BASE has offered a 74-seat MOBIpeople Explorer built on MAN chassis for some time. It’s now added a Scania-based option to that line-up as it bids to further extend its reach in the high-capacity market
A modest but consistent demand exists for high-capacity coaches with 3+2 seating. MOBIpeople has gained a following in that segment for its 74-seat, two-axle Explorer. To complement the established MAN-based product, last year supplier BASE Coach Sales added Scania as an option.
Carrying children is clearly the target market at 74 seats, but the Explorer is not a basic model. Various options are available, making it suitable for longer-distance work on day trips or those involving overnight stays.
The key is that a 74-seater can accommodate two classes’ worth of children and their teachers, and BASE has as a result seen particular success with the Explorer at its highest capacity.
At 12.5m long it is shorter than some comparable coaches, and availability of a ZF EcoLife gearbox suits it to work where it will see many drivers.
While a new coach with 3+2 seating costs substantially more than upgrading an existing vehicle, there are benefits to choosing one. Not least is a warranty, while BASE offers repair and maintenance packages. It can also provide leasing via a third party.
Additionally, the Explorer is feasibly a one-owner coach for its entire useful life. That removes any worries about purchasing a second-hand vehicle, just as it does those that surround finding a new home for it mid-life.
Naturally, it also comes as OEM Euro 6. Complying with Clean Air Zones and Scotland’s Low Emission Zones will is already an important consideration for operators in the school transport sector.
Motts Travel of Aylesbury has taken the Scania-based Explorer. One was kindly made available recently for a routeone Test Drive.
Nuts and bolts
The K 320 IB underframe is used as standard, with the 9.3-litre, five-cylinder DC09 engine developing 320bhp and 1,600Nm of torque. Available optionally is a 360bhp, 1,700Nm rating. The Opticruise eight-speed automated manual gearbox can also be specified.
At both outputs, the DC09 utilises only selective catalytic reduction. As a result, AdBlue usage is higher than it would be with exhaust gas recirculation, but the trade-off is greater engine simplicity.
45 litres of AdBlue storage is at the offside rear. The 465-litre diesel tank is over the front axle, with a filler on each side. Both the exhaust and the radiator are on the nearside.
MOBIpeople has designed the Explorer for ease of use. That’s demonstrated at the front, where bulbs can be replaced in seconds. All that is required is to lift the centre exterior dash panel, and open each wing on a hinge. Bulbs are then accessed from behind.
A similar arrangement at the rear is unnecessary, because LEDs are fitted there.
The locker doors are also easy to operate. They are top-hinged and require little effort to open or close. Behind them is 8.5m3 of space, including to the rear of the offside drive wheels.
The Explorer is 3.40m high. To Motts’ specification it weighs 12,640kg unladen. GVW is 19,000kg.
On and off quickly
To suit a high-capacity role, the Explorer comes with a nearside centre door. With 74 seats, it is a one-piece arrangement. The steps there, like those at the front, are easily navigated and they have a reasonable handrail arrangement.
A courier seat is within the front step area. It lacks a hand-hold within the base, which additionally is not locked when raised. Ahead of it on Motts’ coach is a storage area within the dash, but a fridge can be specified there if required.
At the front, four steps lead to the platform and two more to the gangway, which naturally is flat. As a result, BASE can offer wheelchair-accessible Explorers on the Scania chassis with 70 seats.
Prime Buckingham seats with three-point belts are fitted to Motts’ Explorers. They were shipped to Portugal and installed on the production line there by MOBIpeople. USB charging points are not standard, but Motts opted for them.
What is surprising is the amount of legroom. While it will never challenge that of a coach specified for touring work, it is more than adequate for children, although it is achieved by extending the seating area slightly into the platform ‘pit’.
The operator specified its own interior colour scheme. Seat fabric is a variety of grey shades, and the leather headrest inserts are coffee. Additionally, the curtains and luggage rack bulkheads are finished in coffee.
That co-ordinated approach continues on the underside of the luggage racks, where comprehensive passenger service units are also mounted.
Wood-effect flooring has been fitted to the Motts coaches, and it is available in three shades. The gangway is further covered by hard-wearing carpet.
Perimeter heater radiators are part of the specification. No auxiliary unit is fitted. The roof mounted Hispacold air-conditioning installation is above the front axle for weight distribution, and the driver’s controls for cooling or heating are simple. Climate control is not included.
The driver’s experience
The cab is standard Scania, and it comes with a dash that is functional and clear. Gear selector buttons are to the right of the steering wheel, which adjusts for both reach and rake, although the seat does not move as far backwards as it might to take maximum advantage..
MOBIpeople includes a reversing camera as standard. Motts opted to delete it, because the coach was to receive a comprehensive CCTV system after delivery.
Gullwing mirrors are fitted along with a lower offside pane. A two-piece electric windscreen blind is part of the specification, changed recently from a one-piece installation. A manual blind is above the powered signalling window.
The driver and courier each get a twin USB socket, while the cab has a cigarette lighter-style plug-in for a sat-nav. Both crew members also have a microphone. Modest bits of storage are around the cab; the handbrake lever is quite low.
The A-pillars are slightly pulled back, and the offside B-pillar is substantial. That makes checking over the driver’s shoulder tricky.
On the road
For a comparatively low-height coach, the driver has a remarkably commanding position. The Explorer is designed as a point-and-shoot vehicle, and after getting comfortable it is easy to work out which buttons do what.
As delivered, the EcoLife favours economy over performance. It typically upshifts at around 1,300rpm, although the topographical sensing software varies that significantly when climbing. The tachometer showed 2,000rpm before a change on one occasion.
BASE can arrange for the gearbox shift strategy to be changed, but the as-delivered configuration gives adequate performance. The DC09 produces its peak torque from 1,050rpm and so a lazy style will deliver the optimum efficiency.
Overall gearing is what would be expected of a sub-10-litre engine. At 62mph the DC09 is turning at around 1,500rpm and at 50mph it shows approximately 1,200rpm.
A five-stage gearbox retarder is fitted, activated by the customary chunky stalk. Foundation brakes work well, but most notable is how the chassis holds the road both when cornering and when encountering crosswinds. That would be expected with a low-height body, but the Scania does well even when that factor is discounted. It’s more notable given that the chassis has a front beam axle as standard, although independent suspension is available as an option. The latter comes with an EB chassis suffix.
Power to the People
MOBIpeople has done a good job of packaging such a high capacity on two axles, and the addition of a Scania-based option will be welcomed by some operators. The Explorer is also available with 2+2 seating, albeit only on an MAN chassis.
While coaches with 3+2 seating naturally have compromises in some areas, those that are most common have been handled well by MOBIpeople. Legroom is good and the overall standard of interior finish is high, helped in the Motts coaches by an understated colour scheme.
Room in the cab and for the courier seat is slightly affected by the extension of the seating area beyond its typical limit, but that is necessary for a length of 12.5m.
Scania’s contribution to the Explorer in its latest form is also credible. While driving the coach when loaded was not possible, when empty the 320bhp engine provides enough grunt, although it will no doubt be left behind in testing terrain by more powerful models.
Covering huge mileages is not what the high-capacity Explorer is designed for. Its purpose is to be a simple, economical school coach that can be put to work on longer-distance trips when required, while giving a long service life.
Buyers who want something in the touring spectrum will soon find that MOBIpeople will meet their requirements; in addition to a 3.6m-high Explorer, BASE will add an all-new model, both exclusively on MAN chassis. But for now, the 74-seat Explorer is holding its own in a competitive market for high-capacity two-axle coaches. That in itself is an indication of how well-suited it is to the task at hand.
Facts and figures
Retail price: £210,000
Engine: 9.3-litre five-cylinder Scania DC09
Power: 235kW (320bhp) @1,900rpm
Torque: 1,600Nm @1,050-1,350rpm
Emissions: Euro 6 using SCR
Gearbox: ZF EcoLife six-speed automatic
Tyres: 295/80 R22.5
Length: 12.50m
Height: 3.40m
Width: 2.55m
Wheelbase: 6.56m
GVW: 19,000kg
UVW: 12,640kg
Fuel economy: 11mpg (expected)
