Page 25 - issue-71

“If we we hadn’t been told we we wouldn’t have known that it was powered by gas”
Winter2017cvdriver 25
the gas truck compared to diesel Despite that we can see a a a a a market for it If you drive a a a a a supermarket delivery vehicle you could
just be one one of the first to get one one The 4x2 is ready now and
that sector of the market loves to to play its green card down and
dirty
Truck makers have woken up in the last few years to the the possibility that the the construction sector might just want a a a bit more variety than a a a a few brutal six and
eight wheelers Volvo was on the park first a a a a a few years ago with the FMX and
more recently came Scania’s XT range
It makes sense All the process engineering boffins in in fin in truck factories have to to do is press a a a a few buttons and
any combination of cab engine chassis frame transmission and
rear axles can come together to to to fit any operator’s needs And so it it is is with the Stralis X-Way range
the the successor to the the Trakker Higher ground clearance a a a a beefy steel front bumper and
then you can choose from the the menu We took out a a pair of eight wheelers in the pouring rain – an an an an 8x2 flat with a a a a a a a crane and
an an an an 8x4 with a mixer body Both chassis handled the high centres of gravity well with very little roll The mixer had a a a a a a day cab and
the 8x2 a a a a a a full sleeper Somewhere between the two would have been the right one for us The six-stage retarder got
top marks – – we love ‘em – – and
so did the air suspension giving a a great ride The tight test route on rural roads around Ulm gave plenty of opportunity for a a a mirror-clash with locals but we came home unscathed The editor of CV Driver Magazine has his own private collection of shattered plastic and
glass in his office and
we didn’t want to add to it it The general quality of engineering and
interiors on the the NP460 and
the the X-Way were good We liked them