On the Road with MAN’s New Generation TGX

When MAN Trucks 2020 Roadshow to promote the new MAN Truck Generation range recently arrived in Ireland, Export & Freight’s Phil Eaglestone took the opportunity to get behind the wheel of the latest TGX 6×2 to put it through its paces.

Our first sight of the TGX 26.510 6×2 came at a service station on the outskirts of Newry; it was impressive to say the least and we are not surprised that since the launch of the new MAN Truck Generation there’s been nothing but positive feedback.

Having the opportunity to find out for ourselves what all the fuss was about was one we couldn’t resist, so off we headed down the motorway to the outskirts of Dublin before making a U-turn back north to Hillsborough in County Down.

Quite apart from its eye-catching, well defined looks on the outside, the cab of our test model really was a ‘home from home’ with every imaginable detail taken care of – from the easy to climb non-slip steps up into the cab to the comfortable, fully adjustable seat to the perfectly designed and presented, user-friendly cockpit, with its easy to navigate functional displays and controls.

Those displays and controls are separated from one another spatially. Reading distances and reachability are thus ergonomically optimised: data is set at a farther distance, making it easier to grasp, functions are colour-coded, and buttons and switches are within easy reach. The focus is clearly set on the most important areas. The driver’s view can easily go between the road and the instruments, without fear of distraction, which makes drivers’ lives less complicated and less tiring.

MAN SmartSelect, currently the only system of its kind in use in commercial vehicles, makes using the truck’s multimedia system a really simple, uncomplicated procedure. With its turn and press function, eliminating the need for a touchscreen, it minimises the need to look away from the road when operating the infotainment and navigation menus, such as map, music, cameras and more.

Multifunctional

The flexibility and multifunctionality of the leather steering wheel also caught our attention. It can be tilted forward to virtually a horizontal position, or to as steep an angle as that of an average passenger car, and thanks to its memory function, the driver can simply pull the wheel back to the previously saved driving position – and reset it as often as needed.

We are not in the least surprised, the design of the driver’s working environment was given a Red Dot Award in the Brands & Communication Design 2020 category and a Gold German Design Award 2021 in the Excellent Product Design – Human-Machine Interface category.

More in the next print issue of Export & Freight.