Mercedes-Benz buses and coaches at the FIAA 2006 in Madrid
Mercedes-Benz buses and coaches at the FIAA 2006 in Madrid
- Five complete buses and one bus chassis are on show in Madrid
- Representative cross-section from the Mercedes-Benz bus and coach line-up for touring-coach, urban and rural-service transport
- New Mercedes-Benz Tourismo touring coach, Citaro K urban with a new body length variant, new-generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minibus
- Mercedes-Benz Travego touring coach with new safety technology is a real “Safety Coach”
The Mercedes-Benz exhibits at the FIAA 2006 in Madrid
- Five complete buses and one bus chassis are on show in Madrid
- Representative cross-section from the Mercedes-Benz bus and coach line-up for touring-coach, urban and rural-service transport
- New Mercedes-Benz Tourismo touring coach, Citaro K urban with a new body length variant, new-generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter minibus
- Mercedes-Benz Travego touring coach with new safety technology is a real “Safety Coach”
At the centre of the Mercedes-Benz presentation at the FIAA 2006 will be a range of new buses and coaches, the majority of which were recently premiered at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show 2006 in Hanover. The new generation of Citaro urban and rural-service buses will be on show, featuring extensive technical and visual innovations, as well as a new member (Citaro K) that brings a new entry-level variant to the Citaro family. The new Mercedes-Benz Tourismo touring coach is a highly economical model series in the business segment. The range of models includes four high-deck touring coaches along with a new 13-metre two-axle variant, all with extensive safety features including ESP. According to the experts, the new touring coach positioned in the luxury segment, the Mercedes-Benz Travego, is the world’s safest touring coach when fitted with the equipment specification shown at the FIAA – dubbed the “Safety Coach”, it comes with the full range of safety features including ESP, Brake Assist (BA), the Continuous Braking Limiter (DBL), proximity control (ART) and Lane Assistant (SPA). The OC 500 RF (RF = “Raised Floor”) chassis provides the foundation for the very latest generation of touring coaches and rural-service buses and is ideally suited to the European markets with its state-of-the-art technology. The Mercedes-Benz Integro is a fully-fledged raised-floor rural-service bus with close family ties to the touring coach down to the last detail – these include spacious accommodation and brand-new, innovative rural bus seating in the passenger compartment, state-of-the-art technology with EPS 3 for the GO 190 and GO 210 transmissions, fully automatic torque-converter transmissions and Power Distribution Board (PDB), through to the sort of comfortable, safe chassis you would tend to associate with a touring coach. The new minibus generation based on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter offers twelve basic models for rural, touring-coach and urban use each with their own bus body, Adaptive ESP, ABS, ASR, EBD, BA plus ultramodern and low-emission Euro 4-compliant diesel engines. It will be represented at the FIAA 2006 by the low-floor Sprinter City 65 minibus for use in urban environments. In addition to the six vehicles on show in Hall 10, other vehicles from the current Mercedes-Benz product range will be parked outside the hall in the adjacent outdoor area and available for test drives.
Safety and environmental friendliness are the two key issues for the Mercedes-Benz Bus and Coach unit at the FIAA 2006: all diesel engines on the large buses and coaches have been converted to Blue-Tec diesel technology in time for the launch of Euro 4. Blue-Tec has already proven to be highly economical in tens of thousands of Mercedes-Benz heavy-duty trucks. Mercedes-Benz can already supply the Citaro urban regular-service bus with the option of Blue-Tec 5 – testimony to the system’s future viability. And the Mercedes-Benz stand will also be showcasing a road-going vehicle that takes the technology to new heights: the combination of Blue-Tec 5 diesel engine with a sintered metal particulate filter on show already meets the EEV (Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle) emissions standard, a standard the Mercedes-Benz Citaro urban bus has been meeting for many years with its CNG-powered engine.
The comprehensive safety expertise built into Mercedes-Benz buses and coaches attests to the high level of the standard-fit equipment: all new-generation touring coaches have been fitted with the Electronic Braking System (EBS), Brake Assist (BA), acceleration skid control (ASR), retarders and, above all, the Electronic Stability Program (ESP) for many years. Added to which there is now the Continuous Braking Limiter (DBL), which prevents the coach from unintentionally accelerating downhill. And the new Mercedes-Benz Travego also boasts two more important safety features in the guise of the proximity control system (ART) and Lane Assistant (SPA), turning it into a veritable “Safety Coach”.

