Based in Dandenong, Australia, Victorian Freight Specialists (VFS) took delivery of one of the first new 630 horsepower Actros models sold in Australia, soon after the local launch.
Within hours of Daimler Trucks Australia managing director, Daniel Whitehead, presenting the keys to a 2663 model to VFS operations director Chris Collins, it was hooked up to a B-double trailer set and sent out on the road.
VFS plans to work it 18 hours a day on runs around regional Victoria, and into New South Wales and South Australia.
The company has a mixed fleet of more than 50 trucks, but the Mercedes-Benz Actros is the first European model.
VFS was one of the companies participating in the local evaluation programme conducted by Mercedes-Benz for the new generation Actros, which would end up involving 35 operators and 20 trucks that clocked more than one million km.
It put the Actros to work on a run that included Albury, Melbourne, and Wagga and was taken aback by the fuel economy figures it gathered from its telemetry.
“We couldn’t comprehend it, so we ran it again and again, then put another driver in it, and it was the same, that was the number,” says Collins.
The new Mercedes-Benz was achieving close to 0.5km per litre better fuel economy than the American truck it replaced.
“It is going to be worth $20,000 a year in fuel alone, that’s massive,” Collins says.
The Actros 2663 uses a new 16-litre in-line six-cylinder OM series engine that generates 625hp and 3000Nm of torque, feeding to the wheels through a 16-speed automated manual transmission.
VFS transport Manager, Glenn Haines, says the Powershift 3 AMT gearbox was one of the most impressive elements of the new Mercedes-Benz truck.
“Five to 10 years ago, we wouldn’t even look at an automatic, but now the way the traffic has gone on the freeways, our drivers are going from Dandenong to Altona every morning, so imagine how many times they are changing gears?” says Haines.
The drivers were also impressed, including one who is a big fan of American trucks and was initially skeptical.
“He sent me a text during the night: “This is fantastic, are we getting one? Can I have it?” says Haines.
The new Actros is available with a suite of driver aids and safety features, including a system that can speed up or slow down the truck to keep a safe distance from the car in front, even in heavy stop/start traffic.
It also features Active Brake Assist and Lane Keeping Assist, which emits a warning sound to alert a driver if the truck is drifting out of the lane.
Haines says this last feature is especially valuable. He also says that the fact the safety systems are fully integrated from the factory is a big plus compared to some brands that install third party equipment locally.
He says that another positive was the fact that all the controls are easily accessible to the driver, many through buttons on the steering wheel.
