[Aditya]

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has announced that it has started the sales of the Mercedes-Benz SHD (super high deck) 2436 coach. The first set of buses has been handed over to a customer - KPN Travels at the DICV Bus plant in Chennai.



The SHD 2436 is a 15-metre intercity coach. It has a seating capacity of up to 61 pushback seats and luggage space of 14 cubic metres (14,000 litres). The coach has an aluminique body structure, which is claimed to make it light.

Mercedes-Benz has equipped the SHD 2436 with an active steerable tag axle, which is claimed to reduce the vehicle's turning circle diameter and make it easier to manoeuvre.



DICV manufactures the SHD 2436 coach at its plant in Oragadam, which has been set up with an investment of Rs. 425 crore. The facility rolls out BharatBenz and Mercedes-Benz buses and houses Wrightbus, an Ireland based body manufacturer within its premises.

[Ashley2]

The biggest advantage or the USP of the coach is the body. IMHO they are in a different league when compared to what Scania or Volvo is offering. Wright Bus the body maker has done great work with Aluminium and they make it with an alloy called 'Alumniq'. The body construction is also like Aircraft with so much riveting and pasting unlike conventional welding. But the display coach when they launched in the event was too shabby and many actually raised eyebrows.

Chassis - Lot of correction has gone after huge failure of first innings. Disc brakes and steerable tag axles are welcome move. But I still feel a PTO driven cooling system could be given instead of belt driven. This should have freed up some space in saloon as well.

[SchumiFan]

Hoping for it to be introduced in the Chennai Bangalore route. Although I am doubtful of it happening. They just introduced a new Scania service a month back but most of their Volvos are in need of replacement. The ride quality isn't as good as the Scanias and they make a lot of weird noises as well.

The issue though is the number of seats. In Volvo, a person can utilize the full recline of the seats whereas in Scania 53 seater, the person behind always complain about the seat or keeping bumping it with their knees.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

The issue though is the number of seats. In Volvo, a person can utilize the full recline of the seats whereas in Scania 53 seater, the person behind always complain about the seat or keeping bumping it with their knees.

KPN Scanias have among the best leg rooms in the market. Their buses are 48 seaters, not 53 seaters. Even if its a 53 seater, the Scanias are 14.5M long while the Volvo model being compared is only 13.7M long.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by binaiks

KPN Scanias have among the best leg rooms in the market. Their buses are 48 seaters, not 53 seaters. Even if its a 53 seater, the Scanias are 14.5M long while the Volvo model being compared is only 13.7M long.

The only Scanias I have travelled are Hebron and KSRTC. Hebron has 53 seats and I have travelled in the first row and somewhere in the middle. Wasn't comfortable in either seat.

KSRTC has messed up arrangement with their emergency exit availability and I took the seat just after the exit and was treated to a really large leg space

Might try the KPN next weekend and will report on the same. KPN usually allot the last row of seat to the driver's bed and hence it might be better than the competition, I think.

[Aniruthan]

I have travelled in a Scania which is run by Parveen Travels to Kochi from Chennai. I went in the 48 seater and to tell the truth, it's one of the best bus I have ever traveled in. Regarding this new coach from Mercedes, I hope it's not Sutlej built like their other coaches. Even though Sutlej coaches are quiet decent, they don't even match the Scania at all in any regard. Though ride quality is Great and am a regular traveler by Parveen's Merc Coach, I'm eagerly waiting to travel in this one.

[Anwesh]

Originally Posted by Aniruthan

I hope it's not Sutlej built like their other coaches.

You alredy have the answer in this thread

Originally Posted by Ashley2

The biggest advantage or the USP of the coach is the body. IMHO they are in a different league when compared to what Scania or Volvo is offering. Wright Bus the body maker has done great work with Aluminium and they make it with an alloy called 'Alumniq'. The body construction is also like Aircraft with so much riveting and pasting unlike conventional welding.

Regards,

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Chassis - Lot of correction has gone after huge failure of first innings. Disc brakes and steerable tag axles are welcome move. But I still feel a PTO driven cooling system could be given instead of belt driven. This should have freed up some space in saloon as well.

Any mention of kerb weight and how does it compare with competition?

Also, what is the reduction in turning circle diameter with the steerable TAG?

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by Aniruthan

I have travelled in a Scania which is run by Parveen Travels to Kochi from Chennai. I went in the 48 seater and to tell the truth, it's one of the best bus I have ever traveled in. Regarding this new coach from Mercedes, I hope it's not Sutlej built like their other coaches. Even though Sutlej coaches are quiet decent, they don't even match the Scania at all in any regard. Though ride quality is Great and am a regular traveler by Parveen's Merc Coach, I'm eagerly waiting to travel in this one.

The build quality you mention in the Scania could also be down to the fact that these coaches were built in Scania's coaching building plant in Malaysia and imported here. How Scania fares with locally built coaches needs to be seen. But having said that, Scania has taken the game to Volvo's turf and personally I'm slanted towards Scania now.

[swiftdiesel]

Neeta seems to be the second operator after KPN to get the Merc. My reason for this post is to mention that ugly rear! What's wrong with these guys? Seriously?! Ok, from a functional point of view those tail lamps may be easier to change than, say, a Volvo's unit but what about aesthetics? The front looks an absolute treat and then we have this rear! Terrible design in my opinion. Even local body builders seem to do a better job than this absolute design nonsense. Doesn't look upmarket to me and what's with the "SUPERHIGHDECK" tag? Sounds so tacky. I've seen such stupid nomenclatures in mofussil buses ("spaceship", "volvo", "bye-pass rider" come to mind) but what's this? At least for me, that awesome front has been ruined by that ugly rear with that tacky nomenclature. Perhaps, Merc's trying too hard to appeal to local operators? Don't know.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Neeta seems to be the second operator after KPN to get the Merc. My reason for this post is to mention that ugly rear! What's wrong with these guys? Seriously?! Ok, from a functional point of view those tail lamps may be easier to change than, say, a Volvo's unit but what about aesthetics? The front looks an absolute treat and then we have this rear! Terrible design in my opinion. Even local body builders seem to do a better job than this absolute design nonsense. Doesn't look upmarket to me and what's with the "SUPERHIGHDECK" tag? Sounds so tacky. I've seen such stupid nomenclatures in mofussil buses ("spaceship", "volvo", "bye-pass rider" come to mind) but what's this? At least for me, that awesome front has been ruined by that ugly rear with that tacky nomenclature. Perhaps, Merc's trying too hard to appeal to local operators? Don't know.

To me it looks like both the headlights and taillights have been redesigned for India specific requirements. For western markets, it could very well have a different lamp cluster while keeping the body panel common.

As a passenger, we should care more about safety & comfort inside and less about the look outside no?

[swiftdiesel]

Originally Posted by Mpower

As a passenger, we should care more about the comfort inside and less about the look outside no?

Agree, definitely from a passenger perspective, yes. But if you searched the internet, you will find a number of fan pages for Volvo's B9R and fans talking about the way it looks and all the analogies that go with it. You'll also notice that Volvo brought in a certain style statement to coaches in India to the point that even local bus builders started incorporating design elements into bodies built on Tata and Leyland chassis. I believe a certain perception goes into consumer's minds when it comes to Volvo or Scania and design plays a huge role in influencing that perception.

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by swiftdiesel

Agree, definitely from a passenger perspective, yes. But if you searched the internet, you will find a number of fan pages for Volvo's B9R and fans talking about the way it looks and all the analogies that go with it. You'll also notice that Volvo brought in a certain style statement to coaches in India to the point that even local bus builders started incorporating design elements into bodies built on Tata and Leyland chassis. I believe a certain perception goes into consumer's minds when it comes to Volvo or Scania and design plays a huge role in influencing that perception.

You are absolutely right that a typical customer perceives that a product which looks futuristic & sleek, probably offers a higher level of quality & performance, and base their purchase decisions on that.Everything from Fridge and washing machine are now styled by designers

It is for this reason that local bus body builders copy the flashy styling elements from foreign buses for their local built bodies.
I don't condone this practice but I do have an issue with general public giving more importance to style over and above things like safety, comfort and NVH.

These sleek looking (but poorly engineered) buses are still flipping over, catching fire, loud rattly and bouncy.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by Mpower

To me it looks like both the headlights and taillights have been redesigned for India specific requirements. For western markets, it could very well have a different lamp cluster while keeping the body panel common.

This is how it is, AFAIK. Instead of a combined HL cluster, there are separate pods, so that in case one or two breaks, they can be replaced separately. The same holds good for the tail lamp assembly too - all of them have separate pods and lenses, they can be replaced/patched separately at a fraction of the cost of replacing a larger, more sophisticated tail light unit.

Heck, they even let go of many electronics-controlled functions to cut costs in India, which are otherwise mandatory by EU regulations, especially regarding lighting in CVs. Sophisticated modules that conform to such regulations cost an arm and a leg, and the manufacturer would happily pass it on to the operator - who will simply move to a lower priced product which offers the same solution - take people from point A to point B in reasonable comfort, frugally.

As a passenger, we should care more about safety & comfort inside and less about the look outside no?

We, as a race, have a long way to go before we start caring more for the safety, comfort and environmental impact more than looks, status and only FE.

[SchumiFan]

KPN seems to have introduced this in the Chennai - Coimbatore sector.

Maiden journey of the bus happened today.

Picture Courtesy: Harish Vaithy, taken from Facebook.