IF it was necessary for the ComfortClass to begin the era of the ‘Final edition’

while awaiting for the new 500 Series, we must say that the Setra S 416 GT-HD/2 hits the point in terms of being the most evolved bus in the touring medium range category with maximum comfort equipment (below the HD and the HDH in the TopClass). This is a coach that is on the verge of exaggeration and it is certainly more apt at making and im-pression rather than beating its competitors in terms of purchase price.This explains what happened last year for the award of the “Coach of the Year 2012” when

www.bustocoach.com - Newsletter 6th March 2012

FINAL Edition

TEST

Lenght mm 13,020 Width mm 2,550 Height with AC mm 3,620 Wheelbase mm 6,900 Front Overhang mm 2,820 Rear Overhang mm 3,300 Luggage m3 12.7 Turning Circle mm 23,400 Fuel Tank litres 370 AdBlue Tank litres 59 Test Weight kg 17,910

Routes km km/h km/litreMain Road 43.4 60.6 4.83Highway (up) 40.5 69.4 2.86Highway (down) 52.2 60.2 6.20Highway (plain) 206.3 90.4 4.76TOTAL 342.4 76.9 4.57

DIMENSIONS

Performance Index 0 8.79 10

FUEL CONSUMPTION

Setra ComfortClass S416 GT-HD/2

Up on the HighwayPlain on the Highway

Main Road Down on the Highway TOTAL AVERAGE

4.574.76

6.20

2.86

4.83

€ 315.000Coach of the Year

version

km/li

tre

THE S 416 GT-HD/2 with four star seat

spacing has 42 seats and is com-plete of kitchen and toilet on the rear end area that is raised by 17 centimetres above the corridor (as are the high bases for the seats) and the wardrobe compartment on the right side of the rear stairs do-orway. The seats are the luxurious Voyage Plus. They can be reclined and widened, they have headrests and ostrich leather-look finishing, pull down armrest, upper handles, footrests, luggage net and folding table on the rear of the backrest.The aisle, with green lateral indi-cator lights, has an operating width of 360 millimetres and it allows for 2 metres of standing height. Overhead open racks with a total capacity of 1.6 cube metres run on both sides of the aisle and on their mounts they incorporate lamps for the illumination of the compart-ment, complementing the double

intensity lights running along the bottom of the overhead racks and spaced out between the individual personal equipment sets (speakers, reading lights and air vents).The climate onboard is taken care of by an air conditioning system of 35

kilowatt power with electronic tem-perature control that separately cools passengers and driver’s areas.Supplementary heating is distribu-ted through floor convectors that are powered by a Spheros of 30 kW installed in the compartment on the

rear right hand side of the vehicle.On the ceiling there are also two electric hatches and the second 19 inches LCD monitor, that folds away, and where it is possible to show also the panoramic views captured by the front camera. •

PASSEGGERI Seats n. 42 Internal Height mm 2.000 Aisle Height mm 1.275 Aisle Width mm 360 Entrances Width mm 600/610 Raks Volume m3 1,6 Comfort Type Seats Voyage Plus A.C automatic 35 kW Heater Convectors Roof Hatches 2 manual Glazing Double Audio/Video Radio CD, DVD Toilètte Yes Kitchen Complete

Four Stars

THE TEST ROUTEPASSENGERS

the competing Setra was entered with a pur-chasing price conditioned by optional featu-res, as compared to the standard equipment version, amounting to over 300 thousand Euro versus the 250 thousand of the VDL Fu-tura FHD2-129/40 that won the competition (see road test drive by BusToCoach Novem-ber 2011).The same S 416 GT-HD/2 was utilized for the test drive of BusToCoach on Italian roads and the results give it first rank in the class, as if showing off its me-rits before making an exit (supposedly in 2013). In short, this is a ‘final edi-tion’ to grab quickly, may be by giving up some op-tional features in order to contain costs but in full awareness that it is a Se-tra that we are dealing with. So, let’s talk about the results from the drive test. On a mixed route of 342 kilometres and with a total ballast mass of 17,910 kg, the 416 GT-HD/2 used on average one litre of fuel every 4.57 kilometres (the best overall result), travelling at an average speed of 76.9 kilometres per hour.

THE driver’s area is the same that charac-

terises the ComfortClass from the beginning. The dashboard has a round shape appearan-ce and a semi-circled upper lid where driving instruments are incorporated. Recently the central dashboard has been uniformed with the one that comes with the TopClass stan-dard-series. Thus tachograph and revolution counter, with aluminium border finishing, are located to the sides of the multifunctional display whose control buttons are replicated on the steering wheel, made of leather and carbon fibre inlays.To the left of the dashboard the-re is the box for electrical power switching and to the right there is the radio-amplification group on top of the controls for air con-ditioning. Alongside there is the Bosh satellite navigator while the joystick shift lever is positioned on the semi-horizontal part of the dashboard. Below there is a digi-

tal tachograph. In front of the tour guide’s seat there is a chest fridge of 70 litres capacity.The spring pneumatic adjustable driver’s seat is fixed to the floor directly on the front platform, which is 855 millimetres from

the road surface, two steps lower then the corridor in the passenger compartment. Direct visibility is excellent. Multiple rear-view mirrors, each wrap in their own casing, also provide optimum visibility. •

AUTISTA Platform Height mm 855 Cockpit Width mm 880 Cockpit Depth mm 1,540 Cockpit Height mm 2,170 Adjustment Seat mm 200 Dotazioni Seat type Pneumatic Window electric Sunshade 2 electric Blinds (left) Manual roller Fridge 70 litres

Loyal to Itself

DRIVERPerformance results improved on the flat highway section of the route (206 km) for which the average speed was over 90 km per hour and one litre of fuel was used for driving 4.72 km. Average consumption was calcula-ted taking into account the amount of AdBlue (4.7% of used fuel) injected into the exhaust gas stream to cut down on emissions and meet EEV standards thanks to SCR (without the need for a particulate filter).Computing both consumption levels and avera-ge speed, the performance indicators of the Se-tra scored 8.79 on a scale from 0 to 10, clearly outdistancing its competitors thus far tested by BusToCoach (see table at the end of the article), all on the 7.9 index range.The road performance of the GT-HD was excellent. It showed a good road grip, it was brilliant also going uphill and reacted promptly to sprint requests: it took less than 38 second to go from 0 to 100 km per hour. The merit goes to the kinematic chain that combines the 12 litres OM 457 LA engine of 428 horse power (315kW) with a maximum torque of 2,100 newton-metres just about stable from 1,100 to 1,400 revolutions, to the ex-cellent automated 8 speed GO 240 Mercedes power shift. This is an optional fea-ture that should not be given up if one wants to control consumption and count on smooth gear changes.This coach has an interesting configuration, for it manages to keep the gross vehicle weight to 18 tons, weighing the 13 meters of length on the two axles, a variant that was introduced two years ago instead of original three axles asset. Furthermore, starting a few months ago, it is possible to choose the two axles version with the second door positioned in the back rather than in the centre. This is a solution that is feasible due to the length of the rear overhang (3.3 metres) that allows to increase the volume of luggage space between

THE only thing to make a difference from

the S 416 GT-HD/2 with standard equipment is the gearbox. It is not a small matter, for, instead of the manual 8 speed Mercedes, traction is managed by its more eveolved brother: the automated GO 240-8 PowerShift transmission with Voith VR 115 E integrated retar-der. It basically does everything by itself, optimizing consumption and minimizing the frequency of gear changes, still giving the driver the possibility to manually intercede with the joystick on the dashboard to force gear engagement when ne-cessary in particular situations.Upstream there’s the confirma-tion of the in-line 6 cylinders with the almost 12 litres OM 457 LA (vertical) engine with PDL injection system, with 428 horse power (315 kW) and 2,100 Nm of maximum torque at 1,100 rpm. This is the same engine that is fitted in the heavier GT-HD th-ree axles version of 13 metres.

Emissions meet EEV standards by taking advantage of the SCR system with injection of AdBlue into exhaust gases (consumption in relation to fuel is less than 5%) without the need to install an additional particulate filter.

The level of pneumatic suspen-sions (with independent wheel in the front) is controlled via electronic ENR. Like wise a la-test generation electronic system controls the braking system with ESP and Brake Assist.

Maximum safety is also a priority with all types of aiding systems for the drive. They are ESP, ART, ABA and SPA, FCG (Front Colli-sion Guard) for driver protection and fire detector in the engine compartment. •

the axles by almost two cube metres compa-red to the three axles version. Another advan-tage is savings on highway travels, for the toll is calculated also on the basis of the number of axles in a vehicle.The 4 stars IRU rating assigned for the 42 seats, full kitchen and a toilet included, is proof of the high level comfort of the S 416 GT-HD/2 that we took for the test drive. Varia-tions to this model con-sist in the removal of the kitchen and 48 seats or three stars rating for the 55 seats version.Located on the rear back, the kitchen is not the very simple cupboard that we are used to find on tou-ring coaches, but rather it is a whole area com-prising the entire length underneath the rear win-dow next to the toilet. Thus what we find is a kitchen area inclusive of sink, boiler for hot water, hot-dog heater, coffee machine, fridge, a wide counter top, tanks to send out water and for drainage, cupboard with three drawers and onboard telephone. This is a well-equipped area where one can operate with ease. The only flaw is that the left overhead luggage compartment should be shortened up to the seats in the last raw as to avoid being an in-convenience to kitchen users.To complete passengers’ comfort there is the comfort of VoyagePlus seats, an air conditio-ning system of 35kW, the Coach 2000 Pro-fessional Line audio-video system with DC, DVD, RDS and TA connected to speakers un-der the overhead racks and to two 19 inches flat screen monitors. •

It does it all Alone

MOTORE MERCEDES OM 457 LA Displacement cc 11,967Bore/Stroke 128/155Geometry vertical 6 in linePosition backPower 428 cv (315 kW)/2,000 rpm Torque Nm 2,100 to 1,100 rpmInjection PldCompression Ratio 18.5:1Oil Tank 38 litersPollution Class EevExhaust Gas Treatment ScrLife test vehicle km 18,223

TYRESContinental HSR2 295/80 R 22.5 152/148M

SUSPENSIONSFull pneumatic with level’s elec-tronic control. ZF RL-75E front axle with indipendent wheels. The mo-tor axle is the Daimler H06.BRAKESKnorr SB 7000 full disc brakes. Elec-tronically controlled EBS pneumatic system with ABS, ASR, Brake Assist (BAS) and Retarder.SAFETYESP, Font Collision Guard (FCG), Proximity Control (ART), Active Bra-ke Assist (ABA), Lane Assist (SPA), Engine fire detection. Rear view camera.

TRANSMISSIONThe tested vehicle has the automated Merce-des GO 240-8 PowerShift with eight speeds and the Voith VR 115 E integrated retarder.Transmission Ratio 3.909Acceleration 0-100 km/h sec. 37.7rpm/min

Km/h

Model km/h km/litre IndexSetra S416 GT-HD/2 76.9 4.57 8.79Mercedes Tourismo RHD 78.1 4.05 7.91Irisbus Magelys Pro 12,8 78.4 4.01 7.86VDL Futura FHD2 129/410 76.9 4.09 7.86

COACH: 2-AXLES COMPARED

GEARBOX

Nm

2,100

1,650

1,200

kW

315

300

270

240

210

1801,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800 2,000

15 23.5 35.5 56 77.5 97.5 122.5 154

8a 7a 6a 5a 4a 3a

2a

1a

0 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150 165

rpm/min

2,000

1,500

1,000

500

0

ENGINE