15
December
2020
|
10:07
Europe/Amsterdam

MAN Lion's Intercity: Efficient, flexible and safe on intercity routes

Summary

MAN Lion's Intercity, the successful intercity and school bus from MAN Truck & Bus, is available in three lengths, with two efficient engines and four modern gearbox versions. The impressive “double earner” offers flexible deployment options and highly economical operation in the turbulent and financially uncertain times of the coronavirus pandemic. The Lion's Intercity also boasts modern assistance systems and up-to-date hygiene solutions for both drivers and passengers.

  • MAN Lion's Intercity offers three finely balanced 2-axle concepts and a broad range of drives, with two engines and four gearbox alternatives
  • The award-winning intercity bus offers a large number of safety and assistance systems from the coach modular system
  • Areas of application range from intercity and school buses through to occasional services

MAN, as a full-range provider in the bus sector, not only offers an ideal and efficient solution for intercity and school bus transport in its Lion's Intercity but also a solution for convenient occasional services. Its development focused on consistently optimising the total cost of ownership through a maintenance-friendly design, low consumption with different driveline solutions tailored to customer requirements, and a high level of reliability thanks to excellent production quality. With its striking shape based on the modern smart edge design, the MAN Lion's Intercity also achieves top marks in terms of aerodynamics, which in turn has a positive effect on fuel consumption. In addition, the bus won the iF Gold Award (2016) for its well-designed overall concept with high interior seating capacity.

In 2017, the 2-axle Lion's Intercity C (R62) in a new length of 13,250 mm was added to the broad model portfolio, supplementing the two other 2-axle vehicles already on offer – the 12,280 mm Lion's Intercity (R60, max. 55 seats) and the 13,050 mm Lion's Intercity C (R61, max. 59 seats) – with an additional attractive model with optimised seating for up to 63 passengers (or 59 and one wheelchair place). The three different wheelbases (R60: 6,000 mm, R61: 6,774 mm, R62: 6,974 mm) are optimally adjusted to the respective applications, provide the necessary storage space behind robust door flaps, and score impressive results in terms of turning circle (20.96 m to 23.38 m). This longest version with optimised seating is particularly suitable as a fully licensable school bus requiring little underfloor storage space.

The running gear of the intercity bus has unmistakably genuine coach genes, and of course offers front independent wheel suspension and standard stabilisers. The tried and tested MAN hypoid axle HY-1350-B-03 is used as the drive axle, and can be delivered with different final drive ratios depending on the gearbox – so nothing stands in the way of optimal adaptation to its intended use. Just as with MAN coaches, adaptive PCV (Premium Comfort Valve) shock absorbers are installed, which ideally combine particularly safe and comfortable handling with low maintenance requirements.

Modern interior with efficient protective hygiene solutions and a carefully designed driver's workplace

The interior of the Lion's Intercity is as functional as it is comfortable and can be fitted out very flexibly according to the customer's requirements. The options begin with a simple basic configuration as a school bus with simple seating or, in the case of the intercity bus, with an interchangeable platform and a hydraulic lifting platform as a cassette installation in the rear staircase to transport up to two wheelchair passengers, as well as open luggage racks where nothing can be left behind. But when enhanced by the MAN Bus Modification Centre in Plauen with a high-quality toilet installation in front of door 2, luggage racks closed at the bottom with full-quality service sets and homely curtains on the double-glazed windows, the Lion's Intercity also has what it takes to be a fully equipped “double-earner” for occasional services. The interior with a comfortable standing height of 2,230 mm is bright and easy to clean. The comfortable and robust MAN seats of the “Intercity Lite” model are always fitted on platforms, making it easier for older people in particular to get up and offering an advantage in terms of storage space underneath. At the same time, the high-strength seats can be gradually upgraded and optionally adjusted to the rear or the side. A companion seat can also be fitted in the front step unit on request, adding a final touch to make the intercity bus suitable for travel.

In times of increased hygiene requirements due to the coronavirus pandemic, a new partitioning of the driver's area made of single-pane safety glass (ESG) or polycarbonate is also available to effectively protect the driver from any droplet infection while doing his or her job. In addition, high-quality disinfectant dispensers can be fitted in the step units or at the optional toilet in the central aisle. Additional vent windows above the axles ensure optimum ventilation at all times if the modern air-conditioning system with 32 kW cooling output is not fitted.

The cockpit of the MAN Lion's Intercity is a further example of MAN’s high functionality and design quality. Instead of the standard storage compartment, a 41-litre fridge can be integrated into the driver's workplace on request. The centre console, which is turned slightly towards the driver for ergonomic reasons, houses the standard DAB+ radio or, optionally, the MMC infotainment system with large display, USB port and Bluetooth connection, as well voice control for the navigation system. The rear-view camera image is also displayed here.

The DTCO 4.0 and other installation slots, for example, to control the destination display are situated directly underneath. The climate control is located on the left-hand side of the driver’s console, directly next to the easily accessible spring-loaded lever. There are ample shelves, including three cup or bottle holders. The new coloured display of the now standard high-line instrumentation, which also has a safety-relevant display of the door/ramp status and halt brake, is located behind the rounded glass pane of the instruments. The shapely and easy to grip coach steering wheel is also optionally equipped with multifunction buttons from Class II approval upwards, enabling direct access to cruise control, menu, and multi-media functions.

Ideal for both intercity and school buses: Economical D08 engine and its gearbox options

The drive technology for the pure intercity or school bus variants of the Lion's Intercity, or for deployment in topographically less demanding terrain, is still based on the proven D08 engine with 6.9 litre displacement and Euro-6d with 290 hp (213 kW) and 1,150 Nm maximum torque. The efficient 6-cylinder engine can also still be combined with a manual ZF EcoShift 6-speed gearbox, which harmonises perfectly with an economical entry-level model. The gearbox with pneumatic shift support was redesigned in 2018 and offers around 20 per cent more brake output thanks to the Intarder 3 with 400 kW. Two automatic gearboxes are available for the demanding use of the Lion's Intercity as a scheduled service: the Voith DIWA.6, 4-speed converter automatic gearbox and the ZF EcoLife 2, 6-speed automatic converter, which is being used for the first time. The well-known Voith gearbox from city buses has been recently redesigned and its power-split principle offers a particularly gentle moving-off process in the first two gears. A modified torsional vibration damper significantly reduces noise emissions. The retarder torque is 1,800 or 2,000 Nm depending on the model. The new EcoLife 2 torque converter automatic gearbox with 6 speeds has also been thoroughly redesigned and offers both new hardware and a reworked software control system. In addition to a slight reduction in weight, the gear set has been completely redesigned, the spread of the gears increased to 5.727, and a new dual cooling system for the gearbox and retarder implemented. The new shift control system now allows coasting during deceleration up to standstill with a fuel-saving effect.

Perfect for occasional services: State-of-the-art driveline with high-performance D15 engine and MAN TipMatic Coach

Thanks to the D1556 LOH adopted from the new city bus generation, the Lion's Intercity now boasts an even more powerful and comfortable drive, which is perfectly suited to occasional services or more demanding topography. The highly efficient 9-litre engine with six cylinders is available in the 280 hp (206 kW), 330 hp (243 kW) and 360 hp (265 kW) power levels with a maximum torque of 1,200 Nm to 1,600 Nm. This significantly increased power range now makes the intercity bus more suitable for demanding topography. Additional impressive features: many auxiliary units such as the coolant pump or the new alternators with LIN interface are controlled according to demand, which contributes to a significant increase in efficiency. MAN is also extending the gearbox portfolio for its intercity bus to include the new MAN TipMatic Coach automatic 12-speed gearbox generation that is available for the D15 model starting from the 330 hp performance class (243 kW). Noteworthy gearbox innovations include further improvements to moving-off behaviour and the optimised gearbox control unit with MAN’s own gearshift strategy as well as the intelligent EfficientCruise gearbox control with EfficientRoll fuel-saving function. Thanks to “SmartShifting” with upshift support in all twelve gears and “Idle Speed Driving” to simply go with the flow in stop and go traffic, driving becomes even more comfortable for the driver.

Safety first – particularly for intercity buses

Just like every MAN bus, the Lion's Intercity is also one of the safest buses in its class. It goes without saying that the MAN Lion's Intercity already complies with the further developed ECE R66.02 safety standard for the body. It also already has ABS/ASR as standard, an effective brake assistant, and the electronic stability program ESP. Depending on the approval class, Emergency Brake Assist (EBA), the Lane Guard System (LGS), and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) are also standard features available on board.

For effective fire protection, all interior materials are certified in accordance with the new ECE Regulation 118.02 and a fire alarm system is installed as standard in the engine compartment and other neuralgic installation locations. A fire extinguishing system for the engine compartment can also be optionally ordered. In addition to the standard halogen headlights, LED headlights in spot design, with a long service life, are now also optionally available to complement the LED daytime driving lights and ensure both ideal vision and eye-friendly illumination of the road. Infra-red parking sensors, whose signals are visible to the driver in the cockpit, can also be installed on request by the MAN Bus Modification Center in Heck, in addition to the rear-view camera with a large camera angle of 140 degrees, which is displayed on the 10-inch monitor of the infotainment system. And last but not least, all tyres and their pressure can be optionally monitored at any time using TPM (tyre pressure monitoring).

As an effective measure to prevent accidents caused in a blind spot, the Lion's Intercity now also features an optional active alert system when turning with pedestrian detection. A front camera as well as cameras on one or both sides of the vehicle monitor the traffic at all times, ensuring significantly less pressure for the driver in dangerous turning situations. The driver is actively alerted to any dangerous situations or impending collisions, visually by two installed displays within the driver's field of vision and acoustically by a warning signal.

Digital and analogue services

MAN offers a range of analogue and digital services for the intercity bus that make everyday life easier for bus drivers and operators. The right time for the next visit to a garage, for example, is monitored by a dynamic maintenance interval calculator. This shows when the next maintenance is due, depending on the type of deployment and load or motor run time. Service and maintenance contracts that are adapted to the specific deployment and optimised in terms of TCO can, of course, also be concluded for the Lion's Intercity. But there’s more: new MAN DigitalServices are made possible by the RIO Box, which among other things ensures secure data transfer from the vehicle to the RIO platform. As of October 2019, the state-of-the-art on-board connectivity module now comes as standard in all MAN and NEOPLAN coaches, intercity buses and city buses for the 28 EU member states, along with Norway and Switzerland. Eight digital services are available for bus customers via the module. MAN Essentials, MAN ServiceCare and the Pocket Fleet app are free of charge. All other fee-based services can be cancelled to the day. As a result, customers have a risk-free way to test out the services and can add or remove them individually on the RIO platform as and when each vehicle requires. Precisely as it should be for a highly flexible intercity bus and “double earner”.