European Scania Touring VS North American MCI J4500

Magne and Tom of Bussmagasinet from Norway and James of Peoria Charter Coach company from the United States discuss the differences between two very well known coach buses that operate in different parts of the world.
Be sure to checkout their channel ‪@bussmagasinet1‬

[@connork5339]

Having lived in the US and now in the EU, I would say this is a good comparison. Another interesting note is their are more bus manufacturers selling coaches in Europe than in N. America. More competition, as in the European market, forces the manufacturers to bring more options, styling, accessibility and performance to the market in order to be competitive. This could be a contributing reason for why some people refer to N. American coaches as looking old.

[@flh5959]

I love the looks of Scania buses and trucks.

[@danogeto78]

Me too

[@haydenobrien4187]

Me too

[@Papascoffs]

I can’t wait to see James drive a Scania!

[@EpicThe112]

Me too but the problem for James is that most of the European Motorcoaches are Automated manual type meaning James has to adopt his driving style to an automated manual transmission bus since he's used to a Torque Converter J4500

[@joshuahill6153]

New Zealand has a hodgepodge of American styled coaches, European and own specifications. Some coaches being with an international chassis/freightliner etc. The European specification if done properly is in my opinion a superior motor coach for operations and for looks. New Zealand did use american coaches for intercity in the 1970s-1990s but these body styles have been favored for european specifications for our road laws.

[@kgosimasitwarapoho1875]

Great video Mr CEO..🙌 Scania Touring is an amazing machine, we use it in Southern Africa as well (Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia). The Touring is made in cooperation with Higer (Chinese manufacturer) and Scania. It’s a great mid-level coach..very comfortable, durable and reliable. A touch up above the Scania Touring is the Irizar i6s range and Marcopolo G7 & G8. - Irizar is a Spanish coach body manufacturer/organisation - Marcopolo is a Brazilian coach body manufacturer/organisation Both Irizar and Marcopolo make absolutely amazing coaches.. Lesser spoken about/available coaches are VDL & Mercedes, which as far as I know, we don’t get in Southern Africa, but we do get coaches powered by Mercedes engines (I stand to be corrected here) - VDL is a Dutch manufacturer Great Video as always James. Congratulations on the CEO appointment. Best of luck with the new job.

[@_Jin_Kim_]

felt it could have been a little longer with discussions comparing the busses from europe & the US

[@Qrail]

Thanks for the comparison. A SAAB bus! In 1986, I drove a Neoplan Citiliner in line service. It was a demo. For 2 years, I ran a casino turnaround from Chinatown in San Francisco to Reno, Nv Harold’s Club. The Deutz V8 air-cooled engine and the 7 speed ZF manual transmission bus got a lot of attention in the bus parking lot at Candlestick Park and at other venues. Driving an early imported bus in the USA was fun. Compared to most buffaloes and MC-8’s, it was a rocket ship. Running at least 20 mph faster in the mountains. Sadly, finding a manual transmission on a bus in America now is rare.

[@marco_grt4460]

Even in the new Euro busses you can't find manual transmission and they are limited to 100 km/h (~62 mhp)

[@danogeto78]

Scania Touring is the real deal ,looks 🔥🔥🇰🇪

[@MegaMrking22]

A great video to start the day off right this morning.

[@brandonhurley9982]

Great video James! When they were talking about the transmission in the Scania, it reminded me a lot of the ZF transmissions that used to be in our buses.

[@davidfarrell7318]

that coach looks beautiful inside

[@berylwhite2983]

Great video excellent work. Both of them got there good parts and bad parts.

[@jeffthompson4911]

Thank you James, Magne and Tom..............Interesting, both are great, maybe we could work on that "blinker" here in the US...............Jeff Rockford Illinois thanks for your videos James!

[@robertfinley6288]

Great video James. I watch Bus Magazine videos and I think the two gentlemen are very knowledgeable about European coaches. Congratulations on your promotion it will be interesting to watch PCC under your leadership

[@Stormtrooper_98Trd]

Congratulations on your promotion, James!! Keep up the very great and informative videos!

[@protector22222]

whats interesting to me is the fact that different countries have very different coaches. I would love to see more videos comparing U.S. coaches to other countries.. I have traveled all over and some are great are not

[@MCJaspi]

Good to see you back James!

[@karimrasheedwilson2160]

Hey James! My favorite Intro!!! Whoo hoo!

[@actemple3282]

Great job 😊

[@berylwhite2983]

Excellent excellent video your guest or wonderful they both have wonderful parts to the buses. It's just what you should driving

[@mitchl4456]

We could feel it over in LaSalle Ontario Canada as well

[@dennisshular7551]

Scania dash resembles a transit and school bus with buttons within easy reach. We have now CX VanHool and the buttons are everywhere out of reach.

[@derekmarkovic]

I wish Scania would sell its products in the USA.

[@camrodger8638]

It would be nice if your guests could have visited the home of the MCI’s, Winnipeg.

[@HankSnowgrandslamfishing]

Interesting video James, aka Mr. CEO, I think we could take a few ques from the European market and spruce up our coaches over here in America. It would be interesting to see some more European styling notes on our coaches. Thanks for sharing and I hope you compared more of your fleet with these gentlemen.

[@highwaywarrior7778]

Pretty similar in looks and cockpit theme but, soon as he said semi automatic for the scania, he lost me 😆. Basically, thats what the eaton autoshift is. Which i recall some mci dl3s had vs the b500 allison. Personally, I hate them. They are still used in the truck market but, nothing beats the smooth shifting and quick acceleration of a true automatic, like the allison. I like them so much my rv (bus conversion) is a 98 MCI DL3 with S60 snd B500. The "Dependable D". Great content as always!

[@ianmackenzie686]

Great video, thanks! Minds have been opened😊 I liked those Norwegian guys, very nice.

[@jameslashley3970]

Educational, I enjoyed this video.

[@jean-claudebonillo1535]

Great to see the other side of busses.

[@huissens]

To piggyback what has already been said regarding a 9700, a Volvo with the 12 speed with the cruise set at 70 runs just a tad over 1,100 rpm, hence the great mileage. A Volvo with the Allison at 70 runs around 1,400. Also, the 12 speed will not necessarily run through all 12 gears. It usually will start in 3rd and then shift about 7 times (depending on what the computers sense: weight, road conditions, etc) and will end up in 12th by 65 mph.

[@RipRoaringGarage]

How you been James! This is a good comparison vid. They are two different worlds, as far as coaches and city buses. I drove MC9s, and D series, and I loved the old school look of the MC9, but I also am heavy in classic cars. No surprise there. I always felt, that MCI was caught between many drivers and operators that wanted the same vehicle, and others that wanted the newest cutting edge. But, the bigest thing (without going into political rabbit holes) is how companies function. In the US, you are on your own and competing, where in the EU, its heavily subsidized. This does lead to more risky designs, that sometimes become benchmarks (like MB O404s) or oddballs that flop (Drogmoller). But the biggest difference is the mission. We have long open roads here, where in Europe you dont. Even in Germany, where you might have a route that demands the bus get up to a higher speed (it is limited for comercial vehicles even on the Autobahn), you still have short distances relative to us. Trucks also have these same peculiarities between continents. What I find cool, is looking at Russia. Another massive country, with long roads, but nowhere near the Interstate system we have in the US. Still, you will see more and more used trucks and buses imported over from the US, and they will run those successfully. So, it comes to what you prioritize. Do you want more fuel efficient? Then you will pay more in R and D, and more maintenance, more in parts that are unique to one or two model years, etc. Do you want durability, ie a vehicle that will run with easy maintenance, cheaper parts, then you pay in more fuel costs. Fuel and labor costs fluctuate, but this is where markets, and the US vs EU differences make that choice for you.

[@edprior2821]

Having taken coach bus tours in both Europe and North America, the buses are quite similar from a passenger perspective, although I agree with your guests the seats are better in Europe. The big difference I found was the central stair in the European coaches, which certainly speeds tour stops. Our driver on our last tour told us that North American buses aren't allowed to have anything other than a single door as it is a requirement that the driver be present to supervise passengers boarding and alighting. Not sure if this is a law or just the company policy. I would be interested in knowing the fuel economy of the buses. Given that fuel is much more expensive in Europe I imagine their buses would be more efficient.

[@danwen1965]

James gotta ask why didn't you do the new prevost also ..

[@schnuurtchke]

I’m used to the MCI J4500 because I’m from Canada and we see a lot of Prevost and MCI buses 🚌🚍🚘

[@JoeHupp]

The Scania Touring you have depicted here uses a Higer A80 body

[@raminbaghirov9998]

Amazing

[@lovrebatovanja4791]

could you do a video on how bendy buses get like power lines and fuel lines across the bendy bit, and how the bendybit works in general?

[@brendanmccullough230]

To be fair about the MCI seats, there are many choices. Peoria chose an older design and they probably have their own good reasons for that.

[@mcibus2000]

I've always been curious as to why the rest room has been in the middle of the coach on European coaches as to the rear washrooms on the North American coaches? Why?

[@EpicThe112]

James the Scania touring was the one I mentioned on your Prevost UMA video. If you have to choose between a Scania Opticruise automated manual transmission/Volvo I-shift or the MCI J4500 B500R which one will you put on top?

[@southaussiegarbo2054]

When you get a chance if ever u should come to south Australia to checkout our scania k320ub and scania k360ua bustech series buses. Sure its public transport but they are some our best vehicles imo. They make hybrid and full electric version of the k320ub now. (Ub being ridged and ua being artic). Anyways good video as always keep up ya great hard work.

[@orenkipnis7058]

Thanks for this interesting video. Many features go down to mandatory requirements, where these differ a lot between Europe and North America. Two basic and important differences are wheelbase and underrun protection. The NA coaches have very long wheelbase and short overhangs compared to EU coaches. The long NA wheelbase has to do with bridge construction requirements, however, I have on idea if the longer wheelbase helps stability and road holding. On the other hand, the long wheelbase NA coach wheel fail to manoeuvre in a European city with narrow streets. All European coaches as well as trucks of the last 2 decades benefit from frontal underrun protection, serving as a crumple zone in an event of colliding with a passenger car. This feature absorbs a lot of the energy, thus protecting lives NA coaches and trucks lack this feature at least until recently (I am not up to date with the current NA regulations), but instead feature heavy bumper beams mounted on strong longitudinal beams which in turn connected to the chassis frame. The same goes with doors, driver position, field of view, mirror type and position and many other features which are regulated.

[@SuperWorldRailFanProductions]

Oh yes, another video!

[@nickdrake527]

The '98 Thomas Freightliner Vista is the best American school bus.

[@user-lg4mc9qy2r]

Man I love to be a bus tester do they hire bus tester?

[@badgerpa9]

To be fair you can get very nice leather seats with the MCI, your bus was likely ordered with those seats to save cost. I do not think you would like to ride for a long distance in the scania seats they are thin padding. The manufacture that has the mirror attached at the top of the bus which is considered european but they have a joint so it can move front or back if it is hit, is one of the best mirror options I have seen; as long as they do not vibrate when you drive. The joint would be handy to tuck the mirror in if in a narrow area or if it hits something or someone. I do not like the "modern" look of buildings, busses or most things. I like the look of the older busses so I would not agree with many on the bus looks. I like the designs that flow, busses and vehicles had before, even the square edges that then curve, just more style. The scania would be 13.7 meters long which is just short of 45 feet by an inch, same is the MCI in length. I grew up in the generation that learned both systems of measurement and it was not hard to learn, both should be taught it is better to have the knowledge.

[@raminbaghirov9998]

Hey James. What do you think about Greyhound. Are they worth applying for a driver job. Thanks.

[@UNDERTAKER2621]

❤

[@DarkCityDave]

It's a shame you don't have any DT4500s for them to really feel our pain lol if they think the turn stalk is too far, imagine having individual foot buttons on the floor like in my '18 DT4000 commuter 😂

[@Kevin.odonnell]

Is it possible to get a US coach fitted with some Euro seats?

[@kevinanderson5658]

James you need watch odyssey coach sales vlogs Darren cratchley he former sales and coach driver James Underwood uk coach driver vlogger

[@gundamF9]

so the scania use a D13 engine is it the same than prevost busses??

[@emanuelbrito7190]

Scania DC13 not Volvo D13

[@hobog]

Window hammers v window releasers

[@leecoleman822]

🔺️

[@walterfiggeroa5290]

Next up... Scania Touring vs Prevost H3

[@BrewPub]

The Scania dash, like Euro trucks and busses, just looks like a higher quality product. American ergonomic and quality of materials is just not on par, and this isn't a critique specific to MCI , because when you compare American high end RVs to Euro high end RVs the difference in materials and design is just stark. American design seems to be decades old and materials look cheaper (relative to the Euro stuff). The same is true of our passenger trains; they are far behind European high speed trains. What American vehicles do have going for them is simplicity and robust motors like the Cummins. European stuff is much more complicated, which means much more expensive to repair.

[@crabbymilton390]

Hands down the J4500 wins. SCANIA is a very rich with tradition builder of wonderful coaches. The CUMMINS engine and ALLISON automatic is the best combination of efficiency and strong acceleration. Plus I own stock in CUMMINS so there. Interesting that SCANIA is owned by VW group. They also own IC/NAVISTAR so if they wanted to try out the American market, they could use that as a foundation. Great video so thanks you guys.

[@crbb3099]

Really wish our North American manufacturers would actually embrace change once in a while. How is it that the rest of the world can get such nicer designs and we’ve been told over and over again our designs are “what Americans/Canadians want”. Give me a break. I won’t even mention city buses, those are embarrassing compared to what the Europeans have.

[@davorlekenik9563]

EU better

[@kleemann2068]

Scania Touring made by Higer China.