New Gen Scanias on show

Following the gala Australian launch of the New Generation Scania in Sydney in March, Scania assembled a wonderful fleet of trucks in a host of different configurations for select media and operators to sample.

The event was held at the Australian Automotive Research Centre near Anglesea in Victoria last week and Scania had assembled a fleet of trucks that certainly displayed the versatility of the New Generation of Scanias.

Available for testing was everything from a P360 8x2 rigid truck (more on that later in this story) though to a loaded R620 V8 B-triple at 82 tonnes.

In between there were single-trailer semis with the 450 and 500 engines and B-Doubles with the 500 six-cylinder and 620 V8 engines.

Interior commonality
The spread of trucks on show certainly showed the versatility of the range but it also showed a lot of commonality. With this new range, Scania has adopted a policy of parts commonality across the range. This is obviously for cost savings but it does have benefits for owners and drivers.

At the Scania drive day, it didn’t matter which vehicle we climbed into, they all felt familiar. That’s because all the interiors are virtually the same. Despite having different cab configurations, all the New Generation Scanias have the same dash, so that no matter if we jumped out of the rigid truck and into an R500 B-Double, the layout from the driver’s perspective was the same.

Everything immediately fell to hand, and all the major switchgear and controls were in the same place. The benefits of this to the fleet owner who might have different trucks for different jobs is obvious.

The layouts are also sensible and ergonomically designed. The switches and controls that you need more often are placed closer to the driver and those that are used less often are a bit further away. Not so far, however, that the driver has to lean to reach them.

The dash is laid out sensibly with the speedo and tacho flanking a screen which the driver can roll through from the steering-wheel controls. This can display all the necessary functions for the driver’s pre-start checks and virtually everything he needs to know along his journey

Safety first
Some more of the major features that become obvious in these trucks (and some that don’t because you can't see them) are the built-in safety features.

In a first for Australia, and perhaps the world, all the Scania trucks imported to this country will have roll-over curtain air bags. The air bags are designed to not deflate immediately so that in the case of the driver or passenger being near the window, they will not be ejected or severely injured. According to Scania’s Ian Butler, this form of injury accounts for 25 per cent of deaths in truck crashes.

To complement the air bags, both the driver and passenger get suspension seats fitted with built-in seatbelts with pretensioners.

There are also plenty of inbuilt safety features of these trucks including lane departure warning, ABS, Automatic emergency braking (AEB), electronic stability program and radar cruise control.

Add to that improved vision from the cab, LED Lighting on some models and electric function for all rear-view mirrors on the truck and you have one of the safest trucks on the road today.

Engine choices
Part of the versatility story that accompanies the New Gen Scanias comes from the choice of engines that the company has on offer.

Available in nine-litre five-cylinder, 13-litre six-cylinder or 16-litre V8, the engines give a huge scope for differing applications from the 360hp that we drove in the rigid curtainsider right up to the V8 620hp 3000Nm beast in the R620 B triple.

All are mated to the 12-speed Opticruise automated manual transmission which was upgraded for this model with lay-shaft brake to dramatically cut shift times and smooth out the transmission.

Interestingly, we were told at the event that owners could option the transmission with a clutch pedal, and even a gearstick which is connected in a fly-by-wire manner to the gearbox for those who feel the need to change gears by the old method.

Scania’s popular retarder is also a feature available on all models and we got to check it out on the section of track that has a pretty good downhill gradient.

The Scania retarder has been around for a long time and from its beginning, the retarder could be engaged in two ways: via a lever on the instrument panel, or by pressing the brake pedal down slightly which engages the retarder and keeps the truck on a designated speed. The lever, on the other hand, has five positions, and the last position activates the exhaust brake.

In 2006 Scania launched a new generation of gearboxes in which the Opticruise – an automated manual – and an updated Scania Retarder were completely integrated. The retarder’s braking torque grew from 3000 to 3500Nm and the braking power at low revs had increased by 40 per cent, creating a drastic improvement at low speeds.

A more powerful Scania Retarder was launched in 2012, with braking torque of 4100Nm and dramatically increased low-rev performance.

Once you get used to using the retarder, it becomes a huge benefit to your driving and saves heaps on the service brakes as well as your trailer brakes.

P360 8x2 Rigid
This Scania event was the first real outing for the New Generation P360 rigid truck.The P360 was shown at the Sydney launch of the New Generation Scania but this was the first time that potential owners and the media had the opportunity to drive the truck.

And what a great drive it proved to be! The P360 is an absolute belter of truck that’s designed for urban and regional distribution work, but it could be adapted to a host of other applications.

The P360 is easy to get in and out of with three ergonomically designed steps up and plenty of sturdy hand holds along the way.

Once in the cab, it’s all familiar fare with the same array of switch gear and dials as the bigger trucks. Our P360 was a sleeper version with an amazing amount of space in the cab. The cab features mechanical suspension and has a cab strength to ECE R29 as well as the standard front and curtain air bags.

The colour dash display features handy info such as rear axle load, hour meter, service
and vehicle information. You also get climate control air-cond, electric control for all mirrors including spotter mirrors, cruise control and dash display control on the steering wheel, heaps of storage including a pull-out fridge, big comfortable sleeper and more.

On the road we found the P360 to be quiet and smooth with heaps of torque on hand – in fact the ‘little’ five-cylinder puts out a thumping 1700Nm (1254 lb/ft) between 1050 and 1350rpm.

And it’s delightfully manoeuvrable which was demonstrated to us (or we demonstrated ourselves) with a series of activities including parking and backing into ‘loading bays’ depicted by witches hats.

We also had the opportunity to try the radar cruise control in a controlled environment with a car for us to 'chase' which our co-drivers could radio and have the driver adapt his speed for us to match. It was a great demonstration of how effective this safety device is.

Overall, the P360 is a great truck that would handle a heap of jobs admirably, and if our brief test is any indication, it should be on the list for anyone looking for a comfortable and versatile rigid truck.

Specifications P360 8x2 Rigid
Engine: Scania DC 09 127 9-litre in-line 5-cylinder
Power: 360hp (265kW) at 1900rpm
Torque: 1700Nm (1254 lb/ft) @ 1050 – 1350
Emissions: Euro 6
Gearbox: Opticruise 12-speed automated manual with gearbox retarder
Front Axles: Scania AM640S
Front Suspension: Scania 2 bag air suspension
Rear Axles: Scania AD400SA axle housing, Scania R780 Differential
Ratio: 3.08 with differential lock
Rear Suspension: Scania two-bag air suspension
Brakes: Electronically controlled disc brakes with integrated ABS
Wheels: 22.5 x 8.25 steel
Tyres front: Bridgestone 295/80 R22.5
Tyres rear: Bridgestone 295/80 R22.5
Fuel: 1 x 450-litre R/H, 1 x 47-litre AdBlue tank R/H