With the used market growing short of late-year stock, the
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sales team at Mercedes-Benz Approved Commercials should be manning the phones when this edition of CM hits the shelves, because this week’s test is a 2007registered Euro-4 Actros 2544LS
Words: Kevin Swallow / Images: Tom Lee
The peaks and troughs in the used market
traditionally follow the pattern set by new truck sales two to four years before. Trucks sold during early 2007 and 2009 provide the core volume of desirable trucks for operators and traders to ight over today.
Registration igures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show that registrations held up until mid-2008. During 2007, some 50,747 trucks were registered, and in 2008 the igure rose by 13% to about 57,400. Despite the growth in 2008, the igure hid a downward trend during the second half of the year.
Affordable inance dried up as banks closed ranks to cope with the wave of US-led mortgage defaults.
Banks called in debts and raised lending rates and all of a sudden hauliers sailing too close to the wind were under the cosh. Registrations of trucks over 6 tonnes continued to decline in 2009, and inished the year down 42.6% to 27,938 – a record low for the heavy truck sector. With operators desperate to extend contracts rather than buy or fund new trucks, rolling stock that was due to be de-leeted got an extra year’s work. As a result, today the deinition of late-year in the used truck trade, traditionally based on any trucks three years and younger, is extended to include anything with a Euro-4 engine as well. And this Mercedes-Benz Actros 2544LS, registered in November 2007, is a perfect example.
As a leet-speciication, the entry-level Actros is a slightly more upmarket version of the very competent Axor. Our truck (AY57 DYU) is powered by the OM501LA Euro-4 11.95-litre charged-cooled V6 direct-injection turbo-diesel engine. The 429hp is the lowest of the power ratings, the others being 455hp and 469hp. Peak torque sits at 1,080rpm, and delivers 2,100Nm for the 429hp engine, compared with 2,200Nm for the 455hp, and 2,300Nm for 469hp power ratings.
To meet Euro-4 emission levels, Mercedes took the well-trodden path to selective catalytic reduction (SCR) through the exhaust system. Compared with the Euro-3 OM501LA engine, which offered 394hp/1,850Nm, 428hp/2,000Nm and 456hp/2,200Nm, it’s a clear step up in oomph. Euro-4 buyers were also offered the V8 OM502LA, 15.9-litre engine. It delivers 502hp/2,400Nm and 542hp/2,600Nm.
CM had to return to its manual roots for this test, with the Telligent 16-speed synchromesh range-change featuring electronic gearshift with pre-selection.
The truck is itted with a single-bunk high-roof sleeper cab with the Long Distance speciication. It was registered on 21 November 2007 and has clocked-up more than 500,000km. The irst owner of AY57 DYU was Maritime Transport, and it’s a good bet it has seen more than a few containers. If you’re looking to get an angle on its asking price, CAP Red Book quotes £31,900 (ex-VAT) for a clean example with around 560,000km on the clock, and £38,750 (ex-VAT) as its current retail value.
Mercedes-Benz Approved Used Commercials at Wentworth Park takes a more pragmatic view of AY57 DYU and prices it at £42,500 (ex-VAT). The truck will be on show at Truckfest 2011 (1-2 May) where the M-B team will be offering inance packages.
Productivity
CM has taken the opportunity to truncate part of the A-road section of the test route and it now turns left at Shrewsbury off the A5 bypass and down the A49 to the edge of Leominster before travelling to Hereford.
This means the A-road section is 207.6km long and the overall route is 361.3km. Clear skies, albeit combined with low temperatures and slight westerly winds, provided a good backdrop to the irst truck test of 2011.
With the new route in place, the truck returned 7.37mpg at an average speed of 55.4km/h.
The speed was a little slow, but this was due to us following a tractor for several miles either side of Craven Arms on the A49, and having to negotiate Hereford at lunchtime. CM suspects future tests will suffer more of the same.
The motorway section proved more rewarding and delivered 9.32mpg at an average speed of 78.2km/h. Overall, AY57 DYU returned 8.07mpg, at an average speed of 63.2km/h, and with AdBlue use equating to 6.12 litres or just below 5% of the fuel used on the trip.
The kerbweight of the Actros 2544LS, with the high-roof sleeper and full fuel tanks (450 litres of diesel and 40 litres AdBlue) and without a driver, is 8,256kg. With the nominal 7-tonne test trailer, it means there is a payload capacity of 28,744kg.
On the road
First CM had to get to grips with the manual transmission and the return of the clutch pedal. And its not any old transmission, Mercedes’ version is a ‘double-nudge’ transmission that sits on an armrest that folds up and out of the way. It has one switch on top and a second at the front.
The switch can be moved forward and back. A button on its left is used for selecting neutral while the button on its right is for ‘Drive’ , ‘Reverse’ and for helping to do block gear changes.
Hold the button on the right and pull the handle back and it will select the right gear as you come down the box when slowing down. The switch at the front is more like a paddle that the driver raises to change up and pushes down to move back down the box.
You can block-change four gears at a time, although the latter is the maximum the truck will allow. And, thanks to the Telligent element it allows you to preselect up to 10 seconds before you make a change – perfect for hill climbing. Once CM experienced a little memory recall, it was like old times.
As most of the early part of the route is spent traversing roundabouts it presented an ideal opportunity for the truck to move repeatedly between 25km/h and 80km/h.
The driveline responds well to these demands, and is more than happy to dig out of around 1,000rpm, in 5L back to top gear.
Once the roundabouts and trafic lights have been left behind, the A5 to Telford becomes a series of short sharp hill climbs with the engine again dropping towards 40km/h.
At 64km/h in top gear using 1,000rpm the driver needs to be proactive to avoid losing momentum on any extended climbs. As a driver, it’s here with 429hp at your disposal the real work is done.
It was able to climb Dinmore Hill in under 150 seconds, which is testament to the sort of performance this truck can deliver. The changes down the box towards 6L were made early and the engine was able to claw back some momentum as the summit homed into view.
Although 429hp hauling 44 tonnes is seen as a little on the light side, there is nothing to suggest that a more powerful engine will get you through any quicker or with fewer gear changes.
If anything, more power and torque tends to lead to later changes and, as a consequence, just as much of a struggle. There is only 5% more torque on the 455hp engine so the impact is negligible.
It’s on the motorway hill climbs that the extra power and torque offered by either of the two bigger engines would have been welcome, but apart from that, AY57 DYU is more than capable.
Cab comfort
While smaller cabs are problematic for cross-cab access from the driver’s seat, in the main it will suit most drivers’ requirements.
Now four years old, AY57 DYU’s cab isn’t showing any signs of abuse. This is partly a consequence of the well-established terms of return condition set out by Mercedes when Maritime took this vehicle on. That said, the electric mirrors didn’t work.
As well as the single bunk, standard speciication includes air-conditioning and brushed-steel effect on the dashboard. ■