MAN has launched its new Lion’s Coach. It won’t come to the UK, but better news is that Neoplan’s new Tourliner is in line for some further improvement, including addition of a new length and gearbox option
With Busworld Kortrijk three months away, the European coach market gained another newcomer last week when MAN launched the revised Lion’s Coach. It’s won’t come to the UK, but there is good news for Neoplan Tourliner buyers.
The Lion’s Coach shares some items with the Tourliner, not least the driveline. Dimensions are also similar, and the headline for UK buyers of the Neoplan is that a 13.1m, two-axle variant – christened the P10 – will join the P20, P21 and P22.
Production starts in Q4 2017, and the Tourliner P10 will debut at Busworld.
Left-hand drive coaches will come first, but MAN Head of Product Marketing Jan Aichinger says that the P10 will be built in right-hand drive, albeit “with some limitations” until arrival in the UK of the 19,500kg GVW for two-axle PCVs.
“At 19,500kg GVW the Tourliner P10 can carry 59 passengers with a low-height centre toilet and a seat pair above it.
“The UK market will not have the low toilet initially, so 57 seats will be the maximum. We don’t rule out doing 59 seats at a later stage.”
At 18,000kg GVW, weight optimisation of the Tourliner P10 will be vital. No ULW has been given, but unlike EvoBus, which recently announced the option of a 7.7-litre engine on its forthcoming 13.1m two-axle Mercedes-Benz Tourismo, MAN will stick with the established 12.4-litre D26 in the P10.
Tourliner range expansion is coming soon
With 59 seats the Tourliner P10’s metal ‘skeleton’ is different around the toilet area, which has implications for tilt testing and R66.02 roll-over regulation compliance, adds Jan.
Addition of the P10 is not the only forthcoming improvement to the new Tourliner range. Although only one of the type is yet in the UK, MAN already has a number of other significant developments lined up for the coach, which made its right-hand drive debut in May.
Principal among them is the addition of the ZF EcoLife six-speed automatic gearbox across the range: With the 420bhp D26 in P10 and P21 two-axle coaches, and with the 460bhp variant of the same engine in the three-axle P20 and P22.
The EcoLife will be in conjunction with a single-mass flywheel, rather than the dual-mass unit used on the D26 at Euro 6c when coupled to the TipMatic gearbox.
Despite that, MAN says that there will be no impact on the transmission of vibration; it will be mitigated by the EcoLife’s torque convertor.
“A Neoplan Cityliner is being tested with the Euro 6c D26 coupled to an EcoLife, and although it will be a little while until a right-hand drive Tourliner comes with the gearbox, it will happen,” says Jan.
Passenger benefits on the agenda
Comfort improvements will also be introduced on the Tourliner in 2018. MAN describes a wood-effect floor that “will have the appearance of a ship’s deck,” along with chrome handrails and backlit clasps on the luggage racks “that emphasise the brand name… using LED lighting.”
LEDs will also be prominent externally, as all headlight functions will be so, and the driver is also set to benefit from a full-colour dash that is prepared for any mandatory future driver assistance systems.
The Tourliner’s suspension is also set to be improved with the Premium Comfort Valve (PCV) fitting. It will be maintenance-free and has no weight difference of note compared to the current suspension. MAN says it will deliver a significantly smoother ride.
No MAN-branded coaches for the UK
The manufacturer confirms that, like the rest of the MAN-branded coach range, the Lion’s Coach will not be built in right-hand drive. Additionally, in the short term it is not looking to bring further members of the Neoplan line-up here to complement the Tourliner.
Instead, what it stresses with the Tourliner is that particularly with the coming addition of the P10, the range is expansive.
MAN says that all manner of custom configurations are possible, and it continues to major on Euro 6c.
At the manufacturer’s media briefing in Poland last week it was possible to once again put that driveline to the test, this time on a mix that included dual-carriageways and rural roads.
Both gave EfficientRoll – where neutral is selected, allowing the coach to freewheel – a work-out, and while one rival manufacturer reports that its version of the same software has seen a very limited take-up, there is no reason to doubt its capabilities in the Tourliner.
routeone sticks to its previous verdict that MAN’s Euro 6c driveline is among the best in its class, and it will only get better with EcoLife.
Comment about axle whine was passed during the drive, but it seems noticeable only because the D26 engine is so quiet.
MAN’s pre-Busworld press briefing was primarily to promote the new Lion’s Coach and the eventual arrival of a new Lion’s City bus. The former shares some items with the Tourliner, and MAN shows no sign of taking its foot off the pedal in regard to the popular Neoplan.
