Truck & Driver July 2019^67
“It’s a long climb up,” he
says of the cab’s five steps,
“but these handles are solid
and firm, so I wouldn’t have
any worries getting in and
out every day. Wow, love the
space inside though. I’ve
never had a flat-floor cab, and
I can see why everyone raves
about them so much. This is
like being in a hotel!”
But what really caught his
eye was the fridge.
“It’s enormous. Most trucks
have tiny coolers and you can
hardly get anything in them.
This is brilliant, and I love the
way it’s built in under the
bunk. Whoever designed this
truck obviously understands
what we as drivers do and
what we need to take with us.
“It’s got a great bed as
well,” adds Gary. “I love the
locker space too. Brilliant.”
So does that make him a
convert to all things French?
“Nope. But I’d willingly have
one of these!”MARK WOODWARD
Mark’s been on
long-distance
work most of his
career, so he’s
driven most
full-size cabs
over the years. Currently
driving a Mercedes-Benz
Actros, he’d had experience of
the Range T’s Magnum
predecessor, so was more than
familiar with Renault and
driving (and living with) a
flat-floor cab.
“Magnum really broke
the mould,” he says, “though
you always felt you were in a
goldfish bowl! This Range T
is not as big and bulky as the
Magnum, yet it’s every bit as
spacious inside. It’s deceptive.
“It’s a lot more practical
too. This has been properly
thought through, making
it a lot more driveable and
liveable with, especially with
all this space between the
seats. I love that bunk – wide,
it looks comfortable – and the
storage is superb.
“Is a flat floor really
necessary? I guess not. Today’s
cabs are pretty comfortable all
round, they have to be! But it
can make a difference if you’re
away for weeks on end, I’m
sure. Being able to walk around
and not having to climb over
the engine hump all the time; it
all adds to comfort and quality
of life, doesn’t it?”
Mark didn’t appreciate that
Renault is a sister brand to
Volvo, nor that the Range Trange features lots of Volvo-
sourced componentry.
“That has to add to its
‘saleability’, surely. Volvo is one
of the top brands after all.”STANCIU IONUT
The Renault T was
already a known
quantity for
Stanciu; he’s been
driving one for
almost two years,
and really rates the truck.
“Ours are fleet trucks, so
their specs are fairly standard.
But the Renault’s comfortable,
good to sleep in overnight
and drives well. It’s better than
many other trucks I’ve driven.”
His only real criticism is of
Renault’s switchgear. “Driving
a Range T, it’s less obvious than
in some other Renaults. It’s fine
once you get used to it, but it
takes a little time.”
He loves the flat-floor T
variant though. “This is too
good for what we do – look at
the space! We’re only away two
or three nights a week, but if
you were tramping around the
UK or across Europe on longer
distances, this would be ideal.
There’s plenty of space to live
in and get comfortable.”TONY HOLMES
On the way down
from Hull, Tony is
another Daf XF
fan and has firm
ideas about what’s
needed in a cab.
“All too often, manufacturers
don’t design them to be
practical. Rule 1, think about
what a driver needs with him.
Rule 2, design the cab around
it. Most of us have a microwave
and a TV. Make sure we’ve
got space to store them, and
preferably not under the bunk
so we have to pull them out
every evening. And then give
us some flat surfaces where we
can place a TV to watch it.”
So he was pleased to see
the flat tray mid-dash on the
T, “although it could be a little
bigger. The storage looks
excellent though – those
lockers look deep enough to
get most things in, and safe
enough to keep them in! And
that pull-out fridge is ideal”.
Like many other drivers,
Tony’s worried about the
amount of ‘space age’
technology on new trucks
though. “There’s always things
bleeping at us or telling us to
do what we do better. I know
most of it’s there because oflegislation and all of it’s there
to help you – but we need to
be safe on the road and we’re
beginning to get to the stage
where technology is taking
away much of a driver’s control.”
Overall though, he is
impressed with the Renault
Range T. “Not a truck I know,
but one I’d be more than happy
to drive if I was given it!”TERRY BARBER
Terry was
flattered we were
even asking his
views. “It’s the first
time anyone’s ever
asked me what I
think of a truck,” he admits.
From Aylesbury, Terry
is currently in an XF. “It’s
beginning to show its age,” he
says. “The Daf doesn’t have the
appeal of more modern trucks,
like Volvos and Scanias. I find
it a bit plasticky inside and not
the most comfortable.”
Interestingly, Terry drove
a flat-floor Actros for several
months. “Loved the space, but
the cab was set very high, which
made it roll badly on corners.
At speed, it could feel really
unstable. At least the XF is well
and truly planted on the road!”
He’s well impressed with the
Renault T though. “I like the
feeling of space inside, and
these lockers are superb. Bed’s
comfortable too, without being
too soft – and it’s not too small.
Sometimes the seats can push
too far back into the sleeping
space, and that makes you feel
a bit cramped.”
He thinks the fridge is a bit
big though. “I’m surprised it’s
so enormous. Sure, some drivers
do like to make and eat their
own food on the road, but the
bigger the fridge, the less space
there is for other things – and I’d
rather have more space under
the bunk for day-to-day clutter.
“Some of the controls look
a bit fiddly too. And I’m nota fan of electric handbrakes.
They take too long to come
off and that makes life difficult
on roundabouts, for example,
especially if you happen to be
on a bit of an incline.”
Would he have a T?
“Definitely. That flat-floor
Actros was too high. This is
more sensible and reachable. I
could live with that!”PIOTR CZYZ
Piotr was really
keen to take a
look at Renault’s
recent-to-the-UK
flagship. He runs
his own 10-strong
mixed fleet out of Poznan in
Poland and still drives widely.
Piotr’s current brand of
choice is Scania; indeed, he
was driving a three-year-old
R450 en route to Paris when we
met. From there, he was loading
to deliver to Scania itself in
Södertälje. “But that’s not why
we run them – and they’re not
the only trucks we run.”
He currently has two Range T
420s, but with high roofs rather
than flagship flat floors. “With
tanker trailers, we need all the
payload we can get – flat floors
risk knocking the edge off that.
“The Renaults are excellent
working trucks. The drivers
love them, one of the reasons
we’re running two. They’re
solid, not too heavy and good
to live with. They’ve also
been really reliable – some
early problems with fuel
mapping and electrics were
sorted easily enough – so I’m
expecting to take more as we
replace some of these older
trucks. We just can’t get Scanias
in Poland right now!
“They’re great to live in. The
driving position is comfortable
and dead-ahead, not off to one
side as in some older trucks.
And the space in these flat
floors is amazing – much more
practical than the old Magnums.”Like chalk and cheese
Driver’s opinions can so often be at odds. One driver we
approached wouldn’t even take a look at the Range T. He had
driven Premiums (“a garden shed on wheels”) and Magnums
(“I fell out of the bloody thing trying to climb in – it was like
driving a goldfish bowl”), and Renault certainly wasn’t going to
feature in his top three trucks of all time.
Another driver wasn’t a fan either. “It looks like Darth Vader
from the outside. Never tried a T – but I wouldn’t want one.”
A third was driving a Range K volumetric mixer. He didn’t
have time to check out the Range T, but was dead jealous of the
flat floor. “I would love one of those, but even the day cab is a bit
big for our kind of work. It’s high-set and on some construction
sites that makes manoeuvring a real pain.”MORE THAN JUST A TRUCKSTOP