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MOTORINDIA
l
August 2012
the drive from Nellore to the Tamil
Nadu border was a short one, it was
amazing to experience the Bharat-
Benz effect.
The trucks come with an impres-
sive cabin with spacious and com-
fortable interiors. A lot of effort has
gone into making the interiors of the
cab driver-friendly, starting from a
comfortable seat, two-way tiltable
steering, well-placed buttons and
switches, air-conditioning (optional)
to smart provisions such as holders
and trays. The day cab comes with a
sleeper-bed which is very useful for
the driver while all the trucks have a
double co-driver seat. The heat in-
side the cabin is very low because
the entire cabin is well insulated to
prevent the engine heat entering it.
The truck ride is quite comfort-
able, and drivers would certainly
feel very little fatigue even on poor
roads. One of the drivers in the Yatra
said: “I have been driving trucks for
decades, but this Power Yatra has
been my most comfortable journey
ever. In many places, we eagerly
wait to get into the truck because it
is so comfortable inside (the truck)
than outside, especially in some of
the hot stretches of the Yatra.”
The vehicle, especially the cabin,
has been designed with a lot of fo-
cus on minute details that provide
a lot of comfort for the driver and
is technically aided by high quality
components such as suspensions to
make the truck tailor-made for In-
dian conditions.
The entire Yatra did not see a sin-
gle breakdown nor did any of the
major components fail, which is not
much of a surprise considering the
lakhs of kilometres of testing the
trucks had gone through before be-
ing rolled out. The convoy stopped
for a brief while at a dhaba on the
way where a few interested people
flocked near the trucks and got into
them to get a feel of the trucks. They
were given details of the products
in their native language, and had a
good view of the inside and outside
of the vehicles. They were quite im-
pressed with what they saw, with
some of them even enquiring about
when and how to book the truck!
Soon we were back on our way to
the Tamil Nadu border with the
trucks seamlessly powering through
the highways.
The Power Yatra provided a
glimpse of what’s to come from the
BharatBenz stable. In a few months’
time, we can see the power-packed
trucks hit the Indian roads when the
official market launch happens. Per-
haps then we will see the success of
the Yatra unfold into reality, into
an overwhelming success of brand
BharatBenz.
w
The DICV team after the successful Yatra
vehicle zone
The instrument panel is packed with indicators that provide a host of
details for drivers, including the fuel consumed and fuel efficiency dur-
ing a particular journey and the exact amount of fuel available in the
fuel tank. Apart from the regular braking options, the engine brake is
an interesting addition to help improve fuel efficiency by cutting off fuel
supply to the engine when not required. The trucks also have a few more
value-additions such as the green band in the speedometer which helps
the driver to drive at an optimum speed for best fuel efficiency.