Scania R620 V8: Review

Flight VA219 touched down in Adelaide a few minutes ahead of schedule, which was handy, because my host, Scania’s Alan McDonald was keen to get on the road before lunch.

Alan had spent most of the morning washing the Scania R620 and its Freighter B-Double trailer set.

“How was the flight?” Alan enquired as I stepped from the cab, “Toss you bags up here and we can head off if you like.”

I scribbled the rego number into my work diary along with a corresponding line next to the time.

The seat adjustment in the new Scania is relatively straight forward with the controls located in the right-hand side of the seat base and in few moments the seat was set up comfortably. The mirror adjustment is via switches conveniently located in the forward section of the door’s arm rest. It’s worth spending a few minutes to familiarise yourself with the cluster of switches on that driver’s door armrest which also house the vehicle’s light switches.

Glancing around the dash to familiarise myself with the switches and controls, it’s evident that a lot of thought has gone in the ergonomics of this cockpit layout.

At the launch some months back, Kristofer Hansen, Scania’s Head of Styling and Industrial Design explained at length how his team had focused on putting the essential switches and controls a driver would frequently use within easy reach without the driver needing to take their hands off the steering wheel. Even the gear selection and retarder lever can be accessed without removing the hand from the steering wheel.

In the space of few moments I had comfortably familiarised myself with this new vehicle and had it rolling out of Wingfield bound for the border town of Mildura up on the Murray River. These days, the ability to quickly adapt to a new truck’s environment is paramount for large trucking fleets with tight schedules and compliance with fatigue requirements.

Traffic midday Sunday out the Northern Freeway was light, Alan took the opportunity to explain the finer workings of the new Scania. By the time the Northern Freeway morphed into the Sturt Highway on the northern side of Gawler the conversation had rolled around to the V8 power plant underneath the cabin.

To be perfectly frank, I like V8 engines. In fact, my Holden ute is powered by a V8 albeit a tad smaller than the 16.4 litre V8 under the shed of this new Scania R620. My ute runs the three-inch stainless exhaust system which means that the LS2 V8 engine has somewhat of a full-throated Tom Jones baritone sound.

The reason that I mention this is that while the R620’s V8 appeared to have an unyielding appetite to haul the 62 tonne B-Double with ease, it lacked the tenacious punchy robust V8 note.

The ride inside the cabin is smooth and quiet. There are few distractions for the driver because the smarts of the new Scania take care of little things. The driver is free to concentrate on the road ahead.

Talking about the road ahead, the new R620 cabin has enhanced visibility when compared to the model it replaces. For starters, the flat windscreen wraps around the outer edge of the cabin. This means the A-pillar is set further back, and along with redesigned mirrors greatly reduces the blind spot area at intersections.

The short four-and-a-half hour run from Adelaide to Mildura meant there was little time to test out the new integrated auxiliary cab cooler. However, Alan explained that the cooler runs on battery power to maintain constant cabin temperatures when the vehicle and driver are at rest.

While on the subject of rest, Alan pointed out that the spring mattress in the bunk extends to a full metre in width. The cabin is fully appointed with generous storage space above the bunk.

Up front, the standard H7 halogen headlights have been replaced with LED headlights and daytime running lamps, meantime the rear lamps are also upgraded to LED.

Like most trucks on the market today, the Scania comes with a raft of safety features that include, Advanced Emergency Braking, which provides semi-autonomous protection, Adaptive Cruise Control with Active Prediction that monitors topography for improved fuel saving strategies, Electronic Stability Programme and Lane Departure Warning.

Ride and handling in the new R620 are a step up from the previous model and according to Scania, this is partly attributed to the revamped front suspension that sees the front axle 50mm further forward compared to the model it replaced. This has the added advantage of reducing dive under braking.

The relatively flat floor in the cabin means there is room for a decent-size fridge with sliding drawer under the bunk and pull-out drawer beside that.

While the creature comforts and ease of operation in the driver’s seat was making light work of the journey north along the Sturt Highway, the conversation turned to the research and development that had gone on behind the scenes to improve the operating efficiency of this new NTG Scania range.

Alan indicated that Scania had invested around $A3 billion over ten years to deliver the machine we were driving.

“Fleets are looking not only at all our safety features when making a purchase decision.” Alan said. “They’re looking for greater efficiencies from engines and drivelines components.

“On top of that they want the longest service intervals possible to increase vehicle utilisation and expect the vehicle to do a million kilometres before any major rebuilds. It might sound like a tall order but it’s this type of criteria that Scania took into consideration when developing this model.”

The 16.4 litre V8 in this R620 is the Euro-5 variant and punches out 620hp (456kW) with 3000Nm (2213 ft/lb) of torque from 950rpm through to 1400rpm. The power is transferred through Scania’s GRSO905R overdrive Opticruise transmission to final drive of 3.07:1 ratio. Scania also offers Euro-6 versions of the V8 with power ratings from 520hp through to 730hp.

The tall diff ratio, did mean that cruising revs were relatively low, and that, according to Alan, is where it needs to be to get the optimum fuel economy. Higher torque, with tall final drive ratios is becoming a more common spec these days. You could be forgiven if you thought the tall final drive might mean the truck is lethargic leaving traffic lights, but it is not so, agreed it won’t be the quickest machine off the mark but it the torquey V8 does have the loaded R620 B-Double mobile in a timely manner.

“It not a race,” Alan reminds me. “It’s all about operating more efficiently”.

This new Scania, like the models before, have the driver support system which is centred around a display system in the main instrument panel, it provides on-going advice to drivers, such as suggesting they reduce the power slightly before cresting a rise. Such refinements are well known to seasoned professional drivers, but can be forgotten or neglected.

“To avoid making drivers feel under pressure or frustrated, the system rewards fuel-efficient driving,” Alan explained. “It assesses areas including reversing, brake use, gear selection and the driver’s ability to plan ahead. If a driver often accelerates and then subsequently brakes, it detects a lack of forward thinking and the driver score will drop.”

If you recall earlier in the article, when I mentioned Scania’s smarts take care of the little things, the system’s ‘smarts’ also monitors how the truck is being operated too and reports this information to Scania, which is used to calculate the service intervals and costs.

For instance, if you have a driver who has an aggressive driving style, such as harsh acceleration and braking, the new Scania will detect this then through the driver’s score, (which will be considerably low) schedule the vehicle in for earlier services, more frequent brake replacements and so forth.

Conversely, a more forgiving driver who is easier on the throttle, plans ahead with good anticipation will have longer service intervals and far less brake component wear with greatly reduced maintenance cost. The new Scania truck is clever enough to monitor how it is being operated and adjusts its scheduled maintenance accordingly.

The benefits of a thoughtful driving style in the new Scania extend far beyond the fuel bowers for fleets.

But what’s in it for the driver? Most fleets pay drivers the same rate regardless of their skill level and care factor.

Getting five little green stars in a message on the dash is ok, but does it put a few extra dollars in the driver’s pocket? Sadly, across the board the answer is no, it’s a flat rate regardless of the driver’s score.

But why not reward good drivers with the pleasure of hearing that V8 when it’s on song. The better the truck is driven the better it sounds. What a terrific advertisement and reward for good drivers. After all, no one really remembers the silent achievers, but over three decades since they were last in production, people still talk about the cracking V8 sound of the Mack Superliner-II with revered reverence.

From a driver’s point of view the new NTG Scania certainly is a comfortable truck that is well appointed with ample storage space and creature comforts for long haul drivers. Its road manners are what we’ve come to expect from Scania, the truck is very sure footed which conveys confidence even over some the rougher sections of highway. In terms of fit and function it ticks all the boxes with good visibility and simple-to-use cockpit.

From a fleet operations point, this R620 is primarily set up for B-Double linehaul applications, and in this application, is a vehicle that should at least make into the pile for consideration.

“How did you enjoy that?” Alan enquired as I handed him the keys to the R620 in Mildura. “Very nice”, I replied. “But sadly I’ll have to wait till I get home to hear a V8”.

Engine: DC16 115 Euro 5
Capacity: V8 16.4-litres
Power: 620hp (456 kW) at 1900rpm
Torque: 3000Nm (2213 lb-ft) at 950 to 1400rpm
Fuel System: Scania XPI Extra-High Pressure Injection
Emission System: Scania SCR
Gearbox: GRSO905R overdrive 12-speed +2 crawler gears, Opticruise fully automated gear-change
Rear axle ratio: 3.07:1
Scania Opticruise Modes: Economy and Standard
Cruise Control: Adaptive Cruise Control with Active Prediction topographical interface
Brakes: ABS/EBS7 disc brakes with Advanced Emergency Braking
Retarder: Scania R 4100 D retarder (plus engine exhaust brake)
Axle distance: 3150mm
Bogie distance: 1350mm
Wheels: Alcoa DuraBright,
Tyres: Michelin 305/70R 22.5 steer/drive patterns
Suspension: Steel parabolic leaf (front), 2-spring air (rear)
Fuel tanks: 320-litres (r), 710-litres (l), 105-litres (Adblue)
Cab: CS 20H Highline Sleeper cab with 1000mm extendable pocket spring bunk, electric cab tilt system, 53cm side air deflectors, 65cm roof mounted air deflector, double catwalk at back of cab
Standard features: Scania Communicator C 300, electronic stability system and traction control, lane departure warning and forward-looking camera, Eco-roll, hill hold, differential lock, LED tail-lights, LED daytime running lights and position lamps, LED fog lights.