A Scania HGV "review" - 10 years after the last one!

Scania · 18 Dec 2018 at 21:42

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/t...barbara-hilary-56k-no.17871464/#post-11612236

Some of the old timers may remember this thread, posted back in 2008 after I'd got a then new R Series Scania HGV, whilst I'm sure its pretty much common knowledge for those not in the know I'm a professional HGV driver - have been for way longer than I care to remember - hence the username Scania, my preferred "Horse" to ride around in.....

Anyway, fast forward 10 years from the last review, today I got my grubby mitts on a new generation (as there known) Scania R series and wow! what an improvement over the old model...

Unfortunately unavoidably dirty due to the time of year, its a Scania R450 44t artic, registered in September and already with nearly 18k miles under its wheels, a huge improvement on the older model in every respect bar imo styling - the old model looks much better from the outside I feel but thats pretty much the only part where the old model is better I feel.

For comparison, taken at the OC/UK meet earlier in the year..

Inside is where it shines over the older model, let me take you around...

Lots of red lighting which you'll see later, a particularly nice touch being the illuminated door, handy when open in a layby on the A1....

Youll see beneath the seat a hand held control for the air suspension, and if you look closely to the rear you see lumbar adjustment for your lower and middle back (air bags in the seat) and two stage seat heating (stage II should be called arse fryer its that hot!)

Once in your sat in an extremely comfy seat...

Multi function steering wheel controls for the infotainment system, cruise control, phone and truck setup...

Looking to the left you have two of three USB inputs (for media playing, phone charging etc) company fitted phone (which suits fine, my own phone is paired to the trucks system which is independent) lighting, heating and suspension controls along with differential locks, aircon and the infotainment system...

For purposes of the built in SAT-NAV you tell it the trucks dimensions and weight...

And it will route you accordingly taking into account the weight, length and (most importantly) height of the rig, I've tried to catch it out and its not let me (yet!)...

I don't particularly like the map layout (no matter if its set to 2D or 3D) I fine NavMii on my iPhone far superior to be honest, but NavMii does not allow for the trucks size so I can forgive it that one!!

It'll tell you who your listening to if your unsure!

Range to empty of fuel and Ad-Blu (fuel additive) tanks...

Three different modes of operation, ECO where it changes gear early and will coast over the brow of hills to save fuel, Standard (where it won't) and Power mode where it will always drop a cog on hills and give you the full beans which to be honest is practically redundant, you can happily run in ECO mode @44t (maximum weight) and the truck does not struggle at all.

Controls for the lights (automatic if preferred) are on the drivers door along with electric adjustment for all mirrors & electric windows, they all fall to hand beautifully, the ergonomics in this machine are quite something...

Dashboard "Night mode" button - turns off everything bar the speedometer - very effective along with lane departure and collision warning buttons, hill start assist (never use it) and the trucks limited speed (as required to be displayed by law)

Sensors for the collision warning system (which will apply the brakes - violently - if you choose to ignore it!) rain sensor and obligatory dash cam.

Dashboard air suspension controls with memory presets for certain configurations.

Back at the yard, it got a wash...

Much better!

@Gibbo - cleaned the wheels but, alas, no tyre shine.

Air lines and catwalk where you go to couple the combination up...

And in case you were in any doubt as to who built it...

How it looks in the dark!

Technical plate showing its legal and design capacities - I'm somewhat horrified that such a Swedish beauty was built in - FRANCE!!!!

So there you have it, a 2018 Scania.

I can't put into words how much of a leap forward it is from its predecessor, which was a fine truck itself, the steering is quite literally lighter than it is in my e38 BMW, the road holding and handling (Yes, handling ability in a 44t truck) is unbeleivable, the refinement is remarkable.

Trucking is becoming far too refined, a kid could drive this thing (these days, there practically allowed to!) , the traction, stability, road holding and pulling power is superb and no matter what I'm yet to do worse than 10 MPG (which given my car averages 18 says something!)

What a truck.

Any questions, be my guest.

Housey · 18 Dec 2018 at 21:47

I now expect 15 pages about that phone

Quartz · 18 Dec 2018 at 22:16

How does the cab perform on a race-track? Does the GPS turn off the speed limiter?

BTW if memory serves, I got into trouble here for saying that a Skoda Kodiaq needed more than one USB port, so stand by!

Scania · 18 Dec 2018 at 22:29

Quartz said:
How does the cab perform on a race-track? Does the GPS turn off the speed limiter?

BTW if memory serves, I got into trouble here for saying that a Skoda Kodiaq needed more than one USB port, so stand by!

You don't have to live in a Kodiaq wheras a truck is often the drivers home, those USB's come in handy, especially the one by the bunk....

dvinell · 18 Dec 2018 at 22:33

Interesting stuff.
I’ve never driven anything bigger than a 7.5t back in 1990.

What sort of gearbox/clutch arrangement does it have? (the clutch pedal looks to be missing)
What’s the bunk like?
Any facilties for making Tea?
What’s an Apple iGoat?

Scania · 18 Dec 2018 at 22:37

dvinell said:
Interesting stuff.
I’ve never driven anything bigger than a 7.5t back in 1990.

What sort of gearbox/clutch arrangement does it have?
What’s the bunk like?
Any facilties for making Tea?

Fully automatic (albeit automated manual if you see what I mean)

The bunk is very comfortable.

I have a 24v kettle

iGoat is my iPhone

Dr Who · 19 Dec 2018 at 00:33

Nice, Auto as well.

Scania · 19 Dec 2018 at 08:48

arfoll said:
Good fun to see something v.different - cool to see even if I know nothing about trucks.

What's your view on V8 vs il6 versions? Tbh I had no idea of engine configurations - how many gears has it got? What's the driven axles? Tell us more! Also engine bay shots required

This one is an i6, the V8’s are better suited to pulling lots of weight (but of course more expensive) although interestingly Volvo’s top power truck is an i6 @750bhp whereas Scania’s 16litre V8 is 730bhp, both have near identical torque output but - having driven both - the V8 seems to pull better from low revs which seems a trait of most Scania’s I’ve driven.

I’d prefer a V8 but for regular U.K. distribution work they aren’t needed.
You see plenty of R730’s pulling standard trailers running @44t which is ludicrous given they were designed for abnormal loads and things like Australian 120+ ton road trains!

It’s driven by the rear axle although the truck can be specified with middle or double drive if required by an operator (again, abnormal heavy loads)

14 forward gears, two ultra low “crawler” gears and 12 normal use and two reverse gears, a low and high range, you can change gear whilst reversing also.

This is the engine, photo taken from the web.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 19 Dec 2018 at 09:03

But what about the important numbers, 0-60, 1/4 mile time, number of torques etc

Scania · 19 Dec 2018 at 09:17

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior said:
But what about the important numbers, 0-60, 1/4 mile time, number of torques etc

0-60 is a bit difficult with a 90Km/h speed limiter alas

1/4mile can be the stopping distance at full weight in the wet which is something to consider before cutting in front of a truck!! (not saying you do btw)

Torques, this has 2350Nm.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 19 Dec 2018 at 09:22

Scania said:
0-60 is a bit difficult with a 90Km/h speed limiter alas

1/4mile can be the stopping distance at full weight in the wet which is something to consider before cutting in front of a truck!! (not saying you do btw)

Torques, this has 2350Nm.

hehe thx

1/4 mile stopping distance, dang thats scary!
Nah I try to keep well away from you fellas when ever I can, to be honest I give way more than I need to.
I know if there is a coming together then I am 100% going to come off worst.

Other thing I never ever do is sit between two trucks (ie one in front one behind). I saw a result of an accident when I had my old scoob (was another scoob involved) and the cab of the following truck ended up touching the back of the front cab.
The scoob ended up in the tiny gap left under the back of the trailer and the bottom of the cab. 1 in a million but the driver survived.

Uncle_Gravy · 19 Dec 2018 at 09:38

I really like that you take your trucks to OCuk meets xD Gibbo with his little Jag then you just rock up parking next to it in a truck haha.

Scania · 19 Dec 2018 at 09:43

Uncle_Gravy said:
I really like that you take your trucks to OCuk meets xD Gibbo with his little Jag then you just rock up parking next to it in a truck haha.

Ha!

I stuck it next to the Range Rover which iirc was packing more power than the truck! :cool:

All part of the fun, my boss was cool with the idea so I brought it along, seem to remember @Gibbo enjoying the way the cab rocks when you rev the engine.

I’ll see if I can bring this to the next one.

Uncle_Gravy · 19 Dec 2018 at 09:45

Haven't been to a OcUK meet yet, need to make the effort to make the trip up, dips on parking next to the truck.

200sols · 19 Dec 2018 at 10:28

I normally play spot the Stobarts on the motorways, now I can play 'spot scania from OCUK'

Dup · 19 Dec 2018 at 11:03

So, is it yours or the companies? I worked as a second man for someone who contracted for Silent Night many years ago and the he owned his own tractor unit which I thought was unusual.

P.S. how many prostitutes have your murdered vs those you just pay?

Ryan-3 · 19 Dec 2018 at 11:10

Rather enjoyable read that. Always spot idiots carving trucks up, so that potential stopping distance is rather scary. :eek:

Type_R · 19 Dec 2018 at 11:21

It does look pretty cool....only one question...where are the surround view cameras? I see them on all sorts of HGVs on the motorways these days...surely they are a must!

Scania · 19 Dec 2018 at 11:54

Dup said:
So, is it yours or the companies? I worked as a second man for someone who contracted for Silent Night many years ago and the he owned his own tractor unit which I thought was unusual.

P.S. how many prostitutes have your murdered vs those you just pay?

When I worked at Stobart a lot of the trucks were owner drivers, you spot them by the three instead of four figure fleet number on the cab doors.

It’s the companies vehicle, the margins are so tight in transport I’d not want to take the risk, for example, a blowout and the subsequent call out, replacement tyre and often repair of damage caused by the exploding tyre casing can easily wipe out a trucks earnings for a week never mind its profit.

As for the ladies of the night, I’ve met a few over the years (not in THAT sense!) and most are either addicts or being pimped - usually both - or just desperate for money to support their kid(s), very sad when you see it how it actually is rather than portrayed in the media believe me.

Ryan-3 said:
Rather enjoyable read that. Always spot idiots carving trucks up, so that potential stopping distance is rather scary.

Thanks.

The thing with most trucks is you can’t often tell if it’s loaded or empty, if an axle is raised on the tractor unit then chances are it’s either empty or part loaded, empty you can out break a van easily (as a few have discovered in my past) when loaded it’s not just a matter of stopping the rig but you have to allow for the load itself, steel beams being amongst the worst, in a full emergency brake situation the truck will stop but such a load won’t.

Type_R said:
It does look pretty cool....only one question...where are the surround view cameras? I see them on all sorts of HGVs on the motorways these days...surely they are a must!

We had a trial of them at a former employers , they are actually quite ineffective especially at this time of year - they get dirty so your left with a screen view that shows little - and drivers actually relied on the camera more than the mirrors , accidents and incidents with camera fitted trucks actually increased!

All of the mirrors on this are electrically adjustable so you can move them to help check blind spots and a godsend compared to fixed ones.

The trick I find is to pay as much attention to the mirrors as you can but above all be aware of what’s around you before it gets to your blind spot and always assume something is already in said blind spot prior to manoeuvres.