High-capacity coaches account for a small part of the market, but competition is fierce. One model that has acquired quite a following is the MOBIpeople Explorer, supplied by Leyland-based importer BASE
Top-spec coaches often hog the limelight, but in terms of earning power, workaday, plain Jane models are often on a par with them.
Add in some competitive prices and the latter can become highly compelling purchases, which is where the MOBIpeople Explorer comes into its own.
Supplier BASE Coach Sales brought the MOBIpeople name to the UK comparatively recently and it offers two models from the Portuguese builder.
The Explorer – based on MAN RR8 chassis – is a low-height, cost-effective coach that satisfies multiple roles, including needs for high capacity.
BASE supplied 20 Explorers in 2016, several of which seat no fewer than 74 passengers. That’s no mean feat on two axles, and among buyers of the variant is Wheelers Travel of Southampton.
“I wanted the ability to carry 70 children and their luggage, but at the same time have a coach that can handle private hire at weekends,” says MD Derek Wheeler.
“I would think twice about putting 70 adults on it, but the Explorer feels bigger inside than some of our older 3+2 conversions, and one of the reasons for specifying cream leather headrests was to give it more of a luxury look. They also brighten up the saloon.”
The Explorer has 8m3 of underfloor luggage capacity; if the wheelchair-accessible version is chosen, that decreases a little. Nevertheless, Derek reports that his coach proved up to a five-day hire taking 64 children to France recently.
While high capacity is one of the Explorer’s fortes, it can also be had in more standard form, with up to 57 seats in a 2+2 layout along with a centre sunken toilet and continental door on either side. 59 passengers are possible with no toilet.
The wheelchair-accessible variant comes with a nearside high-level door behind the front axle, tracked seating and a cassette lift. Pricing is highly competitive, and for a standard-spec 74-seat Explorer as tested, retail starts at £176,500.
Derek is already committed to another Explorer next year, but in the meantime, he made Wheelers’ first available for a routeone Test Drive.
Build
Simplicity is the name of the game for the Explorer. The Wheelers’ coach has a nearside centre door, which Derek says is a boon when boarding or alighting a full load, although an offside door is also available.
The small luggage bay doors are manually-operated. There is a modest amount of space behind the offside rear wheel, useful for the driver’s belongings and/or cleaning supplies, although if an auxiliary heater is specified, it is located here.
MAN’s RR8 chassis is powered by the small D0836 engine, a 6.9-litre unit rated at 286bhp. It drives through a ZF EcoLife automatic gearbox.
On coaches with 2+2 seating, the larger D20 engine developing 360bhp is available, but in a 74-seater it would impose too much weight on the rear axle.
The fuel tank is above the front axle and has fillers on both sides. AdBlue goes in at the rear offside.
Lights at the rear are all LEDs. Those at the front are bulbs, and they demonstrate one of the Explorer’s smartest design aspects.
As shown in the picture below, the dash opens up in an almost Transformers-like style, giving excellent access to everything beneath. Bulbs can be changed in a matter of seconds, something that will be appreciated by drivers and maintenance staff. The washer bottle is also found here.
Dimensions are 12.48m long, 2.55m wide and 3.50m high to the Hispacold air-conditioning unit.
Passenger access
Access is good. 74-seat models normally lack a courier seat, but Derek specified one as an optional extra.
It extends slightly into the otherwise wide ‘throat’, and there is no handrail on the underside of its base, but on passengers’ left when boarding is a huge polished silver rail.
Three steps lead to the platform, and a further two to the flat gangway. The rearmost two rows are accessed by one further step; the Prime seats do not have handholds at either top corner.
Handrail provision at the centre door is also good, but owing to the 3+2 seating, the initial step for passenger who are disembarking extends into the gangway, narrowing it considerably.
As with other steps throughout the coach, it is lined in yellow, which mitigates the narrow aspect.
The driver will appreciate a clever door locking system. A small button inside the front doorframe closes both doors, and locks the one at the centre, which remains locked until the driver returns to the coach and releases it via a dash switch. The front door is locked manually.
Passenger comfort
The Prime seats are naturally narrower than those in a 2+2 layout, and they are more basic.
Three-point belts are fitted, and the seats in Wheelers’ coach are finished in red moquette with cream inserts. Seat pitch is no tighter than in a standard coach.
Derek has opted for plastic on the floor, side walls and ceiling, but other trims are available in coaches built to order.
Three variants of wood-effect flooring are offered, with no fewer than 24 soft trim shades and 26 curtain colours.
No fridge is fitted to the Wheelers coach, but one could be added in the dash if required.
Standard is an Actia radio and CD player, and all coaches are pre-wired for a front monitor to be added. The Actia unit is DVD capable as standard.
The Hispacold air-conditioning is controlled by a simple dash unit. Climate control is not present, and so the Explorer’s perimeter radiators are governed separately.
USB and/or 240v charging points can be specified, but neither are present on the test coach.
Driver comfort
The driver benefits from a surprising number of standard fittings on what is definitely a budget coach.
A two-piece electrically-operated windscreen sunblind is complemented by a manually-lowered blind to the driver’s right.
One alteration made by Wheelers since delivery is the addition of a black strip across the top of the windscreen, which hides the blinds’ lowering mechanisms.
The signalling window is electrically powered, although the frame around it slightly intrudes into vision to the right.
An Isringhausen seat, air suspended and with all of the usual adjustments, is finished to match seats in the saloon, and while not utilised to the Wheelers coach, dashboard wiring is factory installed for a reversing camera monitor.
As is typical for an MAN, the RR8’s pedals are small, but feel is good. The steering wheel adjusts reasonably well, and visibility of the dials is good. Switches are logically laid out.
The mirrors on the test coach are not its finest aspect. The gullwing arms are too short and a lower offside pane is missing. Combined, this compromises vision to the offside when changing lanes.
However, BASE acknowledges this, and future Explorers will be delivered with longer arms and a lower offside mirror as standard. Wheelers’ coach will be retrofitted.
Performance
The 6.9-litre D0836 engine is the smallest offered in a full-sized coach in the UK, and when accelerating from a standstill the difference in performance over a coach with the larger D20 unit is noticeable
Once the D0836 it is spinning, however, that gap quickly narrows. The Explorer is helped by its low unladen weight of 11,480kg, and when empty it makes good progress, helped by the fully-automatic EcoLife gearbox.
It performed well on the M27 between Southampton and Portsmouth, and while 290bhp is now a modest output for a full-sized coach, the limited speed was maintained regardless of terrain.
This is undoubtedly aided by low gearing. At 62mph in top, the engine is turning at 1,800rpm.
That is comparatively high, but it has the benefit of allowing engagement of 6th gear earlier than would be the case in higher-geared EcoLife-equipped coaches.
This gearing has no obvious effect on economy, with a solid 11mpg recorded on a drive that included urban work in Southsea and Portsmouth, and the RR8’s road manners are good. It displays no hint of under- or over-steer, and despite a long wheelbase it is manoeuvrable.
The only point worthy of improvement is cruise control selection; unlike some other MAN chassis, it is via a fiddly dash stalk, and would benefit from simplification.
Verdict
There is little more to add to this review of the Explorer. It is a competent, well put together and exceptionally keenly priced coach, especially where capacity is the name of your game, although there is little reason to doubt that it is equally competent with 2+2 seats.
Derek’s impressions echo that, and the coach’s regular driver reports no lack of power. Its capacity has proved popular among schools.
“The Explorer has impressed me sufficiently to buy another; it is very keenly priced and I like MAN chassis. I also like BASE, and this is the fourth new coach it has supplied to us,” says Derek.
“I wanted a coach that gives reasonable luggage capacity at the right price and something that was going to last. It’s unlikely that we will sell the Explorer; instead, we will probably run it for its whole life.
“I also wanted something suitable for use in the London and Southampton ultra-low emission zones, which meant buying new.”
Buying new has benefits. The coach has been built largely to Derek’s specification, and he points out that it is more attractive than some comparable models that are converted from 2+2 layout.
“Some conversions can be a little dark and dingy inside; they look what they are, which is an old school bus. That’s not the case with the Explorer, and having seen the factory in Portugal, I am confident in the workmanship.
“I wanted the capacity to convey 70 children and their luggage, and that is what I got.”
