John Mitchell puts Mercedes-Benz New Actros to the test 04 June 2014

John Mitchell Haulage & Warehousing – former winner of the Motor Transport Haulier of the Year trophy – is running a Mercedes-Benz New Actros 2545 tractor unit with flat-floored BigSpace cab.

Iain Mitchell, managing director of the Grangemouth-based haulier, explains that he had heard good things about the vehicle's fuel consumptoin so "decided it was time to try one for ourselves".

Mitchell selected the straight-six 449bhp engine, driving through Mercedes' latest-generation PowerShift 3 automated transmission – and he says he'll be monitoring it against his existing fleet of more than 100 top-weight tractors.

The New Actros is on general haulage duties with one of John Mitchell's new SDC curtainside trailers, carrying a range of goods across Scotland and the north of England.

"It's working fully freighted over some challenging terrain so we're very pleased that the returns have already reached 8.5 mpg, which compares well to our fleet average," comments Mitchell.

"The truck is running well; there have been no niggles; and the ordering and delivery process went very smoothly. We'll continue to monitor the quality of back-up but so far the team at Western Commercial's Edinburgh dealership have looked after us extremely well."

Western Commercial delivered a training and familiarisation session when handing over the new vehicle, including explaining its driver aids and the FleetBoard telematics system which comes as standard with New Actros tractor units.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd
SDC Trailers Ltd

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