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MICRO MACHINES
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What the Mega lacks in sophistication it more than makes up for in personality. It may draw strange looks from passers-by but it's ridiculously cheap to run and doesn't even require a full driving licence.Ten years ago the launch of the Mega would have been greeted with a mixture of bafflement and derision. But factors such as congestion charging, rising fuel prices and the need to cut overheads have conspired to force companies to seek alternatives to traditional vans.
Produced by French company Aixam, the Mega is aimed at small businesses and local authorities. It comes in panel,tipper made from ABS/PMMA acrylic.
What's more, due to the Mega's limited power output and weight it is officially classified as a quadracycle so it can be legally driven with no more than a B1 (motorcycle) licence. In its first year Aixamis aiming to establish 40 dealers in the UK and to sell up to 200 units.The firm is talking to several local and says their response has been positive. Prices start at 14.490 for the diesel powered chassis-cab.The van version is £5.300 and the electric powered tipper is E9,999,though a PowerShift grant may be available to help with the cost of that.
Out on the road the diesel version, with a top speed of 55mph, was rather noisy. with its 500cc engine working overtime to propel the Mega along. It has no gearbox and uses a centrifugal clutch.Acceleralion was not had and it felt surprisingly stable with a rather go-kart feel in the way it handled. Payload is up to 500kg depending on the type of body fitted and fuel consumption works out at a mouth-watering 60mpg.
The electric version, on the other hand, glided along and the experience was pretty much like driving a bumper car. But it must he said, brickies in Transit vans pointing and laughing can be a distraction.Top speed is limited to 30mph for economy reasons and running costs work out at just 3p/mile. It might seem a long time since the 2003 CV Show, but the demands of other events have meant that it's only now that the star of the MAN stand has become available to try.The very British name of the Excalibur reflects the fact that the range-toppingTG-A tractor boasts a very British specification,uniquely specified to the wishes of the UK importer. Based on the top XXL, with its full width. high-mounted flat-floor cab, the Excalibur incorporates a raft of luxury kit (see 'Standard features' panel, right) matched to the latest 530hp common-rail engine and TipMatic transmission.
Top spec
It's actually been so long since we first saw the Excalibur that a number of its features have already changed.There is now even more wood effect on the dash and the cab comes with a better Isri seat.The instrument panel has been upgraded to the latest easier-to-read design and incorporates the High-line information display. As well as the standard extras fitted to Excalibur, this example is also fitted with a VDO Dayton sat-nay system. and the Lane Guard system which transmits a warning through the appropriate radio speaker when the sensors detect the truck is straying from one lane to another. It also came fitted with 385/55 front tyres on Alcoa wheels, instead of the standard 315/70s on Speedlines.
From a driving perspective, we were keen to see how the latest spec engine performs under UK conditions.To do so. we used our favourite Swindon-based route, which takes in the many roundabouts of Swindon's ring road before taking the A417 and A419 towards Gloucester, finishing with the steep drop down Birdlip Hill. Then it's a U-turn at the bottom before climbing back up Birdlip and returning to Swindon, this time via the M4 to give a quick taste of top speed running.
ZF's AS-Tronic now appears in a variety of guises from DaLlveco and Renault, as well as MAN and ERF. Acknowledged as an excellent product, the variable that makes or breaks the application is the control system, both software and hardware. MAN's interpretation is one of the better ones. with simple and easily understood controls backed up by responsive electronics.The main control is the rotary knob on the plinth next to the driving seat. For most purposes, you just need to turn it to the Fl or R1 position, depending on whether you need to go forwards or backwards. Other positions give greater control for low-speed manoeuvring.The option to choose between manual and automated changes is selected by a switch on the end of the right hand stalk, wi th manual changes made by moving the stalk.
Top chips
The option to use manual mode is fairly redundant, though. On the tougher parts of the journey where we elected to sit back and watch the computer chips do their best, whenever we thought "we'd change down now", it had invariably completed the change before we'd completed the thought. But it's nice to know the option's there. Quite simply, the box is designed to keep the engine speed within the optimum range, and that's exactly what it does.
Likewise the updated engine does the job quietly and efficiently. Naturally, with 530hp available it has quite enough power in reserve for most UK applications,even at the 44 tonnes we had on-board. Handling was generally very good, although those wide steer tyres made life rather twitchy on lane I ruts, but as the tyres were non-standard, we can hardly criticise them.
The high-mounted cab ensures that little engine noise reaches the driver's cars — in fact, the only noticeable unwanted sound in the cab was an untypical rattle from somewhere in the fridge area. • With Excalibur topping its range, MAN now has a product that can match the needs of the most demanding of comfort-loving owner-operators, giving the established Scandinavians a challenge. Our drive als( confirmed that MAN'S implementation of the ZF AS-Tronic box iF.