It’s not surprising that TNT has been the first Australian fleet to embrace Euro VI technology, as the company has also pioneered the introduction of light-duty diesel-electric hybrid trucks into the local marketplace and commissioned a trial of compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles to stay at the forefront of innovation. In that context, the early adoption of Euro VI in the form of six Scania P450 prime movers may just be the next logical step on TNT’s quest for continuous improvement.
Prime Mover got to test drive TNT’s new high-tech Scania on a return journey from Melbourne to Ballarat to find out just how different the Euro VI model is to the pervious generation. The result is almost a little disappointing – there’s not much of a difference at all.
The run up to Ballarat is a standard journey for our test vehicle, as TNT intends to use it on line-haul work throughout country Victoria, mostly during the night. Like all six P450s, it will be double shifted and utilised for Melbourne metropolitan customer pickups during the day.
The specifications of our test truck are pretty standard too, apart from a few additional safety features like the air operated turntable release mechanism. There is also a set of alloy steps complete with handrails to provide safe access to the rear of the cab when connecting airlines, as well as an alarm that goes off if the driver’s door is opened without the parking brake being applied. The combination of all three features will reduce the risk of injuries when hooking up trailers and shows just how serious TNT is about pushing the innovation bar.
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