Supplied by dealer Rygor Commercials, his 13-tonne Atego 1323 has a factory-fitted crew cab and came complete with the AA 3 registration plate that marks Doran as ambassador for the AA’s recovery operations.
Part of an order for 30 identical vehicles, the AA’s new Ategos – the first since 2001 to join its fleet – can transport up to five passengers and was specified with a tilt and slide body, designed and built by specialist Ceejay Systems, of Alresford, Hampshire.
Doran, who drove Rygor’s AA-liveried demonstrator in procession with its historic collection at last November’s Lord Mayor’s Show, says the Atego is a nice drive.
“It’s very comfortable and with its new body perfectly tailored to our operation,” comments Doran. “I can’t wait to get out on the road and start using my new truck to support our members.”
The AA is the first significant UK operator to run the latest Euro 6 Atego crew cab variant, which offers a 4.0-tonne payload capacity and can additionally tow vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tonnes.
AA fleet engineer Chris Wiltshire MSOE MIRTE says it was chosen largely because of the reliability of Rygor’s demonstration unit, and the positive feedback from recovery patrols.
“In 12 months that truck didn’t suffer a single day of downtime, which was hugely impressive,” states Wiltshire.
“We work our trucks hard – in five years’ time our Ategos will each have covered one million km – so if something was going to give, the chances are we’d have found it quite quickly,” he continues.
“We have taken various opportunities to present the Atego to our patrols, so they could compare it with products by our two established suppliers. Overwhelmingly, they have come down in favour of the Mercedes-Benz.”
Wiltshire says the patrols feedback helped to refine the chassis specification and body design, with the result that the vehicle is now configured “precisely as our front-line colleagues wanted”.
That’s a point echoed by AA head of national recovery Ian Dumont: “Our recovery patrols certainly like the feel of the Mercedes-Benz and the design of Ceejay’s new body, but what’s most important to them is that their truck starts on time and doesn’t let them down.
“The driving training provided by Rygor has also been a massive plus: I’ve taken several calls from patrols telling me how refreshing it was to receive such professional support, and how much it has enhanced their understanding of the product.”
Alongside the new 30-strong fleet of Atego trucks, the AA already runs 14 Fuso Canter 7.5-tonners (also supplied by Rygor), fitted with beavertail bodies, which joined its London-based fleet in 2014-15.