I was surprised at how little traffic there was on the roads, and the trip was uneventful, and as a consequence pretty stress-free.
The only downside of the trip was that I had an 04 plate Iveco Stralis to drive.
Now I don't really consider myself "picky" but I do like a neat, well designed, ergonomically well thought out truck. After all, it's what I do for a living and I spend a great deal of my life behind a steering wheel.
Well forgive me, but this has to rank as one of the worst trucks I've ever driven.
True, it was a little underpowered. It was also not very well cared for. (A hire truck to fill in whilst work is booming!)
I have never seen such a confusing dash board, built with the cheapest plastics Iveco could find with the result that they were just hard and tacky. And despite what you might think, not very hard wearing either.
Here's a picture of a Stralis dash. And look at how "thrown together" it looks. There's hardly a smooth surface to be seen. And this is a clean one! It looks in pristine condition compared to the shitbox I had to drive today.
The seat was too close to the steering wheel and the tilt adjustment on it was broken, so it felt as if I was going to slide off it and onto my knees all the time. The lift axle switch had been pushed through by some over eager previous driver, who couldn't get the lift axle to actually lift. It wouldn't perform for me either.
There was simply no rhyme or reason for where the switches were located and the central "electrics" screen had so many flashing lights and incomprehensible labels, it looked as if it was trying to compete with Blackpool.
The cloth on the seat and bunk were seriously cheap, and the bunk itself was very narrow. And the hump over the engine didn't encourage moving about the cab....
There was nowhere to actually stow my documents, and the drinks holders, apart from being in the wrong place were too shallow to hold a paper coffee mug. And believe me, it's bad enough when your papers go sliding across the dash, but when a mug of hot coffee does the same thing, a.) it's not a pretty sight and b.) it seriously pisses me off!
Having spoken to a few other drivers (who normally drive the standard fleet issue of Mercs or Scania's, there's no one I can find with a good word to say about the Ivecos, although I understand the Italians love them.
Sorry Iveco, but how about getting the people who design your truck, to have some understanding of how trucks are used. Or better still, send them to ask Scania some questions. No wonder I hear they are virtually giving the damn things away at the moment. They may be cheap, but there certainly are NOT cheerful!
The best I can say is that it did the job. Just.
Would I buy one? Well put it this way; whilst I concede they do have a certain fussy appeal from the outside, if I never saw another Iveco Stralis ever again, it would be too soon!
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