Drivers - Bus Reviews & Opinions

[2900]

4758 ADL ENVIRO 400 TRIDENT2

First thing that hits you when your in the cab is super shiny super smooth steering wheel just plain nasty, to drive doesn't feel as fast as 4743,4753 or as composed, does rattle a little more.
Accelerator has kick down function bonus in my book. I did have a wonder about in the saloons not bad overall some window etchings upstairs, Paintwork and seats looking some what tired though.

Engine - all good smooth powerful uphill
Gearbox - all good no issues
Retarder - well balanced
Brakes -  all good
Suspension - same as every other enviro 400 front axle on the firm side hopeless on bumps

Still way better than any 4900 E40D,  worth 7/10

[Ronnoc]

Sorry about my lack of knowledge and stupidity of this question but what is kickdown? Is it a switch where it makes the bus accelerate faster or the pedal being pushed down harder?

[2900]

4742 ADL ENVIRO 400 TRIDENT2

Very similar to 4743,4753  in the way the chassis behaves see my post regarding those vehicles.
Bodywork paint all faded odd dents scratches etc which will be taken care of by August I believe
Interior other than good clean and etched windows upstairs not that bad, I still don't understand the thinking behind those ugly cheap looking seating arrangement at the back of the lower saloon, while on the upper saloon it's fully cushioned along the rear.


May be somebody could answer this one for me, the ticket machine attached to the cab door is an after thought from what I can see with wiring coming to it from a box section in the cab which has had a hole drilled in it I can potential issues in the future here as the outer flexi insulation has broken down exposing the wiring inside with the cab constantly opening closing only a matter of time before chaffing exposes the core there you have it a short circuit, why aren't these enviros using wayfarers that diamond use with the printer built in its close enough to the vandal screen, it would help the driver if tickets are issued incorrectly you wouldn't have step outside to retrieve it.
I,ve sum what digressed a bit from 4742 a bit.
A rubber grommet around the drilled hole would help.

Engine - excellent plenty of balls
Gearbox - all good no issues
Retarder - excellent well balanced real pleasure to use so effective in scrubbing of speed properly like
                 Metrobuses use too.
Brakes - all good
Suspension - usual ENVIRO 400 traits , firm I,m no fan of it
Cab - on rubbish roads can get vocal at times

Worth a 7.5/10 in my book

[2900]

In all the years I,ve been driving I have never known a route to have so many major road works going on at one time. The 87 has works at M5 flyover at oldbury down to one lane either way and closed at night, next up Heath St before city hosiptal then just after western road after city hospital, next up springhill Island and finally summer row paradise.
Truely unbelievable it's gone to pot in of matter days.
Springhill  Island to new temnius in Albert St 11 minutes very tight, with the city loop a nice leisurely cruise around all calm no bother, how things have changed overnight.
I hope once the road re routing takes place at paradise the Dudley rd services will go back that way it really does make so much sense the loop it was doing. Over the years I,ve done so many variations of the 82/87 into city, this current one is the worst yet.

[Liverpool Street]

In all the years I,ve been driving I have never known a route to have so many major road works going on at one time. The 87 has works at M5 flyover at oldbury down to one lane either way and closed at night, next up Heath St before city hosiptal then just after western road after city hospital, next up springhill Island and finally summer row paradise.
Truely unbelievable it's gone to pot in of matter days.
Springhill  Island to new temnius in Albert St 11 minutes very tight, with the city loop a nice leisurely cruise around all calm no bother, how things have changed overnight.
I hope once the road re routing takes place at paradise the Dudley rd services will go back that way it really does make so much sense the loop it was doing. Over the years I,ve done so many variations of the 82/87 into city, this current one is the worst yet.

So the Albert St isn't permanent?

[2900]

Liverpool St , as I understand it the current route into city via every back road to terminus at Albert St will last roughly 12 months while recon construction of paradise circus into two traffic takes place.
The set up planned won't be a million miles away from the current constitution hill junction by St chads.
Not much has changed at dale end since I last drove the 128/129 service into that part of city which must have been at least 15 years a go. Still got that dark and dingy feel to it.
I can now see how tight it all is it wouldn't take much to grid lock that area.

[2900]

4044 PLAXTON PRESIDENT B7TL

Quite simply an outstanding bus to drive, chassis simply excellent the way it deals with speed bumps rough roads just brilliant , engine gearbox spot on,plenty of power, only down side cab had the large diameter steering wheel fitted, hard to believe it's 16 years old. Interior very good condition I thought as is bodywork,
On a second refurb grey moquette seats , paint still bright and shiny. While the engine was idling I went for walk about upstairs some panels vibrating but nothing that couldn't be sorted by tighting a few screws here and there.
IMO one of the very best at west brom garage its that good.
If I had space and time I would use my own hard earned cash to restore this back to the day it left the factory.
I know where to send it as well to the guys that built it in the first place who now run there own bus refurb shop after the PLAXTON Wigan plant closed down.
These guys done the transdev refurbs up north outstanding workmanship.

4044 9.5/10 I repeat 16 years old and going strong amazing, have to give credit to nxwm  engineering dept for maintaining it. Before anyone jumps down my throat I,m not saying other vehicles aren't maintained to.

[Ronnoc]

4044 PLAXTON PRESIDENT B7TL

Quite simply an outstanding bus to drive, chassis simply excellent the way it deals with speed bumps rough roads just brilliant , engine gearbox spot on,plenty of power, only down side cab had the large diameter steering wheel fitted, hard to believe it's 16 years old. Interior very good condition I thought as is bodywork,
On a second refurb grey moquette seats , paint still bright and shiny. While the engine was idling I went for walk about upstairs some panels vibrating but nothing that couldn't be sorted by tighting a few screws here and there.
IMO one of the very best at west brom garage its that good.
If I had space and time I would use my own hard earned cash to restore this back to the day it left the factory.
I know where to send it as well to the guys that built it in the first place who now run there own bus refurb shop after the PLAXTON Wigan plant closed down.
These guys done the transdev refurbs up north outstanding workmanship.

4044 9.5/10 I repeat 16 years old and going strong amazing, have to give credit to nxwm  engineering dept for maintaining it. Before anyone jumps down my throat I,m not saying other vehicles aren't maintained to.

WB keep their Plaxton's in the top condition. Simply good for any driver. By the way have you drove 4249? It is in one of the worst conditions but it does accelerate fast.

[John]

I am wondering if the Enviro400s (the ADL ones, not the older Trident ones) at other garages have had their gearboxes remapped like ours, I guess for better fuel economy. I have been told that the 48** 33 Enviro400s have now also had this remapping

They top out at around 1500 rpm before changing up, way too early, and it can get as low as 800 rpm in a gear, and you can hear and feel the engine struggling to pick up speed. It sounds like it is about to stall

Kickdown also takes a while to kick in.

The most dangerous part of this is that there is a delay of around 1 second after putting your foot down on the accelerator to actually pulling away. Not good for Erdington 6 Ways/Bagot Islands, where you have to hold the bus on the handbrake and rev at a standstill to get it to move off straight away and with decent speed

[Tiptonian]

Re. 4044.

Recently, I made a rare visit back to the West Midlands to check out, amongst other vehicles, E400 MMCs on the 9. The impression was good; smart inside, great new livery, "tight" bodywork, no rattles or squeaks, obviously lots of sound-deadening, but, growing up with BMMO D9 and S17, I thought, isn't the suspension rather poor? A lot of sharp bumps and jiggles were getting through, and my neck was hurting. Am I just getting old?

Making my way home next day, I boarded 4044 at West Bromwich for Sutton Coldfield, and got my answer. This superb vehicle ironed out everything possible, and my age has nothing to do with anything. I had one of those silly "bus enthusiast" smiles on my face for the whole journey. The flashy new livery, branding, wifi, and publicity photos are really just a smokescreen.  What is the use of all this if the suspension is hard and you alight aching and frowning?

In another part of the country, I have heard older members of the public saying, about the E200, why have disabled facilities on a bus when they are too rough to travel on?  I understand this is being addressed on the E200 MMC. I sincerely hope similar development will soon occur on the E400 MMC.

   

[BU07 LGO]

I am wondering if the Enviro400s (the ADL ones, not the older Trident ones) at other garages have had their gearboxes remapped like ours, I guess for better fuel economy. I have been told that the 48** 33 Enviro400s have now also had this remapping

They top out at around 1500 rpm before changing up, way too early, and it can get as low as 800 rpm in a gear, and you can hear and feel the engine struggling to pick up speed. It sounds like it is about to stall

Kickdown also takes a while to kick in.

The most dangerous part of this is that there is a delay of around 1 second after putting your foot down on the accelerator to actually pulling away. Not good for Erdington 6 Ways/Bagot Islands, where you have to hold the bus on the handbrake and rev at a standstill to get it to move off straight away and with decent speed

Some of ours are decent - 4875 is quick as is 4862 but most are terrible and can barely hit 30 up beacon road

[Liverpool Street]

I am wondering if the Enviro400s (the ADL ones, not the older Trident ones) at other garages have had their gearboxes remapped like ours, I guess for better fuel economy. I have been told that the 48** 33 Enviro400s have now also had this remapping

They top out at around 1500 rpm before changing up, way too early, and it can get as low as 800 rpm in a gear, and you can hear and feel the engine struggling to pick up speed. It sounds like it is about to stall

Kickdown also takes a while to kick in.

The most dangerous part of this is that there is a delay of around 1 second after putting your foot down on the accelerator to actually pulling away. Not good for Erdington 6 Ways/Bagot Islands, where you have to hold the bus on the handbrake and rev at a standstill to get it to move off straight away and with decent speed

My sources assure me all BC ones are just as bad as yours. Except 4896. Terrible and dangerous set up. But at least its not costing as much on diesel bills.

[Liberator9]

@Tiptonian

Your very right regarding the suspension  - Alexander Dennis have always seemed to have had fairly basic, firm suspension. Even the MMCs, whilst better than its predecessors, have a fairly firm ride. Whilst Wrights, Mercedes and Scanias have self levelling suspension (visible when idle), the Tridents and E400s don't.

Best I know for suspension are Mercedes Citaros, both the new mach 2 version and older versions - by far the best buses in the UK in terms of ride quality and build quality. Next best for suspension would probably be a tie between the Wright Geminis and Scania Omnilinks (the Euro 5 batch at YW are very good) - iron out most bumps very well and do well on rough roads. Plaxton Presidents have always been pretty good buses for suspension as well due to their Volvo chassis - always preferred them to the Tridents really for speed and ride quality. Had 4094 the other day and for a relatively old bus in NX terms, was very fast and smooth.

I hope the E200MMCs are decent buses - suspension and build quality needs to be a step up on previous versions - the small tyres on the E200s don't help on rough roads.

[MW]

Took my first Gemini out today. Easily the best vehicle type at AG, yes I know there's only four types. At the bottom of the accelerator, if you push it harder it clicks and kicks down. 4668 was the one I drove. I can't remember the Presidents having that feature. I love how the engine just screams! It changed gear around 2500rpm so you can imagine it screaming. But yeah 4668 was bang on. If they're all like it or better, then I'll be a happy chap. I wonder if the 45** batch drive any different, or if the remaining 46** batch do for that matter!

[Liberator9]

@MW

Sounds as good to drive as they are from a passenger perspective - had 4652 on the 37 today (quite a number out on it today which was good to see) and apart from the fact it will benefit greatly from its upcoming refurb, really good bus. Suspension was good, didn't really rattle, and smooth running. The Scanias have that click when you kickdown I believe - hopefully you'll get a chance to drive them with the shoddy E200MMCs being delayed. Hope the driving goes well and will be interesting to hear!