Actros upgrade pays dividends

After a successful stint with his Mercedes-Benz Actros 2658, long-time VicMix contractor Daniel Venditti says stepping up to the flagship Actros 2663 has improved both his life behind the wheel and his bottom line.

Mr Venditti switched to his first Actros after many years of driving bonneted American trucks, but said the move to the German cab-over has brought many benefits – especially when it comes to his new Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663, which he uses to haul sand and stone.

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While Mr Venditti says his previous Actros was more fuel efficient than his previous trucks, he is particularly impressed with the economy of the Actros 2663, despite its Euro 6 compliant OM473 having the more powerful 630hp/3000Nm rating.

“Running at 63-tonne on a run up to Bairnsdale, it will do 2.4km per litre, which is really great,” Mr Venditti says.

“Even around town it is getting 2.0km per litre, which is way better than anything else I’ve driven.”

Comfort too, he says, is a highlight in the new truck, especially when compared with his previous manual-transmission conventional trucks.

“I used to get home after a long day really tired driving the other trucks, but it was so much less tiring in the Actros,” Mr Venditti says.

“There was a big difference and I would never go back,” he adds.

The Mercedes-Benz Actros 2663 features a 12-speed automated manual transmission with a crawler mode, which makes light work of every driving situation.

“I was sick of driving a manual, especially when you are doing a lot of stop-start – the AMT is so good that I’m happy to let it do its thing,” he says.

And the power upgrade of the Actros 2663 over his previous Actros is also a big plus, he says.

“You can certainly feel the difference with the 630hp over the 580,” he says. “It’s noticeable when you are hauling up out of the tunnels in Melbourne; it gets up there really nicely with 630hp.”

The high-tech truck also features two high-resolution displays inside the cab, along with an array of cutting-edge safety systems spanning autonomous braking with pedestrian detection, lane departure warning, and attention assist.

“I was surprised to see the screens in a truck,” Mr Venditti says. “You normally expect to see this kind of thing in luxury cars like Mercedes-Benz AMGs.”

Mr Venditti purchased his Actros through Melbourne’s Whitehorse Truck Centre, before adding a striking black bulbar with integrated LEDs, black tanks and polished chrome wheels.

Sporting VicMix’s distinctive pink paint scheme, which also raises awareness for Breast Cancer Australia, the truck was finished off with some old-school scrollwork by Trafalgar-based sign writer, Grant Fowler.

With its BTE tipper body and trailer, it all makes for one imposing road presence, while the truck delivers day in, day out for Mr Venditti in one tough theatre of operations.