Offering features that satisfy drivers and owners alike Driving Eicher trucks

Eicher Pro 2049

Before we go any further, let me tell you about both the trucks. The smaller of the two, the Eicher Pro 2049 has a gross vehicle weight of 4995 kg. It has a cargo body length of 10.4 feet, a width of 6.1 feet and a wheelbase of 2580mm. The truck has a payload of 2697 kgs in FSD or Fixed Side Deck or half deck form.

The vehicle is powered by a BS IV, E483 4 cylinder 2V CRS engine which delivers 95hp@2600 rpm and 300Nm of peak torque @1200-1800 rpm. This 3298cc diesel engine is mated to a five speed gear box. With a ground clearance of 160mm, the vehicle has a turning radius of 10 metres. It has a fuel tank capacity of 60 litres and comes with disc brakes on all four wheels. These are hydraulic brakes.

Interestingly, the vehicle gets grease free semi elliptical leaves with anti roll bar in front and rear.  Basically it also means that the suspension is grease free and now the truck owner does not have to grease any points and only after 150,000 kms or so does he have to change a few bushes that would cost him just a few hundred rupees.

The Eicher Pro 2049 comes with 225/75 R16 tubeless radial tyres.

The cabin is 1.8 metres wide and is tiltable.  It has a Pigasus family look with eagle eyes. Once you step inside, you realise the interiors are new with an infotainment system, steering mounted controls and a lot of utility features. The steering wheel is tilt and telescopic manual steering vacuum assisted though power steering is optional. More of that later.

This Eicher Pro 2049 comes with a one year unlimited kilometres warranty on the vehicle and 3 years unlimited kilometres on engine and gearbox.

The Eicher Pro 2095XP

The Eicher Pro 2095XP is the bigger of the two with a gross vehicle weight of 10,700kg. It comes in different cargo body lengths of 14.1 feet, 17.6 feet, 19 feet, 20 feet and 21.5 feet. Accordingly the cargo body width also changes to 6.6 feet for the 14.1 feet and 21.5 feet bodies and to 7 feet for the remaining three cargo bodies.

The payload for this vehicle with High Side Deck body is at 7175 kgs, 7030 kgs, 6946 kg, 6917 kgs and 6830 kgs respectively for the different cargo bodies mentioned earlier.

This truck too is powered by the same E483 4 cylinder CRS diesel engine. But here the power is more at 115hp@2600 rpm and the peak torque too is higher at 400Nm@1300-1500rpm. This Eicher Pro 2095XP gets a six-speed transmission.  The turning circle for this model is 12.9metres and upwards and has a ground clearance of 195mm. The Eicher Pro 2095XP gets air brakes that are basically drum brakes with air assisted braking. The vehicle comes with 235/75 R17.5 tyres. The vehicle gets a 2 metre wide tiltable cabin and a warranty of 3 years with unlimited kilometres on vehicle and a four years unlimited kms on engine and gearbox.

So why are these trucks termed as Business ka Badshah, or King of Business. There are reasons plenty as we found out.  Apart from being a Mileage King, these are Comfort ka Badshah, Technology ka Badshah, Profit Ka Badshah and Safety ka Badshah.

Features and Performance

The trucks have an appealing front face with a three piece bumper. This makes a lot of sense as it costs less to get one piece repaired or replaced in case of a dent or accident. The entire bumper need not be changed. The small honey comb grille in front looks neat and the rest of the face has the huge Eicher name with the Pigasus logo prominently displayed.  The trucks boast of LED DRLs , headlamps and fog lamps along with LED tail lights. The huge mirrors on either side come handy for the driver. The footrest is inside the door for dust and water splash protection. The company has provided hydraulic jacks with each truck to make life easier for the truck drivers and their assistants while replacing punctured tyres.

The moment I got in to drive the two models, I discovered that the interiors almost resembled that of a car.

Since the windshield is pasted in these models, rather than just using a rubber beading, it improves the NVH levels within the cabin. The seats are uniquely designed like an inverted submarine which ensures that the driver or the occupants do not slip off in the case of sudden braking. There are seatbelts for the occupants inside. The seats provide good thigh and back support. There are adjustable head rests too and provision for ample seat travel for adjusting the distance of the driver to the steering wheel.

It is a walk through cabin , very wide and spacious with lots of space for storage. There is even storage space for bottles on the inside door panels. Air blowers ensure a cool effect though in extreme heat conditions, you will definitely miss an air conditioner. But then  truck drivers are a tougher lot as compared to those of us who drive fancy cars.

The models come with an all new 7 inches infotainment system with Android and connectivity with touch screen, micro SD card, USB, FM, and Bluetooth.  Using steering mounted controls you can control the volume, change radio stations, search for new stations, change modes, etc. Interestingly, now a truck driver can pair his mobile phone with the system and receive calls on the go completely hands free.

What I really loved about the vehicle was the Fuel Coaching feature. Earlier, truck drivers had to rely on tiny icons somewhere on the instrument cluster screen to find out whether he was driving in the most economical way or not. But not anymore. With Fuel Coaching the driver can see either a blue or green light glow on the two contours that house the speedometer and the tachometer or the rpm meter. Once you get a green light for a little while, you also get two thumbs up sign on the Multi Information Display or MID panel.  Since these are very loud and clear, the driver can really benefit from it because at the end of the day it means you have hit the sweet spot in your driving where speed, load and gears are in right combination with each other, resulting in superior fuel efficiency.

There is also a Power and eco mode in these trucks. Whenever you start the truck, the default mode is power which is essentially needed when you are carrying more than 70pc load. Obviously, this makes the vehicle torquey in nature and this also consumes more fuel. So whenever a driver is carrying less than 50 per cent load and the journey is on smooth roads, he can deploy the Eco button and get better fuel efficiency. This feature is known as Dual Mode Mbooster technology.

I drove both trucks for several rounds around the VECV track at Pithampur in the state of Madhya Pradesh. I found both easy to drive and the cabins too were very comfortable, except when it became too hot with the windows rolled up. It’s here that you miss an air conditioner. The gear shift of the Pro 2049 is a lot smoother than the gear shift of the Pro 2095XP where I found slotting the reverse gear quite a tough job. But there is no denying the fact that these trucks are indeed Business ka Badshaah.