When I started in the game in 1989 one of my first jobs was for National Plant and Transport at their depot in Tredegar.
They had a mixed fleet which included 2 6 year old 112m’s that were ex hoover units and had done huge mileage we also had several quite new Leyland Roadtrains, I new nothing about trucks at that time the Leyands were new and looked quite good for their time and seemed to drive quite well, when I had my first drive of the Scania I was blown away there was no comparison a superior piece of kit compared to the Leyland.
Although they still have good build quality I find them very uncomfortable the 3 over 3 box is awful and the handling in the ones I have driven seems vague particularly when loaded heavy, if i had a choice I would pick the new Actros or the new Volvo FM.
4 cup holders, both doors hold 2 1,5l bottle, ain’t that what matters No seriously it’s a really nice interior if you ask me. Nice quality feel overall and the double glazed side windows make the cabin amazingly quiet.
Icee:
Just want to know what’s outdated with this?.
Are you serious? Compare it to all the uncluttered and ergonomically designed modern cabs available in Daf/Volvo/Renault/Merc, there is no comparison.
Spend a week in a Scania and then drive a Volvo for a week, you would think you went through a wormhole somewhere and showed up 20 years in the future.
wheelnutt:
here is a modern Volvo. Clean, uncluttered, well thought out, ergonomically designed, 20 years newer than a Scania.
I still like the outside of the Scania, but the interior of this Volvo looks miles ahead of the Scania and with the ishift am guessing the Volvos are still a cracking drive.
Icee:
Just want to know what’s outdated with this?.
Are you serious? Compare it to all the uncluttered and ergonomically designed modern cabs available in Daf/Volvo/Renault/Merc, there is no comparison.
Spend a week in a Scania and then drive a Volvo for a week, you would think you went through a wormhole somewhere and showed up 20 years in the future.
I have lived plenty of weeks in many different trucks. And I seriously would want to know what’s so good with the volvo. It’s still as cramped as the old fh3. It has plenty of storage space YES but they are small as hell and nothing fits there. Futures like the remote control for air suspension is nice but it’s irritatingly slow like every interface is on Volvo. The old steering wheel controls was so slow that I almost blew it on the truck. I give them props for finally updated the aircon control a bit. But since I haven’t driven one in the winter I also hope they fixed it so it can keep the windows clear of ice.
I-shift is nice but I find them struggling with 50t+ and heavy terrain. Anyway I’m not going to fault it. It’s still is overall the best box on the market. And seriously they still haven’t figured out the charging issues. A friend got a new one 4 weeks ago and he even got a cable to plug in, they recommend at least once a week. Truck is working for 9-10h a day is not enough to charge the batteries, big props volvo
Even timber trucks that run 24/7 requires charging
Merc I give big props for the U sofa but I just can’t take sleeping in the upper bunk and having to rebuild the hole truck to use the lower the hole idea looses it’s point.
DAF no comment, maybe when they start producing some engine with hp + I never even been in one. There service network here is also none existent
Iveco nice big space but i feel out of the upper bunk when the ropes snapped and that was it for me (come on I weigh just over 80kg, not that heavy), the design + 30and more fault codes everyday.
Maybe the classic British backlash to anything that’s perceived to have enjoyed it’s own populararity too much. We love keeping success in it’s place . After a while, collective opinion turns against it. Scanias enjoyed a good driver talk up when they first appeared on the Brit truck scene as they were very good products. The company knew this, then created a bit of an image, myth and supporters similar to apple products. Now there’s the backlash against that, like with apple.
After donkeys years of Paccar I am now a Volvo convert. It just seems like a much more civilized way to live on the road. I wouldn’t swap for anything else now.
Cotswoldcrunch:
I don’t hate Scanias, I just don’t get why they’re so expensive. And why do people in V8s with the silly graffics on the sides of the cab like revving their engines in services?
I wouldn’t swap my Daf for a Scania, the Daf bunk is too comfy.
I there expensive opposed too others makes as they very rarely go wrong,since esl took us over apx 7 years ago I’ve been using scanias ,g-380,g-400,r-420,r-440 and I’ve never had one break down ,plenty with 700k on them,the one I had last night had done 789 k anddrove like the day it arrived.
I’ve had plenty in previous jobs and again never had one breakdown.
Also when you say more expensive I guess you mean the o/d who buys a dark diamond etc ,I know we were told the deal ours got years ago was basically buy 2 get one free
As for bunk you may be right,I’m day shift so rarely use the bunk and if I do it’s for the odd 30 mins/hour
I think they went down the same route as Mercedes cars in the late 80’s The cars used to be designed and developed by their engineers to be the best in the world then the accountants worked out the retail price. Then it changed so that the accountants decided how much the car should cost and the designers had to build a car down to that price.
i’m in.
No seriously it’s a really nice interior if you ask me. Nice quality feel overall and the double glazed side windows make the cabin amazingly quiet.
