Ged it, ged it??? Actros, actress……my comedic talents are wasted on you lot!
I have been in contact with Mercedes Benz Trucks UK and thought it only fair a do a bit more on this gorgeous new truck. Just look at it………….. that’s all i’ve got to say!!
As you have probably already read else where this is a completey new range of trucks. Chassis, driveline, engines and cabs are all new. Mercedes are bringing in the new range under the premise “Trucks you can trust”. The basis of this is the amount of testing that has been done, supposedly more than any other all new truck. The new Actros has undergone 2600 hours of fine-tuning in the wind tunnel, 50 million kilometres of engine testing on test rigs and in real-life operation, and 20 million kilometres on the road. The foundations for development were laid as far back as ten years ago, and Mercedes-Benz has spent five years testing the components and the complete vehicle. During this time, the new Actros clocked up around 20 million kilometres on the road, including intensive customer driving tests. On top of this, there were extremely rigorous tests on test rigs, torture-track tests and a series of other extreme examinations. The real-life road tests covered all climatic conditions as well as extreme road conditions and gradients, ranging from an Arctic winter to an extremely hot desert climate. Real-life testing also included customer driving tests in the new Mercedes-Benz Actros.
I do love those test trucks. They are like a Hollywood superstar who doesn’t want to be noticed, so they wear a big hat, massive sunglasses and stand out like a sore thumb. They may as well just sign write the thing with new truck on test, ssssshhhhhhhhhh! Who is going to be the first to have this black and white eye night mare as a company livery?? Brilliant.
I sorry to say i’m not going to go into detail on the mechanical stuff, as I have never claimed to be mechanical in any way. Best to ask your friendly salesman as they will talk to you as if they know what they are talking about where as i won’t.
So onto the interior. Although you could claim that the interior does resemble the current Actros range, it is all new. I did hear that the trucks are using components and parts from the MB car range. There will be 7 new cabs in the range of which 5, yes 5, will have a completely flat floor, pretty impressive. Now as an ex Actros Megaspace owner, I can vouch for the comfort and space in the big cabs. The storage space was never more apparant than when the day came to empty the cab, it took me 2 car loads to clear all my gubbins out.
The seven cabs for the new Actros in detail are:
– The long ClassicSpace cab with a standard roof. 2.3 m wide, engine tunnel 170 mm. Headroom on the engine tunnel 1.46 m, in front of the co-driver’s seat 1.59 m.
– The long ClassicSpace cab with a standard roof. 2.3 m wide with a flat floor. Headroom on the engine tunnel 1.64 m.
– The long StreamSpace cab. 2.3 m wide, engine tunnel 170 mm. Headroom on the engine tunnel 1.79 m, in front of the co-driver’s seat 1.84 m.
– The long StreamSpace cab. 2.3 m wide with a flat floor. Headroom 1.97 m.
– The long StreamSpace cab. 2.5 m wide with a flat floor. Headroom throughout 1.97 m.
– The long BigSpace cab. 2.5 m wide with a flat floor. Headroom throughout 1.99 m.
– The long GigaSpace cab. 2.5 m wide with a flat floor. Headroom 2.13 m.
As i predicted on the blog a while ago there is going to be a GigaSpace cab, with a mind boggling volume of 11.6 cubic metres, a flat floor, 2.13 metres of headroom and more than 900 litres of stowage space. All that means to me and you is you will have more than enough room to swing the proverbial German cat! Mercedes say;
“At the heart of the interior is a concept which visually separates the easy-to-use cockpit from the comfortable living area using colour and geometric form. The functional area of the cockpit is finished in practical anthracite whilst the rear, ceiling and area around the co driver’s seat are appointed in a light almond beige colour.”
Along with all the other things you would imagine a new truck to have, including a top of the range, Mercedes Benz developed seat that is wider than the standard and incorporates a massage function……ooo-eerr!! In terms of height, the only thing that limits the new Actros is legislation: the previous MegaSpace cab is replaced by the spectacular GigaSpace cab, which opens up a new dimension in space. It is all but four metres high and, when it comes to spaciousness, trumps its predecessor by some 920 litres – almost a whole cubic metre. This extra space is reflected in a headroom of 2.13 metres throughout and a noticeably larger stowage capacity. The total volume of 11.6 cubic metres is a record for a European truck cab.
Just keep your grubby mits off those beige areas. Lovely as they are, i’m still not convinced they are a good idea in a working truck. As an owner driver i would and Mrs Truckblog would make sure it was kept clean. Saying that, all the area’s you are likely to be touching and standing in,all look to be black / grey coloured. Just not sure how the fleet trucks will fair after a few years on the road. But i have to say it does make for a lovely living area. You would struggle to haul yourself out of such a cab to go into oour crappy motorway services. Now here’s an idea, perhaps if your lucky enough to get one of these new cabs, you should park up and charge other drivers to come and enjoy your lovely new cab!! or better still perhaps Mercedes should take the new trucks to the plonkers who run our Motorway Services Area’s to show them what our drivers need to relax.
One new option you can spec is the “SoloStar Concept”. This gives a sort of corner sofa in the passenger side set back against the rear wall. Also as you can see below, there is what looks like a fold up/out table for you to sit and try to read up on the ever complicating drivers hours rules or some such!
Finally i’ll leave you with a cracking photo of this new truck. I hope that this wont be the last you here about it on the blog, as i’m hoping to have some more feedbck from Mercedes Benz them selves and you never know i may even get a test drive, well thats what i hope!! Good truck, sorry GREAT Truck, my predication and a fairly obvious one, this will be a clear winner in the Truck of the Year competition next time around.
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