Apart from the rattles near the front, this is a much improved product and a worthy UK built competitor to the likes of a Scania In my honest opinion the OM936 should’ve been an offering a lot sooner
I've driven this in service a few times at Go North East. The 6 Cylinder engine is amazingly refined. I had it running during my first use check and stood exactly halfway down the lower saloon. The indicators were louder than the engine ticking over! Most of the time engine noise is barely noticeable until the revs get over about 1700. On the speed limiter you probably wouldn't hear it at all were it not for a faint Voith gearbox whine. Build quality is actually pretty good and it doesn't rattle that much in the cab. What I do think let's it down however is the Voith gearbox. There are some instances where its just too reluctant to change down or hold onto a gear when you really need it too. As a result I've had 4 cylinder Streetdecks and B5s climb onto the A1 quicker than this does. I suppose with it being a Voith that once it is in top gear the revs just build continuously. But I'd find it a much better bus with a Voith that's opened up a bit more for hills or a ZF EcoLife
It's almost if bigger lower revving engines in buses are better than tiny high revving engines - hopefully it means long term better reliabilty and less breakdowns.
As an ex bus driver I was so frustrated when the b10ble was phased out in favour of the B7. The B7 was a terrible engine and was highly inferior to the engine it replaced. You had refinement and low end torque in the b10ble and nothing but noise and vibration and a complete lack of power with the B7 that came out around 2002
I rode on it on its loan period to OBC, it felt good, a lot more power however I felt like the Voith gearbox goes up the gear changes too quickly. Additionally the stop-start is also the cause of many reliability issues. I feel like it would be better suited to a ZF Ecolife box.
I recover buses every day for first west yorkshire,the main issues with the 4 pot merc engines are crank dampers and oil seals and far too much running off the 2 alternators,e.g. the electric air compressors are shite,power steering,i reckon the 6 pots are probably a lot better because the 4 pots are underpowered and have serious cooling issues,oil cooler warps with the sheer amount of heat generated under heavy loads.local merc dealer is changing engines weekly.
