petrol lawn mower, like it’s about to stall!! Hope i don’t get the next one, i’ll stick with the 54 plate Scanny i’ll be getting tomorrow as the 10 plate rental goes back then 
Actrosman:
But there is a world of difference between an Axor and a Megaspace, the same as there is between an Axor and an FH. The Axor is an uncomfortable motor, as is the CF. A megaspace is (in my eyes) as comfortable as an FH/SSC.
I agree with you, and it may well be that a Megaspace Actros is a stunning bit of kit. I really like the look of the new one. I just don’t have any recent experience of them. But I did say I used to be an MB fan… until I drove an Axor!
Actrosman:
As for CF’s? They must be the biggest pile of [zb] on the roads surely…Great big buttons/dials/switches, crap window/mirror set-up (so yester-year), the full auto is bollox, and the driving position (for me) is seriously uncomfortable. We have just taken delivery of a 61 plate CF…how i chuckled when it went off to the dealers 2 days after being on the road for faults and then had to have the batteries replaced as they were knackered 2 days after that! No wonder it only cost 68k. Oh, and now the weather has turned chilly, the regular driver has stopped using the night heater whilst waiting to be loaded as it’s so noisy…sounds like it’s on it’s last legs and has been compared to an old petrol lawn mower, like it’s about to stall!!
Yes, I’ve heard that too… (the night heater!) I’m not sure I’d buy a DAF to be honest, especially as I’d prefer to buy a used Volvo FM, than a new Axor… which in itself must be some sort of condemnation of the products a company with the engineering resources of Mercedes Benz!