2018 Mercedes Benz Tourismo Bus – Video
Première for the new high-deck touring coach from Mercedes-Benz. The brief was: maximum cost effectiveness, safety, functionality and comfort. The outcome is the new Tourismo RHD – a touring coach with features that impress companies, passengers and drivers alike. A significantly extended range of appointment variants and engines means that the new Tourismo RHD lends itself to an extraordinarily wide spectrum of applications. Its field of activity includes long-distance regular-service routes and long-distance touring through to shuttle services, excursion travel and occasional use on inter-city routes. All of which add up to identify the new Tourismo RHD as the new star in the business segment, which is how Mercedes-Benz defines this multi-faceted area of the bus and coach sector. The new Tourismo RHD is set to supersede Europe’s best-selling high-deck touring coach after eleven years. Series production has already got under way, with all models on stream by the end of 2017.
Cost effectiveness: minimal costs, maximum performance
For companies, maximum cost effectiveness primarily means minimal costs. The new Tourismo RHD meets this criterion, thanks to a fuel consumption level that has been reduced still further: it is cut by around 4.5 percent above all due to the fully optimised aerodynamics of the completely restyled, timelessly elegant body and a weight saving of around 200 kg. The low drag coefficient of Cd = 0.33 is unrivalled in coach construction.
The saving amounts to as much as seven percent when including the consumption advantage of the OM 470 engine generation with its efficiency package, which was introduced in summer 2016. With mileage of 100 000 km per annum this adds up to around 1500 to 2000 l of fuel – hard cash for companies and at the same time relieving the strain on the environment by some four to five tonnes of CO2 emissions.
The powertrain configuration for the Tourismo RHD is based on the latest generation of the Mercedes-Benz OM 470 in-line six-cylinder unit with a displacement of 10.7 l and efficiency package. A new top-of-the-range engine with 335 kW (456 hp) combines excellent driving dynamics with low fuel consumption. Also new in the Tourismo high-deck touring coach is the optional compact in-line six-cylinder Mercedes-Benz OM 936 engine with a displacement of 7.7 l and an output of 260 kW (354 hp). It combines low fuel consumption with low weight, resulting in an increased payload and even greater cost effectiveness. There are five output levels in all to choose from.
The power is transmitted either by the six-speed manual transmission or the fully automated eight-speed GO 250-8 PowerShift transmission. Like the driven rear axle, they come from Mercedes-Benz. As a result, the entire drivetrain is perfectly harmonised for supreme efficiency. Right-hand-drive models are optionally available with an automatic transmission.
With new optional features such as Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC) or Eco Driver Feedback (EDF) with individual tips for the current driving style, fuel consumption and thus also emissions can be reduced further still.
Safety: no touring coach in this category is safer
The Active Brake Assist 3 (ABA 3) emergency braking system, Stop/Start Assist for use in stop-and-go traffic and the Attention Assist (AtAs) drowsiness detection system are just three examples among many of the sophisticated safety technology of the new Tourismo RHD. Its extensive range of safety features can be individually configured to suit the proposed area of use. The standard package of safety technology in the new high-deck touring coach is already exemplary; the maximum level of equipment possible unsurpassed. The next step has already been announced: from spring 2018, Mercedes-Benz will be offering the high-decker also with the new Active Brake Assist 4, the only emergency braking assistance system for buses and coaches, which not only brakes for stationary and moving obstacles ahead, but also for pedestrians.
In terms of passive safety it also sets new standards in this segment: in the event of an accident despite all safety measures, the unique Front Collision Guard (FCG) is there to protect driver and co-driver in the event of a collision. Its crash elements effectively dissipate the energy of the impact, while the driver’s area, which is mounted on a solid section of the frame, slides backwards complete with steering, pedals and seat, thereby enlarging the driver’s survival space. The coach’s completely new annular frame construction provides maximum survival space for both passengers and driver should it overturn sideways.
Comfort: light interior, new upholstery, individual equipment
The new Tourismo RHD offers its passengers a true sense of well-being. Passengers are made to feel welcome on board by the convenient, ergonomic entry steps and the airy, pleasingly-designed vehicle interior. A further highlight is the new Softline upholstery: the attractive diamond-shaped pattern on the seat and backrest calls to mind luxury-class Mercedes saloons. With a range of different patterns for the flooring, numerous fabric options for seat covers, side walls, curtains, the underside of the luggage shelves and the central ceiling panel, the new Tourismo RHD impresses as an individually custom-designed touring coach.
Further eye-catching features include the redesigned service sets, available with a choice of decorative surrounds. A new kitchenette designed to match the interior of the Tourismo RHD with an extensive and highly versatile range of equipment helps improve passenger comfort, as does the new climate control system: two-zone control with fully automatic adjustment and two separate circuits each for the heating and climate control respectively ensure a uniform temperature profile throughout the vehicle.
Functionality: four models, two cockpits, a high-decker made to measure
For a company, a high-deck touring coach is an investment; for drivers, it is their place of work. Both of them have extremely high expectations in terms of functionality. The new Tourismo RHD lives up to this expectation courtesy of its modular system. With four models in three different lengths from 12.3 m to 14.0 m, the high-decker model covers virtually all requirements. All models are – and this is new – available in either left-hand or right-hand-drive versions.
Another special feature of the new Tourismo is the opportunity to choose between two cockpits on all left-hand-drive models: companies can select either the functional variant “Cockpit Basic Plus” or the even more comfortable “Cockpit Comfort Plus”. The base design, with multifunction steering wheel and the new instrument panel with colour TFT display, is identical to both. They do nevertheless differ in both form and function. The Cockpit Comfort Plus is differentiated, for example, by the CMS Coach Multimedia System in double-DIN specification, and by decorative inlays. Mercedes-Benz offers the right-hand-drive models with another separate variant, “Cockpit Comfort”.
The cockpits epitomise the considerable individuality of the new Tourismo RHD – it offers cost effectiveness, safety, comfort and functionality, all made to measure.