On The Road
There is not a “bad” truck being produced today – the task if each manufacturer is to sell you its state-of-the-art product before the competition manages to pry the money out of your mattress. Assuming that all modern trucks do the job they’re built for, CM’s technical team spends its time looking for exceptional characteristics. That’s why we always refer to performance over the tough sections of our Scottish test route, but we mustn’t forget the bread-and-butter sections along the motorway. It’s all about how much effort the driver has to put in – work on the A-roads and severe gradients is only to be expected.
The power from the Magnum’s 440hp engine allowed us to tackle the hilly Cumbrian section of the M6 and the A74 to Glasgow with just a single split change to maintain the momentum. The Magnum happily lugged down to 1,100rpm on demand, demanding a little confidence from the driver: it was tempting to drop another half a gear as the revs gradually fell off. This truck has the strength to hang in there and a change won’t improve performance or speed.
On the steeper hills the cruise control works through the gear changes. There’s a split-second lull before the electronically controlled engine realises you have left the work to the cruise control but this doesn’t affect the hill climbing performance. After negotiating long descents or roundabouts where dropping gears and braking is the order of the day the cruise control is simply re-engaged at the turn of a switch on the right-hand stalk.
The Servoshift ZF 16-speed box has a four-next-to-four formation, with a gate rather than a range-change. The move to cable operation has made gear changes on the flat smoother but there is slightly more distance between neutral and gear engagement than you find with traditional mechanical actuation gearboxes; this is most noticeable on the hills. The change, especially from high range to low, needs to be made early to guarantee results.
On the level 2H is the best gear to pull away in, followed by a block change to 4H and a whole gear to 5H. To purr along at 50mph 8L is ideal, putting the revs bang on the prime torque position, leaving 8H for motorway and dual-carriageway action.
Gear changes are best made at 1,600rpm on the flat; splits further up the box are made at 1,400rpm. In both cases the needle moves to just above the 1,100rpm mark, still in solid torque territory. When taking on the hilly sections, changing down just prior to the 1,100rpm mark allows the needle to come in at the top of the torque curve.
When approaching the roundabouts on A-roads in 8L, a change down to 7L and then 6L kept up the momentum.
Coming out of the roundabout in 6L and pre-selecting 6H gives a useful slingshot effect once you hit 1,400rpm.
The Jacobs Brake certainly makes a difference. Drop a gear, or two, on motorway descents and it holds the speed back nicely at around 2,000rpm, in the blue band and at around the 55-60mph mark.
On sharp A-road descents drop into 6L or H and the Jake will hold you steady at 30-40mph. Anything this effective that takes so much effort from the service brakes must be worth a second look.
Cab Comfort
When it comes to pampering your drivers you can’t ask for better than a flat-floor, high-roof sleeper cab, and Renault wrote the book on this type of modern-day big truck cab so you’d expect premium levels of comfort.
A tray slides out next to the passenger seat but once that’s placed back under the bunk there is plenty of space to wander around. There’s more than enough seat and steering wheel adjustment to find the ideal driving position. The passenger seat also has plenty of adjustment and there’s a convenient footrest built into the lower section of the passenger’s dashboard.
A second bunk is fitted as standard; it folds back to give the driver enough space to get into the bottom bunk or to move the seat further back when driving. However, there’s no netting on the top bunk to stop the sleepwalkers among us (or their gear) from falling out.
Gone are Renault’s mock 1970s curtains, replaced by three electronically controlled screens that cover the side windows and the front windscreen. They act as sun blinds too; a small catch on the passenger’s side of the windscreen secures the blind a foot down from the top.
Storage consists of two aircraft-style units up in the rafters with another over the driver’s head. The driver also has a tray built into the fascia next to his left shinbone with several pigeonholes for mobile phones, pens, imported cigarettes and chewing gum at arm level. The side door pockets are surprisingly roomy, with a drinks holder designed for litre bottles rather than cans or cups.
