With three different cab options, the Active Space, the Active Time and the Active Day configurations for long distance, intrastate and local respectively, certain aspects of the new S-Way range from Iveco will be familiar from the former Stralis range.

This range also brings the Euro 6 set of engines to the brand, in fact, the emissions level is at the lowest iteration, Step E, of the exhaust emission limits. Three engines are fitted to these trucks, the Iveco Cursor 9, Cursor 11 and Cursor 13, at nine, 11 and 13 litres.

The Cursor 9 is a 8.7-litre engine which produces 360hp from 1,530 to 2,200rpm and 1,650Nm from 1,200 to 1,530rpm. The next step up in power is to the Cursor 11 and the 11.1-litre engine pumps out 460hp from 1,500 to 1,900rpm and 2150Nm of torque from 925 to 1,500rpm.

The top power option is the Cursor 13 which, at 12.9 litres, has two power output options. The 530hp version produces maximum power between 1,600 and 1,900rpm and torque of 2,400Nm from 950 to 1,500rpm.

One step further up the power ladder comes a Cursor 13 with a rating of 550hp from 1,605 to 1,900rpm, and torque produced at 2,500Nm from 1,000 to 1605rpm.

The Hi-eSCR emissions control technology is a single after-treatment system featuring passive DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) where regeneration does not require driver intervention. The system does not use EGR to control emissions. Iveco reckon this technology has many benefits for the truck buyer with reduced fuel consumption, a lower tare weight and no requirement for additional cooling, as passive DPF regeneration occurs at a lower temperature. All of these engines are also able to use alternative fuels like biodiesel/HVO to reduce carbon emissions.

Further down the drive train is the Iveco Hi-Tronix AMT, available in 12- and 16-speed configuration. This is sourced from ZF and is the Iveco version of the Traxon AMT found elsewhere in European trucks. Drivers can intervene and change gears manually with a steering wheel mounted paddle, if it is required.

There is also an Eco-Fleet feature which can be turned on by the driver with the aim of maximising fuel efficiency by keeping the rpm levels well within the most efficient band. This can be further enhanced by the use of the Hi-Cruise feature, which uses cruise control, preloaded topographical mapping and learned behaviour over routes it has used in the past, to make correctly timed gear changes, to maximise fuel efficiency.

With a mandatory deadline in 2025 for automatic emergency braking, the S-Way also includes a full suite of safety systems including the usual abbreviation suspects like: Advanced Emergency Braking System, Brake Assistance System, Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning System, Electronic Stability Program with ABS (disc brakes all round) and ASR (Anti-Slip Regulation), Hill Holder and Driver Style Evaluation plus Driver Attention Support (DSE + DAS).

The DAS system checks the driver’s level of attention by analysing steering wheel movements. If a state of drowsiness is detected, a message on the screen and an audible signal prompt the driver to take action and take some rest.

“The truck is designed in Germany, Italy and Australia/New Zealand thanks to the local engineering team and validation team,” says Emiliano Foieri, Heavy Duty Product Manager at Iveco. “We’ve done millions of kilometres and thousands of hours of validation in ANZ. The vehicles are assembled in Spain and the engines are coming from France, plus one engine from China.

“It’s not like the old days when each market was completely different. This is a global system, a global product, but we are heavily involved in the development to make it specific for us in Australia. We have to carry bigger loads bigger than the European ones, our cooling strategy is different to the Europeans. So, all these things are designed to cope with the Australian conditions. The trucks as they are in Europe, they’re not usable at this the end of the world. We have spent years trying to design the S-Way ANZ.”

Visibility is improved in the new models with a new mirror design, which is helped by the fact that the doors have a full window, with no quarter light. The cabin redesign has also reduced the drag coefficient by 13.5 per cent, which equates to a claimed three per cent improvement in overall fuel consumption.

The wider Active Space cabin is available on trucks fitted with the 13-litre engine. The Active Time is the mid size cabin used on other prime movers and is also fitted with a bunk, but it is only 2.3m wide instead of the 2.5 in AS. There’s also Active Day, which is mainly used in waste applications, but also for other day-cab operations. There’s also the low roof and the high roof option on AS and AT.

Iveco has gone over to using the European telematics system in its truck, as opposed to the local Australian system it offered previously. The driver can interact with it via the multimedia system.