Sector: Light/medium truck GVW: 6.5-16.0 tonnes Engines: 5.1-litre; 156PS, 177PS, 211PS, 231PS and 7.7-litre; 238PS, 272PS, 299PS

In the last three years, Daimler trucks has been on a product offensive like no other, with a complete renewal of the range. Starting at the top, they have now reached the smallest of their trucks, the Atego.

Market leader 

Even though the death of the 7.5 tonne truck has been over-reported for some years, its popularity is diminishing with fleet operators. They are either deciding to avoid the administrative headaches of operating a truck at all, by dropping below the 3.5-tonne weight limit and taking a big cube van, or they’re moving higher up the weight range in the search for increased productivity.

Either way, this gross weight has been the heartland of the Atego since its launch in 1998. It has also been one of the most popular buys with European truck fleets, with one in three of the 6.5t-16t sector going to that single model in 2012. With weight always an issue for this truck, the challenge of taking on all the added EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) emissions control equipment has been an issue for production engineers. However, they’ve done exceptionally well to escape with a modest weight gain of between 50kg and 90kg on the 7.5-tonne and 12-tonne chassis respectively.

How new is it?

The "new" tag is more than justified because although the "body-in-white" cab structure remains unchanged; doors, front panels and grille are new, as is the interior and the driver’s work station. With new Euro 6 engines and new gearboxes, yes, we’d call it a new truck.

The technology we have already seen in Mercedes’ bigger truck engines is used here too. The added weight of the after-treatment package has been mitigated with new, lighter designs of wheels, springs, fuel tanks and many other details.

But the big news is that an AMT (Automated Manual Transmission) is available in the Atego at last. The transmission has previously represented too high a percentage of the chassis price, but economies of scale within Daimler trucks now make it a realistic proposition. In this weight class, an AMT will offer more benefits to the driver than further up the weight range, so it should be widely welcomed. Fleet managers in the rental sector will also breathe a sigh of relief as it should put an end to arguments about who pays for a prematurely worn clutch.

It comes with the fuel-saving EcoRoll coasting function, and manual transmissions are still available as options. 

Power plants

The Atego’s two new engines, the OM934 4-cylinder 5.1-litre, and the OM936 6-cylinder, 7.7-litre, have seven power outputs between them and improved torque levels. The smaller engine offers between 156PS and 231PS, with the larger unit offering from 238PS to 299PS.

New to Atego’s engines are two composite overhead camshafts, a cross-flow cylinder head, ignition pressure of more than 200 bar, a common-rail system with an injection pressure of up to 2,400 bar, and an adjustable exhaust camshaft. They may be small engines by truck standards, but they have adopted the technological advances of Mercedes’ larger truck engines and packed them all into a smaller space. With new bespoke telematics packages, the promise of a 5% boost in fuel economy and the added functionality of the automated transmissions, the latest Atego looks set to at least keep its leading share of this sector in Europe.

Verdict:

Combining a familiar cab with substantial revisions, new engines and an automated transmission option will help to keep the Atego fresh and high on fleet choice lists.