Irisbus Beaulas EuroRider

More power to your elbow

Mike Morgan gets behind the wheel of Eagre’s Beulas Cygnus to see how the Irisbus EuroRider with 10.3-litre Cursor 10 performs ahead of its introduction to the company’s passengers last week

Luxury travel by coach has long been distinct from the concept of bus travel. Regular journeys are made by bus, but if you want comfort and room for luggage for longer trips, it’s the comfort that a coach can offer you need.

ALTHOUGH the UK’s first Beulas Cygnus-bodied coach made its debut at the Coach&Bus Live show last November, its significance could well have been missed because it is only now that it has gone on the road for the first time.

The delay is nothing to do with any teething troubles with the coach. It’s just that Rob Eaglen, proprietor of Gainsborough-based Eagre Coaches, wanted to time its public launch to coincide with the start of his company’s 2006 tour programme. Consequently, in traditional Eagre style, this season’s new coach took centre stage at a special event last week.

Rob likes to maximise the impact of his new purchases in more ways than one. For example, each has a distinctive livery based on a constant theme, and the main colour on the Cygnus is black, while the secondary colour is the usual silver. And, just to make sure that his customers are aware of what the new vehicle has to offer, he arranged a launch event on the forecourt of the company’s Crooked Billet Street premises, inviting a local celebrity to cut the ceremonial tape.

This year the honour fell to Geoff Layne MBE, who has a distinguished record as organiser of events for the disabled. He’s also been a loyal Eagre customer for 40 years.

Following the ceremony, invited regular passengers were taken on a ride out. Although in truth, this wasn’t the 06-reg vehicle’s first trip. It had already done a tour to Germany with long-serving driver, Jim Thompson, at the wheel, and is scheduled to spend the season on Eagre’s Irish programme.

Jim’s instinctive reaction is that the Cygnus is a quieter and more powerful vehicle than its predecessors, the Stergo ’e-bodied EuroRider with smaller Cursor 8 engine. However, he still needs time to get accustomed to the AStronic’s apparently slow gearshifts. For there’s more to this coach than a heavily revised body style, because under the floor lurks a new driveline combination from Irisbus.

This EuroRider underframe has a very powerful 430bhp 10.3-litre Cursor 10 engine coupled to ZF’s impressively clever two-pedal automated transmission.

It’s such a significant upgrade on previous Euroriders that we booked the vehicle in for this routeONE Test Drive.

Rob Eaglen is no stranger to the Beulas/Irisbus combination. He runs seven alongside a Noge/MAN in his eight-coach fleet. His latest acquisition replaces a Marcopolo-bodied MAN, which has been traded in. His replacement plan is to buy one new coach each year.

Rob says he likes the Beulas styling and describes the running units as “very reliable.”

In addition, he says: “There are not enough of them on the road to make them common. They’re just a little bit different… sufficiently to make the public take notice.”

He is full of praise for Beulas. “They bend over backwards to do what you want rather than tell you what you can have,” he said.

The new coach is 12-metre specified with 49 seats plus toilet, though 55 seats is an option. The trade-off from placing the toilet in the centre is that leg room is compromised on the offside, though this would be less of an issue if the vehicle has been certified according to EU regulations rather than UK, because the rear emergency door wouldn’t have been required.

However, there was one surprise when the new coach first arrived. Rob said: “It had been specified as an auto, but we didn’t know that what we were getting was the AStronic gear box.”
 

Cygnus was launched to the public last week when regular driver Jim Thompson took Eagre’s invited frequent travellers out on a trip.

BUILD

Both the major components of the coach are built in Spain – the EuroRider underframe at the Irisbus plant in Barcelona while the Beulas body is assembled north of the city in Arbucias.

The underframe is delivered with impossibly short 3m wheelbase, allowing the bodybuilder to separate front and rear modules and insert its own subframe, which forms an integral part of the complete structure. With two axles the wheelbase is extended to 6.05m and there’s a length option of 12m or 12.72m.

Coded C-43 when fitted with eight-speed synchromesh gearbox, or C-43A when equipped with 12-speed AStronic, the 18-tonne EuroRider is comprehensively equipped. Its specification includes cruise control, ZF Intarder, electronically controlled air suspension, and disc brakes at the front. However, the big news is the engine. Moving the EuroRider up a league, the new Cursor 10 power plant pumps out 430bhp, delivering an impressive 1,900Nm of torque (1,400Lbft in English), explaining why neither six-speed manual, nor automatic are listed as options.

Sold by Mentor’s UK Coach & Bus dealership, the Beulas body on the EuroRider Cursor 10 is built to the revised Cygnus styling first seen on mainland Europe four years ago.

The 3.425-metre-high Cygnus is clearly an evolved version of the previous Stergo ’e/El Mundo style, which made significant inroads into UK fleets since first launched 10 years ago.

There’s a distinct family likeness, but it’s the soft curves that make the difference on this 2.55-metre-wide coach.

The need for any redesign is a matter of taste, but the need to modernise and upgrade is a matter of fact in a fast-moving world, so it’s no surprise that Beulas is keen to be up to date with improvements and to engage in a new style that does more than freshen the appeal of the body, which includes a deep feature window in the first bay to help improve driver visibility.

The Eagre coach has grey needle cord on the side panels, light grey covering under the racks to match the rack doors and window capping. Flooring is also grey, covered with ribbed carpet in the aisle and, in the entrance, plastic barbs, which Rob says is good because it’s easy to hose down.
 

INSIDE STORY . . .

CLOSE-UP

Modern styling is particularly well executed in the cab, while the neat front header box helpfully incorporates digital clock and illuminated signs warning passengers not to smoke, to belt up, and when the toilet is occupied.

With AStronic gearbox, the EuroRider has a 3.42:1 back axle rather than 2.80:1 as fitted to those with the alternative eight-speed manual. This promises better fuel consumption – particularly since it’s linked to a 12-speed box, and there’s a better chance of staying comfortably in the green band when pushing the coach through the gears, while an overdrive top gear keeps the revs down to a lazy 1,300rpm at 100km/h (62.4mph).

Meanwhile, 1,400Lb.ft of torque on tap ensures a flat tacho trace when traffic permits.

The entrance to the Cygnus has commendable equal-height steps (each is 18cm) that lead with the help of prominent grab rails up to the platform alongside the driver. Further support for passengers is given by the strong decency screens in front of the first row of seats.
 

The Cygnus has distinct family likeness with earlier Beulas bodies, but soft curves make the difference.

The continental exit has a poweroperated door, and the interior has a sunken gangway with single step over the rear-mounted transmission. Smart service units incorporating airconditioning outlets and Beulas-type lights feature under the racks as part of the new look. There are 49 Fainsa seats each fitted with coat hook, grab handle, and retractable lap belts. A hot water boiler is fitted on top of the toilet, while the Eagre vehicle has sturdy aircraft-style doors on the luggage racks.

The test Cygnus is fitted out to a very high standard with passenger comfort at the forefront of Rob Eaglen’s requirements.

The heating and ThermoKing air con systems are co-ordinated within the very clear dash-mounted climate control, which delivers air at the desired temperature through the saloon. There’s a separate system for the cab. The Cygnus also has a Webasto pre-heater.