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The test unit had recently completed the ‘Great Stralis Run’ right around the country in an effort to broadcast the attributes of Iveco’s flagship cab-over contender. As such, the cab exterior featured a striking colour scheme that not only flowed symbiotically into the curtain sides of the smart looking Freighter B-double set, but also did much to accentuate the subtle ameliorations to the grille and headlight assemblies. Put simply, it made what would otherwise look like a plain white truck anything but plain.
At the front, the new nose features a deep ‘V’ formation grille – now a trademark of the entire Iveco range – extending in a linear fashion into the front bumper. The entire front face of the cab has taken on a fresh, modern look with grille slats that are now further apart providing better airflow and, in our opinion, enhanced aesthetics. In addition the Stralis lettering is now positioned just below the windscreen with Iveco insignia neatly inset above the top grille slat. Adding further to the cleaner front are two pairs of auxiliary (driving/fog) lights along with the front direction indicator lamps grouped directly below the main headlight clusters for a cleaner more integrated appearance.
Inside the cab, the first thing that strikes you is the 100 percent clear passageway west-bound from the driver’s seat to the sleeping quarters or passenger’s pew. Gone is the pedestal mounted gear selector beside the seat, replaced by a trio of rocker switches mounted on the dash but still within easy reach of the driver. Even though the aforementioned floor mounted gear selector was designed to swing around to allow relatively unobstructed across cab access, there’s no question the dash mounted switches raise the bar farther still in the all-important area of cab ergonomics.
Also notable for their absence were the colourful – some might say garish – trim materials resplendent with multi coloured criss-cross lines that so dominated the ambience of the initial Stralis interior. Being the bells ‘n’ whistles High Roof Active Space version, the AS-L test unit sported the premium option pack which includes an upper bunk and mattress with large supporting slats and including a clever fold down ladder for easy access. This model has an awesome 2080 mm space from floor to roof and 1060 mm between the top bunk mattress and roof. There is also a trio of compartment storage spaces above the overhead console. Finishing off the classy interior are two tone grey leather seats – the passenger item swivels 90 degrees to face the driver’s – and a leather-wrapped steering wheel.
Our journey began from Iveco dealer AdTrans at Laverton on the northern outskirts of Melbourne and continued along the Hume Highway to Western Sydney’s Eastern Creek – a journey of just over 800 km. The first impression upon climbing into the driver’s seat was one of extraordinary spaciousness; there’s seriously enough room to make an agoraphobic a touch uneasy and I almost had to reach for the telephoto lens when taking shots of the instrument panel while standing fully upright on the lower bunk with the top bed stowed.
But I digress. Getting back to the driving position, the gear shift buttons are within easy reach as the dash panel curves rearward from the left of the steering wheel. Leaving Laverton, the EuroTronic II was more than up to the high standard we’ve come to expect from ZF’s top shelf automated shifter. Also immediately obvious was the cradling comfort of the driver’s seat with particularly impressive side support hugging the ‘love handles.’
After topping up with fuel and AdBlue, it was time to let the Stralis stretch its legs on the Hume proper. Grossing 61.02 tonnes, the combination was soon whispering along at 100 km/h with a positively uncanny level of silence within the ‘magic carpet’ smooth-riding cab. While in the past during tests of automated transmission equipped prime movers I’ve tended to let the ‘box do its own thing, this time I decided to make the most of the remarkably flat torque ‘curve’ when pulling up the many inclines on the run north. The problem with leaving it in auto mode is that downchanges will occur at around 1400 rpm one gear at a time and if this happens just shy of cresting a brow the engine revs are raised unnecessarily. However, we found switching to manual mode and using the steering column mounted wand to change back two gears at a time after allowing engine revs to fall to 1200 was more effective and seemingly more fuel efficient judging by the excellent figures calculated at trip’s end.
This is the beauty of constant torque output in a broad band covering close to 600 rpm. In our experience on this trip if the crest was approaching with minimal drop in speed, the engine was flexible enough to lug down comfortably to 1000 rpm, still producing maximum torque, and pick up easily once the apex was breasted.
Using the aforementioned manual shifting technique, the AS-L topped the Woomargarma rise in 11th gear at 1200 rpm doing 30 km/h, and dug a bit deeper for the slightly tougher Aeroplane pinch where it managed 10th gear at 1100 rpm with a road speed of 22 km/h. Beyond that, the Wagga Hill ascent saw the AS-L produce identical figures to the Woomargarma climb.
The rest of the trip from there was plain sailing and upon arriving at the Shell at Eastern Creek we pumped in 450 litres of distillate and a carefully measured 21.5 litres of Adblue to return the respective receptacles to their former levels at the start of the trip. Using the tried and true manual method, this calculated to 1.83 km/l or 5.17 mpg in fuel consumption and an equally impressive 3.25 percent AdBlue dosage rate. Interestingly, we also retrieved the in-dash computer generated trip information which indicated slightly higher fuel usage at 1.75 km/l or 4.95 mpg. Either way, it was an outstanding achievement considering the high load factor and widely varying topography on the northbound Hume run.
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