Coachtraders

The product

An Unvi Vega Lux luxury Sprinter minicoach recently delivered to London Concord.

The Unvi product spans the up to 45 seat sector with a range of vehicles. At the lower end are the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter based models. Generally built on the five tonne (516/519) Sprinter these comprise the van conversion models the Vega Lux, Ext and the Shuttle. The Lux is generally built as a 16 seater with a high standard of interior appointment including reclining, belted seats; racks; air conditioning; bonded, tinted double glazing; powered entrance door; in-coach entertainment packages; coach style lift up rear door and a spacious boot. There are a host of options like tables and modern communications systems. Although the Sprinters are most often built as 16 seaters, Coachtraders have supplied many with fewer seats, sometimes just eight, and with even higher levels of interior appointments. For those requiring a bit more capacity there is the Ext which comes with 19 seats. The boot is smaller than the Lux but still of a useful size. Finally there is the Shuttle which can carry 22 passengers in the same standard of luxury but naturally with reduced boot space. The minicoaches come with either manual or fully automatic transmission plus the host of Mercedes-Benz in-built safety features.

For those who want something a bit different in this size there is also the Vega GT which is a coachbuilt alternative to the van conversion. This combines all the luxury features of the Vega van conversion but having a coachbuilt body enables it to have greater internal space.

One of the last of the Vario based GT-Rs. This one on an 818 Vario was supplied to Allander Travel of Glasgow.

For Unvi and Coachtraders the Mercedes-Benz Vario has been a key model over many years and is the backbone of many of the fleets that Coachtraders deal with. Key models are the GT-R (previously Riada-GT) a 29 seat high luxury coachbuilt unit mounted on the Vario 816/818. A real luxury coach in miniature with all the attributes you would expect to find on a much larger coach.

Alongside the GT-R is the Classic R which is again coachbuilt but which aims to provide a solid work horse than can cover a wide range of operations. In appointment terms it maintains the high specification level which is a hall mark of the Unvi product but can provide up to 33 seats.

Sadly the Vario has now ceased production as a base chassis and whilst Unvi still has some to build for Coachtraders they are all sold!

The Whitburn team are eagerly awaiting its replacement which Unvi outlined at the recent Birmingham Show. Called the Voyager it will, not surprisingly stick, to using chassis from Mercedes-Benz. This time it will use the heavier duty Atego chassis with a new Euro6 engine matched to a six-speed manual or a new, much improved automated transmission. Unvi have been working on the project for some time but in characteristic fashion no introduction date has been issued save that it will be in 2014 – perhaps sooner than some might think.

Unvi have immense experience of working with the Atego chassis as they have long been using derivatives of it for many of the vehicles they build particularly for operation in other parts of the World.

The first of the new Unvi Touring GT’s in Scotland was this 41 seater supplied to St. Andrew’s Executive Travel.

Top of the range are the new Tourings capable of carrying up to 45 passengers. The original Tourings, again built on the Atego chassis, proved to be very popular vehicles. Operators liking their style, their simplicity, their reliability and flexibility. They proved particularly popular in Scotland where their compact size was a great advantage on narrow twisting roads. Earlier this year Unvi launched the new Touring GT. Again mounted on the Mercedes-Benz Atego 1524 chassis the coach has a seating capacity of 41 with offside Continental exit and courier seat or 37 with the addition of a saloon toilet. It has proved to be an instant winner and Coachtraders have already supplied a number and have more in the pipe-line. ‘We are getting excellent reports back from early users,’ says Gordon.

Close behind the Touring GT came the introduction at the recent Birmingham Show of a second Touring, this time the GTR. Although the styling of the two vehicles is practical identical there is a big difference. The Touring GTR is built on MAN components and they are mounted at the rear! Not that the engine location gave Unvi any problems they have been building rear engine vehicles, including many of the World’s sightseeing buses, for years. Another change is that the GTR is only available with ZF Ecolife fully automatic transmission. Another slight variation is that the GTR is available on either the 19.5in rims as on the Touring GT or can be specified on 22.5in rims. The GTR has the same basic internal specification as the GT including the offside Continental door and courier seat. It can seat either 45 fully seated or 41 plus saloon toilet. Surprisingly being rear engined it manages to still provide a generous 6.7cu m of luggage space. Already Brian and Gordon are detecting a healthy interest in the new product and have taken orders for it.