Loving the Brand

In-depth

13 Dec

New IVECO S-Way makes it five in a row for this hard working car transporter.

For long time car transporter driver, Mark Schipper, deciding to purchase his fifth IVECO, an S-Way AT 4x2 prime mover, was easy – the hard part was trading in his Stralis, which had accrued an impressive 1.3M kilometres over six years.

“The new S-Way is something else, the level of technology and ease of use is impressive, but I have really good memories of the Stralis; that was a great truck and I nearly cried when I traded it in,” Mark lamented.

While Mark has only had the S-Way for a few weeks, he’s already ticked over 33,000 kilometres, delivering vehicles up to six days per week from his Sydney base into Queensland and Victoria, as well as other areas of New South Wales.

The truck hauls a single Freighter drop deck car carrier, allowing Mark to handle bus chassis, caravans, commercial vehicles and four-wheel-drives which are often fully specced for mining work.

He said that the S-Way and more broadly, IVECO, was a good fit for the application.

“A few years ago, I had the only IVECO in the Sydney fleet, but now there are plenty more. I’ve had three or four coworkers who have spoken to me and have shown a lot of interest in this new one.” Mark explained.

**Owner Driver, Mark Schipper, is onto his fifth IVECO.**

Mark’s S-Way AT is equipped with IVECO’s Cursor 11 engine which produces 460hp (338kW) and 2150Nm of torque from a very low 925rpm. The engine is mated to the Hi-Tronix Automated Manual Transmission. Mark said the driveline is excellent.

“Compared to the Stralis, the S-Way seems to hold the torque better, it just sits there and powers on. It’s also very smooth and you can swap between the transmission’s ‘Eco’ and ‘Power’ modes depending on conditions,” he said.

“Eco mode is saving me a bit over a litre of fuel per 100kms. One area where I’ve noticed big savings is in the use of Adblue; with the S-Way I only need to fill up around every three tanks of fuel.”

As somebody who spends extended time behind the wheel, Mark also appreciates the S-Way’s enhanced ergonomics and improved usability.

“The front quarter window has been removed in the S-Way and this has greatly improved visibility out of the cabin – you’re no longer having to look around a pillar,” he explained.

“It also has a fully air suspended cabin which further smooths out the ride and the soundproofing is excellent; the truck is just so quiet. And with the high roof, the cabin feels airy and has a lot of overhead space and storage options.”

Mark’s new S-Way is fully equipped with a wide range of safety equipment including Advanced Emergency Braking System, Brake Assistance System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning System, Electronic Stability Program with ABS (disc brakes all round) and ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), Hill Holder and Driver Style Evaluation plus Driver Attention Support (DSE + DAS). And luckily, while he hasn’t had to use any of the passive safety features, one active technology that he is enjoying is Adaptive Cruise Control.

Mark said that the S-Way’s features were in keeping with his employer’s requirements for a modern and safe fleet.

“Before getting the truck on the road it was fitted with GPS and driver monitoring software – the company I work for places a high priority on safety. We also have general safety checks very often, they’re right onto that,” Mark said.

Given the number of kiolmetres Mark travels per week, often on rural and regional roads, he’s fitted the S-Way with an ACM polished alloy bullbar to protect from animal strikes. He’s also chosen to extend the standard 3 year / 750,000km warranty to the optional 5 years / 1,000,000 (whichever comes first).

“I’m 60 years old now, this S-Way will see out my working days,” Mark said.