Ashley stood down his 62-plate Actros 2546 MegaSpace at the end of its contract hire term and replaced it with a 2548 GigaSpace model – citing comfort, performance and fuel efficiency as the main reasons.
“My last Actros was great – Mercedes-Benz don’t make a bad truck,” he says.” But this one is even better.
“The top-of-the-range GigaSpace cab is brilliant. It’s very big, so there’s no shortage of space, and the build quality is excellent too,” he continues.
“Lots of thought has obviously gone into the design of what is a very comfortable working and living space.”
Ashley’s latest truck was specified with Mercedes’ 476bhp straight-six engine driving through the PowerShift 3 automated transmission.
“The Euro 6 engine pulls like a train, yet the new Actros is more economical than my last truck,” confirms Ashley.
“I’m running fully loaded at 44 tonnes 90% of the time and averaging 9-9.5 mpg, which represents a good three-tenths of a mile improvement.
“Even more striking, though, is the reduction in AdBlue consumption – I’m only using about half as much.”
The new Actros has been equipped to ADR specification with full hydraulic kit and hauls either a curtainside trailer with Moffett Mounty loader, or a stainless steel road tank for companies such as road maintenance products manufacturer Colas.
The truck is the subject of an Agility funding package from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.
“As well as allowing me to keep my options open for the future, the monthly rates were highly competitive – hardly any different, in fact, from the payments on the truck I handed back.”