Drivers - Bus Reviews & Opinions

[Dom]

Finally got to drive a Trident ALX400 4168 Y Reg Trainer vehicle

In great all round condition , while sat in the back waiting my turn to drive I thought it was a very comfortable from a  passenger point of view, suspension did a good job of soaking bumps at the rear hardly any rattles to, I did notice the engine compartment is less instrusive than the Volvo B7TL version of this bus.
The drive on the whole I was disappointed with the driving position, brake pedal location and feel was poor IMO, handbrake location not great either, I assumed it would go like the 4700 series Tridents but no it just didn't have that kick I,ve heard about over years.
The Volvo B7tl,s with add blue conversions would knock spots off this trident , the Volvo chassis is just so much better in every way possible.

I drove that on CPC a month back, fantastic bus, one of the better tridents imo. Never had the chance of driving a B7TL though so can't compare unfortunately!

[MW]

I drove that on CPC a month back, fantastic bus, one of the better tridents imo. Never had the chance of driving a B7TL though so can't compare unfortunately!

Volvo B7TL/B7RLE w/ Wright bodywork. Best modern bus to drive by far!

[Dylanbusboy45]

Volvo B7TL/B7RLE w/ Wright bodywork. Best modern bus to drive by far!

@MW May I ask what you think of Allison MMC200s ? seeing as your a driver for Landflight of them now, presumably. Every other driver I've spoken to has said they are much better than the older ones

[MW]

@MW May I ask what you think of Allison MMC200s ? seeing as your a driver for Landflight of them now, presumably. Every other driver I've spoken to has said they are much better than the older ones

They're much better than the old E200s yes. Like absolute worlds apart from the old E200s. I can't believe it's the same manufacturer to be honest. The older ones feel ridiculously unstable at higher speeds. They don't feel planted to the road at all! The short 8.9M (I'm thinking of BU12LJV, as that's one I've driven plenty) have terrible suspension. Like a seesaw, those buses. The longer 10.8m ones have much better suspension but are still nowhere near as good as an MMC.

They're also much better than the Voith E200MMCs at NXWM, which I've driven on the 31/37 when new. I can compare them directly to Diamonds latest batch of Streetlites too. The turning circle is still not all that but better than the NXWM ones although that's probably due to the wheelbase. NXWMs are 11.3m I think. Landflight ones are 10.8m. I've noticed that there's a bit of a concern with the brakes on these new ones, well specifically the retarder. I've spoken to some Johnson's drivers who also say that their MMCs have the same "fault" or niggle. I've noticed it more when braking from a higher speed, but if you're braking from 40/50MPH, the retarder (which is very smooth unlike juddery Voith ones!) kicks in as normal and if you happen to be on a bumpy road, as you depress the brake pedal you lose the retarder as you drive into a bump for some reason and you're just relying on the actual brake discs, which scares the f**k outta you at times. I hated the drivers seat in the NXWM versions, which may well be the same seat that you get in the Platinums. Irritating to adjust because of the two windy handles, and it was a leather seat, which are rubbish in the heat. The Landflight ones have a much better drivers seat, which actually makes a difference.

Streetlites have a better turning circle. I'd choose an Allison MMC over any form of Streetlite to drive though. I think a Cummins engined Streetlite with an Allison gearbox would be a very good combination. The problem with Cummins Streetlires is that the way they're set up. The power is top end on them, and the gearbox changes up gear before the engine gets to its peak power band and isn't intelligent enough to drop down when you need the power/going up an incline etc. I wonder if there are any Daimler engines Streetlites around with the Daimler gearbox. That's be an interesting comparison to the Voith. The Voith Daimler versions have a lot more low down grunt and as a result aren't as sluggish as the Cummins ones. If the Cummins ones actually revved out, they'd be so so much better. Top end in a Cummins Streetlite from 40mph to 60mph seems quicker to get to than 10-30MPH, because it's forced to rev out as it's in its highest gear!

These MMCs certainly rattle a lot less than Streetlites. Some of the ones on the 50 were starting to rattle when I left Diamond, and these MMCs at Landflight are the same age. Not a single MMC rattles.

But yeah, they're definitely much better than the older ones.

[Dylanbusboy45]

They're much better than the old E200s yes. Like absolute worlds apart from the old E200s. I can't believe it's the same manufacturer to be honest. The older ones feel ridiculously unstable at higher speeds. They don't feel planted to the road at all! The short 8.9M (I'm thinking of BU12LJV, as that's one I've driven plenty) have terrible suspension. Like a seesaw, those buses. The longer 10.8m ones have much better suspension but are still nowhere near as good as an MMC.

They're also much better than the Voith E200MMCs at NXWM, which I've driven on the 31/37 when new. I can compare them directly to Diamonds latest batch of Streetlites too. The turning circle is still not all that but better than the NXWM ones although that's probably due to the wheelbase. NXWMs are 11.3m I think. Landflight ones are 10.8m. I've noticed that there's a bit of a concern with the brakes on these new ones, well specifically the retarder. I've spoken to some Johnson's drivers who also say that their MMCs have the same "fault" or niggle. I've noticed it more when braking from a higher speed, but if you're braking from 40/50MPH, the retarder (which is very smooth unlike juddery Voith ones!) kicks in as normal and if you happen to be on a bumpy road, as you depress the brake pedal you lose the retarder as you drive into a bump for some reason and you're just relying on the actual brake discs, which scares the f**k outta you at times. I hated the drivers seat in the NXWM versions, which may well be the same seat that you get in the Platinums. Irritating to adjust because of the two windy handles, and it was a leather seat, which are rubbish in the heat. The Landflight ones have a much better drivers seat, which actually makes a difference.

Streetlites have a better turning circle. I'd choose an Allison MMC over any form of Streetlite to drive though. I think a Cummins engined Streetlite with an Allison gearbox would be a very good combination. The problem with Cummins Streetlires is that the way they're set up. The power is top end on them, and the gearbox changes up gear before the engine gets to its peak power band and isn't intelligent enough to drop down when you need the power/going up an incline etc. I wonder if there are any Daimler engines Streetlites around with the Daimler gearbox. That's be an interesting comparison to the Voith. The Voith Daimler versions have a lot more low down grunt and as a result aren't as sluggish as the Cummins ones. If the Cummins ones actually revved out, they'd be so so much better. Top end in a Cummins Streetlite from 40mph to 60mph seems quicker to get to than 10-30MPH, because it's forced to rev out as it's in its highest gear!

These MMCs certainly rattle a lot less than Streetlites. Some of the ones on the 50 were starting to rattle when I left Diamond, and these MMCs at Landflight are the same age. Not a single MMC rattles.

But yeah, they're definitely much better than the older ones.

Very interesting read thanks. It seems that in these modern single deckers, the gearbox really makes all the difference in the power delivery. When I first rode an Allison MMC last year, the main difference I noticed was the higher revving, not only does it sound better from an enthusiasts pov, but performs better, especially on higher speed, longer distance sort runs. I guess that's why the big operators go for Voith as theirs are just tottering up busy main roads, whereas the smaller ones are going down country lanes where they can get some speed up easier

[2900]

ADL ENVIRO 400 MMC 6971

Up on receiving my first platinum bus in Oldbury I got myself into cab took a deep breath of that new bus smell always very satisfying soon to be replaced by super skunk weed etc.
First impressions of the cab its is a very nice place to be only downside the cab seat is PVC covered which I hate you become sweaty as it doesn't breathe like cloth does.
All the controls,re well laid out , the use of proper switch gear is very good as opposed to the previous models touch button panel.
The build quality and materials does  definitely seem to of a higher standard compared to previous model. Driving along its all very civilised, this does seem get up and go when required, ride quality is much improved over the previous bus, there are some rattles squeaks on poor road surfaces, otherwise not much else.
The biggest problem I have is the Stop/Start at every bus stop I absolutely hate it , i just couldn't  get into my stride/rythem/groove call it what you will, I found it incredibly irritating it totally spoils what appears to be a very decent bus, I did notice the startStop didn't activate in traffic situations, possible low battery charge. At one point I was running 10 minutes late on a normal bus I usually recover that but this start/stop tech hell no chance of that I just gave up.
It really does feel like the bus is dictating on how it should be driven, constantly pressing the brake pedal before moving off very annoying quirk.
The voith gearbox/retarder is a vast improvement over the hopeless  zf ecomatic box.
I do wonder how many starter motors flywheels will be replaced before the start/stop is deactivated, I,m sure the cost of parts labour will out way any fuel cost savings, we shall see.

[Tony]

ADL ENVIRO 400 MMC 6971

Up on receiving my first platinum bus in Oldbury I got myself into cab took a deep breath of that new bus smell always very satisfying soon to be replaced by super skunk weed etc.
First impressions of the cab its is a very nice place to be only downside the cab seat is PVC covered which I hate you become sweaty as it doesn't breathe like cloth does.
All the controls,re well laid out , the use of proper switch gear is very good as opposed to the previous models touch button panel.
The build quality and materials does  definitely seem to of a higher standard compared to previous model. Driving along its all very civilised, this does seem get up and go when required, ride quality is much improved over the previous bus, there are some rattles squeaks on poor road surfaces, otherwise not much else.
The biggest problem I have is the Stop/Start at every bus stop I absolutely hate it , i just couldn't  get into my stride/rythem/groove call it what you will, I found it incredibly irritating it totally spoils what appears to be a very decent bus, I did notice the startStop didn't activate in traffic situations, possible low battery charge. At one point I was running 10 minutes late on a normal bus I usually recover that but this start/stop tech hell no chance of that I just gave up.
It really does feel like the bus is dictating on how it should be driven, constantly pressing the brake pedal before moving off very annoying quirk.
The voith gearbox/retarder is a vast improvement over the hopeless  zf ecomatic box.
I do wonder how many starter motors flywheels will be replaced before the start/stop is deactivated, I,m sure the cost of parts labour will out way any fuel cost savings, we shall see.

The stop start is activated by the doors, that's why it wasn't doing it in traffic.

[aSingh]

ADL ENVIRO 400 MMC 6971

Up on receiving my first platinum bus in Oldbury I got myself into cab took a deep breath of that new bus smell always very satisfying soon to be replaced by super skunk weed etc.
First impressions of the cab its is a very nice place to be only downside the cab seat is PVC covered which I hate you become sweaty as it doesn't breathe like cloth does.
All the controls,re well laid out , the use of proper switch gear is very good as opposed to the previous models touch button panel.
The build quality and materials does  definitely seem to of a higher standard compared to previous model. Driving along its all very civilised, this does seem get up and go when required, ride quality is much improved over the previous bus, there are some rattles squeaks on poor road surfaces, otherwise not much else.
The biggest problem I have is the Stop/Start at every bus stop I absolutely hate it , i just couldn't  get into my stride/rythem/groove call it what you will, I found it incredibly irritating it totally spoils what appears to be a very decent bus, I did notice the startStop didn't activate in traffic situations, possible low battery charge. At one point I was running 10 minutes late on a normal bus I usually recover that but this start/stop tech hell no chance of that I just gave up.
It really does feel like the bus is dictating on how it should be driven, constantly pressing the brake pedal before moving off very annoying quirk.
The voith gearbox/retarder is a vast improvement over the hopeless  zf ecomatic box.
I do wonder how many starter motors flywheels will be replaced before the start/stop is deactivated, I,m sure the cost of parts labour will out way any fuel cost savings, we shall see.

Another driver on Oldbury Rota said something very similar. He was late and usually on the 47XX's as open/close door situation is quite fast as well as pull off speed, he can bring it back on time if conditions allow, but with platinums he also gave up.

[aSingh]

WB 4925.

Drives as smooth and fast as a Trident. Usually when doing 30mph on E40D you can sort of feel it where as in a good Trident bus you can be doing 30mph but actually feels like 20mph.

[Dom]

Another driver on Oldbury Rota said something very similar. He was late and usually on the 47XX's as open/close door situation is quite fast as well as pull off speed, he can bring it back on time if conditions allow, but with platinums he also gave up.

I've got no issue with the Platinums we have at Pensnett, having had them on the X10 and last night on the 126, I've personally not struggled for time at all. I find them quite quick in pulling away and getting upto speed. I don't find the stop start causing any issue at all.

[2900]

I did notice on 6791 while the doors were open the engine would restart itself is this normal

[2900]

WB 4925.

Drives as smooth and fast as a Trident. Usually when doing 30mph on E40D you can sort of feel it where as in a good Trident bus you can be doing 30mph but actually feels like 20mph.

A handful  of the 4900s at westbrom are very good buses quick too, but still the 4700s on the whole just better , I think 4742 is the slug in that batch

[karl724223]

I did notice on 6791 while the doors were open the engine would restart itself is this normal

yes bus will restart itself when battery power starts to drop

[2900]

I am hearing on the grape  vine westbrom to gain two service 12 boards from The farm in June,
Also hearing 13A/B could potentially be scrapped and a version of 126 to serve brandhall and blackheath.
I do stress it's all very fluid, it's not gospel , just rumours at the moment.

[2900]

6976 enviro 400mmc

This one same as 6971 but stop/start engages when handbrake is on any where , been told this will be modified to door open only stop/ start, on occasions it would go ape shit hazards would come on and refuse to restart , to correct issue go through manual start process.
At westbrom most drivers do agree these platinums,re nice to drive but ruined by stop/ start, when have fast running times it's really difficult to stay on time , I now understand why when the farm use platinums in the evenings on the 12 it's hardly ever on time.