MAN TGX 26-580 2024 Review

We’ve driven the new MAN both at launch and with a decent drive in a TGX 26.640 soon after. So, when Penske hosted the transport media to a couple of days of testing and reacquainting out of the company’s vast operation in Wacol, Queensland, we took full advantage of the opportunity.

While we had a chance to look at a lot of the products in the new MAN lineup, the one that caught our eye was the TGX 26.580. It’s not that dissimilar to the 640, so we thought we’d take a deeper dive into some of the systems that are on offer as standard equipment on the big MANs.

All the new MANs have a host of proprietary equipment on board including a full suite of safety features that combine to make this one of the safest and most comfortable trucks on the market.

The MAN TGX range is designed for long-haul on-highway work and comes in three cab sizes: the GN, which is the standard height; the GM, which is the medium height; and the GX, which is the extra-height cab and the most spacious of the range.

Our test truck was the GX, which is a full-height walk-through cab with over two metres of standing height from the front right through to the rear of the sleeper. It’s a great cab with heaps of storage, a fridge/freezer under the bed and the option of an upper bunk for two-up driving.

It’s an easy cab to get in and out of with three big chunky steps to get up and good hand-holds along the way.

Once up, the driver’s seat is a beauty, with plenty of adjustment, heating for those chilly winter mornings, and a great view of the road ahead. The mirrors are worthy of note too. They’re slim and very well mounted, giving good peripheral vision and excellent rear vision as well.

We were told by a Penske exec that prior to launch, 172,000 hours of engineering and design work went into the cabs to get not only the interior but also the aerodynamics and external design right.

So if all those hours of toil went into the design of the cab, I suppose it’s fitting that we break it down a bit and check out some of the features that make it so impressive.

Take the steering wheel, for example. It’s smaller than we’re used to. And that makes it easier for driver’s fingers to reach the multitude of buttons on it. How many? It’s hard to say really… Is it 14? Is it 16? Or is it more? It’s a matter of how you count them, I suppose, but it’s a lot.

The buttons cover all the usual things like phone, volume, cruise control and scrolling for the information screen, but the little wheel also controls something more important – the steering. And that leads to another story. The new MANs are fitted with a new electric/hydraulic steering system that is an absolute ripper.

The new steering is variable; it aids low-speed manoeuvring and stiffens up at higher speeds to add to the feel for the driver. It’s also very direct and has little or no ‘slop’ in it, meaning the MANs are very sure-footed and easy to point exactly where you want them to go.

This new steering is mated to what MAN calls Lane Return Assist, which helps the driver to stay in the lane and actively prevents the vehicle from changing lanes unintentionally or leaving the road at road speeds of 60km/h and above. The right and left lane markings are detected by a camera-based system. If the system detects there is a risk of the vehicle leaving its lane without the turn indicator having been set, Lane Return Assist steers it back into the lane by means of corrective steering torque.

It's an added safety device that could be of help if the driver nods off momentarily and lets the truck wander out of its lane. Of course, it can be turned off, but we reckon it’s a good safety measure. I found that it wasn’t too intrusive and, if you steer straight, it’s no bother.

One final thing about the steering wheel is that it includes a driver’s airbag – and there’s one on the passenger side as well.

Braking is a big deal when you’re driving a truck and that is the focus of the next part of our deep dive into the MAN 26.580.

The MAN range features disc brakes all round and these are complemented by an anti-lock braking system, electronic stability program, anti-slip control, MAN Easy Start (a hill-holder feature) and the MAN Turbo EVBec High Performance engine brake.

The EVBec translates to Exhaust Valve Brake electronically controlled. This is a wear-free continuous engine brake. Its braking effect, which is controlled in five stages via the right-hand steering column stalk, increases with increasing engine speed, independently of the road speed.

It is claimed to have up to 845hp of braking effort.

This is combined with what MAN calls Brake Matic, where the driver can set the downhill speed of the truck by dabbing the service brake for a couple of seconds when the desired speed is reached. The truck will then use EVBec to keep the truck at this desired speed.

For the technically minded, the Turbo MAN EVBec is a development of the MAN EVB. The MAN EVBec enables control of the exhaust gas back-pressure and thus an improvement of the braking effect across the entire engine speed range.

By contrast with the MAN EVB and MAN EVBec, in the MAN Turbo EVBec, the exhaust throttle valve is located upstream and not downstream of the turbocharger. This means that significantly more back pressure can be built up during braking operation. As the pressure level in the engine increases, so does the brake output.

With the exhaust throttle valve closed, the nozzle effect causes a high flow at the slit that remains open. The targeted air flow to the turbocharger blades increases the turbine speed of the turbocharger on the exhaust side, and therefore also increases the speed on the intake side, which results in an even more powerful charging of the engine.

What’s more, with the Turbo EVBec a large part of the heat energy produced during braking is dissipated directly via the exhaust. The brake output is therefore not reduced, even on long hills.

It’s all very well to have all these wonderful systems, but the drivers all want to know one thing: What it’s like on the road?

We were fortunate to have a loaded B-double at our disposal for a nice drive out west of Brisbane, and as I settled into the driver’s seat, the easy operation of the MAN came back to me.

Of note is the Smart Select dial for selecting what you want on the big 12.3-inch infotainment screen. A simple twist of the dial to choose the function you want and then a press on the dial and the function is displayed on the screen. It’s a lot less fiddly than a touch-screen and once used to it, the driver can basically keep his or her eyes on the road.

A twist on the right-hand stalk gives transmission selection and then the brake release is down on the left.

A light push on the accelerator is all it takes for the big 15.2-litre in-line six to ease the MAN out into the traffic. Our test truck was the 580hp version, which is only slightly down on torque from the 640. The 640 boasts 3000Nm of torque whereas our 580 had a claimed peak torque 2900Nm between 950rpm and 1380rpm – the same range as the 640.

The MAN TipMatic gearbox has two driving programs available: ‘Efficiency’ and ‘Performance’. When the Performance driving program is activated, the gearshift strategy is designed to maximise the performance potential of the truck by reducing shifting times while moving the shift points to higher in the rev range.

When the Efficiency driving program is activated, the gearshift strategy is designed for comfort and fuel efficiency.

Personally, I preferred to drive in the Performance mode. It gave a few more revs and helped the big MAN haul the load over the hills.

Of course, you can manually change the gears by pushing down or pulling up on the stalk. I used this a few times to pre-empt a hill or to just keep a few more revs on board rather than letting the transmission lug right down to around 1000rpm – which it does very well…

Overall, it is a very smooth and easy truck to drive, it is comfortable with the four-bag rear suspension and the lovely driver’s seat with adjustable armrest. It’s quiet and just goes about its job without any fuss.

I loved the powerful exhaust brake, the direct steering and the room and storage in the TX cab. And now that Penske has got rid of most of its supply problems and has trucks on the ground, I reckon you will see more of these MAN trucks on the road in the months and years to come.

Specifications:

MAN TGX 26.580 6x4 TX cab
Engine: D38 15.2-litre in-line six-cylinder
Power: 580hp (427kW) at 1800rpm
Torque: 2900Nm at 900rpm to 1380rpm
Emissions: Euro 6
Transmission: TipMatic 12-speed OD AMT
GVM: 26 tonnes
GCM: 90 Tonnes
Front suspension: Three-leaf parabolic 9.5 tonne
Rear Suspension: Four-bag ECAS 11.5 tonne
Rear axles: Tandem 13-tonne hypoid rear axles
Axle ratio: 3.36
Fuel: 620L (LHS); 460L (RHS)
AdBlue: 85L (LHS)