ABC #406

you’re driving a bus, it feels like you’re driving
a car. If a driver’s doing long hours, they’re
not going to come back fatigued.
“I can speak from experience because
I’ve done trips where I had to drive vans of
a similar size to this one for four hours, and,
with the Shuttle 22, you jump out like you’ve
been in a car.
“Ground clearance as well is better than
a lot of our competitors, which is important
sometimes, especially when you’re in touring
and maybe going in off-road regions.”
Aside from his personal favourite features,
Stavrinou said that there are too many to
mention smaller features and adaptations
that make the Shuttle 22 a great choice for
operators. He told us about one that makes
good sense for ease of repair.
“See how we’ve got the black plastic trim
all the way around? That’s the first place
where you’ll scrape or damage a vehicle.
Those trims are not very expensive to buy at
a dealer to replace, so, rather than having
to get a panel beater and get some panel
beating done, all you have to do is change a
plastic part.
“It’s the small design features like that that
equate to the lower cost of ownership. We
find it’s those features that fleet operators
really appreciate from an Iveco.”
Another feature that plays a part in
efficiency and cost saving is the inclusion of
a smart alternator across the Daily range.
“What that means is that its smart
technology detects when you need full
power to the rear wheels and it’ll stop
charging the alternator. Then, it’ll know
that, when you’re on the brakes and you’re
coasting, you’re slowing down, [so] it’ll put
maximum charge, up to about 180 amps,
through the battery.
“So, the alternator technology is smart
enough to give you very high current
charging when you’re slowing down or when
you don’t need power. So, for the majority of
the time, the alternator is just freewheeling,
adding to the to the fuel economy of the
vehicle. It means that it requires a battery
that is capable of taking those high currents.
You can’t just put a standard battery in it.
The way we’ve designed it, removing the
battery out of the engine bay and putting
busnews.com.au June 2021 ABC
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