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The steering wheel may have been on the wrong side of the cab and they may have been driving largely unfamiliar configurations on the wrong side of the road, but for a bunch of Kiwi Scania customers, this only sought to enhance the exhilarating experience of test driving the worlds most powerful production truck - the new Scania R 730, in Northern Italy during July.
As part of the worldwide launch of the new Scania V8 range unveiled earlier this year, New Zealand Scania distributors CablePrice hosted a tour party of 25 customers, comprising of owners from varying transport applications across the country, on a trip to Europe to participate in the Scania organised international V8 test drive experience in Riva Del Garda, Northern Italy in early July. Customers were invited by CablePrice to join the trip when they committed to ordering a new Scania V8 before mid-June.
The Italian driving event offered the entire line up of Scanias four new 8-cylinder engines (500, 560, 620 & 730hp) across a combination of 4x2, 6x2 and 6x4 demo trucks, but CablePrice’s National Marketing & Brand Manager, Glenn Croasdale says, “For our customers, it was all about the R 730.” With its whopping 730hp and 3,500Nm of torque @ 1,900rpm Croasdale says “the feedback was the truck exceeded all expectations on all levels – power, performance, comfort, economy and style.”
After driving the R 730 1,600 metres up Monte Blonc in the mountainous Trento region, all that Co-owner of Hawkes Bay based CoolTrains Ltd, Torrin Day could say was, “Wow! What an impressive truck… to go up a hill of that grade and to be changing up gear and pulling like that…Wow! The R 620 we have is a great truck but, the R 730 is something different.”
Echoing Torrin’s comments about the trucks almost inexhaustible power, Dean Alderson of Alderson Bulk Haulage said, “There are not too many trucks that I've driven that you have to slow down for corners going uphill with 40 tonne on! In the terrain we were driving in in Italy, it was impressive to say the least. I can't wait for our 730 to turn up.”
Dunedin based transport owner, Warren Good, who contracts to The Freightways Group, was just as impressed with the new King of the Road, “The torque is unbelievable,” said Warren climbing out of the R730.
Based on the new Scania R-Series recently announced the 2010 Truck of the Year, the entire Scania V8 truck range has received both exterior and interior upgrades in order to emphasise and amplify the special V8 sensation. Along with the newly developed range of engines designed to meet the toughest emission standards and future-proofed for future emission reduction levels, the new V8 range sport stylish chrome trim, Xenon headlights, refined soft-touch interior styling, a distinctive ‘Black Brilliant’ front grill with special mesh pattern and exclusive V8 badges.
“They’ve got it looking real nice” commented Te Karaka based transport owner, Wayne Clayden after his drive experience. “They’re really impressive looking trucks.”
Wayne also commented on the noticeable power difference and improvement in gearchanging with the new trucks, “I thought they went well. The horsepower is mind-boggling, really, even compared with the R 620, and the two-pedal [Opticruise transmission] improved it out of sight…beautiful shifting, far advanced to what we’ve got.”
The new V8 truck range includes the unique Scania Driver Support System and fully-automated Opticruise gearbox premiered with the release of the new R-series late last year. With a combination of 3,500 Nm of torque and 730 hp the powertrain of the Scania R 730 has been adapted to handle the power with ease. A reinforced Scania gearbox is fitted as standard with the new 2-pedal automated gearchanging system on the R 730, with Scania retaining the option of the 3-pedal transmission, but not a manual on the top-of-the-line 730hp.
According to Manawatu based livestock transport company owner, Glenn Carroll, testing the 2-pedal fully-automated transmission helped him make up his mind which way to go. Following a drive at Scania’s test track in Sweden, then again on public roads in Riva Del Garda, Glenn says he was sold, “I did the reversing exercise at the test track and it’s the two-pedal, definitely.”
With a new manoeuvrability mode for situations where precise movement are required - such as reversing to couple a trailer – Glenn says, “It saves riding the clutch, so why would you put a clutch pedal there?”
Rogan Nordmeyer, owner of Auckland-based Solar Outdoor Lighting commented on the noticeable noise reduction Scania has achieved with the new engines and improved cabin insulation. While there may have been an absence of the distinctive Scania V8 rumble, Rogan said there was certainly no absence of power, “Driving the R 730 was very quiet, there was no V8 rumble and no sensation of how the truck was going, even though it was loaded to 40 tonne.
“With the 560hp V8 behind me through the hairpin corners on the uphill climb it wasn't until we had passed through a village and the road opened out to a long straight incline that the R 730 could show what it had. One minute the R 560 was there, 1km later he wasn't even in the mirrors. It was just an effortless performance, no strain, no hesitation, just pick up the gears and keep on going. On the descents the retarder was even better than what we're used to on our existing Scanias.”
Over a four week period Scania hosted in excess of 1,000 customers from around the world as part of the new V8 range launch drive experience.
Prior to the Italian test event, CablePrice took the customer group to visit the home of Scania in Södertälje, Sweden, where they visited the Scania foundry, assembly plant and the company’s demo centre test track, and also met company President and CEO, Leif Östling and Executive Vice President, Martin Lundstedt. At the time CablePrice had the highest confirmed orders for the new V8 trucks in the world. On route to the Italian driving experience, the group also stopped over in the Netherlands to visit the Scania assembly plant in Zwolle, where the majority of the Scania trucks destined for New Zealand are assembled.
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