Actros trumps Fuel Duel challenge

Mercedes-Benz says its Euro 6 Actros is delivering major fuel economy gains across Europe

They might be a while away from release in Australia, but Mercedes-Benz says its latest-generation Euro 6 compliant Actros trucks are delivering significant fuel savings in Europe when compared to competitor models.

According to data gleaned through the manufacturer's own 'Fuel Duel' – an in-house comparison test that sees identically equipped Actros prime movers embedded in operators' fleets – the Euro 6 Actros is delivering average fuel savings of 11 per cent compared to its competitors, while also bettering the economy of the previous generation Euro 5 Actros by around five per cent.

Around 750 Fuel Duels have been held so far in 22 European countries, with the 90 Actros test trucks involved triumphing in 90 per cent of trials.

The Fuel Duel was initiated by Mercedes-Benz Netherlands, and has been running now for two years.

The format for each Fuel Duel is the same: a fleet driver is given an Actros prime mover to conduct his usual work. Initially supported by a professional instructor or a member of Mercedes-Benz staff, the driver then has two weeks to trial the truck, which is supported by Mercedes-Benz's FleetBoard telematics.

Each Fuel Duel Actros is fitted with a StreamSpace cab and fitted with Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC). The latter uses GPS and topographic mapping to select the optimal gear for any given gradient or speed when using cruise control. Mercedes-Benz says the Euro 6 engine delivers a fuel economy improvement of five per cent, while the PPC achieves a further five per cent gain.

According to Dirk Meiberg (pictured), owner of German road freight operator Meiberg Transport, the Fuel Duel gave him the opportunity to put a Euro 6 Actros 1845 LS to the test.

"We weren't interested in the figures you find in brochures – we wanted to test the Mercedes in everyday operations and find out what it could do compared with our existing tractor units, which have overall average consumption figures of 29.5L/100km," he said.

The Fuel Duel Actros then drove 4972.7km during the test period, recording an average consumption of 25.0L/100km – significantly lower than the fleet average and 1.9L/100km under the consumption of the fleet's most economic truck.

Actros trumps Fuel Duel challenge

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