Volvo vs Mercedes Benz buses

[pulsurge]

Anyone stepped in the new Mercedes Benz buses started to ply on our roads? Someone who's travelled by both can maybe differenciate the experience.

Looks wise the Volvo wins...it looks neat, meaty and huge. The Benz on the other hand looks as if its build at some coach builder down here. Its not bad, but it just doesnt have that dynamism that the Volvo has.

But at last it comes down to the traveller, who finds it best comforting. Any experiences guys?

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Seen one of the speeding on NH-1 last year, looked pretty impressive to me.

[Deeps]

Pulsurge, what does "meaty" mean in context of buses???...lol

[pulsurge]

Originally Posted by Deeps

Pulsurge, what does "meaty" mean in context of buses???...lol

The Merc seems to have a higher ground clearance and also seems smaller compared to the Volvo. Whereas the Volvo is bigger and though with cute front appearance looks meaner. What I meant by meaty was that it looks like a lot of stuffing has been hard pressed into shape.

Might seem funny of someone describing buses, would rather be better if something like this is said about bikes :P But then I just love these buses. My love affair started when they were just introduced and I made my first trip from Mumbai to Bangalore in a Volvo. Unfortunately that was the one and only trip.

[bunnypunia]

Ok, i had to step in for this. After months of being off from BCM (due to work), i cudnt resist posting here. After all, Volvos are my third love - travelbyvolvo.blogspot.com

See, Volvos were initially being made by Azad group - but due to the rules and design strategies laid down by Volvos, the product turned out to be nice. Nowadays as far as i know, the buses are being made by Volvo itself and look awesome. like this



Then there is also the new double rear axle B9R


Though length and breadth wise, both Volvo and Mercs are same, i think Volvos are taller. also the design makes the Volvos look much better - they have a better road presence too. The Mercs somehow havent been made to look that good by Sutluj motors - the ones who make the bodies


On the inside, the Mercs have a slight edge.When it comes to ride quality, again the Merc has one up against the B7R but not against the B9R - the B9R has eight air bellows!!

On the engine front, the Mercs are not only faster, but more fuel efficient as well. However, the B9R is the daddy here - a 9-litre engine!!!! Also, the Merc costs around 85 lakh as compared to 75 for the B7R and around 90 for the B9R (but u get more seats)

Here in south, other players are now doing well too - the Chinese Kinglong made by Ceritamotors and also the recently introduced Corona buses (which look a lot like the Volvos) but have a 160bhp engine


Been traveling by the Volvo for 4-5 years now - atleast once a month on the long routes down south. These are fast. Like the Pune - Davanagere buses do the 580km journey in 10 hours with a 15min snack break, a 30min dinner break and a 15min petrol break - thats 580km in 9 hours : bloody good for a Volvo. On the way back from Davanagere though, the 10:30pm Davanagere bus drops me in Pune by 7am : thats 580km in 8.5 hours including a 15min petrol break.

For more - travelbyvolvo.blogspot.com

[Yogesh Sarkar]

So the love affair with Volvo continues , I don't think I have ever seen a B9R on road though have seen plenty of B7Rs.

[bunnypunia]

Yes, Volvo has hardly sold a dozen B9Rs - all being here in west / south with operators like Neeta / Konduskur / Sharma / Khurana etc.
These cost around 20% but also seat 20% more. However, fuel economy remains the same and Volvo thinks that for good routes, where occupancy remains high, the B9R can be profitable. Some operators are charging more as well - for the comfort and safety - it comes with ABS / EBD

see a bigger picture - volvo-b9r-bus.jpg (image)

[pulsurge]

Originally Posted by bunnypunia

Ok, i had to step in for this. After months of being off from BCM (due to work), i cudnt resist posting here. After all, Volvos are my third love - travelbyvolvo.blogspot.com

For more - travelbyvolvo.blogspot.com

Welcome back Bunny

That was some serious gyaan. Thanks! A bus costing almost a crore, I wonder how many trips would it take for these operators to come to a break even point.

9 litre engine....phew! Silly question, but any idea what mileage these monsters manage?

BTW I guess even Tatas have come out with a rear engine model.

[bunnypunia]

It takes aroudn 3 to 3.5 years for them to breakeven on good routes. Here, routes like Mumbai-Hyd , Mumbai - Bangalore, Mumbai-Pune etc are considered good routes.
The B7R manages around 3.2 to 3.4 on long routes. The B9R does around 3.1 to 3.3
The 160bhp Corona runs almost 4km to a litre.
TATA is currently evaluating its rear engined bus made in collaboration with Hispano. They have given these for testing to MSRTC / Neeta etc.

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Tata's rear engine buses (CNG driven) are running in Delhi by DTC