Can the Active Time artic raise Iveco higher? · 34 COMMERCIAL MOTOR 27/08/09 IvEcO STRAlIS AT450...

For today’s news visit: www.roadtransport.com32 COMMERCIAL MOTOR 27/08/09

COMMERCIAL MOTORCOMMERCIAL MOTOR

Can the Active Time artic raise Iveco higher?

CMO_270809_032 32 21/8/09 16:23:02

For today’s news visit: www.roadtransport.com 27/08/09 COMMERCIAL MOTOR 33

IvecoStralis AT450

The legendary Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once declared: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with

a single step.” It’s no less a challenge for Iveco – getting drivers to climb up into a Stralis tractor.

But it’s a step worth taking…Words: Brian Weatherley / Images Tom Cunningham

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CMO_270809_032 33 21/8/09 16:23:31

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34 COMMERCIAL MOTOR 27/08/09

IvEcO STRAlIS AT450 hIgh ROOf

When in late 2007, Iveco UK managing director Henk van Leuven publicly committed the Italian truck-maker to gaining a 15% share of the British heavy truck market by 2011, it caused a few eyebrows to rise.

It was, and still is, a ‘big ask’. Iveco has to first climb over Renault, MAN and Mercedes-Benz (to name but three) before it reaches the ‘Promised Land’. And with its current share of the UK tractor market at just 5.7%, you do the maths. Ironically, the biggest fly in van Leuven’s ointment is perception, not product.

Ever since the new Stralis appeared two years ago, Iveco has had a truck that’s more than capable of holding its own in the UK heavy market. If it wasn’t, CM would say so. But how will Iveco reach that mythical 15%? Quite simply (and it’s become something of a mantra at its Watford HQ)

by “getting bums on seats”, because those who experience Stralis first hand usually find their perceptions seriously challenged.

Only the other day, we were talking to a major fleet operator who runs Actros artics and he told us he’d just got his first Stralis. “What does the driver think of it?” we asked. “He loves it,” was the reply. Other operators seem to think in a similar vein. So what else is stopping Iveco? It can’t be that

the Cursor 10, its main engine for fleet buyers, has ‘only’ 10.3-litres. OK, so the majority of UK 44-tonners may have 11-plus litres under the hood (and more often than not 13), but MAN has trodden the same path as Iveco with its 10.5- litre D20 and done nicely out of it.

What about build quality? Again, if the only thing you know about Iveco is EuroTech, you’re woefully out of date. Stralis is a whole new ball game. What’s more, it comes with an impressive basic spec, including an AS-Tronic auto gear-box, luxury driver’s seat, remote control radio, electrically adjustable heated mirrors, and immobiliser – in short, many of the things its rivals charge extra for. Also thrown in (again as standard), is an ultra-clean EEV engine that’s one step beyond Euro-5. You’re probably starting to see why, having already road-tested Stralis with the wider ‘Active Space’ cab, we’ve been itching to take the fleet-spec narrower ‘Ac-tive Time’-cabbed Stralis with the most-powerful 450hp

SPEcIfIcATIONSImporter: Iveco UK, Iveco House, Station Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD17 1SR

Web address: www.iveco.com/uk/Pages/Home.aspx

Model: Iveco Stralis AT450S45 TX/P high roof

Engine: Cursor 10 450 Euro-5 selective catalytic reduction, overhead camshaft, charge-cooled turbo-diesel with four-valves-per-cylinder, unit injectors and variable geometry turbocharger.

Bore/stroke: 125mm x 140mm

capacity: 10.3-litres

compression ratio: 16.5:1

Maximum power: 450hp (331kW) from 1,550rpm-2,100rpm

Maximum torque: 2,100Nm (1,549lbft) between 1,050rpm-1,550rpm

Transmission: Eurotronic AS2330TD (ZF AS-Tronic) 12-speed fully-automated mechanical direct top gearbox.

gear ratios: 15.86:1-1.00:1

Rear axle: Meritor MS13-175 single reduction hypoid drive axle

final drive: 2.85.1

clutch: Single dry plate 432mm

Brakes: Full air-braked EBS discs fitted all-round with auto adjustment and pad wear indicators, ASR and VGT brake.

Parking brake type: Spring brakes on front and drive axle

Secondary brake power: Iveco Turbobrake with 380hp maximum power at 2,600rpm

Brake dimensions: Front and rear, 436mm ventilated discs

chassis: Steel ladder frame with riveted and bolted construction

frame dimensions: 80mm x 300mm x 6.7mm

Wheelbase: 3.8m (outer axle spread) Opt.4.0m

Suspension: Front, parabolic springs with anti-roll bar;mid, air; rear, Iveco ECAS four-bag air with anti-roll bar

Steering: Integral hydraulic power-assisted (second axle hydraulically-operated)

Turns lock-to-lock: 5.7

Wheels and tyres: Alcoa wheels with 315/80 R22.5 XZA/XDA Michelin tyres

fuel tank/AdBlue tank: 455lit/50lit

Electrical system: 24V earth-return system

Battery/alternator: 2x12V/225Ah

Test comparison data

vehicle: vOlvO fM11.430 lXl Tested: 28/5/09

vehicle: RENAUlT PREMIUM 450.24 Tested: 27/9/07

vehicle: ScANIA R440 hIghlINETested: 26/06/08

vehicle: DAf cf85.460 SPAcE cABTested: 13/09/07

Brief:

vehicle: Iveco Stralis 450 Active Time 6x2 high-roof sleeper cab tractorPrice as tested: £91,000 (plus VAT)Engine: 10.3 litre, 450hp (331kW)gvW: 22,800kggcW: 44,000kgPayload: 28,705kg

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27/08/09 COMMERCIAL MOTOR 35

Importer: Iveco UK, Iveco House, Station Road, Watford, Hertfordshire WD17 1SR

Web address: www.iveco.com/uk/Pages/Home.aspx

Model: Iveco Stralis AT450S45 TX/P high roof

Engine: Cursor 10 450 Euro-5 selective catalytic reduction, overhead camshaft, charge-cooled turbo-diesel with four-valves-per-cylinder, unit injectors and variable geometry turbocharger.

Bore/stroke: 125mm x 140mm

Capacity: 10.3-litres

Compression ratio: 16.5:1

Maximum power: 450hp (331kW) from 1,550rpm-2,100rpm

Maximum torque: 2,100Nm (1,549lbft) between 1,050rpm-1,550rpm

Transmission: Eurotronic AS2330TD (ZF AS-Tronic) 12-speed fully-automated mechanical direct top gearbox.

Gear ratios: 15.86:1-1.00:1

Rear axle: Meritor MS13-175 single reduction hypoid drive axle

Final drive: 2.85.1

Clutch: Single dry plate 432mm

Brakes: Full air-braked EBS discs fitted all-round with auto adjustment and pad wear indicators, ASR and VGT brake.

Parking brake type: Spring brakes on front and drive axle

Secondary brake power: Iveco Turbobrake with 380hp maximum power at 2,600rpm

Brake dimensions: Front and rear, 436mm ventilated discs

Chassis: Steel ladder frame with riveted and bolted construction

Frame dimensions: 80mm x 300mm x 6.7mm

Wheelbase: 3.8m (outer axle spread) Opt.4.0m

Suspension: Front, parabolic springs with anti-roll bar;mid, air; rear, Iveco ECAS four-bag air with anti-roll bar

Steering: Integral hydraulic power-assisted (second axle hydraulically-operated)

Turns lock-to-lock: 5.7

Wheels and tyres: Alcoa wheels with 315/80 R22.5 XZA/XDA Michelin tyres

Fuel tank/AdBlue tank: 455lit/50lit

Electrical system: 24V earth-return system

Battery/alternator: 2x12V/225Ah

ROAD TEST

DASH DETAIL Despite having a flat dash, the AT’s controls are easy to reach. The standard auto box in Stralis allows simple cross-cab access despite the high engine hump. The central dash display is the best in class

Cursor 10 around our Scottish route at 44-tonnes. It’s time to challenge some preconceptions…

Productivity The bottom line: eight mpg is the benchmark figure around our two-day test. The Stralis AT450 delivered 8.11mpg, and in the face of some lousy weather. Among its Euro-5 test rivals, it beats the EGR Scania R4400 Highline (7.57mpg), SCR Renault Premium 450 (8.02mpg) and the recently tested Volvo FM11.430 (7.89mpg) (CM 28 May), again with SCR.

Only the DAF CF85.460 did better with 8.4mpg. Next, we turn to payload. With a tare of 8,295kg (that’s with a full fuel tank, alloys and a driver on board), the Stralis AT’s 28.70

tonnes is as near as dammit to the R440’s 28.71 tonnes and close enough for jazz to the Volvo’s 28.84 and the Premium’s 28.87. Only the DAF carried more, but it had smaller 17.5-inch wheels on its lift-up mid axle, unlike our Stralis, which is a ‘true’ twin-steer. Yes, the Italian artic could lose a few pounds, but, frankly, it would be a cheese paring exercise at best. Now we come to productivity.

The Iveco’s 0-80km/h acceleration time is notably ahead of the pack, even beating the 13-litre DAF CF85 with 200Nm more torque on tap. The Stralis AT’s hill climb times also are well up to the mark, and if its overall average speed doesn’t exactly set the pulses racing, it probably wasn’t helped by the fact that we ran into a couple of traffic

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snarl-ups on day two, which knocked back our average speed… it happens. Ultimately, though, even we would admit the modest displacement of the Cursor 10 six-pot is probably more suited to regular motorway trunking than toughing it out in hilly terrain (although back-axle gearing clearly plays a part in the equation). That said, it still used less diesel than the Volvo FM and Renault Premium slogging over our ‘severe A-road’ section while still main-taining a lively gallop. Not bad for a little ’un.

On the road The four-point coil suspension underneath the Stralis AT’s narrower (2.3m) cab (the larger AS cab has a full air setup) delivers a taut ride. On the plus side, it’s very stable for a high-roof cab, with little roll, even when you’re pushing hard through the corners. On the downside, the worst road surfaces are felt through the cab floor – although, surpris-ingly, not the steering column, which is well isolated from the bumps. Adjusting the front axle damping might help smooth things out.

Overall, the 6x2’s steering is light but positive, and it has a good lock, too.

In common with other three-axle tractors, there’s a touch of understeer, although our initial concerns of skittishness while driving the Stralis along a damp A5 were soon dis-pelled when it became obvious we were following a truck with a loose (or missing) fuel cap, judging by the rainbow-coloured trail of diesel left on the wet road surface.

For all its willingness, however, we wouldn’t call Cursor 10 a classic ‘Latin Lugger’. It will pull down to 1,000rpm and recover, but it’s far happier around the 1,400rpm-1,500rpm mark, and certainly performs lustily beyond that point up to 1,600rpm before AS-Tronic shifts up a gear.

With a bit of judicious easing of your right foot, however, it’s possible to prompt an earlier up-shift, thereby saving fuel – but without hurting your progress. We finally settled on the word ‘vanilla’ to describe the Cursor 10. It does everything you’d ask of a 450hp fleet tractor without making any fuss. It’s pretty quiet too, although when it’s working hard, you notice when the fan cuts in.

While we have few complaints with the AS-Tronic auto (Iveco calls it Eurotronic), we’d like it to be quicker off the mark, especially when you need a fast getaway. The gentle engagement of the clutch doubtless extends its service life, but it can be somewhat embarrassing when you want to pull out into a busy stream of traffic in a hurry. The alterna-tive is to hammer your foot down, which is wasteful on fuel. Notwithstanding that, it’s slick, smooth and seldom lost for a gear. With the 2.85:1 rear diff, we occasionally had to manually nudge it into top at 40mph when it preferred to hold 11th for a bit longer – a criticism by no means unique to ZF’s auto. If you do want to indulge in a bit of DIY gear-changing, push the ‘drive’ button on the dash and you revert to manual, then just use the column stalk to change up or down. To revert back to full auto, press the button again. You can also make manual shifts in auto. However, with a displacement of 10.3-litres, the Cursor 10’s Turbo-brake (which works in conjunction with the variable geom-etry turbocharger) can only do so much in holding back a fully-freighted 44-tonner. On steeper descents we needed the service brakes to keep our speed in check. In auto

IvEcO STRAlIS AT450 hIgh ROOf

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“Its acceleration time is notably ahead of the pack, even beating the 13-litre DAF CF85 with 200Nm more torque on tap”

Payload: As tested, kg 28,705

Servicing downtime: Annual hours 4.6

Contract maintenance: Per year £3,205

Parts prices: Basket of spares £2,014

Residual value: Three years £20,475

Residual value: Five years £12,575

Dealers: UK /Europe 105/2,270

Warranty: Basic cover, months/miles 24/unlimited

List price: Basic price £82,830

Iveco Stralis 450 Active Time 6x2 tractor

OWNERSHIP COMPARISONS

Service data

Servicing downtime: Recommended standard servicing, 120,000km/year. Contract hire: Figures for three years at 120,000km/year, full maintenance, supplied by Lombard. Contact: 0870 010 5896. Parts prices: Retail total of brake linings (full set), headlamp unit, door mirror, wiper blades, oil/air filters and clutch. Residual values: Trade value, assuming 50,000km/year, in CAP Average Condition. Figures supplied by CAP Monitor. Contact: 0113 222 2000

Fact file: Security

Engine immobiliser ✔

Alarm ✖

Central locking ✔

Deadlocking ✔

Secure bonnet ✖

Locking fuel cap ✔

Fact file: Plated weights

GVW 22,800GCW 44,000Front axle 7,100Mid axle 6,700Rear axle 11,500Unladen test trailer 7,000

Fact file: Test weights*

Kerb weight 8,295kgNet payload 28,705kg*With 75kg driver

ROAD TEST

CMO_270809_032 37 21/8/09 16:26:08


engineThe Cursor 10 six-pot is offered at 420hp and 450hp. All Stralis models, barring the 560hp chassis, have an Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle (EEV) engine rating as standard with even lower emissions than Euro-5.

OPeRATiOnAL ReSULTS

Fuel consumption:

Overall

Day one

Day two

Tough A-roads

Easy A-roads/motorways

Tough motorways

Average speed:

Overall

Tough A-roads


Tough motorways

Hill performance: (minutes/seconds)

Miltonrigg Hill

Castleside

M18

M1

Running costs: (Diesel at £1.10/lit; AdBlue at 43p/lit)

AdBlue rate, % of diesel

Fuel cost, £/100km

AdBlue cost, £/100km

Total cost, £/100km

8.11mpg (34.8lit/100km)

8.83mpg (31.9lit/100km)

7.62mpg (37.0lit/100km)

5.95mpg (47.4lit/100km)

9.47mpg (29.8lit/100km)

7.99mpg (35.3lit/100km)

68.62km/h

56.7km/h

76.4km/h

73.2km/h

1min 25sec

2min 23sec

4min 00sec

5min 22sec

4.7

38.28

0.71

38.99

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model of clarity. Two big dials flank the well-illuminated central driver information panel – one of the best on the market – which is easy to use via the command buttons on the steering wheel. You can check the status of your vehicle, including idle time, brake lining wear and AdBlue status.

Buttons on the steering wheel allow you to tune and adjust the radio without taking your eyes off the road.

The trim is fleet practical without being oppressive, the heavy duty rubber floor covering will shrug off the dirt while the blue seats and light grey roof are easy on the eye. The multi-adjustable standard driver’s seat provides a good level of comfort. The only thing missing is an arm rest. Along with the aforementioned storage, there are plenty of other nooks and crannies, although, strangely, there’s an absence of cup holders. But we rather like the optional, large slide-out centre coolbox/fridge and pod to hold bottles or a Thermos – well worth the extra £230. But why put the fridge furthest away (it’s probably the other way around in a left-hooker)? ■

ivecO STRALiS AT450 HigH ROOF

mode, there’s a useful function whereby the engine brake cuts in when you exceed your set speed by around 2km/h. But when you do need

the Stralis’s service brakes, they work well, despite a rather long pedal travel.

cab comfortWe think the Stralis Active Time cab with the optional high-roof could be a real monster… with a few minor tweaks. First, we’d get rid of the second bunk, which is an

optional extra at £320. It’s not needed in a UK fleet machine, doesn’t fold flat against the rear wall like in the AS and, frankly, gets in the way when you want to sit on the bottom bunk. Moreover, the step up into it is an afterthought.

There’s plenty of storage in the front overhead lockers, especially underneath the raised bottom bunk, which runs full width across its entire length. It’s divided into three sections, allowing easy access to the separate compartments beneath.

Next, we’d move the well-lit night heater controls from the offside wall to the nearside, or the middle of the back wall. Likewise, we’d put a reading lamp on the kerbside and a TV shelf with a 12v socket on the offside. Someone should remind Turin which side of the road we drive on… and sleep on. Ditto the fact the main speedo markings are in km/h.

Despite these moans, the Stralis’s flat dash layout is a

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Brian Weatherley

The Active Time Cursor-10-powered Stralis with the optional high-roof cab (well worth the extra £1,220 over the normal height sleeper) has

the potential to be a fleet favourite – especially as a purpose-built, right-hand-drive ‘solo’ sleeper. But if we were Iveco’s UK boss, we’d say: “We need some minor adjustments; no they won’t wait. We’re chasing market share here…”

Operators needn’t be put off by the Cursor 10’s modest displacement either. Around CM’s test route, it proved significantly more fuel-efficient than many other larger lumps. And you might like to ask why Volvo recently introduced its own 10.8-litre engine in the FM. Were Iveco and MAN right all along on smaller displacement diesels? Of course, the real sell Iveco has to make is to the average fleet artic driver. But given the Stralis’s impressive standard spec, we’d be surprised if after a day behind the wheel they weren’t won over.

It’s a bit like what that Chinese bloke said about long journeys – it all begins with a single step…

NEXT WEEK

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dIMENSIONS xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Xxxxx xxxxx xxxxxxxxx

Acceleration:

(seconds)

Braking distance:

(stopping distance, m)

In-cab noise

dB(A)

In-cab noise

dB(A)

0-80km/h

50.2

32km/h

9.9

48km/h

60.3

96km/h

66.9

32-64km/h

25.7

48km/h

20.1

64km/h

64.9

Tickover

50.9

48-80km/h

31.6

64km/h

32.4

80km/h

65.1

BEHINd THE WHEEl

Overall width 2,550mmOverall length 6,258mmOverall cab height 3,940mmStep heights 440/760/1,020mmCab floor height 1,320mmCab length (inc exhaust) 2,350mmCab Internal height (max) 2,100mm

Height over engine hump 1,730mmCab internal height (above bunk) 540/620mmBunk thickness 120mmWheelbase (OAS) 3,800mmFront overhang 1,410mmRear overhang 1,048mmChassis height 963mm

Fuel consumption:

Overall

Day one

Day two

Tough A-roads


Tough motorways

Average speed:

Overall

Tough A-roads


Tough motorways

Hill performance: (minutes/seconds)

Miltonrigg Hill

Castleside

M18

M1

Running costs: (Diesel at £1.10/lit; AdBlue at 43p/lit)

AdBlue rate, % of diesel

Fuel cost, £/100km

AdBlue cost, £/100km

Total cost, £/100km

ROAd TEST

You can now find CM’s road tests on the web. We have uploaded hundreds of CM’s in-depth truck and van road tests to www.roadtransport.com – just click on the link at the left, which says ‘Road tests’. There you can search for tests by vehicle type, make and model, or you can go to the manufacturers’ pages listed there.

The tests are complete – with every fact and figure from the print version – and they’re free to access. You’ll also find a list of the road tests on the web at www.roadtransport.com/alltests

Complete CM road tests – all free to access

dIMENSIONS

CMO_270809_032 39 21/8/09 16:27:03

Can the Active Time artic raise Iveco higher? · 34 COMMERCIAL MOTOR 27/08/09 IvEcO STRAlIS AT450...

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