Test Drive: The new Mercedes-Benz Actros rigid range

Mercedes-Benz certainly created a bit of a storm eight or nine months ago when they launched their new Prime Mover models, and as we predicted, they've been pretty successful. In fact, they've been very successful. I'm hearing that they've delivered already around 500 units into the market, and they're good numbers for Benz, numbers that they haven't had for a long time. But phase two was always going to be their rigid class, and that's what we're doing today. We're having a drive of all the new rigid Benzes. There's 4x2, 6x2, 6x4, and over here we've got the new 8x4. This one's a 32-43 model, and it's based on the Aerox foundation. But like I said, we're only halfway through the day. At the end of the day, I'll come back to you and let you know how they've gone in the second half. We're back at Daimler Trucks at Rocklea on the outskirts of Brisbane after 300-plus Ks in the new Benz rigid models. And I've got to say, you can't tell a lot in one day, but you can tell the fundamentals. And the fundamentals are that there are a lot of synergies between the rigid line-up and the prime mover range. What that means is you can transfer from prime movers into rigids, and you're basically in the same format. You don't need to think too hard about how different these are, because they're not that much different in terms of operating them as a driver. So in a fleet application, that's got to be a good thing. The thing about these, though, is they're competing in a market where the Japanese also compete. And that's got to be hard work for anyone. So at the end of the day, these carry enough over from the prime movers, and the prime movers have been successful enough to suggest that these will do the job extremely well. But again, it's a tough market. There's no more competitive market in the world than Australia. And to date, Benz has done that job really well with its new models. So it'll take time, but all things considered, it'd be nothing but a positive opinion on how these operate. They're a nice truck, a seriously nice truck.