I've now spent a fair number of days with ours, and I must say the article echoes my thoughts on the Navigo T very accurately.
It's a phenomenal motor for our challenging roads down here in Cornwall. I've used it in a variety of work; local tours, schools, private hire, and it handles it all very well. The biggest boon is being able to take 37 passengers to places were no other vehicle with that capacity can dream of going.
Ours replaced a 2008 Vario/Cheetah 2 and is certainly a worthy replacement, much more enjoyable to drive thanks to its nippy nature and superb manoeuvrability.
My minor criticisms echo those of the gentleman operating the example tested in the article, although in addition the biggest gripe of mine has to be the lack of a kickdown. The engine has the power, but it's frustrating not being able to access it, especially on Cornwalls hills.
It is surprisingly powerful, so copes well, but being able to get an earlier downshift would be advantageous and allow for better use of momentum. Ours has the earlier ‘Morse’ gear selector, so maybe this issue was addressed when the controller was upgraded.
Ours is off to Edinburgh, all the way from Falmouth, for the second time in a week tomorrow. It's done work to London and never stops locally in between. For us it's a tourer too and the passengers have never been disappointed. However, if there’s luggage, you wouldn't want to take more than around 30 people because we have struggled for space after that.
Overall, it’s certainly a vehicle I would recommend and I'm delighted to see more UK stock soon.
Craig George
Driver
Cornwall
