Drivers - Bus Reviews & Opinions

[Sh4318]

4504 is another noisey one, when it wants to be. For some reason the front fleet numbers are highlighted in blue

[B.C Driver]

4367 - Fast at pulling away. Warm heaters. Smooth. All in all a lovely bus to drive.

[2900]

4086: Excellent volvo this is a beast IMO, Chassis bang on, engine / gearbox nice and smooth, brakes spot on, plenty of pace. suspension , handling/cornering excellent. Body internal early full refurb trim dark blue twm cushions, floors done, handles aswell, not much in the way of rattling either,some creaking now and then. External still looks ok. 9/10

[2900]

1521: had a ride on this simply awfull bus, it went over a pot hole the whole bus shook violently not pleasant, gearbox is shot aswell banging jolting along , it's basically scrap only good thing seems to be the engine, externally plenty of rust good if your going for the rat look some how I think it's not what nxwm are into. Internally the powder coat has come off the seat handles and now you have rust  simply crap. What a bag of shit. Needs to be put out of its misery.

[2900]

4299: one of the decent all round alexander volvo,s here at west brom,  chassis excellent I thought engine/gearbox smooth no issues ,sounds good in this bus, smooth brakes/retarder as well,  suspension dealt with most road surfaces quite well, handles corners well no leaning,. Body refurbed a while a go still looking very good externally, interior grey nx spec cushions, cab area for an alexander not bad all pretty solid not to much rattling going on. such a sharp contrast to 4249/4291 it's bonkers. 8/10

[uniquicity]

Went on 4299 on the 48 this afternoon. There is something loose in the blind box which makes it rattle, slightly annoying for the upstairs passengers. But it was a nice ride otherwise.

[John]

2900, you can have 4291 back! Awfully slow uphill and pulling away. Good brakes though. It leaks like a sieve though!

4263 - a perfect bus to have for a late night 94 duty. Nearly as quick as a Gemini pulling away, hardly any rattles. Only the heater was not working!

John , drivers here were overjoyed it has left west brom it's really that bad. One of twins at perry Barr had it last week the look on her face priceless.

4290 is slightly better, better at pulling off than 4291, apart from accelerating uphill. I was crawling around 20mph up Kingstanding Road this afternoon. Brakes were good, although I thought the retarder was a bit sharp kicking in at times, and it didn't rattle

[2900]

4715 not a particularly good wrightbus b7tl, chassis: front suspension aw full, sinks while cruising along have to raise it using the kneeling switch , front wheels feels detached like there wandering about  like the darts at west brom. Gearbox not good likes to thump you in the back every few minutes, engine has a delayed throttle response of two seconds very annoying. Body: early repaint could do with freshening up , internally original dark twm trim, degusting mess inside, cab various rattles here and there. Not a pleasant bus this. 3/10

[Liberator9]

May be out of place considering they are YW buses (I could set up separate YW fleet bus review) but I thought it would keep bus reviews in one thread, despite these two are passenger reviews.

4335 - First NX livery variation - unrefurbished inside although still in reasonably good condition, paint still presentable, but seats need replacing. No window etching and minimal scratches on seats. Rides very well and very few rattles. Bit slow pulling off but smooth once going. Once refurbished internally will make a good bus.

4372 - 2012 refurb - with vivid red and grey seats. Excellent looking bus externally and internally. Graffiti tag on floor and wall upstairs but nothing serious and no window etching. Suspension excellent and again minimal rattling, with a smooth running engine with reasonable acceleration.

[2900]

814: had a ten minute ride on this on the 49 service must have been the most annoying ten minute journey ever I have experienced concerning a vehicle it is utter crap. Rattling, creaking coming from every where I couldn't believe how bad it was for a 62 plate vehicle, dread to think how it will be in ten years time. If this was my car that I bought brand new I would want my money back.

755: this bus is in complete contrast to 814 yes it's only been in service for 5 minutes, it was a pleasant experience , it only rattled on very rough surfaces otherwise nothing.

Still haven't driven any type of enviro yet.

[2900]

4717: sadly another disappointing wrightbus B7TL ,
Externally early repaint looking tired now, internally still original dark twm cushions and it's grubby not nice in the least. The cooling fan is incredibly loud on this , driver seat is knackered simply awful,
Rattling from all over the cab, platform area annoying. Engine/box are ok bit slow to pull away though,once going its decent enough. I didn't enjoy driving this made the duty feel longer than it actually was. 4/10

[2900]

4056: chassis all good nice brakes/retarder, suspension good as well, engine excellent plenty of go, gearbox when pulling away has quite a distinctive sound, sounds very old skool IMO,
Body internal early full proper refurb, dark twm seat cushions, still in decent condition. Cab area some rattles, cab window rattles bad rubber seals perished, big steering wheel not good.
Would be an excellent all rounder if it had the smaller steering wheel fitted and cab window fixed.
7/10

[2900]

4113: not to keen on this example not as smooth as some of the other plackys at west brom.
Chassis, brakes/ retarder good, engine/ box average, suspension all over the place not good, riding high and low doing what ever it feels like.
Body:fair bit of rattling and creaking from body, cab window rattles bad.
Internal early full refurb dark twm cushions, needs a good clean, grubby. Big steering wheel not good.
External : still looks ok
5/10

[2900]

4527: very good to drive this one very smooth gearbox does let it down with occasional jolt.
Chassis: brakes /retarder excellent, engine smooth and power full , gearbox jolts occasionally ,suspension excellent.
Body: internal still original trim mixed with various other specs, pretty cleanish,minimal rattle.
External: early repaint could do with refurb now.
7/10

[Liberator9]

Hope no one minds me hijacking this again to comment on YW buses -

4362 - Unrefurb TWM livery - looking fine outside and inside still actually. Few rattles, rides well, although the heating is poor. Pulls away well - will make an excellent one once refurbed.

4383 - Superb - rides very well, 2014 refurb so in excellent condition. No rattles, and engine/gearbox smooth. 4372 is similar.

4369 - Old NX liv + unrefurb inside. although in good condition. Rattling a fair bit, and doesn't ride out the potholes very well. Engine fine, gearbox at times jolty. Plus had problems with the cab door alarm going off.

4107 - Not the best President at YW - rattling, poor riding on rough surfaces and not in the best condition internally with etching.

4667 - Good riding - no rattles - just needs an internal and external refresh.

1909 - Excellent riding - smart looking with smooth engine. Some rattling but as long as there is no squeaking I don't mind. Heating superb.

1916 - Same as 1909, but virtually no rattles.
1923 - Another good Scania from YW - tons better than Enviro 200s.