Car and truck transporter, PrixCar Services, is set to welcome a new fleet of Iveco’s S-Way prime movers into its operations, with the first four new trucks already on the road.
PrixCar has invested in a new order of Iveco’s flagship AS models with 550 horsepower as part of an ongoing fleet renewal program and to meet growing business demands.
The first vehicle entered service in April this year with three subsequent deliveries following.
The remaining trucks will arrive progressively in coming months.
PrixCar national fleet manager, Goran Koviloski, said that although the company had limited experience with Iveco, excellent reviews of the new S-Way along with specifications that closely met the application, were strong reasons for considering and ultimately adopting the model.
“The reviews of S-Way coming out of Europe were very positive, we also liked the fact that it was a new model with all the latest technologies and features – the specifications stacked up well, so we decided to begin introducing them to our fleet,” Koviloski explained.
“As a company we work with many of the truck manufacturers and have different brands within our existing fleet. We wanted to support Iveco, given we provide transport services to them.”
PrixCar’s first four S-Way trucks are based in Melbourne and Brisbane, but once all are delivered, they’ll be strategically located at PrixCar depots around the country.
The trucks will predominantly work on intra and interstate routes in multi-deck, single trailer configuration, delivering cars and trucks to dealerships and holding yards. A handful of the S-Ways will also operate as B-doubles.
Koviloski said that the first trucks had been placed with four of PrixCar’s more experienced operators, who’d be able to provide honest feedback.
“These drivers have had long careers and driven a wide range of truck models and brands – so far there’s not been a negative word from them, they say the trucks are very compatible for what we do; they also like the cabin ergonomics and the generous size of the cabin. From my perspective as a fleet manager – I know it’s early days – but the fuel efficiency has also impressed us.”
PrixCar’s S-Ways feature low emission Euro6 (Step E) 13l engines that produce 550hp and 2,500Nm of torque – these are matched to the market-leading 16-speed Hi-Tronix automated manual transmission. The Hi-Tronix is a direct drive unit that delivers fast gear changes and also has the ability to more efficiently select the correct ratio for the road and load conditions at hand.
Additionally, the trucks have a range of fuel-saving technologies including anti-idling and ECO-FLEET, a feature that maintains the transmission in automatic mode, allowing the transmission to operate in the optimal gear and within a torque curb that returns the best fuel efficiency.
A GPS-predictive driving system known as ‘HICRUISE’ integrates cruise control and certain automated Hi-Tronix transmission functions, that interact to manage speed control, gear selection and Eco-roll (a feature that disengages the driveline to use vehicle inertia when facing a moderate slope, maintaining kinetic energy for longer) in the most fuel-efficient way.
Koviloski said that having a good safety offering was another attractive quality of the S-Way.
“We’re obviously concerned about the safety of our drivers, other road users and the cargo that we’re transporting, so we liked the safety equipment that was available in the latest Ivecos,” he said.
Standard safety equipment in the new S-Way includes an Advanced Emergency Braking System, Brake Assistance System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning System, Electronic Stability Program with ABS (disc brakes all round) and ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), Hill Holder and Driver Style Evaluation plus Driver Attention Support (DSE + DAS).
While the standard specification offering of the S-Way ticked many boxes, PrixCar is known for its vehicle presentation, and the new S-Ways are no exception with Koviloski referring to these latest vehicles as “well optioned trucks.”
The new trucks’ accessories include custom bull bars (jointly developed by Iveco, PrixCar and bull bar manufacturer, Whitlock Bull Bars) with integrated lights and ‘Iveco’ etching, stainless steel sun visors, fuel tanks and side skirts, wider super single front rims, air deflectors and full auxiliary lighting. The trucks are finished in striking PrixCar silver livery with black and blue highlights, which make them difficult to miss on the road.
Other recent additions to the PrixCar fleet include five Iveco Eurocargo ML180 rigids which were purchased for prestige vehicle relocations.
Couldn’t care less now they no longer produce them in Australia.