SECTOR Heavy Truck  GCW 44 tonnes  Engine 10.5, 12.4 and 16.2-litres Euro6 320-680hp

Added cost and value

With all the truck makers forming a more or less orderly queue to bring their Euro6 models to market, they are having to add upgrades to sweeten the price increase pill. The extra plumbing, chemistry sets and convoluted stainless steel boxes that make up the after-treatment package on a heavy truck engine at Euro6, cost money to make.

Some of the “Euro” emissions levels have been relatively inexpensive, and chassis makers have been able to limit the damage for fleet buyers, but the Euro6 round of emission regulations has forced price increases of between €10,000 and €12,000 per chassis. That’s a pill that needs sweetening and the easiest way is to throw spec at it that has already been developed for larger or better-equipped models.

It accelerates the ‘trickle-down’ effect that is a normal process by which the equipment levels slip down the weight range. MAN does not have a new cab – at least not the ‘body-in-white’, they don’t. So the benefits are not as apparent as on some others.

Des Evans, MAN’s CEO in the UK, announced at the recent UK International CV Show that prices would rise by between 8% and 10% for Euro6. Along with that comes a new interior for the light and middleweight ranges – the TGL and the TGM and refinements to the heavy TGX.

In a break with tradition, the lighter trucks have done better from this makeover, especially in the transmissions department where drivers and fleet engineers will both be happier. We took the opportunity to drive the new TGX tractor at 40 tonnes, but first we tried an upgraded TGL at 12 tonnes.

TGL

The urban multi-drop truck works hard for its living, as does its driver. For the fleet engineer, clutches are a necessary evil and his parts shelves always have a few waiting.

The good news is that they will move down the list of fast-moving parts as the new TG range has standardised on MAN’s TipMatic AMT (automated manual transmission). They represent a very pleasant convenience for the tractor-trailer drivers that have enjoyed them for a few years now, but it’ll be a true transformation for the light rigid truck that shifts gears many hundreds of times a day.

The TGL 12.250 4×2 with refrigerated box body that we drove was a pleasure, and the ride and handling were not as affected by the inevitably top-heavy bodywork as we had expected. Fuel, frayed nerves and friction material will all be saved.

The percentage of a light truck’s total chassis price that is represented by the cost of an AMT has kept it away from this class of truck – until now. The TGL’s cab interior is much improved and looks ready for battle on the high street.

TGX

Des Evans proudly claimed at the UK CV Show that MAN had sold the most 6×2 tractors in the UK over the first quarter of 2013. Whether that’s supply, product quality or transaction price at work, who can tell? We suspect all three.

The TGX 18.480 that we drove reminded us how good the product had become. True, it had some spec thrown at it, but the ride and handling were as safe and sure-footed as anything else we’ve driven.

Air suspension front and rear and CDC (continuous damping control) were responsible. The interior was familiar (no revision) but a high-quality environment all the same. The TG range offers existing fleet operators more, especially at low gross weights, and it also should give newcomers food for thought.