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RENAULT Magnum Classic 144 I Even after more than 10
Page 30
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years on he road the Renault Magnum emains a show-stopper. If you cant to blow a non-trucker's mind, his is the truck you'd choose to do with. The completely flat-floored, ipen-plan interior still looks the driest of them all, and the design ionceals the fact that the headoom (for example) isn't a patch on he Daf's—even above the XF's ingine hump. This is partly iecause the Magnum's floor is 190mm urther from the ground than the Oaf's, lut the Mercedes (with a similarly highet floor) still beats the Renault's interior eight. However, only a driver of more han 1.85m (around six feet two) would [aye a problem. That's cold comfort for lenault test driver Neill Attwaters, who is in inch or two taller still...
!road steps
Vith its forward-set front axle, access o the Magnum's cab is unique, using Dur broad steps set behind the wheel, hen shuffling along a ledge and into the ab. No matter how many times Renault isists that it is at least as safe as the onventional system, it still feels daunt1g, at first. You really need both hands o hold on to the substantial grabails—getting into the cab with a bag in Ire hand is not an option. We'd be elighted to hear from some Magnum rivers who believe that ft's the best ystem there is, but until then...
Once you are safely installed, crossab access is still excellent, though a foldway gear lever would have been the ;ing, on the cake. The recent redesign of the Magnum interior has freshened it up considerably, with a more curvaceous dashboard and more 21st-century fabrics making the most of the space available. However, the quality of the trim and plastics—especially the switchgear—is still not up to the standards of the best of its competitors; Renault should be paying attention to the likes of the Iveco Stralis.
As you might expect in a Magnum, stowage is pretty good, from the decent door pockets to the overhead boxes— made from a fairly soft "bucket plastic' which feels frailer than it is. There's a shallow fridge under the bunk, as well as a pull-out tray with cup-holders. You'll also find a cavernous space beneath the bunk, which lifts up on gas struts.
The lower bunk is a good size, with no narrow spots, and plenty of controls are easily accessible from it: four of the five good-quality interior lights can be controlled without getting up, as can the radio, roof hatch and heater.
The upper bunk is a much flimsier
affair, and it appears to be for very occasional use only; the thin structure appears to have very little support, and when it's folded up it hangs sagging like a hammock. It is not so bad in practice, although a heavy driver does tend to be funnelled into the middle. On the plus side we did like the shaving mirror mounted on the rear wall above the upper bunk.
Side windows
nice to have a one-shot control for all three, in case you were wondering yes, there is an interlock to prevent you lowering the front blind fully while you're driving along. The blinds are pretty opaque, although there are some slight cracks c light at the edges.
The ride quality test figures are , mixed bag, with the seat cushion an' floor figures among the worst while thi backrest figures are among the heel Noise results are OK, too: although thi noise ingress figure is the highest on tes1 it's only 3dB(A) louder than the best.