MAN pushes efficiency envelope

MAN has proven its TGX EfficientLine 2 suite of fuel-saving technologies over a 5200km European road test, with many of its benefits heading our way

MAN Truck & Bus recently launched its Euro 6 TGX EfficientLine 2 bundle of fuel-saving features at the IAA commercial vehicle expo in Hannover, Germany. The manufacturer is claiming a significant reduction in fuel usage compared to an equivalent TGX combination fitted with its earlier EfficientLine package.

The claim was verified by Germany's independent certification body TÜV Süd after a 5217km test drive that saw two MAN 4x2 TGX 18.480 prime movers hauling identical trailers on a loop from MAN headquarters in Munich to Spain and then back to Germany, where the run finished at the IAA expo.

One was fitted with the EfficientLine package, first introduced by MAN in 2010, while the other had the new EfficientLine 2 package. The bottom line, confirmed by TÜV Süd, was a 6.57 per cent reduction in fuel usage for the TGX in EfficientLine 2 trim.

While the prime movers in question were both fitted with MAN's 13-litre D26 engine, most of the EfficientLine 2 features will soon be finding their way to Australia in MAN's new 15-litre D38-engined TGX flagship, which will be released locally in 2015.

In Europe, the EfficientLine 2 package currently comprises the Euro 6 D26 engine with TipMatic 2 automated manual transmission, EfficientCruise cruise control, an air-pressure management system, Aeropackage with chassis side trim, 'energy' tyres, low-energy-draw daytime driving lights, an 85km/h speed limiter, an energy-efficient alternator, a variety of weight-reduced components, a door extension to further improve the truck's aerodynamics, the hardware to accommodate MAN's telematics system, and training with MAN's ProfiDrive driver trainers.

To this, European operators can add any of four options: a tyre-pressure monitoring system, an idle shutdown feature, LED taillights, and an MAN telematics voucher.

While we're yet to see the roll-out of MAN's Euro 6 D26-engined trucks in Australia, the brand's local distributor, Penske Commercial Vehicles, has confirmed the new D38-engined TGX revealed in July and premiered at the IAA will be launched in Australia at the Brisbane Truck Show (May 14-17) and will feature many of the EfficientLine 2 measures.

Penske Commercial Vehicles' General Manager, Marketing, Cris Gillespie, said the D38-engined TGX will only be available with the new TipMatic 2 transmission.

"We've currently only got TipMatic 1 in our fleet because that's the change from Euro 5 to Euro 6 – with Euro 6 the TipMatic will go from 1 to 2," he said.

The TipMatic 2's Speed Shifting and Idle Speed Driving features will be available on the D38 here but the 'Profi' programming available for the transmission in Europe won't.

"We will only offer the Fleet programming [for the TipMatic 2 transmission] in Australia – for our conditions, it's still very fuel efficient and from a performance point of view it's the best spec," said Gillespie.

The EfficientCruise GPS-supported, topographic cruise control will be available as well in the not-too-distant future. This selects the optimal engine input to make best use of the vehicle's inertia over any given terrain.

"MAN is currently working out the GPS support for Australia – it's going to be here, but there are a few things still to be ironed out," Gillespie said.

The Air Pressure Management (APM) system will also be available on the D38 – this automatically cuts out the air compressor when not in use – as will the Aeropackage, minus the chassis side trim which is generally difficult to integrate with the typically larger fuel tanks found on Australian trucks.

The Continental ECO-PLUS 'energy' tyres will be available and the daytime driving lights have also been confirmed, as has the new alternator and the optional tyre pressure monitor, idle shutdown feature (which shuts the engine down after four minutes of idling), and LED taillights.

The 85km/h speed limiter only applies to the Euro market while Gillespie says the weight-saving measures will be up to individual operators.

Finally, Penske Commercial Vehicles says it has an in-house MAN ProfiDrive-certified driver trainer to help customers get the most from their MAN trucks, while a different (but MAN-endorsed) telemetry package is already available.

Mr Gillespie said many of the EfficientLine 2 items were available in the original EfficientLine package, with the TipMatic 2 transmission and the EfficientCruise technology the most notable exceptions.

"MAN has a very strong reputation in Europe [for fuel efficiency] but we haven't done enough to push that aspect here," he said.

"Many local MAN operators have commented in the past on just how unbelievable their Euro 5 trucks are in terms of fuel efficiency, and it's really down to that transmission and how they tune the engines – even in Euro 5 guise it's still a very fuel efficient product.

"I think you'll see a pretty good improvement again with some of these [EfficientLine 2] items on the Euro 6 D38 product, but there's still a lot there in Euro 5."

To see MAN's recent D26-engined TGX EfficientLine 2 fuel economy run check out the clip below.

MAN pushes efficiency envelope

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