2016 Mercedes-Benz Actros: Review

Name: 2016 Mercedes-Benz Actros: Review
Brand: Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz Trucks is relying on its new Actros to lift flagging sales. We took one for a day around Melbourne to see what we can expect

Mercedes-Benz Trucks recognises that its market share has dropped recently, particularly on interstate routes. The vocational and distribution sectors are still pretty healthy and some of the off-road Actros versions are a mile ahead of competition. But the flagship highway hitters have recently underperformed on the sales charts.

Strategic Future Truck Platform (SFTP) is the internal name for the project launched by Mercedes-Benz back in 2014 to ‘Australianise’ the new Actros prime mover and re-capture the kind of market share the brand enjoyed a few decades ago.

Mercedes-Benz truck dealers and established customers alike have watched competitive brands move ahead in areas like fuel economy, comfort, style and sales as the big German brand has marked time.

In 2013 we drove the new Actros in the UK, just a few months after its debut in Germany. That same truck is nearly ready for introduction to Australia after a long period of local testing and evaluation. The company has brought in 14 of the new ones, painted them all matt black and plastered “Evaluation Truck” all over the sides. Nine are on the highways and byways, and the remainder are being used for sales and service training.

We were recently invited to drive the narrow-cab (2.3-metres) 6x4 version with a rigid body and an eight-litre engine with 345hp which is not much different from the biggest Actros, until you look closely or climb inside. All the safety and driver-aid gear from the bigger truck is in this model, and it makes quite a difference to the driving experience on busy metropolitan roads.

Cruise control was engaged nearly all the time as it activated the distance sensing radar and maintained safe distances between traffic in front. Distribution fleets that buy the new Actros will do well to train their drivers in exploiting these systems fully as accident rates will doubtless reduce.

Actros has always been a stable driving platform, but this new model benefits from an extra 50mm width between the chassis rails. The test route was around some major Melbourne suburbs and out towards the Dandenongs. Narrow twisting roads highlighted the stability of the new truck’s steering and suspension. Even some high winds that hit the curtainsider body later in the drive failed to disturb the truck’s track.

The new engine’s Euro VI technology delivers a very quiet engine package. With the ultra-smooth PowerShift AMT transmission drivers will recognise a contrast between the Actros and anything else in the fleet.

The SFTP project is a first for Australia and involves the Australian arm getting more test vehicles for evaluation than any other global market outside Europe. The product names are not yet finalised, but Actros is likely to remain. However, the naming emphasis will turn to a numbers convention to describe horsepower and weight capacity.

LOCAL INPUT

The first vehicles arrived in late 2014 and spent some time in preparation and certification. A critical part of the testing process was the product steering committee group, comprised of engineers, sales executives, dealers and customers. The strategy sees the V8 Mercs disappearing forever, with the new models released for sale in the last quarter of 2016.

Around 35 different operators have been using the Euro VI test trucks so far and have consistently reported improvements in fuel efficiency, including a big drop in AdBlue use.

As far as group technology goes, the new engine series uses the same block as the Detroit DD15, but the top end is quite different. Engine capacities will range from eight to eleven, to thirteen and sixteen litres. All will be a combination of SCR and EGR with a DPF as well.

Changes so far identified for Australia include a broader mirror set, fuel packaging mods to increase range, transmission programming to suit our topography and loads, and a local lighting installation that includes compatibility with all Australian trailers.

The Actros will have one of the biggest bunks in Euro trucks and the mattress will be an inner spring job instead of a foam slab. It will be standard width and drivers won’t need to slide the front seats forward for access.

Weight and balance is being tailored to local regs by moving the front axle a further 40mm forward. With the six-cylinder engine set further back it has shifted a larger slice of weight towards the drive axles. The 13-litre is around 130kgs lighter than the 16-litre, so this weight shifting is important, as all the six-pot engines are heavier than the V8s.

The local team is presently fixing a range of horsepower and torque outputs for each engine size. Within each engine capacity the output differences will be achieved by software changes, although some will need larger cooling capacity. Additional mechanical changes will be available on the production line to take care of custom builds.

The biggest weights carried so far during the evaluation program are 110-120t on a Perth-Onslow run for the last 12 months. Performance for this application has exceeded expectations and the operator has reported there have been no cooling issues. One of the trucks will soon be up-rated to 160t to push the limits.

All the Actros models will have latest generation PowerShift3 12 and 16-speed AMTs. As most of the linehaul trucks now opt for AMTs, manual options will only be available on the rigid models.

One truck in the program already has 250,000kms on the clock and the total evaluation fleet has clocked over one million kilometres and will likely hit 1.5 million by release.

At this stage, the top end of the Actros model line, the SLT ultra-heavy haulage unit will not get the new engine line-up. That model will still be delivered in V8 form, using the hydraulic clutch start system linked to the PowerShift transmission. However, the next iteration of the SLT will likely move to the six-cylinder with mechanical forms of deep reduction for this specialist work.

Michael May, director of Daimler Truck and Bus for Australia, said that the company believes the Actros is the ticket to getting volume back into the dealer network, and he feels the network is primed and ready to deal.

But he added that the new Actros will be sold hard on the theme of total cost of ownership, which may indicate that initial pricing will be higher, offset by lower operating costs. And as a result the specification and cab features have been designed and packaged to leapfrog the competition - until the competition responds that is.

As regards EuroV versus VI, with the Australian ADR 80/04 standard stalled in the bureaucracy, the company feels that flying the Euro VI flag is not as attractive as it has been previously.

The new Actros will be the most carefully tailored truck that the Australian Daimler Trucks arm has yet offered. Next year’s sales will tell if the effort was worth it.

Specifications:

Engine: OM 936 7.7-litre six-cylinder

Power: 354hp

Torque: 1400Nm

Emissions: Euro VI

Std Transmission: PowerShift3 12-speed AMT

Configuration: 6x4 Rigid

Fuel: 290 litres left, 290 litres right

Brakes: Disc all-round

Cabs: Day, Sleeper