(^60) ABCJuly 2019 busnews.com.au
Top,Left:Scania
saysitistheonly
manufacturer
thatcanachieve
Euro 6 justby
usingAdBlue;
Michelin295/80R
22.5tyreswith
AlcoaDuraBrite
aluminiumrims.
Below:Thestorage
binshavean
aluminiumlining
toincreasethe
longevity.
Above,Right:
Quiteastriking
rearendonceout
ontheroad.
It’s quite amazing how
the actions of the driver
in front are reacted to
without the driver doing
a thing.
Just a short drive to the Hume
Freeway, it was probably a good
time of day as we avoided the
peak-hour rush. We did about an
half hour stint on the Freeway then
left to give the Touring a bit of a
country drive.
This model is a nine-litre,
five-cylinder Euro 6 with 360hp
(268kW) and 1,700Nm matched
with an eight-speed Scania
Opticruise automated transmission.
Upon first starting the drive, it’s
fair to think this is a pretty impos-
ing-looking vehicle and wonder
how well the specs and drivetrain
might suit, but as soon as you jump
behind the wheel it’s immediately
evident that it’s a perfect match.
In testing we got to experience
city driving, freeway driving and
country roads and we could
not fault how it both drove and
handled.
The driver’s cabin has some
features you would really
appreciate: it has a leather-bound
steering wheel and heated seat.
Straight away when stepping into
the Touring you can see the dash
is very car like, streamlined, and easy
to navigate.
As standard comes a favourite
driver’s cabin feature: discreetly
hidden in the dash is a small
fridge. On extended trips or in
hot conditions it can be hard as a
driver because you often don’t get
the luxury of leaving the coach to
buy your meals and drinks, so this
feature means cold water on a hot
day is always on hand.
Vision for the driver is great. The
mirrors work perfectly, but what’s
really great are the blind-spot
mirrors incorporated into the arms.
Mirrors might not seem like a major
safety feature, but any driver will
tell you, the greater your ability to
see objects and people near your
vehicle, the easier your job is and the
likelihood of any impact or accident
is significantly reduced.
The rear-view camera gives
great vision and field of view, as
you can actually even see what’s
beside you. The colours and picture
quality is perfect. There is also a
camera for the luggage area. One
click of a button and you get a
surprisingly clear picture inside
the compartment. There is a
chequerplate floor in the cabin, so
all’s very easy to see.
The windscreen is a huge piece of
wrap-around glass. There are quite
large pillars at the sides, but there
is no negative impact on vision
because of the large glass areas
and great mirror coverage.
Internally, one feature adding
another level of safety are the
yellow strip highlights on the grab
handles and safety rail. The window
tint is quite dark on entry so the
TEST DRIVE SCANIA TOURING
grace
(Grace)
#1