Most disappointing individual lorry I’ve driven (i.e., it didn’t live up the hype or reputation) was a 13-plate Scania R580 6x2 tag axle unit we had from new.
Cab ride was poor, it had the 3-pedal auto 'box which never knew what it wanted to do, it didn’t seem to have much ‘urge’ - just a real let down and far inferior to older Volvo FHs we ran at the same time.
Running it a close second was an X-reg T cab 144 unit we had prior to that - again, poor cab ride and notchy gearchange on it.
Ive never been disappointed with any ERF or Foden I’ve driven ,may be when I get a digi card and a automatic licence the disappointment will begin 
Daf XF 460 (2015)
Clueless auto box, revs its nuts off the low gears then changes up too many ratios and dies a death!
After the slightest adjustment of trailer height on a bay the air tanks are bloody empty (with trailer brake popped on for extra annoyance points).
Steering wheel doesn’t fold out of the way/seat barely goes back when parked up for a short break or when getting in the ■■■■ thing.
No doubt driving a 7500kg sponge would feel like an improvement.
In short it’s a complete an utter turd, and if you know anyone involved in the design of it, pass me their address as I owe them all a boot in the nuts.
Scania haven’t built a decent wagon since the 143…
I see people hating on the MAN. I loved my MAN (truck). I had a 65 plate XXL and the gearbox is ok. Nothing on a Volvo but it worked. You could leave it in manual mode which I did 90% of the time when on the motorway as I can control the exhaust braking. Even when empty in auto mode it would drop a cog and really cut the speed when I only wanted to hold the truck at 52 coming down a hill. There was one annoying thing it used to do, when taking off if you had your foot pressed on the accelerator pedal at the right stop you could make the computer use every gear on the way up. Not that helpful when entering a busy roundabout.
My 63 plate Euro 6 Daf is off the road at the moment either needing a rebuild or a new injector(s), Daf haven’t decided yet so I’ve been put into one of the older 105’s. I do love the sound it makes but the gearbox is bad. Now I can really see why they were called the “Arsetronic”. There is a noticeable lag from pressing the pedal to the truck lurching forward and yes it does lurch. Trying to reverse up our yard is an exercise in frustration. The box also has a wonderful habit of not registering when you shift up or down. You have to press the paddle down a second or even a third time for it to notice.
Radar19:
I see people hating on the MAN. I loved my MAN (truck). I had a 65 plate XXL and the gearbox is ok. Nothing on a Volvo but it worked. You could leave it in manual mode which I did 90% of the time when on the motorway as I can control the exhaust braking. Even when empty in auto mode it would drop a cog and really cut the speed when I only wanted to hold the truck at 52 coming down a hill. There was one annoying thing it used to do, when taking off if you had your foot pressed on the accelerator pedal at the right stop you could make the computer use every gear on the way up. Not that helpful when entering a busy roundabout.My 63 plate Euro 6 Daf is off the road at the moment either needing a rebuild or a new injector(s), Daf haven’t decided yet so I’ve been put into one of the older 105’s. I do love the sound it makes but the gearbox is bad. Now I can really see why they were called the “Arsetronic”. There is a noticeable lag from pressing the pedal to the truck lurching forward and yes it does lurch. Trying to reverse up our yard is an exercise in frustration. The box also has a wonderful habit of not registering when you shift up or down. You have to press the paddle down a second or even a third time for it to notice.
The biggest problem I have with the MAN is the size of the steering wheel or when people decide to take the box/fridge out from under the bunk for no reason apart from they want to why take away the storage space & a table at a sensible hight for cooking /eating etc out as just wish more lorries would put table in I know Ivecos do which are even better than the MAN
animal:
Radar19:
I see people hating on the MAN. I loved my MAN (truck). I had a 65 plate XXL and the gearbox is ok. Nothing on a Volvo but it worked. You could leave it in manual mode which I did 90% of the time when on the motorway as I can control the exhaust braking. Even when empty in auto mode it would drop a cog and really cut the speed when I only wanted to hold the truck at 52 coming down a hill. There was one annoying thing it used to do, when taking off if you had your foot pressed on the accelerator pedal at the right stop you could make the computer use every gear on the way up. Not that helpful when entering a busy roundabout.My 63 plate Euro 6 Daf is off the road at the moment either needing a rebuild or a new injector(s), Daf haven’t decided yet so I’ve been put into one of the older 105’s. I do love the sound it makes but the gearbox is bad. Now I can really see why they were called the “Arsetronic”. There is a noticeable lag from pressing the pedal to the truck lurching forward and yes it does lurch. Trying to reverse up our yard is an exercise in frustration. The box also has a wonderful habit of not registering when you shift up or down. You have to press the paddle down a second or even a third time for it to notice.
The biggest problem I have with the MAN is the size of the steering wheel or when people decide to take the box/fridge out from under the bunk for no reason apart from they want to why take away the storage space & a table at a sensible hight for cooking /eating etc out as just wish more lorries would put table in I know Ivecos do which are even better than the MAN
That box in the MAN is useless as a cool box !!! If it was a fridge then it would stay in other wise waste of space , better filled with some thing useful
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Don’t have a microwave at home as don’t eat reconstituted food
> animal:
> The biggest problem I have with the MAN is the size of the steering wheel [/b]or when people decide to take the box/fridge out from under the bunk for no reason apart from they want to why take away the storage space & a table at a sensible hight for cooking /eating etc out as just wish more lorries would put table in I know Ivecos do which are even better than the MAN
Not being familiar with anything made after 1996 ( 
) is the steering wheel too large or small? At one time German regulations were that the vehicle could still be steered if the power steering failed, hence Mercs and MAN’s had very large steering wheels.
Pete.
windrush:
> animal:
> The biggest problem I have with the MAN is the size of the steering wheel [/b]or when people decide to take the box/fridge out from under the bunk for no reason apart from they want to why take away the storage space & a table at a sensible hight for cooking /eating etc out as just wish more lorries would put table in I know Ivecos do which are even better than the MAN
Not being familiar with anything made after 1996 (
Pete.
[/quote]
I haven’t measured the thing Pete, but its probably 2" diameter bigger than most of the others, couple of roundabouts and you’ve got used to it.
Its not as if you have to brace a foot against that lump of cast iron otherwise known as a mickey mouse Foden’s dashboardand haul the bloody thing round as if you were pulling in an anchor like in the days before power steering.
It’s bigger than a car steering wheel which is really the problem for the moaners, more proper lorry size in my humble and i really don’t know what all the bloody fuss is about.
Good point about being able to steer in the event of power steering failure (or engine sudden cut out, leading to loss of steering aid), just try to steer a bloody Volvo via that saucer sized steering wheel…actually i do know a bloke who managed to deliver the load and get the vehicle to the Volvo garage after the power steering failed on an FM (might have been an FL), and his unappreciative boss left him at the dealership some 40 miles from base (after he’d just saved the sod some £500 in recovery charges) for about 4 hours till i happened to be passing close by and could pick him up, and yes he left the ungrateful slug’s employment a few months later.
animal:
Don’t have a microwave at home as don’t eat reconstituted food
Nor do I much most of my food is home made [emoji6]
I only use microwave for morning porridge and heating precooked food up , I hardly have a shop brought ready meal as I can’t eat wheat, barley etc
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Juddian:
[snip]Good point about being able to steer in the event of power steering failure (or engine sudden cut out, leading to loss of steering aid), just try to steer a bloody Volvo via that saucer sized steering wheel…actually i do know a bloke who managed to deliver the load and get the vehicle to the Volvo garage after the power steering failed on an FM (might have been an FL), and his unappreciative boss left him at the dealership some 40 miles from base (after he’d just saved the sod some £500 in recovery charges) for about 4 hours till i happened to be passing close by and could pick him up, and yes he left the ungrateful slug’s employment a few months later.
Yes, I remember when I was a fitter having to steer a loaded Foden S80 powder tanker (eight legger) on a straight bar with a dead Gardner engine back from Dunstable to our quarry north of Ashbourne, getting round Derby and through Ashbourne with no power assistance (a dead power system is a lot heavier than when no power assistance at all is fitted) did my chest muscles no good at all and even now, 40 years later, they still hurt when lifting heavy items.
Pete.
Juddian:
windrush:
> animal:
> The biggest problem I have with the MAN is the size of the steering wheel [/b]or when people decide to take the box/fridge out from under the bunk for no reason apart from they want to why take away the storage space & a table at a sensible hight for cooking /eating etc out as just wish more lorries would put table in I know Ivecos do which are even better than the MAN
Not being familiar with anything made after 1996 (
Pete.
[/quote]
I haven’t measured the thing Pete, but its probably 2" diameter bigger than most of the others, couple of roundabouts and you’ve got used to it.
Its not as if you have to brace a foot against that lump of cast iron otherwise known as a mickey mouse Foden’s dashboard
bloody thing round as if you were pulling in an anchor like in the days before power steering.
It’s bigger than a car steering wheel which is really the problem for the moaners, more proper lorry size in my humble and i really don’t know what all the bloody fuss is about.
Good point about being able to steer in the event of power steering failure (or engine sudden cut out, leading to loss of steering aid), just try to steer a bloody Volvo via that saucer sized steering wheel…actually i do know a bloke who managed to deliver the load and get the vehicle to the Volvo garage after the power steering failed on an FM (might have been an FL), and his unappreciative boss left him at the dealership some 40 miles from base (after he’d just saved the sod some £500 in recovery charges) for about 4 hours till i happened to be passing close by and could pick him up, and yes he left the ungrateful slug’s employment a few months later.
[/quote]
Yes but when your arms don’t reach the top of the steering wheel may have something to do with
Animal, don’t you come from Yorkshire or somewhere up that there North where they tend to be a bit shall we say frugal? so deep pockets and short arms…yeah i can see MAN’s would be a bit of an issue… 
edit ah Gateshead i see, so near enough Scottish, hmm yep even shorter arms even deeper pockets
Juddian:
Animal, don’t you come from Yorkshire or somewhere up that there North where they tend to be a bit shall we say frugal? so deep pockets and short arms…yeah i can see MAN’s would be a bit of an issue…edit ah Gateshead i see, so near enough Scottish, hmm yep even shorter arms even deeper pockets
Yep suffer from duck disease ( bum to near ground )
Thought everyone knew that the steering wheels in MANs were the only thing left in the warehouse when they bought ERF! They fit them to right hand drive trucks as revenge! Apparently it is possible to fit a smaller one - could be out of a ridge? Have noticed several EE units with smaller ones - makes it easier to get your leg up on the dash 
Not the worst by miles but I was disappointed by the USA volvo I was allotted when I started work in Canada,not in the same class as euro models, Wasn’t even as nice a drive as a 80s F10
.
My old artic was a 02 plate 480hp XF. Rusty, leggy but dependable, manual gearbox, drums all round, a sweatbox in summer.
Borrowed a 61 plate 460 XF for a day while it was in for MOT and was really looking forward to it but could not really find anything I preferred over the older unit. The lukewarm air con in high summer meant I still had the window open and it didn’t growl as nice as the old one. Others have covered the astronic. 
I’ve been fortunate to drive a number of old classics, the 143 I didn’t really get apart from the noise and the grunt, I’d rather an F12 to be honest - though given the Scania was an N reg, the direct competition would have been a FH which was light years ahead.
Beau Nydel:
Thought everyone knew that the steering wheels in MANs were the only thing left in the warehouse when they bought ERF! They fit them to right hand drive trucks as revenge! Apparently it is possible to fit a smaller one - could be out of a ridge? Have noticed several EE units with smaller ones - makes it easier to get your leg up on the dash
60% of our fleet are MANs,and most of them are LHD and i can assure you the steering wheel is the same size as the RHD ones,and to be honest i prefer the bigger wheel to the car derived ones,gearbox?not a problem,no worse than our Actros’s
windrush:
> animal:
> The biggest problem I have with the MAN is the size of the steering wheel [/b]or when people decide to take the box/fridge out from under the bunk for no reason apart from they want to why take away the storage space & a table at a sensible hight for cooking /eating etc out as just wish more lorries would put table in I know Ivecos do which are even better than the MAN
Not being familiar with anything made after 1996 (
Pete.
[/quote]
Well that chucks that theory into touch Pete, I got called on a recovery job today from Burton to Bassets Pole, all the details we were given was it’s a loaded 8 wheeler coming up Horninglow just before the canal bridge, Mr. Shipton “forgot” what the problem was so 2 of us set off to tow it on a bar, when we arrived the driver said the fuel pump had been playing up & now the lorry wouldn’t run. I’ll give you one guess who got the short straw & was it bloody heavy to steer, big wheel or not.
There’s nothing like fighting the power steering fluid to make your arms ache, it really makes you appreciate how easy modern lorries are to drive compared with 30 years ago.